Adventures in Shoe Shopping

This weekend we were invited to a wedding for one of Franco's friends from Camiri. We quickly realized that we were going to need something a little nicer than our "Sunday best", since that usually involves our nicest jeans. :)

As we were contemplating how expensive this was going to be, Franco got a call from one of the elders at church. They just happened to have some suits they wanted to GIVE Franco! That afternoon we went, and it was as if the suit had been made for him. God's provision is so neat sometimes.

Then I went through my dresses (all three of them) and found one that would work... except that one of the straps was broken.

I decided it would have to do and brought it anyway. When we mentioned the dress to Franco's mom she suggested we go visit her friend, the seamstress.

The seamstress fixed the strap in five minutes and wouldn't let me pay!

SO, with money ($20) still in the budget, I went shoe shopping.

As I've mentioned before, shopping in Bolivia is never a relaxing endeavor. But, flip flops and tennis shoes are not appropriate wedding attire, so I was left with no alternatives.

We set out in the 90 degree heat to the market. When I found shoes I liked at the first stand, I was ready to buy them and be done. However, there were none available in my size... according to the lady who glanced confidently back at her pile of merchandise to confirm.

So we moved on. The next stand also had shoes that were less my style, but convenient and well priced. The young girl assured me she had them in my size, and came back with a different style of shoes, that yes, were in my size.

Feeling defeated, I followed my mother-in-law across the busy street. (The government is on strike since May and there are no police in town. Franco calls Camiri the Wild Wild West of Bolivia.)

Inside the market, we found a stand with a lady that Franco's mom seemed to know. She was very patient and showed me at least ten different shoes. I liked the first pair, but couldn't convince her to let me try them on. When I did, I realized they were sized differently because they are a Brazilian brand. So she brought me the next size.

 OF A DIFFERENT STYLE.

They fit, but now they were a different style that I didn't like. So she brought the same style, in a different color. That didn't go with my dress. After about ten minutes of feeling like the biggest most demanding drama queen in Bolivia, the lady brought out a different pair of shoes, in a different color, that I DID like!

So now we both have nice clothes to wear to the wedding and a fun story to tell.

The moral of this story is "Buy your shoes at Ross and save yourself the trouble of international shoe shopping".

And that God provides, even in mundane things like dress clothes for a wedding. :)

Of course the shoes don't appear in any of the photos....