well, my friends, it's happening again
i'm writing in my blog twice in a day
and i have officially made my way through my third major strike or protest in my third spanish speaking country
i would tell you more, but i need to get some sleep, so i have for you an expertly translated article from 20 Minutos, the free newspaper that isn't half bad. Yes, I translated it, and I'm much better at English to Spanish, if I may say so myself, but it might give you an idea of what happened today in the bank we walk by each morning and afternoon. Kels and I were walking home this evening after our Islamic Culture test, and we asked the policemen controlling the situation what was going on...after what looked like saluting us and a very formal 'buenas noches,' they told us that they really didn't get it either. but the people were there...around the bank, across the street from the bank, inside the bank, going up the stairs to the top floor of the bank...with their signs, their food, their dogs...they don't really look like the three-hours-and-we're-going-home crowd...
welcome to street politics
El BBVA continues to be taken or occupied by members of the Andalusian Worker’s Union
A. HUERTAS 19.00.2008 – 19:15h
At midday today they cut off traffic to the city center
They are asking for the bank’s nationalization and (monetary) help for the workers
They say that they are 400 strong and that they’re not leaving
Granada was thrown into chaos at midday today when some four hundred members of the Andalusian Workers’ Union (Sindicato Andaluz de Trabajadores, SAT), according to union sources, took the headquarters of Spanish bank BBVA in the Plaza Isabel la Católica around noon. An hour earlier, another group of about one hundred people entered in the office of Inmobiliaria Osuna, a large real estate agency, in Puerta Real, but were cleared peacefully.
At the same time, some union members walked back down the street Reyes Catolicos to rejoin the rest of the group in cutting off traffic until about five o’clock in the evening.
The protest, which continues until now inside the BBVA headquarters, is just one of the many protests that have been occurring in Andalucia in the last few days calling for the nationalization of the bank and that the public moneys be spent helping the workers affected by the crisis.
The street closings and protests in the Plaza Isabel la Católica provoked a general chaos in the city until mid-afternoon; buses ran behind schedule in the provincial capital with hundreds of backed-up cars while at the bus stops hopeful future passengers crowded around the reader boards and watched as the arrival times stopped changing and still the buses never arrived.
Information –
The SAT, however, was not the only union that protested today. The early risers were the employees of Aproman and Extinman who at 9:00 AM met at the provincial seat, la Junta, to protest the lack of checks written during the last three pay periods, for which they have declared an indefinite strike beginning the 9th of December.
and for you spanish-speaking types, or those who want to help me with my translation...the spanish version
El BBVA sigue tomado por los miembros del Sindicato Andaluz de Trabajadores
A. HUERTAS. 19.11.2008 - 19:51h
Este mediodía han cortado el tráfico del centro.
Piden la nacionalización de la banca y ayudas para los obreros.
Dicen que son unos 400 y que no se irán.
CONSULTA AQUÍ MÁS NOTICIAS DE GRANADA
.
Granada se ha convertido hoy a mediodía en un caos. Unos cuatrocientos miembros del Sindicato Andaluz de Trabajadores (SAT), según fuentes del sindicato, tomaron la sede del banco BBVA en la Plaza Isabel La Católica sobre las doce de la mañana. Una hora antes otro grupo de unas cien personas habían entrado en la oficina de la Inmobiliaria Osuna, en Puerta Real, de la que fueron desalojados pacíficamente.
Al mismo tiempo, varios compañeros de este sindicato recorrían la calle Reyes Católicos para unirse a ellos en la fuente de Isabel La Católica y cortar el tráfico rodado hasta cerca de las cinco de la tarde.
Los manifestantes, que hasta ahora continúan dentro de la sede del BBVA, participan en los actos de protesta que desde hace unos días se están produciendo en Andalucía para pedir la nacionalización de la banca y que el dinero público se destine para rescatar a los trabajadores afectados por la crisis.
Los encierros y la manifestación en la plaza Isabel La Católica ha provocado un caos circulatorio en la ciudad hasta media tarde. Los autobuses quedaron atascados en las calles de la capital junto a cientos de vehículos y en las paradas los futuros viajeros se agolpaban mirando como los controladores de tiempo se apagaban y los vehículos no llegaban.
Informáticos
El SAT, sin embargo, no fue el único que hoy se ha manifestado. Los más madrugadores han sido los trabajadores de Aproman y Extinman que a las 9 horas se concentraron en la sede de la Junta para protestar por el impago de los tres últimos salarios, situación por la que han convocado una huelga indefinida a partir del 9 de diciembre.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
just for fun...
i'm on a roll, not one that i want you to get used to, because time comes and goes, but i have a few more youtube video clips just for kicks...
the opening song from our afternoon telenovela
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngy-5qa2J7A
another sweet anuncio (kari, sorry, this is a repeat)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6c7jqgyPXI
i'm trying to find the good intro from our evening telenovela, but i'm not having much success.
this last one is a tv spot that's been on for a while, and end up in our heads more often than not...in the little video box, scroll down to the bottom and click on "20 años de Canal Sur Radio"
http://www.rtva.es/web/contenido?pag=/contenidos/canal_sur_radio/noticias/xx_aniversario&idActivo=78234&vE=C62,C66
that should hold you over for a while : )
love always
the opening song from our afternoon telenovela
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngy-5qa2J7A
another sweet anuncio (kari, sorry, this is a repeat)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6c7jqgyPXI
i'm trying to find the good intro from our evening telenovela, but i'm not having much success.
this last one is a tv spot that's been on for a while, and end up in our heads more often than not...in the little video box, scroll down to the bottom and click on "20 años de Canal Sur Radio"
http://www.rtva.es/web/contenido?pag=/contenidos/canal_sur_radio/noticias/xx_aniversario&idActivo=78234&vE=C62,C66
that should hold you over for a while : )
love always
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
luuuuuna
i've been unofficially and completely arbitrarily marking the passage of time by the moon...every time i see it it seems to be fully two phases ahead of the last time i remember noticing it. and it was gorgeously full and faint in the morning sky just above the apartment buildings in the bus on our way to the airport at the beginning of our trip to Cádiz.
and while i haven't been counting days, today is a fairly significant figure. in exactly one month, on the 18th of December, our Granada program will come to a close.
but today I'm learning about the Omeyas, the Abasís, and the Fatimís, three groups of árabes who at some point had a hold on parts of the islamic/musulmán empire (I don't really know what correct time is in english). we've hit history, architecture, and now we're focusing on the relationships and clothing customs of the people present during the time of the Omeyas in the Iberic Peninsula. In fact, we had a giant study party last night, and in two hours with a board, all we got to were the beginnings of islam, the four major capital movements/ciudad palacios (two from the Abasí and two from the Omeyas) and the enlargements (ampliaciones) to the Mezquita (Mosque) de Córdoba. As you can see, I'm having a heck of a time figuring out what language I'm in, because the relationships are super difficult to explain in Spanish all the time (like the hayib or prime minister figure who made an ally to kill someone else, and then turned around and teamed up with his father in law to kill aforementioned ally, finishing up with the slightly suspicious death of his father in law) I'm particularly enjoying learning about all the architecture and designs and materials and details and how they changed over time...i'm including for a little taste one of my pictures from the mosque that I'm using to study - I wish I had known all this stuff beforehand, it's amazing.
behold:
this is what i think would be called the door of Al-Hakem II - his addition to the mezquita is was an enlargement of the prayer area (sala de oración) complete with an enclosed passageway so he could walk from his palace to the mosque without any attempts on his life.
arcos lobulados (from the word lobus, like your earlobe)
arcos interlazados (those are the ones that are all interlaced)
celocías (window screens, pretty, huh?)
arcos de cerradura (the arch in the middle, typical árabic arch, all over the mezquita...i mean mosque)
the place is amazing. it's like a...shoot, all i can think of is conjunto...well, that's what it is...a collection and preservation of the stylistic changes through the five califs (and one imposter who took advantage of a young calif to kill a bunch of people and declare himself in charge - see above. we call him jerkface for short. he changed his name, we can too.)
and now it's technically a catholic cathedral. I wish i had an arial view for you, but when the catholics re-tookover (cause that's a word) the peninsula, as a show of strength they plopped not one but two churches smack dab in the middle of the mosque, built their own tower around the original one (which was from the third expansion, if you care to know) and effectively saved the mosque from being torn down with the return to a catholic country.
thanks for helping me study! next time i'll fill you in on the initial spread of islam and the first Abasí capital - Baghdad (city of peace). hmm.
also this week: translation midterm (monday), DELE - national fluency exam (thursday and friday), viaje a Sevilla (Seville) (saturday and sunday)
if you could be talking with God about the two girls and two boys i'm spending some time with twice a week, that would be amazing. i would love direction, not least of all in how to be a teacher, and if they had some patience, i think it could help, but i'm not in the mood to tell God what I want. - if you would, ask that He would come.
thank you.
and while i haven't been counting days, today is a fairly significant figure. in exactly one month, on the 18th of December, our Granada program will come to a close.
but today I'm learning about the Omeyas, the Abasís, and the Fatimís, three groups of árabes who at some point had a hold on parts of the islamic/musulmán empire (I don't really know what correct time is in english). we've hit history, architecture, and now we're focusing on the relationships and clothing customs of the people present during the time of the Omeyas in the Iberic Peninsula. In fact, we had a giant study party last night, and in two hours with a board, all we got to were the beginnings of islam, the four major capital movements/ciudad palacios (two from the Abasí and two from the Omeyas) and the enlargements (ampliaciones) to the Mezquita (Mosque) de Córdoba. As you can see, I'm having a heck of a time figuring out what language I'm in, because the relationships are super difficult to explain in Spanish all the time (like the hayib or prime minister figure who made an ally to kill someone else, and then turned around and teamed up with his father in law to kill aforementioned ally, finishing up with the slightly suspicious death of his father in law) I'm particularly enjoying learning about all the architecture and designs and materials and details and how they changed over time...i'm including for a little taste one of my pictures from the mosque that I'm using to study - I wish I had known all this stuff beforehand, it's amazing.
behold:
this is what i think would be called the door of Al-Hakem II - his addition to the mezquita is was an enlargement of the prayer area (sala de oración) complete with an enclosed passageway so he could walk from his palace to the mosque without any attempts on his life.
arcos lobulados (from the word lobus, like your earlobe)
arcos interlazados (those are the ones that are all interlaced)
celocías (window screens, pretty, huh?)
arcos de cerradura (the arch in the middle, typical árabic arch, all over the mezquita...i mean mosque)
the place is amazing. it's like a...shoot, all i can think of is conjunto...well, that's what it is...a collection and preservation of the stylistic changes through the five califs (and one imposter who took advantage of a young calif to kill a bunch of people and declare himself in charge - see above. we call him jerkface for short. he changed his name, we can too.)
and now it's technically a catholic cathedral. I wish i had an arial view for you, but when the catholics re-tookover (cause that's a word) the peninsula, as a show of strength they plopped not one but two churches smack dab in the middle of the mosque, built their own tower around the original one (which was from the third expansion, if you care to know) and effectively saved the mosque from being torn down with the return to a catholic country.
thanks for helping me study! next time i'll fill you in on the initial spread of islam and the first Abasí capital - Baghdad (city of peace). hmm.
also this week: translation midterm (monday), DELE - national fluency exam (thursday and friday), viaje a Sevilla (Seville) (saturday and sunday)
if you could be talking with God about the two girls and two boys i'm spending some time with twice a week, that would be amazing. i would love direction, not least of all in how to be a teacher, and if they had some patience, i think it could help, but i'm not in the mood to tell God what I want. - if you would, ask that He would come.
thank you.
Monday, November 17, 2008
el agua caliente se ha ido
well, that's not true, but I am sitting here watching Angel Rebelde with Ana, and on came my favorite spanish commercial...i have added it below for your enjoyment - i didn't decide that i liked it until a few weeks after i saw it the first time...but there it is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihuo6ItWF2A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihuo6ItWF2A
Sunday, November 16, 2008
ready? let's go
i'm going out of order...not usually my thing, but i feel like i should let you in on my weekend...it was relaxing with a little bit of homework, lots of friendship and a little bit of learning, beautiful sunsets and laughing while studying the omeya dynasty and cooking fajitas. it was Cádiz.
my pictures are at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2038278&l=0f6bd&id=29303911
thursday morning (when i should have been finishing my POE writing assignment) i was looking up all the vacation properties i could find in Cádiz, a nice little city we had heard was nice, and was really our second choice because the Morocco program would have gotten us back to Seville about now (10 PM), and Sarah and I have a presentation and an exam, respectively, tomorrow. I found an interesting looking apartment that met the criteria - cheap, open, 4 people, wifi - and i e-mailed the owner. I only heard back from one possible option that day, and sure enough it was Richard with his 100 euro flat for the weekend in the bustling downtown of Cádiz. the only joke in that sentence was the last part. Cádiz, the port of departure for Columbus' second and fourth expeditions (i think) is a wonderful little seaside town that is just as relaxed as its name - the accent (and the Andalusians) say it cawdees (or cawdeeth if you're really from the south of Spain). just call me when you get to the city and we can figure it out, he said...
so that day at school we added another person to our group, and friday morning after some car-renting, cell phone issues, and general excitement, we were all (and this is a feat) on the same bus to the airport to the car rental window to get our weekend transportation, a ford little something.
we: Kelsey, Sarah, Matt, Nils, and I
three and a half hours later we stopped in Jerez de la Frontera at the bodega Sandeman for lunch and a tour and tasting at one of the famous producers of sherry and other drinks in the area. I had forgotten how nice it feels to be in a car; it didn't even matter that it was small. and it wasn't even the car, but the knowledge that if we wanted to, we could pull over and see something weird that caught our eye, or take a break, or whatever. anyway, we continued to Cádiz and met up with Richard, who, on his moto, led us to his second piso almost allllll the way at the top of some pretty steep steps - he and his Cuban wife moved to Spain (because that's somewhat of a middle ground) and now they run Bar Cuba and rent pisos. Ours was small, but everything we wanted - kitchen, two bedrooms, 'state of the art' bunkbeds, a couch, a beanbag, and a terrace (which was also the site of the communal drying lines and a great viewing area for the spontaneous flamenco from the bar below). The other side of the Atlantic Ocean was just down the street in front of us. I could almost see you, I'm certain.
gosh guys...i don't even know how to describe it to you...i could tell you what we did (and i will) but the feeling was so much stronger and so much cooler...to be able to spend time with friends, to take a short walk that turns into a long one when you get lost and end up on the other side of the town (which really isn't that big) but it's completely okay because there's nothing to do that can't wait another hour, to watch the fisherman on the piers and see what the water has done to the concrete blocks that are meant to keep the water in its place.
Sarah, Kelsey, and I went out with a destination of the supermarket, but it was too early still (5 PM) so we walked around until it opened and then grabbed some food for dinner - pasta
we sat around and talked and started some homework? no, definitely not...bought and drank insane amounts of tea upon the discovery of a hot water pot.
slept
good early morning with some magdalenas (breakfast muffins - appearance and texture of cornbread muffins, taste of...well...magdalenas?) and oj, some homework, and a trip to the market - the Cádiz fish market is famous, and rightly so - we couldn't get in the door, so we hit up the fresh fruits and veggies and other meat aisles and bought home fajita fixings for 30$ euro (which isn't so bad considering that mexican food is always out of season and pretty expensive). I could definitely do the fresh food market thing ALL the time. except the dead chickens.
ate, watched some dirty jobs (which is now without mike rowe - somebody help me...) and ultimate survivor, studied some more, went to the beach sola - love derek webb - found a free exhibition of Joaquín Sorolla works - nothing super famous, but his illuminism was in full swing for sure. saw a study for 'vuelta de la pesca' that was pretty strong.
got locked out of the piso, met the nice nieghbor, studied some more, went down to the waterfront for the sunset, found out that we had missed the sun, but found some amazing colors and a couple planets (and a dog), studied and laughed while cooking, ate what we cooked (maru makes WAY better mexican rice than i, who knew?) made some more tea, studied some more, slept
fantastic morning walk with lots of sand and sun and shells - i found the port (or rather, the port found me), and worked my way through what was probably officially called a book market but was really more like a glorified swap meet, finally making my way back to our street.
studied a little, resurrected friday's pasta and other assorted leftovers for lunch, and studied some more until it was time to clean and head out. drove back to the airport with few problems,
spent a fair amount of time on the terrace in the sun, actually used my sunglasses, relaxed. learned. thoroughly enjoyed
my pictures are at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2038278&l=0f6bd&id=29303911
thursday morning (when i should have been finishing my POE writing assignment) i was looking up all the vacation properties i could find in Cádiz, a nice little city we had heard was nice, and was really our second choice because the Morocco program would have gotten us back to Seville about now (10 PM), and Sarah and I have a presentation and an exam, respectively, tomorrow. I found an interesting looking apartment that met the criteria - cheap, open, 4 people, wifi - and i e-mailed the owner. I only heard back from one possible option that day, and sure enough it was Richard with his 100 euro flat for the weekend in the bustling downtown of Cádiz. the only joke in that sentence was the last part. Cádiz, the port of departure for Columbus' second and fourth expeditions (i think) is a wonderful little seaside town that is just as relaxed as its name - the accent (and the Andalusians) say it cawdees (or cawdeeth if you're really from the south of Spain). just call me when you get to the city and we can figure it out, he said...
so that day at school we added another person to our group, and friday morning after some car-renting, cell phone issues, and general excitement, we were all (and this is a feat) on the same bus to the airport to the car rental window to get our weekend transportation, a ford little something.
we: Kelsey, Sarah, Matt, Nils, and I
three and a half hours later we stopped in Jerez de la Frontera at the bodega Sandeman for lunch and a tour and tasting at one of the famous producers of sherry and other drinks in the area. I had forgotten how nice it feels to be in a car; it didn't even matter that it was small. and it wasn't even the car, but the knowledge that if we wanted to, we could pull over and see something weird that caught our eye, or take a break, or whatever. anyway, we continued to Cádiz and met up with Richard, who, on his moto, led us to his second piso almost allllll the way at the top of some pretty steep steps - he and his Cuban wife moved to Spain (because that's somewhat of a middle ground) and now they run Bar Cuba and rent pisos. Ours was small, but everything we wanted - kitchen, two bedrooms, 'state of the art' bunkbeds, a couch, a beanbag, and a terrace (which was also the site of the communal drying lines and a great viewing area for the spontaneous flamenco from the bar below). The other side of the Atlantic Ocean was just down the street in front of us. I could almost see you, I'm certain.
gosh guys...i don't even know how to describe it to you...i could tell you what we did (and i will) but the feeling was so much stronger and so much cooler...to be able to spend time with friends, to take a short walk that turns into a long one when you get lost and end up on the other side of the town (which really isn't that big) but it's completely okay because there's nothing to do that can't wait another hour, to watch the fisherman on the piers and see what the water has done to the concrete blocks that are meant to keep the water in its place.
Sarah, Kelsey, and I went out with a destination of the supermarket, but it was too early still (5 PM) so we walked around until it opened and then grabbed some food for dinner - pasta
we sat around and talked and started some homework? no, definitely not...bought and drank insane amounts of tea upon the discovery of a hot water pot.
slept
good early morning with some magdalenas (breakfast muffins - appearance and texture of cornbread muffins, taste of...well...magdalenas?) and oj, some homework, and a trip to the market - the Cádiz fish market is famous, and rightly so - we couldn't get in the door, so we hit up the fresh fruits and veggies and other meat aisles and bought home fajita fixings for 30$ euro (which isn't so bad considering that mexican food is always out of season and pretty expensive). I could definitely do the fresh food market thing ALL the time. except the dead chickens.
ate, watched some dirty jobs (which is now without mike rowe - somebody help me...) and ultimate survivor, studied some more, went to the beach sola - love derek webb - found a free exhibition of Joaquín Sorolla works - nothing super famous, but his illuminism was in full swing for sure. saw a study for 'vuelta de la pesca' that was pretty strong.
got locked out of the piso, met the nice nieghbor, studied some more, went down to the waterfront for the sunset, found out that we had missed the sun, but found some amazing colors and a couple planets (and a dog), studied and laughed while cooking, ate what we cooked (maru makes WAY better mexican rice than i, who knew?) made some more tea, studied some more, slept
fantastic morning walk with lots of sand and sun and shells - i found the port (or rather, the port found me), and worked my way through what was probably officially called a book market but was really more like a glorified swap meet, finally making my way back to our street.
studied a little, resurrected friday's pasta and other assorted leftovers for lunch, and studied some more until it was time to clean and head out. drove back to the airport with few problems,
spent a fair amount of time on the terrace in the sun, actually used my sunglasses, relaxed. learned. thoroughly enjoyed
Friday, November 07, 2008
reasons to smile in spain
my spanish mom
she walked in the house a few minutes ago singing a song and all happy and laughing to herself
today is day one of a three day weekend in which i intend to free up the rest of my three day weekends by organizing this little corner of my life...hopefully that means updating my blog more, so as an introduction:
I'm doing wonderfully. Spanish life is teaching me that i'm a very difficult person to live with, that teaching is about a million times harder than it seems, and that my roommate is an extremely gracious friend. Madrid was a sweet experience (i am more a fan of classic art than modern, and black and white pictures in the park are super fun), I really like Toledo (an old mezquita, sinagoga, y catedral within two hours...priceless), and Segovia even with the drizzle was preciosa.
so, we'll be back with more stories and maybe some pictures after this short break...three translations, two dele pretests, one set of copied islamic culture notes and a research paper outline...here i come.
: )
she walked in the house a few minutes ago singing a song and all happy and laughing to herself
today is day one of a three day weekend in which i intend to free up the rest of my three day weekends by organizing this little corner of my life...hopefully that means updating my blog more, so as an introduction:
I'm doing wonderfully. Spanish life is teaching me that i'm a very difficult person to live with, that teaching is about a million times harder than it seems, and that my roommate is an extremely gracious friend. Madrid was a sweet experience (i am more a fan of classic art than modern, and black and white pictures in the park are super fun), I really like Toledo (an old mezquita, sinagoga, y catedral within two hours...priceless), and Segovia even with the drizzle was preciosa.
so, we'll be back with more stories and maybe some pictures after this short break...three translations, two dele pretests, one set of copied islamic culture notes and a research paper outline...here i come.
: )
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