I was taught not to use the word HATE, but....

Hola Todos,

Hey Guys, how are you? Well, today got off to a rought start....I woke up with Anna and got ready for the day and then walked her to school. Since I am not teaching because of the teachers strike I went to the Public Library as has been my custom for the last week or so. Well, I arrived at the Library a bit before it opened and decided to read a little while I waited. While I was getting ready to read a man who washes cars in the Library's parking lot informed me that the people who work at the Library are on STRIKE!!! That means that there is the national teacher's strike, a strike at the Deca supermarket near our house, a Library strike, AND while I was walking throught the plaza some other demonstration-strike that I have no knowledge of. That means 4 strikes all on the same day! Now, like I titled this blog post I was taught not to use the word "Hate" because of the weight that it carries, but I can honestly say that after living in Chile for over 7 months now I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE strikes!!! I understand that this is a developing country and that they are going through a lot of changes and difficulties that the U.S. went through in the past (with all of the workers strikes and unions forming), but I am just tired of being caught in the middle and having nothing to do. As a guy I feel like a bum and a drain on society when I am not working. Sure a break is great once in awhile because it refreshes you and helps you take a step back from the hectic pace of life, but when you have TOO much free time with not much to do it really wears on you. The Public Library here has been a haven for me the last week or so because it gave me something to do: read books in Spanish, learn about the Chilean culture (there are cool books about the food, places to travel, etc), and use the internet for free. Now for the next two days that is no longer available to me which is quite depressing.

So, if you get the chance please pray for the strike to end and that I would have a good attitude. I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.