smiles and tear gas

Today we got off the Transmilenio (city-wide bus system like a metro or subway, but at street-level) at Calle 72 and started walking up toward the colectivo (little bus to go out of the city to the farm) as always. J was asleep in my arms, after insisting that he wasn't tired and didn't want to sleep. I heard a noise like a gun shot further up, but wasn't sure what it was. There were people standing around in the medians and I realized that there were a lot of people in the road and sidewalks a few blocks up, right about where the colective leaves from. I heard some more shot sounds, but it was surprisingly hushed. Crossing the street, I noticed that the music store had two of its three large doors closed off, as though it were closed. A moment later, I felt a strange burning in my throat, which moved into my nose and even to my eyes. Tear gas. Turning back, I went into a grocery store. We needed bread anyways.
The explosions kept going off. There's a university on the 72, toward where we were heading. Asking the check-out ladies, they said that there was, as I had guessed, a demonstration having to do with the university students.
We made our purchase and I put more minutes on my phone, then left to figure out how to get home, since our normal route was out of question. The colectivos couldn't even get through there. By this point, J had woken up. I explained to him that there was a gas outside that could hurt our noses and throats and eyes, so we needed to cover up with my scarf, and we headed out, taking a taxi to the 85 to wait for the bus there. He said the police were "fea" (ugly, bad) and I said that the gas they were shooting was feo, but also whatever the students were doing was feo and a bad situation in general. Later he asked me if the police were good or bad. "I don't know," I told him. "Sometimes they do good things, and sometimes not."


Yesterday the kids went to see a play. I stayed behind to make lunch. A frequent visitor (street person) came by to pick up a Bible that one of my co-volunteers had sent for him. He ended up talking to me for about an hour and helping me clean out the cupboards that mice had gotten into. A few times I wondered if I should make him leave or if I could trust him or I just wanted to be alone again, but it turned out to be a really cool visit.

It looks like I'm going to do my YWAM school in March. Well, I haven't applied yet or anything, but that's what I'm feeling. I'm sad about it today. Other days I'm really excited! It's going to be hard to leave, even though I plan to come back after the 6-month school and outreach.