As others have suggested, some people – especially women, and especially young women – have been socialized out of standing up for themselves or have a deep fear of what they’d see as a confrontation or conflict (even if it isn’t) and so will avoid or withdraw from situations rather than deal with them directly. I’m someone who suffered this when I was a young woman and have known many others. I’ve recovered but it took me until middle age!
One factor is how you were raised, including if you had emotional or other abuse in your home and were controlled and criticized. If so, something that other people might deal with easily can feel traumatizing and too scary to deal with directly.
As the saying goes, every person you meet is going through struggles that are invisible to you. What seems easy to us can feel impossible to other people and vice versa. As others said, it’s great that you were able to be understanding about this.
@ABGM, we bought one from Amazon US when visiting there last winter. We did not find any known brands. Bought one - sent it back. Bought another - seemed to work - it certainly has found ‘recording devices’ (Google Home, Amazon Echo/Alexa, etc)
No product recommendation or warranty is suggested. I have no relationship with related company. But, in case helpful, we bought the “Kizzox K16 Pro Hidden Camera Detector”. We chose this partly as it had a rechargeable battery and USB-C connectivity (we travel with limited luggage so try to avoid batteries and proprietary cables).
Didn’t clarify, but just decided to spend time away from the house?
The responsibility she accepted was to care for your home and pets and I’d be pretty annoyed if she didn’t fulfil that responsibility because she just didn’t clarify a simple issue.
The time to ask about and discuss the possibility of cameras on the property (inside or out) is during the interview. I feel if the HO uses them, a lot of concern and confusion can be avoided by bringing up their presence in the interviews and preset discussions. I also feel it is prudent for the potential sitter to ask in the presit stages of conversation.
I agree that empathy for what others are going through is a great quality. In this case, the homeowner has empathy for the sitter and the pain she must have been in during those days of feeling like she was being watched when she wasn’t. But the homeowner also feels “bad” like somehow this is on her, and it’s not. The sitter is withholding something – a review – from the homeowner because the sitter believes that she was harmed (watched without her permission by cameras) which if we believe the homeowner didn’t happen.
The thing about carrying this kind of baggage is that sometimes the baggage you carry hits other beings causing them to suffer. In this case the sitter is withholding a review of the sit because of her percepton that she was being watched. There’s no explanation or excuse that the sitter will accept. She’s been told it was a toy. Even if the homeowner sends her the specs, the sitter is not going to change her mind.
We all do have our own journeys. Everyone is recovering from something, but as adults we learn to check out our perceptions with others.
In this case I’ll admit to feeling a greater empathy for the homeowner because in my personal journey the feeling of being held responsible for stuff I didn’t do was a big part of the narrative. I didn’t always have a chance to defend myself before singled out for blame. I don’t want to relive that when I come back to my home after travel.