Another post about the hostel known as Bothy

This is my last week in Arequipa. Sad, I know, but I am excited to move on to Bolivia and then Colombia. I was planning on spending my last week working at Bothy and saying goodbye to all of the wonderful friends I have made here. Then Sunday evening I was told by another girl who works at the hostel that the owner asked her to tell me not to work in the morning because the city was coming to do inspections. Since I'm a foreigner working there illegally (which I assumed but never actually talked about with the owner... who is Peruvian, by the way...), it would not be good to be seen working there when official guys stop by. She told me I could, however, help out in the afternoon with David, from England, who is also working there.

So I thought awesome! A day to sleep in. Then I checked my email Monday afternoon and saw that I had an email from the owner. (classy, huh? he couldn't call me or stop by the hostel.) He went on and on about I was getting the whole week off, (oh wow sweet! i was told it was only Monday) and it is a shame because it is my last week. But he said nothing about whether I could continue staying there. (let me first remind you that the only payment I was receiving in exchange for 3 weeks of working 48 hours a week and 3 more weeks working 30 hours a week was a dorm bed to sleep in and 2 hours a week of Spanish lessons...) I was a little confused about the whole situation.

He was at the hostel at around 8pm Monday night, so I asked him to clarify. He told me that he didn't know which day the city inspectors were coming, just that they were coming some time in the week during the morning hours. Thus David didn't have anything to worry about since he only works in the afternoon.
''Well can I help out in the afternoons?''
''No, you know there's really no one around in the afternoons, so one person is enough...''
''Sooooo there's nothing I can do?''
''Nope, you've got a free week''
''And I can still stay here?''
''Well you don't have to pay for tonight, but we will use tomorrow as the date for your check-in.''
(erin: blank stare. you have GOT to be kidding me)
''ummmm ok. can i have a discout?'' (seeing as how the hostel is about twice as much as most of the others in the city, and he knew the reason I was working there was to save money)
''no, I can't d0 that you know because this is the high season. you can always couch-surf you know''
(another blank stare)
''well.... ok...''
(walk out of office that I have spent over 200 hours in, without pay, regretting not throwing some kind of tantrum on my way out)

So I decided that not only did I want to pay for an expensive dorm bed, but I also didn't want to give him any of my money. So I moved into a little hostel where I get all of the same ammenities (minus toilet paper) for less than half the price. I am quite pleased.

The story isn't over. Seeing as how a lot of my friends are still at the hostel, including three who work there, I went over to Bothy a couple times after I had left. When a few people saw me leaving with my backpack, they asked me where I was going, so I honestly told them that I was moving to a cheaper hostel because I wasn't working there any more and couldn't afford to pay for it. No harm done, right? It's honest and not my fault that I was pretty much forced to leave.

I got a call today from David, who told me that Raul told Juliana (another girl who works there) that I am no longer allowed inside of Bothy. Why? Because apparently I told people staying at Bothy that they should go to a cheaper hostel and they did. WOW. David and Juliana can be friends with me, but only outside of Bothy. David didn't think that Raul was planning to tell me himself, so he thought he should tell me before I show up again and he can't let me in.

I am pretty frustrated because I had a fantastic 6 weeks working at the hostel and was planning on recommending it to everyone heading to Arequipa. Now, seeing the way that I have been treated and the way he treats others who are working and staying there. A sad ending to a good era. I still love you, Peru.

Now on to Bolivia!