Strike 3!

Fun Fact No. 56: Patch it up! With a bucket of water, an air hose, and some tar, you can patch up your tube for your motorcycle. Got a leak? They just fill it with air, put it under water to see where it bubbles, and then cover the whole with tar. Quick, easy, effective, and a mere S/. 2 (about 35 cents).

So today is the last day of a three day regional strike. The streets were once again filled with broken bottles, burning car and motorcycle tires, burning mattresses, tree trunks, trash, etc. Same reasons for a strike - no to federal taxes and yes to teachers´ pay hikes. Except that it´s really inefficient - it only causes people here to lose money, trash to accumulate in the streets, and the important politics in Lima to just ignore it all. It really only affects the people here instead of sending a strong message there. Oh the bitter ironies! The nice part is that it´s a bit of a vacation from the hustle and bustle of the city. No traffic, lots of volleyball and soccer games, and lots of time to work at home or go for long walks, of which I did both. Today I walked about 10 miles altogether and it felt great. Those of you who know me well know that I´m not a big walker. I prefer my bike or a run, and I´d normally rather run a marathon before walking a mile, but it really was terrific. I got some great interviews in and enjoyed the gorgeous weather these days - sunny but breezy, warm but not too warm.

And to top it off, Monica came over to spend the strike at our house where a new Finnish girl, Emilia moved in. So these past few days has been just girls (Graciela, Monica, Emilia, and yours truly) cooking and drinking wine and going for long walks. Sounds like a hot date, huh? It´s been great.

This past weekend I did nothing more than work on my motorcycle, listen to interviews, and sleep. For whatever reason I was super exhausted for about three days. At first I was afraid it was Dengue fever, but then I realized that I hadn´t been sleeping well and it was just cumulative exhaustion. As a result, I was super well-rested for this strike so I´ve been quite productive.

I feel like I have a million and one things to tell everyone but I can´t think of them right now. So I´ll write them on my computer at home and then get back to you. Happy Wednesday!