It's A Beautiful Day For A.....Huelga?

Today was a beautiful day in Toledo. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and it was sunny without being too hot. Perfect for sitting at a café and sipping on a tinto de verano during siesta break. Unfortunately, there was no sitting and sipping today, because almost every café in Toledo was closed. And the fish market. And the fruit stand where I've been buying naranjas rather frequently these days. And almost every other establishment in Toledo......and the rest of Spain as well. Today, 29 September 2010, was the Huelga General, a job strike throughout all of Spain.

Empty Zocodover, usually filled to the brim with hundreds of tables and tourists.

Last night I had to spend the night in the Fundación because all the bus drivers were going on strike. We had no way to get to school from Polígono this morning... and God forbid we miss a class! My host mom offered to drive me herself, but then we found out that the entrances into the city were going to be blocked by picketers. So all the residents of the Polygon (that's English for Polígono for those who can't make that connection) flocked to the Fund to set up camp for the night.

Apparently this morning there was a lot of commotion in La Plaza de Zocodover (main plaza in town), but I was stuck in class so unfortunately I missed it. By the time I got out of class to go take pictures of the action (yes, ok, I brought my camera...sorry I'm a nerd), all the protesters had cleared out and everything was just empty. Not gonna lie...I was kinda hoping for some riots. I was a little disappointed. From what I hear, the protests in Toledo were pretty tame. But in other parts of Spain it got violent! Police brutality against college protesters in Barcelona and Sevilla was mentioned a number of times.

Here is my basic understanding of the strike. We talked about it a lot today in my Econ class but the professor talks really fast (and he has braces and therefore a more exaggerated lisp) so I might have missed a few key points. But I think I got the main gist. There are two workers' organizations in Spain fighting for labor reform in regards to 1. contratos temporales (temporary job contracts) and 2. indemnización (severance pay for fired employees).

1. Most employees in Spain are hired on temporary contracts (as opposed to contratos fijos, or fixed contracts, meaning they can be fired any time. There is no security in these jobs because employees know that eventually the contract will run out...they just don't know when. The CCOO (Workers' Commission) and the UGT (General Workers' Union) are fighting to extend the temporary contracts into more permanent positions.
2. Until fairly recently, if a fixed contract employee was fired from a job, he or she was given 45 days of compensation for every year worked up to the time of termination. For example, if someone was fired from, say, Vodafone, after working there for 10 years, they would be given 450 days of full compensation. That's more than a year's worth of salary! The law was recently changed to lower the number from 45 to 33 days of compensation for every year worked. Workers are furious, but employers still aren't satisfied. Businesses are pushing for another change to make it 20 days of compensation instead of 33, but this change isn't likely. Honestly, either way, I am indifferent to this law. As far as I know, severance pay is not compulsory in the United States, and the amount of severance pay certainly is not regulated by federal law. Isn't it normal to give 1 or 2 months' pay to an employee being terminated? Enough to live on until they find a new job? 33 days for every year worked seems very excessive to me. Maybe I'm just too young and naive to see the benefits to this system. I've never had a full-time job so I'm sure my perspective is very different from the Spanish employees who think they're getting ripped off.
   

Both of my business class professors have said that this strike "no sirve para nada." It's not going to do any good, and no change will come from it. The laws have already been altered, and the government is not going to change them again. It seems to have been a pointless effort--a small, after-the-fact, last-ditch, gung-ho, giveittheoldcollegetry kind of thing. But I certainly have learned a lot about Spain today. Spain seems to be a bit....slow...when it comes to politics and governmental advancements. Maybe to make a difference in the laws the strike should have been planned for before the elections or before the laws were changed. The strike really isn't going to make much of a difference now. The only two things the huelga accomplished today were these:

1. Let us have a sleepover in the Fundación.
2. Make the streets smell with all the trash that wasn't picked up by the striking garbage collectors.

I'm Too Tall For Spain

Birthday Weekend was a rousing success! Thursday night (actual birthday night) began with a family dinner at home. All the aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents came over for dinner and cake. And I got two presents! A pair of earrings from my host mom and sister, and a scarf from tía Emma. Now I have to figure out how to express my gratitude in a thank you note...might be difficult.

Birthday dinner with host fam.

Of course family time was followed by the real celebration...a night out on the town in Toledo.

Is there any other way to celebrate turning 21?

After recovering on Friday morning, my art class went to Madrid to study the Greco and Velasquez paintings at the Prado. We have been studying El Greco in the last few weeks and are moving on to Velasquez soon so it was so cool to see up close the paintings we've only seen on a projector screen so far.

After the Prado, we hopped on a bus to Valencia. The four-ish-hour bus ride was a little rough, but we finally made it to the east coast around midnight and went straight to bed at the hostel. Good thing, though, because Saturday was jam-packed with a smorgasbord of activities! We walked from our hostel through the River Park to the Arts and Sciences Museum. Along the way we discovered what we thought was a lime tree. Turns out they were DIS.GUS.TING. Like, probably semi-poisonous disgusting.

Fresh fruit fail.

The museums were SO COOL. I felt like I was on another planet...definitely not in Kansas anymore. I couldn't decide which pictures to post, so decide for yourself which one is your favorite!

Another Valencian gem: the Gulliver park. We found this playground that was a GIANT Gulliver covered in slides and ropes and other playground-esque things. It was AWESOME. We were the oldest ones there, but whatever. Those kids can deal. We just wanted to slide down one time! Get over it.


After our educational/childlike morning, we went to the beach. It was very necessary. You can't go to a coastal town in Spain and NOT go to the beach. You just can't. We found a café along the beach where we ate Paella Valenciana and then hit the sand to tomar the sol and lounge around for the rest of the afternoon. I did get a little tostada, but....whatever. I'm in Spain. I'm allowed to get a little color. Just a tiny bit.

I absolutely love Valencia. It was a pretty big city, but it didn't have the hurried, bustling feel of Madrid. It was calmer, definitely más bonita, and more personable. If I had more weekends to travel I'd definitely go back!

Also, I have realized that I am too tall for Spain. Especially when I wear heels. Not cool.

Cumpleaños feliz...

...cumpleaños feliz! Te deseamos todos, cumpleaños feliz!

Señora C, aren't you proud that I remembered that??? In case you do not know what feliz cumpleaños means...........happy birthday to me! And to everyone else who was born on this glorious day in history. Especially William/Billy/Boy George/Ronnie Dunn, who is turning 24 which is not old. Today I am turning 21. Finally. Too bad it's totally not a big deal in Spain. In honor of my birthday Las Misses de España came to work and performed their awkward Miss Congeniality-esque dance in the plaza outside the Tourism office. I mean, they may or may not have been there only to practice for the Miss España Competition on Saturday, but still. Pretty darn special.

Plans for the rest of Birthday Weekend include a family dinner tonight complete with aunts, uncles and cousins, Madrid tomorrow to visit the Prado with my art class, and then VALENCIAAAAAA for the rest of the weekend. Birthday at the beach? Yes please.

As for tonight?

We rage.

Pobrecita Lola

I have created a spin-off list from TIHLALIS. It's called TIHLAL: Things I Have Learned About Lola. Despite what you may think, this list might actually be pretty long....

1. Lola loves my room. When there aren't any exchange students living my room, it belongs to her. Therefore, I think she feels like I'm intruding on her personal space. Whatever Lola, this room is MINE.

2. Lola really wants to go outside. She sits on all the window sills, staring longingly out at Polígono. We live on the 8th floor though, so hopefully she doesn't get too desperate.

3. Lola drinks mineral water. Apparently water from the grifo isn't good to drink, even for the cat. Raquel thinks this is ridiculous too. Pili compared the cat to the plant (which also gets mineral water) and Raquel asked her if she talks to the plant the way she talks to Lola. ¡Pues, por supuesto! ...obivously. As if there would be any other answer.

4. Lola has a ferret leash. And she HATES it. Pet stores don't sell cat leashes because cats are either house cats or street cats...they don't need to be walked. But Pili insisted that Lola needed a leash so she just got a ferret leash because I guess ferrets need to be walked so those things exist. She put it on Lola to show me tonight after dinner. It took about 10 minutes because Lola kept squirming out of her arms. Then once it was finally on Pili tried to walk her around the apartment. Lola refused. She laid down on the ground and curled into a ball. Then Pili tried to pull her along to make her walk, but instead Lola just stretched out into a long black rug, trying to escape the ferret leash. But it's one of those leashes that has one collar for the neck, another for the torso, and another piece to connect the two. Lola was not going to escape from that thing. When she was finally liberated again, she ran into my room. Typical.

Highlights and Lowlights

Highlights of today:

1. Las Misses de España came into the Tourism Office today! Las Misses are the Miss [insert American state here]s of Spain. I mean, they only came in to use the bathroom to freshen up after their photo shoot in the plaza, but still. They're, like, totally, like, famous. And also incredibly gorgeous. Kind of intimidating since I had rain hair and wet shoes. I forgot my umbrella today.
2. Also visiting the office was group of.....Notre Dame Alums!!! One man was wearing an ND hat so obviously we had to have a serious chat. We discussed football and dorm rooms and South Dining Hall for a solid 15 minutes before I got around to giving them their map and directing them to the nearest restaurant--even though it was only noon and here in Spain we eat lunch at 3. Those crazy Americans...eating so darn early in the day....
3. AMAZING SPAGHETTI FOR DINNER. Sorry, Mom. I have to admit it was kind of a little teensy bit better than yours. I'll get the recipe for you.
   

Lowlights:

1. It rained.
2. I'm getting a cold. Possibly related to Lowlight #1...maybe not. It's bearable right now, but if my nose doesn't clear up by Thursday (aka the beginning of BIRTHDAY WEEKEND), I will not be a happy camper.
3. Host sis Raquel and her boyfriend broke up. She has (understandably) been moping around the house for the last two days. It's awkward because the only potentially comforting words I know in Spanish are "que triste" and I don't think she wants to hear from me "how sad" her situation is.
   
4. There is cat hair on my bed. I accidentally left my door open again and when I turned on the light when I got home Lola ran out. Great.

TIHLALIS #10-14

10. No dryers = crispy clothes. I guess we are conserving water AND energy here in Spain. I can deal though. I'm just not a huge fan of hard, scratchy towels when I'm used to warm, fuzzy, mountain-river-scented, fresh-out-of-the-dryer blankets of goodness.

11. As much as I try to pretend I'm not American, everyone knows. I don't know how they know (perhaps my red hair is a dead giveaway?), but they just know.

12. Toothbrushes are sold in packages of 3. However, if you go to a chino (see TIHLALIS #13) and you only want to buy one toothbrush, they will open the package and sell you only one toothbrush. But then you have to walk around everywhere carrying only one toothbrush and you will get questioning looks from all the passersby.

13. Chinos. Convenience stores (conveniently open for 24 hours) located on almost every street. Primarily run by Chinese people, hence the name "chino." A bit racist, don't you think?

14. Constipado means "congested," not "constipated." Who would've thought?? I've been sniffling a lot today and when my host mom asked me if I was constipada I was quick to assure her that I wasn't. I finally figured it out when she asked me again and pointed to her nose. Sign language is key in this household.

Patience, Grasshoppers...

Ok everyone, enough already with the pestering about lack of blog posts! I'VE BEEN BUSY OK?? I haven't forgotten about you loyal readers...I've just been waiting to post only the best stories about life in Spain. I don't want to bore you with mundane tales--only the good ones.

Classes and work are in full swing now. I love my internship. So many interesting people come in to the tourism office and usually I am able to help them, which is really thrilling. Sometimes though, when I can't understand them, I just defer to one of my native Spaniard colleagues for the answer...or I just nod, say sí, and hand them a map. My favorite part is when people come in looking very lost, come over to me and ask, "Do you speak any English at all??" It's all I can do to keep from jumping up and saying "YES!!!!! I DO speak English! Sometimes I pretend I speak Spanish...but it's terrible anyway so it doesn't really count!" My relaxation upon relapse to English is probably extremely obvious, but those Brits and Aussies are the most well-directed tourists to pass through Toledo since language barriers were invented. Some of them even got a free poster, just for making my job easier.

Since we had a full week of classes last week, the only way to relieve the stress of 4 classes and a job was to go to Madrid for the weekend. Obviously. We took a free bus with people from the Fund and had a touristy Friday, complete with a panoramic bus tour...a rather painful experience due to my extreme aversion to being labeled as an American tourist. I'd say it's a phobia, of sorts. I hate to travel in groups larger than...6 or so, and prominent American labels (North Face, for one) are totally taboo. Of course we would be with a group of 100 people, led by a guide with a neon vest. Perfect. The tour finally ended with all 100 of us filing into the Museo de Jamón, past all of the regular patrons, to our specially reserved room in the -2 floor (aka the basement) because that's the only place we could all fit. We might as well have paraded in waving an American flag and singing the National Anthem. One good part of lunch though was that The Bacon Wallet was able to return home to its bacon roots. It was an utterly meaningful experience.


The rest of the weekend was filled with shoe shopping (there is literally a zapatería every other store in El Centro of Madrid), fiesta-ing, meeting interesting people, and eating lots and lots. Some photo highlights.....

The Bacon Wallet in its first hostel room.

From left to right: Caitlin, The Bacon Wallet, Elizabeth and Courtney in La Puerta del Sol, in the exact center of Spain.

This superstar claimed to be 19 when he tried to talk to us in La Puerta del Sol Friday night. We knew he was actually 15 (maybe), but when he revealed his Pau Gasol Grizzlies jersey, I had to be nice.

All in all, the excursion to Madrid was a success. But I must admit, it's nice to be back in the small town of Toledo. At the beginning of the semester, I wondered why Notre Dame sent us to Toledo instead of Madrid, but it became very clear that it is a LOT easier to get by with no Spanish in Madrid than it would be in Toledo. Everyone knew we were American (despite my efforts to disguise my nationality) and they always talked to us in English. I know for a fact that it would be way too easy to fall back on the crutch of familiarity and speak English all the time if I were in Madrid. Since hardly anyone in Toledo knows enough English to engage in a full conversation, it's 100% Spanish--all day every day.

Also, I came home the most adorable kids ever playing Wii in our house (Javier's niece and nephew). My Spanish is about on the same level as theirs, so it was fun to talk to them. When I asked the boy, "Cuantos años tienes?" he held up two fingers and the girl called out "Yo cinco." That's the kind of Spanish I can understand. KISS--Keep It Simple, Stupid. Also when I went into my room I found clean laundry, in a pile, folded on top of my freshly washed sheets. Score. Welcome home.



P.S. My Spanish is actually sliiiiightly better than I let on. I can converse. I can understand. I know more words than Javier's two-year-old nephew. Just in case anyone was fooled by my witty jokes and thought that I was seriously floundering over here.

Love of Family Is Universal

Today my host sister, Raquel, turned 21 and we had a dinner fiesta for her. The entire family came over--aunts, uncles, cousins, abuelos. Apparently dos besos are the standard greeting for everyone...not just the new host mom. I've never been kissed by so many strangers in my life! We were almost 20 in total. We all sat in the living room and chatted for hours over tapas about the cat who knows when Pili is feeling sick, how prima Marta should get her hair cut, and how awful the bus system is for students getting to school in the morning. If I wasn't feeling at home with this family before, I certainly am now. When the camera was brought out, they insisted that I be in the pictures, although I offered to take them. I was honored to be welcomed so warmly into this family and it was reassuring and comforting to find out that families in Spain are just like mine...loud and a little weird, but also inviting, friendly and loving. España is definitely starting to feel like home.

On a totally unrelated note, I have been keeping a list called "Things I Have Learned About Life In Spain" which will hereafter be known as TIHLALIS. Soooooo...

TIHLALIS #1-9:

1. Spaniards LOVE TV. It seriously is always on. Even during dinner! When we eat we sit on the couch at the coffee table, all facing the TV. And it's not even good TV. It's like random old American movies and The Simpsons dubbed over in Spanish.

2. Lombardi time does not exist in Spain. Everyone is late.

3. The bus system is not reliable. It's always late, if it comes at all.

4. Sleeping and resting on the weekends is encouraged, not frowned upon.

5. You don't say hola when you answer the phone. You say sí or díme...which means "talk to me."

6. No one drinks water! I know we are trying to conserve water here which is why I have shortened my shower by a solid three minutes, but really? I can't drink it either? I felt awkward at first asking for water at home so the first two nights I just took large gulps of it from the sink whenever I brushed my teeth.

7. No one smiles in pictures. Probably because of crooked teeth due to universal healthcare...

8. School supplies are entirely too expensive (2 euro for a pack of notebook paper?) but textbooks are dirt cheap. Books for two classes so far have only cost me 12 euro.

9. Love of family is universal.

Also I bought some killer shoes today for only 7 euro. Holler. Sorry if that ruins the sappy mood.