Changes

As we ride down the street to market we pass a corner there a woman with a wheel barrow full of sugar cane stands ready to grind the cane into the sugary syrup that many enjoy. On another corner is a man with his orange juice stand. A tub filled with oranges and a simple machine that peels them squeezes out the sweet juice. Nearby is the Toby hamburger franchise with drive through service and a new product - a steak sandwich. The automatic bank machines are always in use. We see that many things haven't changed amidst the rapid modernization of such a fast growing metropolis. I do think that for the most part the city is much cleaner and so many areas now have paved streets and there are even divided highways running through the city. Huge billboards advertise a myriad of products.

Sidewalks are still uneven in the center of the city, making walking more difficult for me. But with my cane and a very patient husband we make our way around. Tomorrow we need to pick up a watch that Abuela wants to present as a gift. Getting it a new face and battery is much cheaper than buying a new one. We will also pick up the cut glass and mats that we need to replace from the couple of pictures we attempted to bring along with our luggage. Usually every day there are one or two errands to run like this. We will probably also get a mail box downtown. There is still no house-to -house delviery of mail, so renting a mailbox at the post office is the only way to get mail.

All seems calm here after a one-day strike by four of the nine Bolivian States. The streets were quiet with no major incidents. We;ll see what affect this had had in the next few days.