Empowered in Valpo

After a wonderful 11 days at the Nona B&B in Valparaiso, I am yet again on a bus, heading to Santiago. This Workaway was both the most busy and demanding, and the most rewarding and empowering work experience I've had yet. I came into a household of a mother and father in their early forties with twin 4 month old baby girls, and the 75 year old grandmother "Nona". They opened their house about 6 years ago to tourist who wanted a beautiful, conveniently located, homey, and comfortable place to stay while visiting the this city which holds so much personality! 

I'm sure that those of you with children -and even more so if you have twins- can imagine how having 2 little needy cutie pies at once takes up every minute of everyday, and almost all the time requires both parents, especially being their first children and every little cry gets treated like it's the end of the world... Plus, the grandmother tries to keep her distance in order to let them do things their own way.

Anyway, the point is that they were in great need of help running 5 room, 11 person B&B in a popular tourist section of Valpo (Valparaiso) during the summer season. 

On the afternoon that I arrived, René (the father of the babies, and the owner of the B&B) checked me in as if I was a guest to show me the process, and he told me to make myself at home and to go explore a bit of the city (which later -well, the next day-  came in useful as I was the one expected to give the new guests advice on where to eat, drink, dance, go shopping, take tours, how to get to the beach or any of the various tourist attractions, which buses to take to get where and how much that ride cost, etc.). So, I unpacked my clothes into the shelves in my small room (which I really never do while traveling because I'm either moving around too much for it to make sense to unpack, or I don't want to get too comfortable making it hard to leave...), and went for a walk up and down the colorful streets of Valpo.

The next morning I was shown how to clean the bathrooms, strip and remake the beds, vacuum, etc. in order to prepare the room for the next guests. I was shown how to make breakfast each morning for everyone, and of course the various places to do the daily shopping for the fresh breakfast I'd serve and any other supplies needed. And then after lunch, a couple from Germany arrived, being my first guests to receive. 

The daily tasks usually had me working from about 7am until lunch time (14h), and then in the afternoon I'd do any necessary shopping, and if I had time and didn't feel motivated to go to the beach or explore the city, I'd bake something yummy that would put shining smiles on the family's faces and have Nona (the grandmother) writing down my recipes "for when the girls were old enough to cook".

It was a lot of work and I was in every practical way running the place on my own. And sometimes on top of the tasks asked of me I'd offer to help with other things like cooking meals or picking up the in laws. It gave me a sense of achievement, and I think that I'm one of those people who loves helping people as much as I am able to and who loves feeling needed (not always a great quality). But they truly appreciated my "help" and treated me like family and not just like a worker. 

I was very lucky to also have been given the opportunity to do some (expensive) activities with the guests -and I went for free since I would then be able to promote the businesses! I got to go to a wonderful Chilean Cooking Class which included some great wine education as well! I was also sent on the horse riding trip over the "Duñas de Con Con"! Such a rush galloping for miles along the beach -a dream I've always had!

Saying goodbye was sad, but for me it was the right time to go, to move, to break down more self- and society-built boundaries, restrictions, and presumptions!

Onward...!!!!