Sometimes bad decisions lead to good ones

My first days in Chile didn't go as smoothly as I would have hoped. I arrived in Santiago around 4am after passing immigration and paying my $160 visa fee. After this I was left with around $700 dollars.

I took a shuttle bus into the city and stayed at a cheap hostel in which I slept maybe 1 or 2 hours. I should have rested more but I didn't want to waste time so immediately I bought a newspaper and began looking for a room to rent. Since I had limited funds I needed to find something quick so as not to pay daily.

So I found a spot to make phone calls and spoke to a woman who was renting a room. I got on the metro to meet her. I didn't know much about Santiago, but knew the place was further from the city then I wanted to be. I meet this older Chilean woman in her 50s-60s by the metro station. We went around the area, there was a lot of local vendors selling all types of vegetables, fruits, cooked food and anything else you could think of .

She seemed nice enough, just a humble woman looking to make some extra cash renting a room in her house. She took me to her place, where I meet her daughter who was a college student and her pets, a dog and a cat. So everything seems ok, the price was good enough $150 for the month plus deposit. I went back to the hostel to get my luggage and immediately headed back to my new temporary home.

First night was ok, just hung out with my new roommates and went out to bed. The next morning was when the drama began. When I woke up the woman had a different look on her house, not a pleasant look. Before even a good morning or would you like some coffee, she accused me of leaving the bathroom light on. I knew I did not leave it on but didn't want to make an issue of it. I came back late in the evening and the woman and her daughter were already in bed. I had eaten a avocado but did not turn the kitchen light on as to not annoy the woman. In the dark I did my best to clean my plate with limited light.

Next morning first thing I hear is the dog crying because the Chilean woman was hitting her. The dog also was tide up to a radiator with no chance of escaping. This made me very sad and disturbed at the same time. When I finally came out of the room, I received the same cold reception I received the previous day, accept worse. She then began to speak and accuse me of leaving the plate dirty. I explained to her that it was an accident, that I didn't wash to plate well as to not turn the light on. The woman was irate and unforgiving, going on and on viciously. At this point I was furious and could not believe I am paying money to actually be verbally abused. And after coming out of parents home, another verbally abusive environment, there was no way I was going to tolerate her behavior.

So I told the woman I didn't appreciate the way she was talking to me. She then called me a Malcriado, which is to say I was spoiled brat. Since I knew there was no way to reverse this situation I knew I had to get out asap. I told the woman I would pay her for the 2 nights I spent there and would like the rest of the money. But I was dreaming if I thought I could get my money back. Her response was no, the money is already deposited in the bank. So frustrated I went online to ask a friend what to do, a German girl I meet on a expat website called Internations who was living in Santiago. She suggested I go to the police, it seemed extreme but worth a shot. I mean to be out $300 dollars in my first 3 days was the worst case scenario I could have imagined. So I got dressed and as I was leaving I knocked on her bedroom door and said ‘Chau Senora me voy al policia which is to say I would see her later and that I was heading to the police station. She immediately responded and said what?? This is where I started acting crazy and just stormed out and slammed the door. She followed me outside and while I was on the floor below all of the sudden she got nice and ask me where I was going again. I told her I was going to the police to report her. She then wanted to talk all civilized and was like no come upstairs lets talk. I don't even know what I was saying to her, I was just going off. So I went upstairs and sat down and immediately her bipolar switch turned on and she started going off on me like what are you doing making a big scene like that in the whole way.

Im a really nice guy, but when someone tries to fuck me there the real Brooklyn comes out of me. I tried being nice but obviously some people don't appreciate nice. So I went off on her and told her that she was crazy and that Im a nice guy but there is no way I was going to accept her abusive behavior. She was treating me like I was her son and I am not I am a customer paying her for a service. I also told her about beating the dog, which she said she was not she was only hitting him because he had a bone stuck in his throat, bullshit. So again I asked for my money and again she said it was in the bank and she would not get it out. So I proceeded to go to the police, but I made the big mistake of paying her without getting a receipt. They said if I had video film of her then maybe I could do something. So I went back to the house, to find out she had closed the door to my room and would not open it.

When I called to her she just ignored me. Again I asked her about the money but she turned into an actress and started crying. She told me she needed the money for her 20 year old son that had cancer. Of course this was bullshit but what could I do. I recorded the conversation but it was not good enough, so my only choice was to leave. When I went back to the apartment her daughter was there. The sweet innocent university student I first encountered now turned into a bully trying to intimidate me. I told her my version of what happened and she calmed down. We agreed that I would leave and she promised to give back my deposit at the end of the month. I never saw the deposit plus in a months time I was on my way to Argentina.

So now I was forced to leave and was now left with only $400 out of the $700 I started with. Not knowing where to go I contacted my German friend Jennifer, who said I could stay the night at her place. I did and the next day I booked to stay in a hostel.

Obviously one would wish to go thru life without difficulties and suffering. But many times the greatest lessons come out of what appear to be the worst of situations. It can only go up from here.

Next stop, Hostel World.!