One Bad Apple

Just so no one gets the wrong impression of Chile, thanks to a certain bus ticket agent two stops back, let me tell you: she was an extreme exception to the rule here. Every other person I´ve met in over a week in Chile has gone out of their way to be helpful and hospitable. In San Pedro, I was having a hard time finding an available hostel. At one hostel that was over my nightly budget, the woman offered to call a friend of hers who also ran a hostel. The friend actually drove over to pick me up in his van. At that same hostel, the woman there told me to please, stay as long as I liked after I asked to stay an extra night. Then she thanked me when I left.

I arrived at my last stop, Caldera, at midnight. The taxi driver insisted on carrying my heavy bags. The owner of the hostel answered the door in his robe and slippers. He showed me around, despite the late hour, and in the morning, asked if I had slept well. I hadn´t, but it wasn´t his fault. It was more because I had spent 15 hours the previous day sitting on a bus. And the stupid rooster in the yard.

Today, in La Serena, I sat down to a long lunch this afternoon. The man at the table next to me struck up a conversation, and insisted on buying me a coffee. (I opted for hot chocolate.) He told me he likes to meet new people and practice his English, as he travels to the US frequently for business. When I told him where in the States I´m from, he responded with the old line, "Are all the girls in Pennsylvania as pretty as you?" This is a can´t win question. There´s no answer to that. Answering either yes or no gives the appearance of arrogance. Then he told me he was sure he had seen me before in that particular restaurant. I told him that was impossible, as I had never been to that restaurant before, let alone La Serena or even Chile, and he said maybe it was just in his dreams. Ugh. You have no idea how much willpower it took not to roll my eyes at that one.

Anyway, I digress. My point to this whole story is that Chileans are incredibly friendly. So much so that I´m convinced the bus lady comes from somewhere else.