Melipilla Mess

On Monday, Angie and I finally moved to Melipilla. Duoc (the university system I am working for) was supposed to have found us housing in Melipilla before classes started. However, they did not really do their job, and despite the many calls from Teaching Chile over the previous several weeks, they didn’t do anything. We ended up commuting to Melipilla from our hostel in Santiago. This was supposed to only last one week, but of course we did it for two. Duoc finally found a place for me close to the university and with a Chileno. However, the day before I was supposed to move in, it fell through. The guy apparently did not tell his roommate about having another person live with them for 4 months. Angie had a similar problem, and hers fell through as well. At the very last minute Duoc found us a guesthouse sort of place. We came here on Monday, but have already started looking for other places to live. The location is excellent—only 3 blocks from the college, but it’s like being at a very cliché Grandma’s house. The woman is nice, but she overdoes it. She is TOO nice. If she forgets to put the sugar on the table, she apologizes as if she had just run over my dog. We don’t have a key to the outside door, so we have to let her know when we are coming back, and forget about coming back after midnight. We do get fed 2.5 meals a day including an excellent lunch, which is great, but the kitchen is locked in the evening, so cooking ourselves is a bit difficult. The place is “nice.” It’s under construction now, which was supposed to be finished on Monday for our arrival. There is a garden with grapes hanging everywhere, but there is this dog who is chained to a tree and who cries and whimpers incessantly. It’s sad and annoying. Also, I have a very severe ant problem in my bathroom. Luckily, everyday she cleans away the hundreds of dead ants that appear there over the course of a day. I don’t want to know what kind of chemicals I am living in. All this for what would be $240,000 (pesos) a month, which is pretty ridiculous. That is like $600 a month, which is about twice what it should be. It does include laundry, all utilities (TV and supposedly internet), 2.5 meals, and maid service. But I don’t necessarily need all those things.

The husband cannot understand a single word I say. Ok, so my Spanish is far from perfect, but other people can at least understand the words I am trying to spit out! He has no clue at all. I tried to explain to him that I was going to the plaza to get my carnet, or mi cedula (my Chilean ID). He had no idea what I was looking for, and started throwing out various words that start with “C.” No, I was not looking for the califont (water heater), nor did I suddenly have a desire for carne. I don’t think he has ever had to talk to anyone with any kind of accent. I bet someone from Spain would have almost as hard of a time with this man.

This all might be a little harsh because the people are so generous and the place is livable. But I don’t think I want to pay so much for this for four months. We’ve already looked at 3 places, and hopefully more today. (We will live separately, but we are looking together to see all options available) So far, I haven’t found any that really jump out at me. Angie liked the first place we saw, so she might end up with it, but it’s also still my top choice. It’s a party house with 7 other young Chileans. Great place for Spanish and social life, but it was pretty dumpy, with a painfully small bedroom, and it will surely be loud.Today we’ll make some more calls and hopefully see a few more options. Our pre-paid housing runs out next week!