Fast Forward: La Huelga, Spanish Halloween, and Spanish Thanksgiving

Oh my gosh! I am so sorry that is has been so long!

Another short update on my life: I'm working 5 days a week now, first in the mornings and afternoons as an English teacher and then at night I'm with my family. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I have rugby practice, with games on Saturdays and Sundays. On Saturdays I also have Gaelic Football, which is proving to be MUCH more difficult than I had originally thought. I'm slowly getting better, but I'm proving to be much better(and COMFORTABLE) on the rugby pitch. Busy busy.

Catalan Rugby Socks

So what's been happening in Barcelona since you've last heard from me? Well, alot actually. Apart from the normal day to day life of running around the city, life here doesn't ever seem to take a moment, except on some sleepy Sunday mornings...if you make it out before everyone else does. That's my favorite part of the week, the quiet that falls over a city that never seems to slow down or sleep. You become incredibly aware of the city itself, not just the people or whatever is going on. It will always amaze me how much of a mess we create.

Catalan Men's Rugby Game

One of the biggest events was La Huelga. It was a nation wide strike, so people were encouraged to not go to work. These strikes are a vicious cycle, and frankly, I disagree with the way Spain and Catalunya handles it. Every couple weeks, the bus and metro will stop running, leaving hundreds of people unable to take public transportation other than taxis or walking. For me and many others who can't afford to drive(or in some cases, take a taxi) we are forced to call in and not work. I haven't called in to say I'm not coming yet, but I do have to let my students know that I will be late. The people here just carry on, there's nothing much else to do. But the strikes really don't affect the people who are making the rules or the pay. Those people get to take private cars. So in reality, it's the normal people who suffer.

La Huelga was no exception. Many businesses shut down. But unlike the other strike days, the city was out en masse. Everyone was walking everywhere, though there was few taxis to be found. At Passeig de Gracia, which I have to walk near to get to work most days, there was slowly brewing a storm. I went by there very early in the morning, where police and protesters were starting to gather. This is where it got bad for me. A police officer stopped me and asked me to show my ID. Here, that is perfectly legal and you can get arrested for refusing to show an ID. I gave him my driver's license since I don't carry my passport around. Unfortunately for me, he didn't believe it was a real ID(our entire conversation was in Spanish), so I got to sit on the ground with my hands behind my head while he conferred with other cops. I was eventually let go, but it was a pretty unpleasant experience.

Manifestacion

On my way home, the protests were in full swing. Yelling, waving flags, cannons going off(I think they were cannons...). I went home and stayed there. Nothing was making me go out! I later found out that many stores got looted and at the Arc De Triumph, there was some shooting by the police(rubber bullets) and things got pretty bad. Luckily I don't live in that area, so I avoided any real violence.

Halloween treats for the girls

Ironically, Halloween wasn't too far after this. Here, they don't really celebrate Halloween, but I wanted to because it was my favorite holiday. The weekend before, I went to a party at a bar to celebrate. I had a good time meeting new people and catching up with old friends. I went in a group with the Joker, Beauty(from Beauty and the Beast), a cowgirl, the Phantom of the Opera, a child killer(not my favorite costume idea...) and a guy in a cape. I dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood this year. I wanted to be Captain America, but there wasn't a costume that would have fit a woman, only a little boy. Plus, the Little Red costume covered everything...in the front. The back...had something to be desired. But hey, what do you expect from a woman's Halloween costume?

Little Red Riding Hood

On the actual day of Halloween, a friend of mine and I went to another party, which was a lot of fun, if not a little too crazy for us. She handed out candy to people, which got funnier the longer the night went on. We met some interesting people!

Thanksgiving here was pretty nonexistent, but I got to talk to my family, which was nice. It made me miss home! But...I still have my passport, so I'm still going to teach and travel!