Paro, toma, volcanoes, ¡oh my!

Hello blog readers!
So before I get started on this entry, I have to make a few shout outs. First of all, Blogger lets me see cool things like how many people visit my blog, what entries are visited the most, and even what country you readers are coming from! So with this information, I noticed an interesting increase in readers from the Dominican Republic and from Mexico. Great! Bienvenidos :)

Anyway, lets get back to Chile.

After Nathan left last week I was determined to check back into the school mindset. I realized I only had about a month left of classes and a few tests before thing would be wrapping up. So I needed to work. But, of course things can't ever be that simple. Last Wednesday, June 1st, my university here went into Paro. Which essentially means 'strike'. The students have various demands about how their education should be treated and are expressing their emotions and opinions about proposals to change the public education system. There are quite a few reasons why the students are doing this, but what is really came down to that day was No School. Great.
To make things even more interesting, the students from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso decided that a Paro wasn't making a large enough statement, so they continued into a Toma. Spanish lesson: tomar= to take. So a Toma is where they literally take the university buildings into their control. They fill the building and basically have a good old fashioned sit-in. And there they stay until the matter is resolved. This has happened before and has been known to be drawn out for months. Should be interesting to observe here as my stay in Valpo continues.

Here is the main building of the university, La Casa Central. It is covered with signs and banners about  the  Toma

As far as my classes go, 3 of the 5 continue as normal, since they are part of the foreign exchange program and aren't involved with the other student's actions. The other 2? Well they are just up in the air right now. Hostly, at this point, I am not sure what will happen with them. Either way, my semester ends mid July, so it has to be sorted out by then, even if it is just on my own individual level. I'll be sure to keep you guys updated on that situation.

Here is another building, Gimpert, under Toma...

Did I mention that my semester ends mid July? Like, next month. My time here in Chile is wrapping up and before I know it I will be back in Colorado summer getting ready for an intense semester at CU. But, bet not to think too much about that, and really take advantage of what I have here. For example, this morning I got myself up early and went down to the local farmers market to check out the goods :)

On the non academic front of things, this seismic country is active again. Down south, a Volcano in Puyehue has erupted, spewing ash and smoke high into the air. While I have not been directly affected where I am, some 400 miles away, lots of airports and border crossings with Argentina have been closed. It is interesting to hear of the news going on down there since I actually know where it is and have seen that range of volcanoes and mountains.

Like I said, I still have some classes to attend and the end of the semester is nearing, so that means it is time to get some papers written!
Wish me luck.

With love,
Matt