Strikes, strikes, and broken bikes

Again with the strikes! Yesterday I had one class, with 7 of 12 students showing. We actually did something productive. The other ones, though, didn't really happen. One class was with the professor, so I didn't have to go. In the other, three of 14 students came. I asked what they wanted to do, and they were excited to stay for the whole hour. So we played hangman and gave each other engigmas to solve on the board, then chatted about music for ten minutes. It was quite enjoyable.

Last night, while talking to that Farisian Mr. Faris, I saw from where I was across the street from the school students hopping the gate, and entering the school. It closes at 7pm, and this was about 7:30 or so. Then a whole bunch of police arrived. After they rounded up all of the students that entered the school and put them outside the gate, they started chanting and singing in front of the gates, holding up lighters in the waning evening light.

This morning, they blocked the school. I entered from the back door like I normally do, but it's locked so I had to wait for someone from the inside to open it for me. They are still out there now, being pretty peaceful but very loud. Apparently, some of the demonstrations in Paris have turned violent. If you don't read French, I'll translate this article later today and post it here. It seems as if the Prime Minister might go into negotiations to change the CPE, which is at least something. I'm sure I'll have time in my empty classrooms this afternoon to make a translation.

In bike news, the brand spanking new wheel and cassette I bought Wednesday broke today. The cassette plain fell of the wheel. Blah. It's the damn mechanic's fault, but that doesn't make it any easier to get all the way the hell out to the store where I bought it to get it fixed. Stuff breaks I suppose, or to wildly misuse the title of a book that has nothing to do with bikes, "Things Fall Apart".