Let me begin my story by telling you what I experienced and then I will tell you what I learned in the following days was actually happening. This is kind of a long story but I think it is interesting and a little exciting, so I would love for you to take the time to read it.

The other night I was heading home from another part of the city during rush hour. I had to change metro lines so I got off one train and started to make my way to the next platform which is about a 5 min walk in the underground. I noticed an unusual amount of security around and also that they were blocking off one of the exits to leave the station and go above ground. I didn't really think much of it and I went on my way.

As I was making my way through the crowds to my next platform I noticed an unusual amount of people coughing. Now it is fall and people are sick, but this was too many people to just be cold season. Then I began to feel a tickle in my throat. I thought it was really strange, but no one else around me seemed worried and they all just kept walking so I did too. As I followed my usual path people started coughing more and I could no longer ignore the now burning sensation in my throat that was moving to my nose and the strange smell. But again, besides coughing and covering their mouth's, no one seemed worried so I did not worry either. I thought to myself that maybe something happened with one of the trains because it smelled like something burning, like rubber maybe.

As I waited for the train the smell got worse and worse until my eyes started burning and I was hoping the train would come quickly. Other people's eyes were watering pretty badly but some of them were laughing. "Strange" I thought. While standing on the platform I made eye contact with a nice looking old man and he asked me if there was a fight above ground. I said I didn't know and I really was mainly thinking how proud I was that he would address me in Spanish and think I might know something. It was not until I got on the train that I thought "maybe there was a fight!"

I made my way home and was making dinner when I got a call from teammates Reid and Mer. They asked if I was home and if they could come over and they would explain what was going on. At this moment I heard it. There was an obviously big protest going on and they were marching down the street behind me, Reid and Mer's street, and it all clicked. A protest! I said of course they could come over. They had been outside on the street and were not wanting to try and make it to their building so they came to mine and waited it out. It did not take long for it to pass but as they were at my place we looked it up on the internet and sure enough, there were major protests happening all over the country and I had been right underneath it and didn't even know it!

Apparently there were 7000+ people at what is called Plaza Italia in Santiago, which is right above the metro stop I was at when I felt the burning. They were protesting the announcement that the president had just made to build 5 dams in the southern part of the country. From what I can tell, one side of the issue is that dams provide clean, hydroelectric power which is something this highly polluted and running low on power country needs. On the other side, dams have great ecological effects on their surrounding environment, not to mention the thousands of people's homes that would be flooded out to make the lakes. I am not taking sides, but these people at the protests were not happy. I could not understand all the chants but one of them is "Patagonia sin represas," which is what most of the signs say as well. This means Patagonia (the southern area of the country) without dams.

I am not sure how protests in Chile usually go but the police were ready for this one to get out of hand. They brought out their riot buses, had on their riot gear and began to spray the crowds with huge water trucks. When this was not enough, they threw tear gas into the crowds. This explains the burning in my throat, does it not?

I tried to find a good video to show you what happened. I do not think anyone was attempting to be too violent at first because they seem to just be chanting and waving signs and stuff, but with 7000 people in a small area, things can get out of hand fast. I guess this is why the spraying and tear gas began, to break up the crowds. Do not feel the need to watch the whole thing, but if you do, when they throw the tear gas and people run down some stairs and try to get down, that's me below there, in the metro.



It was quite an experience and really funny that I did not even know what was happening until after the fact, but it might not have been as funny if I had been above ground when all of that was happening. I asked my tutor how we are supposed to know these things are happening and he just said to watch the news. Maybe I'll do that when I have a real TV.