Four... strikes and you're out?

If there was one thing that I would love to understand, it would have to be the amount of striking in Chile. For those of you that don't know, within the past month that I have been in this country, there have been at least four different groups of people protesting. Four! That is more in one month than I have seen in my entire life in the United States. The protests come in different forms: first is the manifestation that seems to be the most peaceful type. The people protesting go out and dance and sing in public, and express the frustration towards the government in order to get what they want. The second type would be the riots, which thankfully none have happened here in Valpo since I have been here. 

Before I had even arrived to Chile, I knew that this country was very passionate about having a voice in their government. However, I had not realized the extent of the passion. The most known group of people on strike would be the students. Their kind of striking is just not going to classes and some manifestations, which I haven't seen, in an attempt to voice their opinion on free and equal education, and understandable reason to want change. The students had began striking before I had arrived in Chile, so I was not too worried about them so much. The next group of strikers that were noticed were the people striking Ripley, a large department store that is here in Chile. I am not even really sure why they were striking, but the way they were striking was the most bizarre thing to experience. There wasn't any picketing. They were singing and dancing, trying to have a good time while voicing their opinion. I was thoroughly confused because I guess I had never seen anything like it before. It was definitely an interesting sight to see. The next group of people to start picketing were the postal service workers. They have been picketing since about the second week of me being in the country. Now, the postal service has been the most vocal group that I have seen. They stopped going to work, closed the shops, and went out to the streets and started to picket. They have been on strike for almost a month, but went off strike late this week. But once one group stops picketing, the next group decides start picketing. So, the next group that is now picketing is Chile's Registro Civil. This is where everyone goes to get their Chilean IDs, which is important for international students because we need them in order to leave the country. My luck with the picket timing is just horrid because I have been waiting for a package for over a month now, and the day the Registro Civil started striking I tried to go to their office. 

It has been frustrating trying to get things done, but it is understandable that these people want to have a voice in their government (If you do not know the history of Chile, search about the dictatorship of Pinochet starting with September 11, 1973). Since the postal service has stopped picketing, hopefully I will get my package soon, and as far as the Registro Civil, hopefully they will stop picketing soon so I can start planning to go to Argentina in December.