La Huelga -- The Strike

Photo: Despite La Huelga, we can a fantastic dinner for Celia's birthday with Griffin Morse and the Wolff-King family



In honor of Celia's birthday (har, har), Spain had a general strike, which meant that all public transportation came to a halt. The Spanish trade unions were protesting the government’s austerity measures and changes to the labor employment laws. With unemployment at a staggering ~20%, Spain, like many European countries, has had to restrict spending. Some of the more unpopular cut backs include the 5% pay cut for civil servants and the suspension of inflation adjustments for pensions.

One of the sticking points for the unions and an impetus for Huelga are changes to employment rights. Spain has had a very generous system of compensation for employees if they are sacked. In the past, some employees could expect compensation of up to 45 days pay per year worked. As you can imagine, this has made firing workers extremely expensive for an employer. This is now going to be significantly reduced.

While the strike has had little lasting impact on our lives, it did create mild raucous on Paseo de la Independencia (the main street near our apartment), and shut down the buses for a day including the one that Colin and Kelsey take to/from school. Without a car, we were unable to transport them. Additionally, we were told that a normal school day may not happen at JDL since their teachers had the option to teach due to Huelga (although they aren't paid if they don't show up at school). The kids wound up staying home for the day...and, they had already missed Monday for our long weekend in Barcelona (for some reason, they weren't exactly complaining although Kelsey thought the whole thing was pretty odd). As it turned out, we heard that JDL had a regular school day -- except without Colin and Kelsey Chase.

Interestingly, the strike organizers had plastered stickers on shop windows saying things like, "Cerrado por Huelga" (Closed for the strike). They would then take pictures of the shops to show the supposed success of the strike (in many/most instances, the shops weren't actually closed).

Zaragoza has not escaped Spain's economic woes. Like many bigger cities, homeless people are fairly common. In fact, last week while having lunch with Ellen, a beggar asked me if he could finish the food on my plate. Feeling badly for him, I gave him my unfinished bread, meat and cheese. The homeless folks start to look familiar here since we see the same ones repeatedly. It reminds me a bit of my Berkeley days in college.

Zaragoza Athletic Exhibition

On September 18, Zaragoza Deporte (similar to a city recreation department) hosted a sporting demonstration on Paseo de la Independencia which is less than a block from our apartment. That morning, we could hear music, people, and general bustle from our apartment; we wandered outside to check it out and landed upon a huge fair-type exhibition promoting exercise. The street was filled with various activities including gymnastics, basketball, fencing, pilates, soccer/futbol, ping pong, and even baseball (not common in Spain). While most of the activities had pre-designated teams, some were open to regular Joes like us. Colin and Kelsey gave a couple of the activities a whirl.

Photos and Video: Colin and Kelsey fencing

In the video, note the background music...the pervasive English-speaking music (even though no one speaks English!).































Photo and video: Colin on the bicyle loop ride (a boy's dream ride)

Barcelona with Paul and Kathy

European travelers, Paul, Celia's brother, and his girlfriend, Kathy had been in London, Paris and then Spain over a 3 week period. We met them in Barcelona over the weekend of September 24, and were delighted to see familiar faces. The kids were particularly excited to see their beloved Uncle Paul!

Photo: Riding the metro. Listen up, Kelsey has a story to tell


Shortly after arriving on Friday evening, we hopped on the metro heading for the famous Las Ramblas area for dinner. It was crowded and ripe for pickpockets. Sure enough, we got picked. When we were on the metro, Kathy had her wallet stolen which contained all her credit cards along with Paul and Kathy's passports.

These thieves are experts; they work in pairs or groups. In this case, while one was wearing a backpack on his front (to look like a tourist), another one was pushing on Kathy amongst the sardines packed into the metro car. The man with the backpack (we think), took Kathy's wallet which was slung across her shoulder and sitting on her front, by concealing his hands underneath his backpack. Kathy didn't know her goods had disappeared until we got off the train. Understandably, Kathy had that yucky, violated feeling. We found a (cute!) policeman and with a shrug, he told us to file a report. Pickpockets are common in big cities and Barcelona in particular. Later, we were learned that Barcelona ranks 5th in petty theft. What an honor. Although I see on this site, it has Las Ramblas as #1. The theft incident in Barcelona also made us appreciate the relative safety and 'small town feel' of Zaragoza.

Not the start we wanted from the weekend but after canceling credit and bank cards, we were able to keep the weekend moving forward. On Monday, Kathy and Paul went to the American Embassy and were able to obtain temporary passports in about 2 hours, which they needed for their flight back to the U.S. on Tuesday.

On the upside, one of the enjoyable aspects of riding the metro was watching Colin master navigating the system from buying tickets to choosing and directing our routes. A little proud parent moment realizing that this was part of why we came to Spain -- to provide the kids with new experiences and the ability to navigate their way through the world in more ways than one.

Photo: Happy to be enjoying Starbucks (none in Zaragoza) before we make our day on Saturday











Photo: Parker and Kathy on our way to Miró with the National Art Gallery in background








On Saturday, on our way to the Joan Miró Foundation (museum), we trekked up Montjuic and enjoyed a stunning panoramic view of Barcelona.







Photo: View from top of Montjuic with Sagrada Familia in background


















Photo: Paul and Kelsey walking up the hill to the Miró Foundation



Throughout his life, Joan Miró took interest in a diverse set of materials, forms and colors. It led him to experiment with different art forms such as painting, sculpture, printing techniques, ceramics, theatre and tapestry. Most of his work was not to our taste but we found it fascinating to see his style shift over the course of his life and to note how it reflected his life, i.e., his friendship with hat maker, Joan Prats or his dark stage during the onset of the Spanish revolution in the 1930s.

Photo: Kathy and Parker entering the Miró Foundation

















Photo: Inside the Miro museum. Note Miro's avant garde style of work














Photo: Miró painting














Photo: The Kelsey look -- would you mess with her?















That night, we had a fantastic dinner at Salamanca which had a huge fresh fish bar where you could hand pick your choice.

Photos: At Salamanca and Fish Bar




After dinner, on the walk back to the apartment, we were treated to a huge fireworks show in honor of La Merc, the patron saint of Barcelona (some saint is always being celebrated in Spain!).













On Sunday, we meandered around the city to a carnival in Parc de la Ciutadella where we watched theatre acts, and played games; Kelsey loves to get her face painted and she had that done as well.

Photos: Various shots from the fair








Parker returned to Zaragoza on Sunday night as he had to teach on Monday morning. Celia, Colin, and Kelsey stayed in Barcelona for an additional night with Paul and Kathy. Yes, Colin and Kelsey skipped school.




























On Monday, Celia, Colin, and Kelsey revisited the Sagrada Familia (SF) -- (see blog post Barcelona Day 3)-- while Paul and Kathy went to the American Embassy to get their temporary passports. During this visit, we went inside to check out the extraordinary stained glass windows along with the exhibits on the making and history of the building of the SF. It was surprising that while SF has been in development for over 130 years, the inside is still a huge construction zone and no where close to being finished.

Photos of inside and outside of Sagrada Familia

Alquezar - Day 2

Day 2

On our second day in Alquezar, we hiked a sharp descent to the beautiful, Rio Vero.


Photo: Trail head sign for Rio Vero Cultural Park














The pinnacle of the 2 day trip was the waterfalls. The hike had been a little hairy at times -- slippery and steep. When we arrived at the waterfalls, we felt as if we had "arrived." Colin and Kelsey along with many of the SYA students quickly stripped down to their swimsuits and enjoyed the refreshing water and relaxing spirit.

Photo: Hike down to Rio Vero


















Photo: Chase family with waterfalls in background





Video of the scene








Photo: SYA students enjoying the waterfalls


















Photo: Our'polar bear' was the last one out of the water



















Photo: Faculty enjoying a relaxed moment at the Rio Vero waterfalls. (Mari Mar, Urio, Marta, Sole, and Parker













Photo: Kelsey with SYA student, Hannah Brewster (niece of good friends, Toby and Becca Brewster) post hike. Kelsey and Hannah chatted about American Girls extensively over the weekend














When we returned to Zaragoza by the evening, the group seemed closer and more connected after our escape from the city to the postcard-perfect setting.

SYA Trip to Caves and Alquezar

On the weekend of September 17, the SYA faculty, families, and students left Zaragoza for 2 days to hike into pre-historic caves and around the pre-Pyrenees region of Alquézar.

Photo: View of caves (abrigos)



Day 1
-----
We started the day 'early' (by Spanish standards) with an 8:30 a.m. departure on a closed-top, double-decker bus set for a two-hour tour through the pre-Pyrenees with a stop only for the must-have morning decanso (coffee break and snack).

After hiking down the mountainside to the caves, tour guides provided us with archaeological and historical lessons about the area and the pre-historic drawings inside the caves.

Photo: Chases on the cave hike


Caused by natural erosion over thousands of years, the extensive caves are embedded into the mountainside. Even though the tour was entirely in Spanish, we were able to garner the gist. Archaeologists and tourists alike speculate on the significance of the drawings but Parker thought that restless children painted them as a rainy day activity. Unfortunately, we were prohibited from photographing the cave drawings.

Photo: View of caves












Photo: Colin and Kelsey in pre-historic cave











Photo: Alvaro (SYA Art History teacher) giving instructions to students on hike
















Photo: Chi Chi Davis and Chanel Branch (SPS students) in cave















After the caves, we headed for our next stop, Alquézar. Sitting on a hilltop, Alquézar is a charming maize of streets dominated by castle-like church. First named Alcázar when built by the Moors in the late 11th and early 12th century, Sancho Ramírez, King of Aragón later captured the town. The Colegiata or church was rebuilt as a church in 1530.

Once there, we filled our empty bellies with lunch. At SPS or probably any boarding school, the faculty would be required to be present at all meals on such a trip, and they wouldn't dare have a glass of wine with the students nearby. However, in Spain, it's much more relaxed and los adultos can have and did have a relaxed meal separate from the students where wine was also openly served.

Photo: SYA lunch at students' hostel












Photo: At Alquézar. Students listening to Marta (SYA Spanish teacher) giving instructions and 'No Pasa Nada'

As the SYA faculty gave the students guidelines for the trip and an overview of the remainder of our time, a few of the students were misbehaving in the background. The SYA faculty started to scold the students when Ethan, the 4 year old son of the Pauline, the SYA college adviser, spontaneously chimed in with, 'no pasa nada' (roughly translated in this instance as 'but I didn't do anything'). The entire SYA crew, faculty, families and students, all fell apart in laughter as Ethan's innocent comment quickly defused the slight tension. Now, we have a family joke about 'no pasa nada' anytime we're trying to figure out who is a guilty party.



Photo: Meeting with Parker's advisees at an outdoor cafe after lunch. The rain put a slight damper on the outdoor venue




After lunch, we headed to the Alquézar castle. Alquezar was established by the Moors. It name derives from the Arabic al-qasr meaning “the fortress”. The castle was built in Alquézar in the 9th century by Jalaf ibn-Rasid.

Photo: Castle in the distance












Photo: Chelsea and Kelsey walking up to the castle. Chelsea also has a hearing loss and is one of Parker's advisees














Photo: View of the Alquézar village from the Castle
















Photo: View of surrounding area on our way to the castle










Photo: Courtyard inside castle























The four of us bunked (literally) in a hostel room with two bunk beds. While not luxury, the room was clean and comfortable with stunning views of the surrounding area.

Photo: Our hostel











Photo: View from our hostel window

Random Photos

Colin playing soccer with Juan (lives in our apartment building), and friend at Sitios Park, two blocks from our house












Colin and Aidan swimming at Salbuda Pool
















Irish companions -- night of skate boarding. Pictured: Kelsey, Colin, Hannah, Maria, Jude and Lily












Why are these pigs smiling? Picture taken at Mercado Centrale where fresh meats, cheeses, fruits/veggies are sold