VICKY

Oh, how to describe this situation.. Basically since the first night I got to my homestay, I have been tortured by the sounds coming from next door. Over the past 2 months I have come to understand what is going on a little more, since the neighbors live behind a fence that I can't see through.
So at first, all I can hear all day and all night is this old woman screetching "VICKYYY VICKY vickyvickyvicky venga vickyyyy SALGA SALGA VICKY NO NO NO VICKY NO VENGA come vicky come NO VICKY NO pero COMO vicky, como me hace eso vicky, VENGA VICKY, ay como me das RABIA VICKY VENGA NO NO NO" which if you don't speak spanish is basically just a long tirade of yelling and screaming at this dog, vicky, talking to her constantly. So I thought Vicky was obviously a very bad, bad dog. I mean, the old woman is screaming at the top of her lungs day in and day out, waking me up, starting at 7 am and finishing at 2 am. Even the earplugs don't help. Then to top it off, I think I can hear the old woman snoring every night through my open window.
So you know I don't belive in hunting, but for weeks I fantasized about killing this stupid little white fluffy yappy dog. Would I sneak poison inside meat and leave it inside the fence? Would I pull her through the fence and set her free? I was constantly contemplating the death of this thing so that I could get some sleep.
Eventually I learn that there is not 1 dog, but 2. One white fluffy yappy whose name is actually Julio, then a big ugly bulldog who is the famed VICKY. And it turns out, the old lady is really sweet, and it is her daughter who is yelling at the top of her lungs. Another day, I am walking by and what do I see.. puppies!!!!!!!!!! So I ask my host mom to ask for one, and spend the day with a little bulldog puppy. Yes, these are the offspring of the devil Vicky, but how can you hate a puppy? And as it turns out, Vicky is not a bad dog, the woman just has an insane rage towards the dogs who are just laying there doing nothing. So the puppies are so cute, and finally when I saw behind the neighbor's walls, I realized I had the situation wrong, I guess. But that doesn't mean that I'm not going insane in this room listening to the monologue of rage towards innocent dogs, and then the dog Vicky snoring through my window every night.

Hence, my decision to move into an apartment. Granted it wasn't all the neighbor's fault, but you would literally go insane listening to this craziness next door!!! My host family was wonderful, but it just really wasn't what I wanted my experience to be. Having to be accountable for when I was coming home, what I wanted to eat, where I was going, getting told all sorts of things that I knew, etc.. I have to go!!! I already have a wonderful family back in Austin, and there is no use in trying to find someone who can compare :) So, my friend Jenna and I went apartment hunting on Saturday. Funny story- we are given an address that is 0270 Bellavista. So naturally, we think, the 0 in front doesn't matter. So we head left towards 270 Bellavista, knock on the door, and 5 minutes later a guy comes down and looks at us blankly. "Ummm, vinimos a ver la pieza?" Ahh, si, he says, and shows us upstairs. The building is old and kinda dark, and he shows us several rooms that are also dark and dingy. So, we say thanks, and leave. One minute later a guy calls me on my cell and asks if we're still coming by to look at the rooms. "No, we were just there?" And he says how were you just here if i'm here and you're not? I told him we were at 270 and hes like noooo, 0270!!! And starts cracking up. SO, apparently we just wandered into some random person's apartment, who happened to have 2 rooms open, thank god we didn't get into some trouble there... Then we looked at the RIGHT house and it was pretty cool but seemed like the people there liked to get too wild for us school students. We looked at several other places, walking all around the city, and they were all so-so. Then it came time for our last place, our last hope. It was an old building with a marble staircase. We opened the door and were greeted with the smell of insence. The guy, Rodrigo, invites us to sit down for tea in his living room that is breezy and decorated with art. We chat for a while about various things, and then he shows us the big, cute rooms painted green with queen beds, and the stocked kitchen where he loves to cook. The place has a really good vibe to it!! And you could tell Rodrigo is a really down to earth, relaxed, chill, lively and organic guy. We talked about all sorts of things, and finally at the end of the day this place felt right! The apartment is in a great location, downtown, 3 blocks from the presidential palace, close to my favorite neighborhoods, walking distance from school, etc. And Rodrigo seems to know all the best places to go. So I am super excited to move in after spring break!!!!! Woohooo!!!

Tomorrow we leave for our grand adventure to the south! Thursday night we're taking a bus to Puerto Varas, which is in the lakes region of Chile, where we are going to do canyoning and some other activities. Then fly even further south to Patagonia and Puerto Natales, where we are going to do a 5 day treck through Torres Del Paine. I am so so so soooo excited to see Patagonia, to treck, and just to see all the incredible sights to be seen!!! Then after the hike, we head to El Calafate Argentina to spend time in Argentine Patagonia, then fly on Monday morning to Buenos Aires for a week!!! Woohooo!!! I'll update from the south, but wow I am truly looking forward to it. And when I get back, it's bye,bye Vicky!