I just LOVE getting out of the house!

I know that I said other people talk about how unfriendly Cochabamba is, but I’m just not really “seeing” that. Instead, I see people who awkwardly and warily return smiles and then others who seem shocked then so touched that someone is nice. It’s really kind of fun. I think I might smile and stuff anyway, just for the reactions!

Seriously though, it’s amazing how effective smiles and kind words are. When we’re nice to each other, everyone has more energy to do what needs to be done. The meat counter guys cut more quickly and safer, the bakery guys get to the counter sooner to take your order and the floor workers will walk the store to find what you need.

So… I’m at the line, right? It’s Saturday night, so EVERY available register had lines that were huge. But it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. I’m a “line curse”… it doesn’t matter what’s going on at any other register and it doesn’t matter how fast the checker was when I walked up. As soon as I get in line, that line WILL be the slowest line in the store! lol…

There was another gal near the register I was choosing, but I wasn’t sure that she was in line. When I moved my basket closer in so that she could get past me, and she didn’t move past me, but said something about not having any room in the store… I knew that she was in the same line!

I really think that she had chosen the line slightly before I did, so I told her to go ahead of me and I said it in my broken spanish. She asked me if I was sure and I assured her that I was… again, in my broken spanish. Then she asked me if I spoke english. I said, “Si!” lol…

It turns out that she spent 2 years in D.C. with family in the U.S. She asked me why we were here and it turns out that her brother is in a Baptist mission work in Santa Cruz. We shared anecdotes about our children and found out that we had many things in common. [as I said... the lines were LONG! ]

Before she left, she gave me her card. She works at a store that sells paint. We NEED paint! But she said that if I needed anything, to call her and she would help. And she said that she would give me a good price on the paint. I like “good prices”! lol…

Her family looked so nice and her little boy is about David’s age. I think that we will all be good friends. God is so good. Who could have imagined that I would make a new friend while standing in line at I.C. Norte! And this friend knows english pretty well and wants to learn more. She said that I could talk to her in spanish and she’d talk to me in english and together we could practice.

We just never know. It kind of makes me wonder what other wonderful experiences and friends I could have made if my head had not been down that day… or if I had chosen to smile instead of being lost in my concerns… or if I had followed the leadership of the Holy Spirit and offered my place to that person who would have become my friend.

“Dear Lord, please let me not forget this blessing of friendship. Please help me to always hear You and to do Your will for me and to go where You lead.”

Today I share some funny moments with a stranger, in a strange land, in a strange language!

Let me explain… While I was in the U.S., I always liked to try to encourage the people I encountered while out and about. I would compliment someone on their color choice or on their outfit or whatever I felt led to say. I always tried to make them feel happier about where they were and who they were.

I haven’t really been able to connect with people here, on that level quite yet. You really need to be able to communicate more easily to be able to do that.

Well, today I had the best time at a fast-food restaurant here in Cochabamba.

I had to stop at Panchita’s (Bolivia’s BETTER equivalent to McDonald’s… fast food, but done well) to get something for Steven to eat when I got home. I decided to go ahead and spend the money to feed the family, so there were 3 big bags! A lady had gotten in line behind me and then made a joke about wanting to get in front of me so that she would have a shot at getting served! lol… I teased right back with her about how we were “listo ahorita” (ready right now) so she needn’t be concerned. We giggled about big families, back and forth while I checked the order to see if Steven’s special’s had been done correctly.

I thought that they had (the one on top was right, but not the other one… ). Anyway, I thought they were perfect, so I wanted to thank the manager who had tried to make sure that all went well. I caught his attention (and the lady was still to my left) and said, “Senor, muchas gracias! Estos estan perfecto. Puede aceptar ‘perfecto’?” ["these are perfect. Can you accept 'perfect'?"] LOL… BLESS his heart! He thought I was trying to BARGAIN with him! “puede aceptar” means “can you accept”…

The lady to my left got it! She laughed too, and then I repeated it, changing the word “perfecto” to “exactamente” and then HE got it and just BEAMED! He asked if I needed anything else and I said “O no, senor. Tengo todo y es mejor porque’ esta mujer necesita ayuda! [pointing to the lady to my left, with my arm around her]” AGAIN, bless his heart. SHE is just reeling with giggles and he’s concerned that he hadn’t taken care of her soon enough. I said, “No senor… no se preocupa, por favor. Es solo un bromeo!” I told him that we were just joking with each other and then we all had a good laugh.

I made a joke with a total stranger in a foreign country where I don’t speak the language! YES! lol… you see, I love having fun with strangers in stores in the U.S. I try to make them smile or make them happy about what they have chosen to wear that day, or whatever else the Holy Spirit lays on my heart to say. It’s so nice that I’m getting closer to that point here in Bolivia.

Cochabamba is said to be one of the most sullen cities in Bolivia. I’ve heard this same sentiment from a wide variety of people who are Bolivian and have lived in and visited other cities in Bolivia. We had noticed it too, but didn’t have a body of experience with other areas of Bolivia with which to form a context.

However… as with most people, when faced with a warm smile, they generally respond with one of their own… or at least a few cracks in that mask!

Love to all,
Cyn

ATMs
We are blessed to have many ATMs around the city. God has given us a great taxi driver (don Edwin) who has lived and grown up in Cochabamba all his life, so he knows the ATMs that work and those that don’t. So we have never had a problem with getting funds from our account.

Monetary unit…
In Bolivia we use the monetary unit called Bolivianos. A Boliviano is about 1/8 of a dollar (8Bs = $1USD; varies daily), or about 12.5¢. To try to keep track of the value exchange, I just remember that cheer we used to lead when I was a cheerleader in school… “two bits, four bits, 6 bits, a dollar”! lol… Seriously, it DOES help! In this instance, “two bits” becomes “two Bs” in my mind, which is roughly equal to a quarter.

Types of Coins…
Bolivians have a variety of “moneda” (coins) and “dinero” (bills). The coins include 10 centavos, 20 centavos, 50 centavos, 1 boliviano, 2 bolivianos and a 5 boliviano coin. You rarely see the centavos (10 & 20) being used. I have never bent my brain enough to try to figure out how much each of those coins would be! But it isn’t much, in $USD terms.

One of the things about the money that I find interesting is that the 2 boliviano coins come in different sizes and have different shapes from each other. One of the 2B coins is smaller than the 1B coin. So you can’t just reach into your pocket and figure that the coin you’re giving the beggar* is going to be a 1 boliviano or a 2 boliviano. For me, that difference isn’t much. It’s less than 15¢ and that is certainly not going to cause me a problem!
*more on the topics of beggars later

Dinero (paper bills)…
The bills that we have seen in Bolivia are 10 Bolivians, 20 Bolivianos, 50 Bolivianos and 100 Bolivianos. I would not be surprised to learn that Bolivia has larger denominations for their paper money, but just as in the U.S., where the larger bills are harder to use in daily commerce, the same is really true in Bolivia.

Taxes… what are THOSE?!..
Much of the commerce that is done in Cochabamba takes place outside of a “normal store environment”. In the U.S., you go into a store, the price is what it is marked and when you check out, you pay whatever taxes that community must collect. Here in Cochabamba, I have yet to pay a single tax! Even at the grocery store, the vendor takes the responsibility for paying the tax. I would expect that this expense is built into the cost of the goods, but as a consumer, the cash receipt does not reflect any tax paid by me.

Why smaller bills are important…
There are many, many (maybe thousands!) of individual vendors who sell various things. NONE of these vendors like to break large bills! Even vendors who sell goods that come close to, or exceed the amount on the bill, they do not like to make change. Yes, I know… if they want to make the sale, they’ll make change!

But it’s just more thoughtful to have smaller bills. And… it’s easier to get vendors to give you a break in the price if you have exact change!

Next, see… Shopping in Cochabamba

Shopping outdoors…
Much of the shopping that we do takes place outdoors at “ferias” (markets) or small shops stuck in the outsides of buildings along sidewalks. Sometimes the owner lives on the other side (the “back”) of the store. Other times you’re shopping along a sidewalk that would be a mall if there were not a street separating you from the other side and it had a roof on top!

Ferias…
Ferias in Cochabamba look very much like arts/crafts shows in the U.S. where vendors set up their stalls specifically for that show. The stalls at ferias can range in size, but the usual stall size is about 4-6 feet wide and about 4 feet deep. Ferias will usually include the following products for sale: fruits, vegetables, nuts, cheeses, spices, personal care products, cleaning products, some garden products, some toys, some clothing, some artesan products and drinks and food prepared there (although you NEVER eat from these stalls, no matter HOW good it smells!*).
*more on food dangers in “Watching What You Eat”

Although there are Ferias somewhere in Cochabamba for every day of the week, I go to La Feria every Saturday. I will share more about what a “typical” Feria Saturday is like in another post. (see: “A Typical Feria Saturday”)

Shops/Storefronts…
Have you ever heard the term “storefront” and wondered where it came from? I’ve seen old westerns and such, but now I know firsthand about storefronts! A storefront is when you have a “store” at the “front” of your house. How cool is that?!

When you go to work, you don’t have to worry about traffic, rain or anything other than the occasional toy left out by the kids! lol…

Seriously, there are entire blocks of the street that are devoted to small, garage-sized shops that are specialty shops. My friends used to laugh about the Saturday Night Live skit where the comedians were poking fun at the specialization of “boutiques” in the 80s. I remember one of their favorites being the “Scotch Tape Boutique”.

All shops are “specialty”…
I never thought I’d see it, but that is almost exactly what we have here! To buy hardware items, screws, nuts, bolts, rope and various home repair type things, you go to a Ferreteria (ferra = iron). If you want someone to weld together the things that you buy at a Ferreteria, you go to a Cerrajeria. While this would technically be a locksmith, a “cerrajero” is also known as a “hardware man”. When the noise of the hammering and the smell of the welding gives you a headache and makes you sick at your stomach, you buy your medicines at the Farmacia. For just about any noun that you can think of that you would use, when you put “teria” or “jeria” at the end of it, you can probably find a store that sells it or fixes it!

While this approach to commerce might not be as “convenient” as our modern-day department stores, it has a certain charm. As in older days in the U.S., you can find some pretty interesting things rummaging around in a store that sells only one kind of product. Often you can find an even better solution to a problem than what you had originally gone to look for.

Yes… shopping this way takes a lot longer. And when you have no transportation of your own, it costs more in taxi fares. But when God has blessed you with a helpful and knowledgeable taxi driver, your search can often become a valuable language lesson as you work together to figure out what it is that you want to find. Remember that time is one of the least valued commodoties in many 3rd world countries. When you don’t value your people, how can you value their time?

We are working hard to change this perception. Whenever someone does something for us, whether it’s to take our order at the restaurant or to build those desparately-needed storage shelves, we insist that they accept more payment for their time and effort. [An added benefit that we've never had before... waiters at our favorite restaurants KNOW us and get us what we always have without asking! Yup... you better not change your mind! But how cool to be watched for and welcomed. wow, that's nice!]