Wow, What a Day

Crazy, that is the word I would use to describe today.

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So yesterday there was a big assemble for all the students to further debate were or not to go on strike. After several arguments, some of them getting heated. The decision was decided that something needed to be done tomorrow but also another assembly was needed on Wednesday.

After the meeting I went on another hike. It was only a mini one but I discovered yet another new place to hike. Chambery is absolutely packed with hiking trails shooting off into all directions. Latter, I met up with a Japanese friend and had a little English time with her because she was trying to catch up on some of her English. We talked about everything from television, to music, to Japan to America. It was overall really fun. A nice day but completely different from the next day.

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Today. The day started off with going to campus and hearing from my Mexican friend that the majority of the buildings on campus were closed and blocked off. So it looks like the student greve has been set into motion. We had class still because the international classes and law classes still continue when ever there is a strike on campus.

For lunch I ate a good old American style pork and potatoes lunch and my friends house. Afterwards we went to see the greve. And oh what a greve it was. I arrived on the scene with my Russian comrade and we were greeting by a lot of noise, smoke and fire and the flashing lights of police cars.

There were hundreds off people gathered outside of the court house with a good chunk of them wielding signs of protest. There were many any people protesting today basically because the presidents reform plan for the country is packed with issues that the people are not happy with. There were everyone from railway workers, to lawyers, to students all rallying for a massive protest. Pretty soon the massive crowd of people took to the streets and started marching their way all over town. Stopping traffic and generally everything in their tracks.

There was all sorts of action going on. Some people were carrying torches while others were wielding massive signs with political messages. There were also several "grevemobiles" with speakers on top either playing music or having people yell out things over a loudspeaker.

I have never seen anything like it. It is kind of like if you combine a parade with a bunch of football fans with a message to tell the government. The result: a lot of people making a huge statement.

The sounds in the air were filled with what could be confused with gun shorts but it was a continuing barrage of firecrackers. People were chanting, and yelling, singing and shouting. The sky was continuously filled with smoke from various torches and flares. Combined with the flashing lights from the police cars there was a tense atmosphere in the air.

There were all sorts of characters in the crowd ranging from families to, tipsy hippies, to businessmen. A few friends and myself were running around taking many many photographs of the entire occasion. At points we were wondering if there was going to be a riot because there the police locked themselves in the area of the castle with riot gear at there feet in case they needed it. The was definitely some really tense moments but overall the scene maintained a balance between not quite violent but not really peaceful at the same time. The kind of energy which is produced when a statement must be made.

Eventually the various sections of protesters started to branch out and go there own directions, but definitely there was an impact on the energy of the city. Myself and my American number one met up again and eventually we met up with our Brazilian and Mexican amies at a cafe and discussed the days events.

People eventually departed but on the way back it seemed that the general chaos of the day was not quite finished. We were walking back towards the elephants and there was a whole lot of firetrucks and pompiers running gathering about. We went to see what all the action was and it turned out that there was a fire in one of the that apartment complexes nearby. There were loads of firefighters gathering around and organizing for a plan of approach. We took some more pictures and went to checkout around back there firefighters in the back were all organizing to rescue a woman from the top level of the building.

The overall atmosphere of the firefights was not a sense of urgency but rather careful planning and strategic decision making. We talked to a police officer and he let us go in for a closer look. Overall it was all had a sense of surreality to it. The firefighters seemed to have most things under control and weren't too rushed about putting the fire out. They didn't seemed worried so I trust that they knew what they were doing.

We eventually left the scene and made our way back towards home. Once I arrived home the power on the entire block was out. Mme J was aggravated by the situation but I told her about the fire and she continued to figure out how to fix this problem with the lights. After many phone calls we found out the the problem with the electricity was being fixed. We also figured out that the firefighters were doing a practice run in the center city which is why they ultimately lacked a sense of urgency. Yet overall the practice run was pretty impressive.

Now I am just wondering what is next in the life of Chambery. Everyday is a new adventure and a new discovery.