Revenge of the Gringa. . .

Something that I haven't mentioned both because its so frustrating and because I'm a little embarrassed and my poor decision. . . was the fact that I was fighting with the Spanish school in Tela to get my money back. Prior to my trip I had reserved 3 weeks at the school and hostel. I guess I knew myself well enough to have some idea that I may not decide to do the full time there so I was very clear with them about whether or not I could cancel early for a refund. I was told yes. I tried to pay just weekly, but they insisted that I pay in full. They assured me that if I had to go early, it would be no problem to get my money back. I knew in my heart that I shouldn't give them all my money. But, I did anyway. . . I still don't know why. Well, as you have read, it was a problem getting my money back and I left Tela almost $400 short of what I was owed. My teacher was fantastic and most of the staff at the hostel were great as well, but when it came time for that refund things got ugly. I was put off, lied to, told to meet at certain times and places for the rest of my money only to be left standing alone for hours. Finally, I made the decision to cut my losses and move on. . . determined not to have my experiences ruined by money. As always, I remembered what my mother often says, "at least its just money." Isn't that the truth? But, clearly, I don't just have $400 to throw away and I was extremely frustrated at how things were handled with me. Part of the money had been paid on my visa prior to the trip and so I tried calling them to find out about stopping the payment or retrieving the money somehow. I figured it was a long shot, but worth a try. Well, it was a breeze. I told the visa rep. exactly what happened and with no arguement was told that they would credit my card the money back due to the fact that services were not rendered and the cancellation policy was not upheld. It is now up to the spanish school to provide documentation that the services were rendered. . . which they cannot do. I was relieved, but still thought I'd wait to see if the credit actually appeared back on my card. Well, today I checked and there it was. $342, just a few buck shy of what was owed back to me is now back in my hands. Thanks for the help visa!