On Saturday I spent the afternoon with Chilean students and summer project students. We went to La Moneda, which is like the capital building and went to Bellavista, a part of town with lots of places to hang out. Joel is a project student who happens to be a dance instructor. He surprised the Chileans by inviting them to dance in the street. It was a fun afternoon hanging out with students and building friendships. I had a few of the project staff over for dinner that evening.
Most people aren't dancing in the streets, more like protesting in the streets. Tonight as I went to buy groceries I got a good dose of teargas. Classes are still suspended at USACH and many other schools. Protests will likely continue most of the week. They are usually not too violent. But if they are not authorized by the government the police do break them up with force. They have these big trucks that spray water on the crowd. Chileans call it the guanaco, which is an animal like a llama that spits a lot. Rumor has it that they use sewage water. But I took this foto of them filling up at the fire-hydrant on the corner by my apartment building.
We will have to be extra creative as we try to keep moving forward in establishing a movement during this last month of the fall semester.
