Again it was a great time, and some times as we think back, our time in the states just feels like a dream, as if it never happened. 

Each time we go to the states, we usually bring with us a list of things that we use here that we can't buy here. This trip to the states was no exception. One example is contact cleaning solution. One bottle here in Bolivia costs about $17 US dollars! So when we go to the states, we stock up on this, (it costs less than $2/bottle at Walmart! We found ourselves making Walmart runs for things that we packed in our bags for the return trip home, treats that make life in Bolivia a little bit easier. 

One of the things that was high on my list was a speedometer! 

Here in Bolivia, it's not uncommon for auto vendors to turn back the odometer. This is against the law in the US, but it is a common occurrence here. We looked at 2 vehicles when we purchased our current vehicle, both had had their odometers rolled back. 

Last year, the odometer on our vehicle turned 70,000 miles (who knows what the original mileage was...CarFax said that it was sold at an auction in 2005 with 95,000 miles on it...) When it turned 70,000 the odometer broke, to turn no more. Our mechanic here looked at it and told me that because the odometer measured miles, I wouldn't be able to find another odometer here in Bolivia, because all of them would measure kilometers; the best thing to do would to bring one back from the states when we went. 

So this trip I was on the look out for a speedometer. I checked a couple of places. My dad checked one place that said the cost would be about $1000 US! No thanks. I checked another place in Iowa, they wanted $300...finally I checked a salvage yard. They had one that fit our truck with 111,000 miles on it (closer to the original anyway!) for $50! Sold! 

I tucked it in my carry on as we traveled back to Bolivia. I didn't want to take a chance at packing it our checked baggage to have it damaged some how. To my surprise, no one asked me to open my carry on to explain why I had a complete speedometer head in my carry on! 

A week later it was installed and clocking the miles we drive between our house and school each day - 10 miles one way. 

Such is life here. Thank you Waterloo Auto Parts for having a used speedometer, and thank you Lord for directing us to it! 

Chapter 2 

We had a hole in the seat cover of the driver's seat of our truck. So I asked Don Edwin if he knew a place where I could get the hole repaired. Of course he did, so I took the truck over to the "tienda" and the owner said he would take out the seat, loan me another one until he had completed the repair to the seat cover. 

So that's what he did. He took out and gave me a loaner seat for half a day!  It was a little tall for the truck, so I found my head a little "scrunched" to the ceiling. We only used it for a half a day, until the seat cover was done so it wasn't that bad. It was held in place with a hanger wire and a bolt, so it was good that it was only a half a day. 

The seat is fixed and the loaner is returned!