Back in Santiago

I arrived back in Santiago last Friday, and it feels good to be back.

My time back has been spent unpacking, settling back in, and starting up my classes again.  I went to a barbecue where I got to meet some new arrivals in Chile including a woman who has been reading my blog for over a year now, and it was cool getting to connect with her.

And what would Santiago be without a protest?  On Thursday morning I was taking the bus into downtown when it didn't make its usual turn up one of the main streets.  At first I didn't think anything of it, and it went parallel up one of the side streets.  But after a few blocks instead of going straight it made a right turn and then another right turn.  So now we were heading back in the direction from which we came.  I asked the guy sitting next to me what was going on and he said one word to me: Protestas. 


So I got off the bus and called the office to let them know what was happening, and then I began the trek to the office on foot.  Luckily I didn't have any classes until 2:00 and it was about 10:45 at the time, so I wasn't in a rush.  It's supposed to be spring now, but temperatures have been above 90 for the past week.  Fortunately I was able to walk in the shade for most of the half hour walk to the office.

Later in the day I heard from one of my bosses that she was teargassed while eating her lunch outside.  I didn't see any signs of protesters or police when I went to classes, but they must have popped up afterwards.

Here's a new article in English that I found about the most recent protest:

http://www.santiagotimes.cl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=23559:first-march-of-the-school-year-incites-violence-in-santiago&catid=59:education-news&Itemid=132

That's all for now.  Have a Happy Saint Patty's Day everyone!