La Tienda Villarroel

Pronounced “Bee-ya-zo-EL” in the local accent, this family was my surrogate family during my year in Tiraque. They have a store next door to our house where all of our needs were met. Sure, they were the best-stocked little store in Tiraque, and if they didn’t have something, we knew there weren’t any in all of Tiraque, but they provided us with so much more. Not a holiday or birthday went by without us having a grand meal together, including Thanksgiving and the 4th of July, when they humored us with our strange cooking (a pie out of squash??....well there weren't any pumpkins), or invited us over for the biggest birthday cake you can imagine. A truly wonderful famly that embodies the spirit of Bolivia. I will miss them.