rain, protests, and people watching

monday was the first full day of rain that i have experienced during my travels. it was actually quite nice to have a day to ´catch up´ on everything. the rain day gave me a nice opportunity to catch up on replying to emails, laundry, and packing for brazil. needless to say, not a whole lot was accomplished. I even turned the tv on for the first time since i left canada. i was surprised to find three english channels showing re-runs of american shows. the one channel seemed to be devoted to the CSI program.

the rain did not stop students from the universidad de chile from their demonstrations. the university is just around the corner from my hostel. students drapped banners and posters from university buildings, handed out information, and chanted all day in the rain. based on my basic spanish reading capabilities, the protest is based on rising tutition and entranance fees. as i was wet from my walk around this afternoon, i sat on a bench and watch you people passing by acknowledged the protesting students. this turned out to be one of the highlights of my day. as people came up from the metro station, students would present phamphlets. many people avoided making eye contact, others forged ahead, some politely took the phamphlet, and a few became engaged. it was the people who avoided eye contact and tried to ignore the protestors that i got a kick out of. people would speed up their walking pace, others would pretend that they could not hear the large booming speakers, and others would just stare at the sky as they walked by. i probably sat on the bench (in the rain) for 20 minutes watching the reaction of people. i know this might sound odd, but it was quite enjoyable for my last day in chile. tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn ... actually before dawn, i will depart for rio de janeiro, brazil. by lunch time i will be enjoying the beaches of copacabana.