The Red Dancing Shoes

Look at that skirt! (Photo by Thaddeus Harden)

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Adam and I (Photo by Thaddeus Harden)

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Dancing at Lincoln Center (Photo by Thaddeus Harden)

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Apartment situation in Buenos Aires

Man, does it feel good to be back! I missing the dancing and the new friends I made there terribly, but I finally got out of the apartment terror I experience while living there. The apartment I first stayed at had no proper heating system and the hot water runs out after 2 minutes. I eventually moved out, but I discovered some nasty truth about the rent situation. Below is an email I wrote to my so called "friends". The email should be self-explanatory as to what happened to me.


Hi all,
I am writing this email to address the rent situation that occurred to me this trip to Buenos Aires. No one seems to be mature enough to take responsibility in what happened so I feel the need to address the problem. Originally I was going to call a meeting on the subject, but I decided not to because I have already suffered too much emotionally during this trip regarding the apartment situation. I want to let it go. I don't want to bother myself with problems that other people have created.

The following is the true sequence of events that Yuka can confirm. I still have all my emails.

Before the friendship between Chino and I fell apart, YUka suggested that the three of us stay together in Maximiliano's mother's apartment. I had no problem with that. When the friendship shattered, I immediately emailed YUka and informed her that I was not sure about staying with them, in fact, I was scoping out for other possibilities/ places. I had two other great offers and I was about to take one of them. At the time I told Yuka about it, she had not confirmed with Susanna (the owner) about our stay yet. Yuka then asked Chino if she wanted to take the apartment. Chino answered affirmatively.

Legally, this was a binding oral contract. The consideration was the promise to take the apartment in exchange for the hold on the apartment for Chino (and whoever was staying at the apartment). As soon as Chino said yes, Chino had entered into an oral contract that was binidng on both parties. I, on the other hand, did not make any promise to take the apartment before Yuka reserved the apartment on the behalf of Chino. I took the apartment only when I was told that Chino backed out and that the rent was US $17 per night.

Apparently, the apartment was $22 per night and if shared between Chino and I, it would have been $11 per night per person. I did not receive this information from anyone. I should have received this information in the very beginning from the owner herself, however, since she does not speak English; maximiliano was responsible in passing the information and not Yuka. Yuka was a friend, she was not paid to be the spoke person. Unfortunately, she had to take the responsiblity because Maximiliano was either lazy or not competent enough to send a few emails. Maximiliano, I have been your friend for about 2 years now, and I must tell you that this is a very bad way to do business. The client/customer does not need to contact the owner for information, the information should be provided by you because you/ your mother are the one receiving the money. You should have communicated to both Chino and I in the beginning through either email or phone. Leaving me out of the negotiation was very unprofessional.

Yuka did take on the responsibility voluntarily so she also shared the responsibility in assuring that the customers (Chino and I) get all the information before we make any decision. The night before I left, Yuka ask me to give her the whole amount of money. We were in La Boca that night. My roommate Christina was with me when I asked Yuka " is it $17 per night PER PERSON??" Yuka answered yes. It was not. It was 17 dollars per night for the whole apartment, meaning I was the only one paying. I had no idea. I had no idea that Yuka was not paying, I had no idea that Chino was not paying some of it because she backed out. I had no idea that this was an unfair deal. I knew that I was paying for 4 weeks while I was only staying for 3, so I have no complaint about that. But I could have gotten a cheaper apartment if Chino has not backed out or if I knew that I was paying for everyone because Chino backed out, I could have gone with a better deal and a better place. I had contacts there too. Contacts with people who won't screw me over.

Chino, you lie without blinking and you think that you are so smart to fool everyone. You are the fool. PEople are not stupid as you think they are. People let you take advantage of them because they are tolerant, not because they are stupid. You said that you backed out because you heard that I wasnt going to stay anymore. Yuka told me that that wasn't the case. Everyone knows without a doubt that you decided not to stay because you wanted to stay wiht Jorge. Give me a break. Don't make me laugh with your fairytale. You also said that you cannot afford to pay $17 a night if I stayed somewhere else. Please, who bought 20 pairs of shoes in Comme il Faut? You spent almost twice as much on shoes than the rent that you COULD NOT AFFORD. The fact is, you breached a binding oral contract and I could easily take you to small claim court and sue you for it. But I am not going to do that because I have had enough of your lame excuses. You are not worth my time.

Maximiliano, I am just disappointed that you couldnt take care of a friend of yours. If I am not considered a friend, at least a customer.

The point is, all of you took advantage of me because of the fact that I have a family who can support me financially. But this was not about money. This was about the concept of fairness and the truth about friendship. Apparently, these concepts are not things you can understand...ever.

This time, I paid 500 dollars for an experience I cannot forget. It's a good learning experience, I don't regret it. I just hope that none of you will do this to other people again.

I dont want to talk about the rent again because it is in the past and I don't want to think about it every again.

Stacy

So yeah, that's the story...yuck!

posted by Chinese Fighting Fish @ 9:54 AM 0 comments