Moving In... Buying Appliances
Today my day was spent going to the Bolivian version of the Home Depot to buy appliances and electronics. Basically it is just a bunch of little stores, each one crammed full of appliances and electronics. Part of the market system is that all of the stores that sell any one thing are generally all grouped together, which makes price shopping easy as you can go from store to store in a matter of minutes. There are some differences in the stores, but most of them have all of the same things, so it is just a matter of finding the cheapest price.
After going to about 10 stores, I finally found the cheapest prices on everything, bought everything from four different stores, and then our "cargador" loaded everything up into a 1969 Nissan Junior pickup truck. Our driver was seventy years old and was a Christian. A good 60% of the trip consisted of him telling me about how things were "back when he was young", but we had lots of fun.
There are two big differences in how you buy things here in Bolivia. The first applies to pretty much everything you buy - you always test it before you buy it. This means you take the blender out, be sure it starts. Hook up the stove to gas, ensure it lights. Turn on the refrigerator, make sure it gets cold. Turn on the iron, be sure it gets hot. I think you get the idea of how important this is in Bolivia, and how time consuming it can get. But since there are NO returns, it is good to know you have a working product.
The other difference is in the rigorous safety standards we have in Bolivia for those moving the furniture. In the states we might think you need a dolly and a ramp to move a refrigerator, but in Bolivia you really just need a guy with a rope so he can strap the refrigerator to his back. One thing I am sure about in life is that I am glad I am not that guy!
That's all for now. Tomorrow morning we head up to the big market in El Alto to purchase furniture. At about 13,500 feet it must the the highest furniture market in the world.
For any of you who have not seen the new Bethany home, it is the right half of the homes below. (It forms a large duplex together with the Barnabas home.)
-John
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| From Bethany House... |
After going to about 10 stores, I finally found the cheapest prices on everything, bought everything from four different stores, and then our "cargador" loaded everything up into a 1969 Nissan Junior pickup truck. Our driver was seventy years old and was a Christian. A good 60% of the trip consisted of him telling me about how things were "back when he was young", but we had lots of fun.
There are two big differences in how you buy things here in Bolivia. The first applies to pretty much everything you buy - you always test it before you buy it. This means you take the blender out, be sure it starts. Hook up the stove to gas, ensure it lights. Turn on the refrigerator, make sure it gets cold. Turn on the iron, be sure it gets hot. I think you get the idea of how important this is in Bolivia, and how time consuming it can get. But since there are NO returns, it is good to know you have a working product.
The other difference is in the rigorous safety standards we have in Bolivia for those moving the furniture. In the states we might think you need a dolly and a ramp to move a refrigerator, but in Bolivia you really just need a guy with a rope so he can strap the refrigerator to his back. One thing I am sure about in life is that I am glad I am not that guy!
 |
| From Bethany House... |
 |
| From Bethany House... |
That's all for now. Tomorrow morning we head up to the big market in El Alto to purchase furniture. At about 13,500 feet it must the the highest furniture market in the world.
For any of you who have not seen the new Bethany home, it is the right half of the homes below. (It forms a large duplex together with the Barnabas home.)
 |
| From Bethany House... |
-John
posted by Unknown @ 4:21 PM
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