Los estudiantes de Universidad Austral de Chile.

Today was very interesting for me. I did not really do anything until about 2 p.m. After lunch I left my house to meet up with a friend of mine, so I could practice speaking Spanish. On my way there, I noticed a crowd of students blocking the university's entry. This was not the first time that I saw this. On Monday, classes were canceled because the students were striking. They were on strike because they were promised a new building, and when the university did not start working on it, they protested.

It was different today, though. There were more students spread out all over the place, and police lined up ready to take some kind of action. In Chile, it is against the law for the police to enter the campus property. So the police were standing there, waiting. Plus, they had these huge van/trucks vehicles. I did not know what they were for until later.

There was one student who had a megaphone and was shouting something, but I could not quite make it out. As I walked by, I saw the group of students I met earlier this semester. I stopped to talk to them and find out what was going on. I knew there was a strike, but I did not know what it was for. They told me that the price for the buses was going up and it was too expensive, so the students were blocking the entrance to the university so the buses could not get through.

We continued to talk about classes and the strike, when all of a sudden they told me to run. So I did. I ran with one of the girls that I was talking to. I happened to be wearing flip-flops today, too, not a good idea. While we were running I looked back. It was then that I figured out what the trucks were for. They had water in them. The police had these huge hoses that they used to spray water at the protesters. I imagine that the water hit with such a force that the students will have bruises in the morning. We stopped running and the rest of the group caught up with us.

They all laughed at me because when they told me to run, I ran like a madman. They had a good laugh about my flip-flops, too. While we were laughing about my reaction, some students started throwing rocks. They started to run because the police sprayed tear gas. I had students running past me with red eyes, wet clothes, and their hands over their mouths.

It was a lot to take in. No one was seriously injured. One girl fell while running, because so many people ran all at once. Other than red eyes and irritated noses, most of the students were fine. I do not think what happened today will deter the students from protesting later. It was really interesting, and as weird as it may sound, I am glad that I was there to experience it. Nothing like this ever happens on my campus at Central. Not to mention it is good to know that they do not want to be pushed around. It definitely speaks volumes when a large group of people get together to protest something they feel so strongly about. It sure was something to be a part of, and I will never forget it.

Chao for now.
Sarah