Ring shopping has been something I was definitely looking forward to on this trip. Returning with not only a new outlook on life, but a new and fresh style that I could say was from a community right in the heart of South America. As I set out on this endeavor after lunch, I found myself shopping for bracelets from a man and woman who had been in the same place for 3 days with beautiful merchandise. Haggle was the word into the forefront of my mind when I began approaching the two with un poco español and a ring on my mind.
The ring shortly become bracelets and braclets which I began scoping through and could not stop myself from being a wide eyed American gal shocked at the fact that everything I was seeing was hand crafted, in Argentina and Bolivia, and real.
Fast forward to the end of our transaction, where I hugged the woman and waved goodbye to the man and shouted across the bustling streets, “¡Adios!” I couldn’t help but feel a kind of contentment that not only had I made a transaction that was worth something, but I had made a purchase that was intangible.
A simple exchange that started as a haggling for stuff turned into a collage of broken sentences, awkward smiles that filled the space of missing words, and gifts for my loved ones. What else could I ask for?!
Love you Mom, Dad, and Cassi