A friend mentioned how she want grocery shopping at Wally World (Wal-Mart) on Labor Day. And that got me to thinking about Wal-Mart and how MUCH time I spent there when living in the States.

And speaking of Wally World, I HAVE to tell you this! lol… Down the street from us, here in Tiquipaya, there is this small shop (they are called tiendas) that often has “clothing grab bag days” out front. I don’t know how it works, but a few times each week there are huge “bolsa” bags (bags made of VERY sturdy plastic cloth, coming in all sizes and designs) with rivers of jumbled clothing spilling out of the tops. Each bag is the epicenter of a jumble of ladies pawing through the piles with great attention. They are thoroughly focused on their task!

[No, determined shoppers is not what made me think of Wal-Mart. Just hang on, OK? ... that part is coming!]

In between “grab bag” days, the big bags are gone and the shop doors are wide open, with some very attractive clothing is on display. Lorien drew my attention to the displays as we rode past in the taxi, and for a few weeks now, we’ve been intending to go look. Lately I have noticed clothing that looked as if it might fit me.

Well… the other day I had some extra time on my way home, so I asked our taxi driver to pull around. I went in and looked at a few things… the shop owner saw the sizes I was looking at and brought me a HUGE pile to try! I found some really cute tops and even a pair of “culottes” in microfiber. Each piece cost 25Bs (about $3.50USD). Since 25 bolivianos is the average price of the used clothing at La Cancha and I hadn’t had to fight the crowds, haggle down OR despair at finding ANYthing in my size… I paid the price without a grumble.

Now HERE is the surprise… as I was going through the items at home, little did I know that I had ACTUALLY been to Wal-Mart! LOL…. the microfiber culottes were the George brand, WITH the original price tag from Wally World! LOL… I was tickled to death at that! The George design line was a staple for me while on deputation. I always knew how the sizes would fit and never had to try it on before buying.

So I have had my “Wal-Mart fix”! ROTFLOL….

Now if we could just get Wal-Mart to buy an airline company, then stick a Wal-Mart “tienda” in the back of the plane, we’d be all set! lol… We don’t REALLY need that airplane bathroom do we? Remember, you heard the Wal-Mart in an airplane idea here first! LOL…