horse of a different color

Wilddogs:
I haven’t mentioned the wilddogs yet in my blog so I am very excited to share. The wilddogs are real and they really do chase you. Not only do they chase the humans but they chase the cars, buses, children, police cars, street vendors… well you get the jist. While in Santiago last week one of the fellow volunteers was bitten by a wilddog and had to be rushed to the emergency room immediately, where she received at least three different shots including a rabies vaccination… poor Andrea. Well, they are protecting the streets of Magallanes as well, these suckers aren’t playing either… some of them clear my hips (haha… like that’s supposed to make you think they’re tall or something). I just try to avoid them because I worry I may be mistaken for a play toy or maybe they’re onces.
I know the collectivos have been a large part of my blog thus far but I have a pretty humorous story.
Yesterday (ayer) I was feeling pretty confident in my directional sense (by suggesting I have directional sense from the beginning you gotta know where this is going). Well, me and my direction sense made it downtown with no problemos… I did a little shopping, checked out the Chocolatte Café (an entire Café dedicated to Chocolate, these people know what’s up). Any who, it was getting darker so I felt like my adventure time was over and it was time to head home. I stood on the street where the Collectivos run and like clockwork I was climbing inside for my second solo Collectivo ride.
Again, you don’t have to tell the drivers where you’re going just get off at your stop. I have learned the longer you can keep people fooled that you know what’s going on the better off you’ll be, which usually consists of me not speaking.
So, off we go… towards Argentina. Well, let’s be real I had no idea until about 15 min. into the ride that we were setting off toward the nearest mountain range and that it wasn’t the right direction. So, I call my teacher friend, Patty, briefly describe where I think I am and she immediately said “give the phone to the driver, Mary”. Well, the driver had been trying to talk to me prior to this but I had been ignoring him... still pretending to be the strong silent type. Well, that was shot to shit. The phone was handed back to me and I was told, by Patty, that the Collectivo driver had agreed to take me home. Well, for the next 15 minutes the driver proceeded to make phone calls to all his friends and explain/share a laugh with them over the “stupid Americano girl”. Shamefaced, when I arrived to my house I handed him 600 pesos (it’s only supposed to cost about 100). Patty came over shortly after my arrival home and told the family about my “adventure”. Mi papa then took to the dry erase board in our kitchen to explain collectivos and how they don’t all run on the same route … well NEWS-TO-ME.

I may write a book and entitle it The Adventure’s of Miss Merrette Lane… that is, if I ever got the nerve to share all of my horrific/hilarious/idiotic tales.

i love you