Bomba Lacrimogena

So the paro continues, for lets see... what is about the third week, I guess. Oh and today the students took over several of the buildings, which means we can't even enter them. Now that just blows my mind, haha. Also we have a long weekend this weekend... Thursday is a federal holiday and Friday most departments cancel classes, also. Ok out of the four sentences I have written so far I have almost used a Spanish word in place of another word about four times. I guess that's a good sign.

[Above (sorry for the misplaced caption)]One of the many signs announcing the paro that students have posted through the Casa Central. "Te Desafío," it says. "I defy you."

Anyways, as I was walking to class today at about 2, traffic was stopped as students were protesting in the street. I was already late to class so I hurried past. I got out at about 3:30 and hung around outside. At this point there was still action but not as much. I went inside to check my email, then headed back out and inhaled a bunch of tear gas. The funny thing was that it smelled more like the remains of tear gas... And I
definitely wasn't smelling it five minutes before. Maybe it was
sprayed far away and finally made it's way over to the Casa Central, but shoot. My eyes watered and my nose ran and I still have a headache.

More signs all through the Casa Central showing different departments protesting together, etc. >>>

Anyways... this guy in my journalism class told me today that he thinks I'm pretty much fluent. HA! ok... IF that's what he thinks, haha.... I'm good with that. He says he always understands what I say and that he thinks I usually understand what he says. Which is true, for some reason I can understand this guy almost perfectly. No exaggeration. I still don't understand why home is so different. Home is almost hardcore Spanish. I almost always understand the majority of what Marcela tells me, but like her kids are sometimes harder to understand. maybe it's because they speak with more Chileanismos. So I hung out with this guy today after one of my classes and we walked around Cerro Concepción. I just can't get over the beauty of that neighborhood. I wish everyone could see it. The murals, the different colored buildings. The whole neighborhood is like a community art project. Actually, it's safe to say all of Valpo is a community art project. I want so badly to live in an apartment in that cerro and to always be able to walk around, discovering new murals, hidden cafés, daily drinking in the view of the ocean, and wandering through colorful alleyways. I could live there forever if it wasn't so dang far away.

He told me how if a muralist wants to paint in a general area, he'll check with the neighbors. Knocking on door to door asking if the proposed mural would be to their liking. After getting the neighbors' approval... the muralist paints all day for several days, just painting and tomando cerveza. He alsowalked me past steps that he had painted as a kid with his uncle. I don't know. It just seems so cool to be able to say, oh I contributed to the uniqueness of this place.

Well, I am super excited because I'm going to the Isla de Chiloé this weekend. I hear it's just a completely different part of Chile, about a 15-hour bus ride South of Valpo/Viña, and then we'll have to take a ferry over to the island. I'll take several pictures of course. One thing I've heard is that this place is like stepping back in time. And the people, so I've heard, invite you into their homes for lunch, to stay, to tomar once, after just knowing you for a few minutes. "Sin exageración," I've been told.

Oh, I guess I can also share that we went to Pablo Neruda's third house in Chile and his favorite, Isla Negra, on Saturday. It's on the water, absolutely beautiful. Oh and he had some insane collections of insects, sea shells, pipes (of all things, haha.... and he had TONS), sculptures from all over the world, oh and hm... I can't even remember the word, but they are the figures that are in front of ships, usually female figures. Anyways, Pablo had a ton of those. I don't have a ton of pictures... but there are some on my facebook...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2232147&l=d20c9&id=27415785

I miss everyone so much. Now I'm off to reading and falling asleep to the rain. Besos.