Nerenberg Sabbatical in Chile 2011-2012: Note to self - listen/read the news before heading downtown

The kids are in school now full-time, my work crunch is over, so I decided to go downtown and do a few things that I have been meaning to do including a tour of the municipal theater and a walk through a neighborhood close to downtown (Calles Paris y Londres - much better photos than I would ever take!). When I got off of the Metro I did a double-take because I noticed more Caribaneros (policemen) than usual gathered at the top of the station. I walked over to the theater and noticed a group of teenagers marching with a flag that said INBA (I later learned that they were from a prestigious public school Internado Nacional Barros Arana).

I had a wonderful private tour including the set design studios, the back-stage manual pulley system to change scenes and the mechanism to raise and lower parts of the stage and orchestra pit (I sound like an engineer). I then did a quick tour through Calles Paris y Londres and started for the Metro station called Universidad de Chile. Not a good plan. I turned the corner and was met by protesting students, tear gas, and water cannons. Marcela (my Nana) told me the water canon truck is named El Guanaco, I assume, for the animal that spits when it is angry (had that happen to me with a llama - not quite the same). I quickly covered my eyes and ran into a hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant where I chatted, in Spanish, with the Chinese waiters - an experience in itself. I eventually just ran for it down into the Metro station and headed far away with my eyes still burning. Guess the students are protesting again! Actually they didn't strike me as much as students as the ones from INBA - rumors have it that young people are jumping in and causing more problems than the students themselves.