#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main() {
int n;
cin >> n;
int a[50007];
for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
cin >> a[i];
}
int result1 = 0;
bool prev = false;
for (int i = 1; i < n; i++) {
if (i % 2 == 0) {
if (a[i - 1] >= a[i] && !prev) {
result1++;
prev = true;
} else {
prev = false;
}
} else {
if (a[i - 1] <= a[i] && !prev) {
result1++;
prev = true;
} else {
prev = false;
}
}
}
int result2 = 0;
prev = false;
for (int i = 1; i < n; i++) {
if (i % 2 == 1) {
if (a[i-1] >= a[i] && !prev) {
result2++;
prev = true;
} else {
prev = false;
}
} else {
if (a[i-1] <= a[i] && !prev) {
result2++;
prev = true;
} else {
prev = false;
}
}
}
cout << min(result1, result2) << endl;
return 0;
}