Have you ever noticed how the cashier in a supermarket will often ask a question that is somehow related to your purchase? In my experience, they ask one of two questions: either "would you like a bag?", or "do you participate in our bonus program?". In both cases a safe standard answer - just in case you don't fully understand the language they're speaking - is no. Today I finally figured out that the cashiers in Chile ask another question: "would you like to donate your small change to the firefighters?". The answer to this would obviously be yes - supporting firefighters is good anyway, and lugging around one-peso-coins (worth about 0.15 euro cents) isn't really worth the effort. So with this realization, there is no safe standard answer anymore. I'll have to listen to supermarket cashiers from here on out ;-)
In all the time traveling through Argentina and Chile, I was never molested by hustlers or beggars - a welcome change after all the hustling in Cuba. However, this changed today when two old women tried to extract money from me. I'm actually kind of embarrassed my behavior and how easily I fell for their scam.
But let me tell you how. So I was sitting around somewhere in the shade reading, when an old wrinkly lady approached me asking for money. I said no, of course. Then another woman came along, taking my hand, looking at the lines in the palm, mumbling something about my life, and asking for my name. She then said I should put a bill in my hand and make a wish. I was reluctant at first, but she insisted and so I thought I'd play along and see what happens. So I put money in my hand, made a fist and a wish, she mumbled something, made some possibly religious gestures, and then asked for the money. I denied. Then, I don't remember exactly how the situation evolved - maybe my memory is blocked by my embarrassment at myself, or something. But she ended up making me extract more money out of my wallet which then somehow ended up in her hands. She then dabbed at it with a small wooden stick, poured some water over it and spat at it - and suddenly only a soggy mess of grey ex-paper was visible in her hands. She tried to convince me that this was all that remained of my two bright blue Chilean bills. For a moment I almost believed her - but then I thought that Chilean money didn't seem flimsy enough to be totally discolored by a bit of water and spit - and that the soggy mass in her hand looked suspiciously like newspaper. So I asked her to return my money. She didn't, of course. For a minute or so, I tried to figure out what she actually wanted from me at this point. She kept going on about the milk for her baby she has in her breast. As I couldn't make any sense of that, but wanted my money back pronto, I grabbed her hands and succeeded in parting her from the wooden stick, thinking that maybe she hid the money in there. Unfortunately, the stick was solid, but it seems that way I wrestled control of the situation from her and she started shifting stuff around in her hands nervously. That's when I caught a glimpse of something bright blue, and a second later I held my now soggy wet bills in my hand again. I quickly checked that my bag hadn't been compromised while I was occupied, then threw the stick back at her and left.
Afterwards, although nothing had really happened and although there hadn't been a large amount of money at stake, I felt flustered. So what can I learn from this? Certainly something like "Don't take out money if you don't intend to purchase anything." But also this: tricksters don't expect firm opposition. You win when they lose control of the situation, so be firm, loud, and interfere physically if need be.
In all the time traveling through Argentina and Chile, I was never molested by hustlers or beggars - a welcome change after all the hustling in Cuba. However, this changed today when two old women tried to extract money from me. I'm actually kind of embarrassed my behavior and how easily I fell for their scam.
But let me tell you how. So I was sitting around somewhere in the shade reading, when an old wrinkly lady approached me asking for money. I said no, of course. Then another woman came along, taking my hand, looking at the lines in the palm, mumbling something about my life, and asking for my name. She then said I should put a bill in my hand and make a wish. I was reluctant at first, but she insisted and so I thought I'd play along and see what happens. So I put money in my hand, made a fist and a wish, she mumbled something, made some possibly religious gestures, and then asked for the money. I denied. Then, I don't remember exactly how the situation evolved - maybe my memory is blocked by my embarrassment at myself, or something. But she ended up making me extract more money out of my wallet which then somehow ended up in her hands. She then dabbed at it with a small wooden stick, poured some water over it and spat at it - and suddenly only a soggy mess of grey ex-paper was visible in her hands. She tried to convince me that this was all that remained of my two bright blue Chilean bills. For a moment I almost believed her - but then I thought that Chilean money didn't seem flimsy enough to be totally discolored by a bit of water and spit - and that the soggy mass in her hand looked suspiciously like newspaper. So I asked her to return my money. She didn't, of course. For a minute or so, I tried to figure out what she actually wanted from me at this point. She kept going on about the milk for her baby she has in her breast. As I couldn't make any sense of that, but wanted my money back pronto, I grabbed her hands and succeeded in parting her from the wooden stick, thinking that maybe she hid the money in there. Unfortunately, the stick was solid, but it seems that way I wrestled control of the situation from her and she started shifting stuff around in her hands nervously. That's when I caught a glimpse of something bright blue, and a second later I held my now soggy wet bills in my hand again. I quickly checked that my bag hadn't been compromised while I was occupied, then threw the stick back at her and left.
Afterwards, although nothing had really happened and although there hadn't been a large amount of money at stake, I felt flustered. So what can I learn from this? Certainly something like "Don't take out money if you don't intend to purchase anything." But also this: tricksters don't expect firm opposition. You win when they lose control of the situation, so be firm, loud, and interfere physically if need be.
