True Kindness (apologies for legnth in advance, this story defines my life)
In my gap year me and my best mate decided we'd spend two months hiking and camping and the Chilean Andes. We both slaved for 9 months to afford all the top notch equipment and spending money we would need, and were both sure it would be the trip of a lifetime.

Unfortunately however, some fucking cock of a bag hander at our stop-over in Madrid helped himself to my £360 heavy duty mountaineering tent along with various other goodies. Iberia airlines were total cunts about it, first giving us fake numbers to call, hanging up repeatedly when we found the right number and then refusing to honour our travel insurance.

We were stranded in a foreign land and culture with barely a word of Spanish between us and our plans absolutely shattered. However, what happened next completely restored my faith in humanity for ever.

1- Al the hostel staff did all they could to help us with Iberia airlines including the travel agent woman who spent at least 3 hours phoning various officials.

2- An Australian coupe who gave us a free tent (a summer beach tent but it did mean we got some camping done in good weather).

3- The Rivernos family. At a loss of what to do instead of mountaineering and hiking we were wandering the streets of Santiago at night and drinking heavily. At some point a Chilean woman stopped and asked us for a light. We got taking (me using the dictionary and what rudimentary spanish i'd learned in 3 days, she spoke no English).
2 days later we were living with them in a ghetto style area an hour out of Santiago. We walked the kids to school, went to the market with Lorena (the mum), drank into the night playing poker with Eduardo (the father) and had a beautiful friendship with the eldest daughter.
I have never met a family so welcoming, kind, trusting and wonderful. They had so little, and gave so much, and never asked for anything in return. It was like finding a soul-mate family. Of course we gave a lot back in friendship and love also, and I insisted on paying for all the food and groceries and lending money to Eduardo to catch the bus into work.
It's truly the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me.

I can still see Eduardo pounding his heart with his fist, telling us how he loved us as sons and we'd have a home there if ever we wanted it. I still remember crying my eyes out to Lorena about my parents separation. But what I remember most is how they offered us a home to live in within 20 minutes of meeting us, and how Eduardo welcomed us with open arms when we arrived out of the blue with his wife and daughter to live with them.
A toast to the Rivernos family of Puente Alto, Chile:
Paz, amor y amistad, para todos, para siempre.
(Roopy all is not what it seams, Sat 4 Oct 2008, 14:26, 8 replies)

That's really awesome...
Are you going back to see them?
( Axai is in Montréal, Canada O.o, Sat 4 Oct 2008, 15:09, closed)

...
Next time i'm in South America, yeah, which wont be for a year at least :( Stupid education and poverty.
(Roopy all is not what it seams, Sat 4 Oct 2008, 15:38, closed)

Oh wow :(
That sucks.... It's always nice meeting someone like that.

It's kinda like that here in india except all people want to do is touch you :P
( Axai is in Montréal, Canada O.o, Sat 4 Oct 2008, 15:42, closed)

It angers me...
...that airlines and airports are consistently unable or unwilling to stamp out theft. I mean, in theory every employee must pass security checkpoints every time they come or go, so how hard can it be to stop people swanning off with large items, which they clearly didn't arrive with, don't need for work, and can't provide proof of ownership? I realise that you can't stop it altogether - small items are easily spirited away, and anyone can succumb to temptation if desperate enough; but there seems no excuse for there to be 'notorious' airports for baggage theft.

Off topic really, just something I wanted to get off my chest.
(The Incredible Sulk Finally remembered his password on, Sat 4 Oct 2008, 23:53, closed)

I competely agree
To this day I have enormous mistrust of baggage handlers, and what angers me the most is that some airlines offer to plastic wrap your luggage but at considerable extra cost! So they are profiteering from their own obvious security failures.

Utter cunts.

p.s. it wasnt the price of the tent at all, I loved that tent, it was my new prize possession and I only slept in it once, in my back garden.
(Roopy all is not what it seams, Sun 5 Oct 2008, 0:16, closed)

And of course, even if you have it wrapped, you just advertise it as a probable juicy target. It can still opened at any point by "customs" (real or not), and since they won't re-wrap it, once again it's open season on your stuff.
(The Incredible Sulk Finally remembered his password on, Sun 5 Oct 2008, 7:37, closed)

What
absolutely lovely people!
(TDub Nunc id vides, nunc ne vides on, Sun 5 Oct 2008, 1:51, closed)

The Rivernos family seem the measure of Chile. When I went there, a friendly eldery Chilean couple sat next to me on the plan, on their way home from a holiday, kept me company throughout the whole flight, chatting away happily. In our stopover in Argentina, they went off to use the toilets in the terminal, leaving all their hand luggage on the seats with me, thinking nothing of a complete stranger guarding their valuables. Before landing, they handed a slip of paper to me; their address, inviting me to stop by for dinner any time I like while I was in the country. Amazing!

I met so many people through the family I was staying with. Lots of complete strangers warmly greeting me like old family. And, because the father of the family was/is a politician in the country, I'd find out frequently that the man who just embraced and cheek-kissed me was the ex-minister for somethingorother. Wonderful country.
(Musuko, Tue 7 Oct 2008, 19:03, closed)