DISCLAIMER: SOMEWHAT LONG, SOMEWHAT POLITICAL DISCUSSION TO FOLLOW. If you are not interested in the current state of economic affairs in Spain, skip to EVENT 2. That being said, if you read about Event 1, you might learn something new! :)
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| An aerial view of the 11/14 protest in Madrid |
EVENT 1, 11/14: A “huelga general,” or general strike, was the talk of the town for days leading up to Wednesday and continued to be a major point of discussion in the media and daily conversation afterward. Unlike other strikes this fall, which were carried out by just one public sector at a time, this was a major strike on a national level (or actually on a continental level, as there were similar strikes in Italy, Portugal, and Greece, and demonstrations in other European nations like France and Germany). Students, teachers, sanitation, transportation, and construction workers—basically any unionized sector—went on strike for 24 hours, causing major cities like Madrid to grind to a halt. In Madrid, there were many incidents of vandalism and there were some outbreaks of violence, all of which the media jumped on. But there were also hundreds of thousands of peaceful protesters, for the non-media record.
I talked to a number of teachers about whether they were planning to go on strike and why/why not. The responses were fairly split. Apparently last year, when similar austerity measures were being passed into law, there were several strikes organized during the fall semester. Many teachers felt frustrated that those strikes had not succeeded in changing anything, and for that reason, they decided not to strike this time.
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| Two protesters: "Se vende sanidad pública" & "Se vende educación pública" |
Many other teachers recognized that this strike probably would not succeed in impeding further cuts. But, at the same time, they felt almost morally obligated to show the government that they do not agree with the measures being taken to “solve” the crisis. They are upset that the first cuts always hit education, healthcare, transportation, etc. instead of government employees, for example. And one theme came up so much that it seems to be a generally held belief: corruption at all levels of government in Spain is pervasive and is holding back the country’s forward movement. One teacher told me that a strike may not make the government change its plan, but not striking would allow it to confidently declare to the rest of the world, “See! We are doing the right thing, and the Spanish people are behind our decision!” So, in order to prevent that possibility, many teachers swallowed the one-day pay cut and went on strike.
I think that in America we tend to scoff at Europe, especially southern Europe, when major strikes like this occur. “Ohh Europeans, they’re always on strike about something or other. Har har.” But I was actually really impressed with how seriously all the teachers at my school thought about the issue before deciding whether or not to participate. And I’m sure workers in other sectors (with the exception of high school students, maybe...) thought about it equally hard—especially in a time of crisis, losing one day’s wages is not taken lightly. But when you think your government is inefficient, corrupt, and/or failing to represent you and your fellow citizens, it seems natural that you would look for an extra-governmental way to make your voice heard.
I, for one, did not go on strike. The terms of my grant stipulate “no strikes.” Which makes sense because I get paid by the month, not by the day, so there are def some ethical issues with staying home on a strike day while still getting paid for it…
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EVENT 2, 11/16: CENA DE THANKSGIVING A LA EMBAJADA. Yep, that’s right, I just ate a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner at the residency of the U.S. Ambassador to Spain. I don't even know how many turkeys were responsible for the successful execution of the event... Thanksgiving is my favorite day of the whole entire year (seriously, my birthday and the 4th of July combined don’t even come close), and this will be the first time in my life that I don’t get to go home for it. I thought about trying to recreate a typical Thanksgiving dinner for my roommates, but there were some roadblocks to that plan, such as 1.) all the ingredients needed are SUPER EXPENSIVE here because things like canned pumpkin or Stove Top Stuffing are only sold in import stores that cater to Americans, and 2.) my apartment has an oven the size of a toaster. Literally I think it is safe to place it in the category of toaster ovens.
Luckily for me, a number of Fulbrighters were invited to the Ambassador’s for a Thanksgiving dinner, and we each got to invite a teacher from our school as well. So my school’s English coordinator and I went and had a lovely time. I’ve never been so happy to see stuffing in my life!! It didn’t come anywhere close to my grandma’s, obviously, but it beat HUDS’ by a mile, so I’d say it was a success. It was fun to share such a special tradition with other Americans (and with the teachers, many of whom had never experienced a Thanksgiving dinner).
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| Fulbrighters with Mrs. Susan Solomont. It's sort of like Where's Waldo?, 10 points if you can find me haha. |
After the meal, the ambassador’s wife, Mrs. Solomont, showed us around the main floor of the Residence. The U.S. Embassy in Spain takes part in the ART in Embassies Program, which reminded me a little bit of the rotating art in Harvard housemasters’ residences, but on a much larger scale. For example, the original of this photo is currently chilling there, along with this painting and this and tons of others. #CasualAndyWarhol #IwaslikeWAT.
I’m ashamed of myself, though, because as a self-proclaimed Thanksgiving worshipper/pro, I should NEVER have made the classic mistake of a Thanksgiving newb: my dinner party outfit included a belt.
Love to all! /GO HARVARD, BEAT YALE!!!
E.
