I guess I lied with that whole "The Last Update" bit. Turns out there is another piece of news worth including:
I was recently informed of the opportunity to write a blog with a project called "The Global Conversation". It's a series of blogs by people affiliated with Brown University (that's my school, should someone not know) through a collaboration between the AT&T and the Watson Institute (the international relations think tank at Brown). I thought it would be an interesting way to write about some of the policy-related things I've been thinking about recently, so I set up a page. You can read it at:
http://watsonblogs.org/globalconversation/evanrolfe/
I'll be talking about some of the things I mentioned on this blog, concentrating on the policy aspect. My main focus will be on the changing nature of governance, especially in Europe, where power is often shared between regional, national, and European* levels. I would encourage anyone who enjoyed this blog to take a look at it.
*I actually don't know how to say this in English. See, in Spanish, one would say "comunitario", which originally referred to the European Community. Maybe a word like this exists in English, but since I learned this all in Madrid, I have no idea what it would be.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
The Last Update
Hello from the United States.
I've been home for a week and a half now, and realizing that I never got to the end of my time in Spain, I figured I should get the last bit out.
My last week in Madrid was a bit crazy. My internship had a conference that we had been preparing for the vast majority of my time there. It was to discuss responses to alleged biological weapons attacks, as was done in conjunction with the Council of the European Union (that's sort of the EU equivalent of the Senate, but unelected with multiple configurations) and the UN Office of Disarmament Affairs in Geneva. The fact that three different bodies, all with very distinct operating procedures, were working on one project meant that it was absurdly difficult to organize and assign tasks. Fortunately, we were only in charge of the local logistics, like hotel, food, and venue, but that didn't stop us from having more than a few conflicts, especially with the people in Geneva. While it was infuriating at the time, it was an interesting experience in cultural differences. My coworkers were surprisingly laid back about the whole affair, which unnerved me, but ended up being the best choice considering that, at the last minute, the roof of our conference room collapsed at the first restaurant made impossible demands.
My chief role at the conference was to be the lead English speaker for our organization. Although the director, Vicente, spoke English reasonably well, he was often occupied with other things and did not know the logistical aspect. The other real employee, Sandra, spoke in partial sentences in what sounded like a Russian accent, though she seemed to understand it well. The other intern, Dona, made a good effort, but was largely limited to asking people how they were, smiling agreeably, and then promising that the next time they met, she would speak much better. They left me to sorting out problems and concerns, which was surprisingly enjoyable.
The sessions were somewhat interesting, but tended to have a bit too much disarmament jargon for me. Unlike other fields, technical diplomatic jargon tends to use common phrases, like "capacity building", but uses them to imply specific scenarios. To listen it without knowing the context, it sounds like people are purposefully using the vaguest terms possible, but in reality, they are hashing out particular arrangements. As a result, people tend to have arguments over wordings that seem semantic, put actually convey a great deal of meaning. For instance, I heard one discussion over whether the conference title should have been "alleged use" or "alleged misuse", since the biological agents could be used potentially in peaceful ways, which was obscured by "use". "Misuse", however, implied that it was know whether the outbreak was caused by peaceful or non-peaceful uses, which is usually not the case. No resolution was reached, but all parties agreed that "alleged" was poorly chosen in that it was too accusatory.
Given that biological disarmament isn't my field, one of the best parts for me was the meals. Given that the conference was supposed to reflect well on the Spanish Presidency of the Council (which rotates every half-year), we were tasked with giving the delegates a favorable impression of Spanish culture, a large part of which is food and wine-based. All the meals were in places I had never been to, and were quite good, but the best part was that the participants were all very social and usually interesting. I got to discuss Finnish polka, Nick Clegg, the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, and host of other things. It was the most English I has spoken in a long time. We even gave a short tour of the La Latina neighborhood. Overall, everyone told me that the host logistics were among the best they had seen.
My last few days in Madrid were a bit of a whirlwind, as though the city wanted to remind me that I had a good time. After recovering from the conference, I had two more nights to get some final things and see the sights one last time. On my penultimate night, I decided that I would give the discos in Chueca one last shot. I hadn't been since shortly after I started my internship, when I realized how much I enjoyed sleeping at night rather than staying out until sunrise, especially on weeknights. I was afraid I had last contact with the friends I had made there, but one of them called as I was getting off the bus, and by time I left, I had run into three of them. No one was mad at me for disappearing for two months and demanding a last hurrah. They didn't even argue when I decided to go back before they turned the lights on. My last night, one of the American delegates from the conference took me out to Botín, which is supposedly the oldest restaurant in the world. We had a really good time and when we finished eating a traditional musical group came up to play. One of the guys was from my econ class, and though we had never talked before, he came over to say hello, talk about the class, and exchange information. It almost made me feel like I knew a lot of people, even if that is completely untrue.
So, now I'm back in the states. I've been spending two weeks in New Jersey before I head up to Providence to work on my preliminary thesis reading, begin planning for next year, and try to find something else productive to do. Being back in the U.S. has been fantastic. Other than seeing so many people I know, I've missed the convenience, the friendliness, and the informality of American life. At the risk of sounding like I've become deeply conservative (as many have accused me recently), this is really an extraordinary country. The fact that many Americans define themselves not by a common history or ethnicity, but by a commitment to shared ideals is really remarkable after a semester in Spain. On a more practical scale, I love that the waitress is nice to me, that the drug store has hundreds of varieties of men's stick deodorant instead of one or two, and that it is socially acceptable to not just sit and talk in a coffee shop, but also to read or take a cup to drink while walking. As much as the politics of the early to mid 2000's made "freedom" a polarizing word, it is a concept that is embraced by daily American society in a way is both profound and mundane.
So far, I've had no serious incidents of reintegration shock. It's a little weird not speaking to service people in Spanish and whenever I walk by someone talking in a Latin American dialect, I always think how strange it sounds. My dreams have been increasingly in Spanish, though I'm not quite sure why. Though I've gotten a little wistful at some videos from a Spanish friend on Facebook, I'm not quite up to missing my time abroad. I'm sure it will happen, but right now I'm just enjoying rediscovering my home.
Given what I've seen on other study abroad blogs, this is the point where I'm supposed to say something profound about how my experience abroad changed me. This is where I get a bit lost. In my mind, one of the most profound parts of living in Spain was how banal it could when I wasn't traveling or doing something "cultural". It sometimes seems like the assumption in going abroad in the U.S. is that it will be exotic: things will be weird and new and exciting and you will gain some sort of insight from living in a strange land. I think this is largely because we as a society travel so little. In Erasmus, the European study abroad system, the assumption is that one studies abroad because it's a nice break that looks good on your resume. You'll meet some cool people, see some interesting places, and go to some good parties. There's really no underlying assumption of immersion, because it's not seen all that differently from an American going to "immerse" themself in the culture of California. While it may be easy to say that the Europeans are just more similar to one another, that often isn't the case.
While I've tried, especially in this blog, to focus on new cultural experiences, the truth of the matter is that life in Spain is just a life. There's nothing magical or romantic about it; it's just different. In some ways, the experience was really defined by focusing on the cultural aspects, and I could write a similar blog about my life in the States. In many ways, I think this was the most important note I've taken from my trip. It taught be to be on guard against exoticism and realize the role that culture plays in everyone's life.
In conclusion, I want to thank whoever has been reading this blog for doing so. I really enjoyed the experience of writing it, and I hope that you were able to share in some of the fun I was having. It was a great experience for me (both the trip and writing about it).
Hasta luego.
I've been home for a week and a half now, and realizing that I never got to the end of my time in Spain, I figured I should get the last bit out.
My last week in Madrid was a bit crazy. My internship had a conference that we had been preparing for the vast majority of my time there. It was to discuss responses to alleged biological weapons attacks, as was done in conjunction with the Council of the European Union (that's sort of the EU equivalent of the Senate, but unelected with multiple configurations) and the UN Office of Disarmament Affairs in Geneva. The fact that three different bodies, all with very distinct operating procedures, were working on one project meant that it was absurdly difficult to organize and assign tasks. Fortunately, we were only in charge of the local logistics, like hotel, food, and venue, but that didn't stop us from having more than a few conflicts, especially with the people in Geneva. While it was infuriating at the time, it was an interesting experience in cultural differences. My coworkers were surprisingly laid back about the whole affair, which unnerved me, but ended up being the best choice considering that, at the last minute, the roof of our conference room collapsed at the first restaurant made impossible demands.
My chief role at the conference was to be the lead English speaker for our organization. Although the director, Vicente, spoke English reasonably well, he was often occupied with other things and did not know the logistical aspect. The other real employee, Sandra, spoke in partial sentences in what sounded like a Russian accent, though she seemed to understand it well. The other intern, Dona, made a good effort, but was largely limited to asking people how they were, smiling agreeably, and then promising that the next time they met, she would speak much better. They left me to sorting out problems and concerns, which was surprisingly enjoyable.
The sessions were somewhat interesting, but tended to have a bit too much disarmament jargon for me. Unlike other fields, technical diplomatic jargon tends to use common phrases, like "capacity building", but uses them to imply specific scenarios. To listen it without knowing the context, it sounds like people are purposefully using the vaguest terms possible, but in reality, they are hashing out particular arrangements. As a result, people tend to have arguments over wordings that seem semantic, put actually convey a great deal of meaning. For instance, I heard one discussion over whether the conference title should have been "alleged use" or "alleged misuse", since the biological agents could be used potentially in peaceful ways, which was obscured by "use". "Misuse", however, implied that it was know whether the outbreak was caused by peaceful or non-peaceful uses, which is usually not the case. No resolution was reached, but all parties agreed that "alleged" was poorly chosen in that it was too accusatory.
Given that biological disarmament isn't my field, one of the best parts for me was the meals. Given that the conference was supposed to reflect well on the Spanish Presidency of the Council (which rotates every half-year), we were tasked with giving the delegates a favorable impression of Spanish culture, a large part of which is food and wine-based. All the meals were in places I had never been to, and were quite good, but the best part was that the participants were all very social and usually interesting. I got to discuss Finnish polka, Nick Clegg, the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, and host of other things. It was the most English I has spoken in a long time. We even gave a short tour of the La Latina neighborhood. Overall, everyone told me that the host logistics were among the best they had seen.
My last few days in Madrid were a bit of a whirlwind, as though the city wanted to remind me that I had a good time. After recovering from the conference, I had two more nights to get some final things and see the sights one last time. On my penultimate night, I decided that I would give the discos in Chueca one last shot. I hadn't been since shortly after I started my internship, when I realized how much I enjoyed sleeping at night rather than staying out until sunrise, especially on weeknights. I was afraid I had last contact with the friends I had made there, but one of them called as I was getting off the bus, and by time I left, I had run into three of them. No one was mad at me for disappearing for two months and demanding a last hurrah. They didn't even argue when I decided to go back before they turned the lights on. My last night, one of the American delegates from the conference took me out to Botín, which is supposedly the oldest restaurant in the world. We had a really good time and when we finished eating a traditional musical group came up to play. One of the guys was from my econ class, and though we had never talked before, he came over to say hello, talk about the class, and exchange information. It almost made me feel like I knew a lot of people, even if that is completely untrue.
So, now I'm back in the states. I've been spending two weeks in New Jersey before I head up to Providence to work on my preliminary thesis reading, begin planning for next year, and try to find something else productive to do. Being back in the U.S. has been fantastic. Other than seeing so many people I know, I've missed the convenience, the friendliness, and the informality of American life. At the risk of sounding like I've become deeply conservative (as many have accused me recently), this is really an extraordinary country. The fact that many Americans define themselves not by a common history or ethnicity, but by a commitment to shared ideals is really remarkable after a semester in Spain. On a more practical scale, I love that the waitress is nice to me, that the drug store has hundreds of varieties of men's stick deodorant instead of one or two, and that it is socially acceptable to not just sit and talk in a coffee shop, but also to read or take a cup to drink while walking. As much as the politics of the early to mid 2000's made "freedom" a polarizing word, it is a concept that is embraced by daily American society in a way is both profound and mundane.
So far, I've had no serious incidents of reintegration shock. It's a little weird not speaking to service people in Spanish and whenever I walk by someone talking in a Latin American dialect, I always think how strange it sounds. My dreams have been increasingly in Spanish, though I'm not quite sure why. Though I've gotten a little wistful at some videos from a Spanish friend on Facebook, I'm not quite up to missing my time abroad. I'm sure it will happen, but right now I'm just enjoying rediscovering my home.
Given what I've seen on other study abroad blogs, this is the point where I'm supposed to say something profound about how my experience abroad changed me. This is where I get a bit lost. In my mind, one of the most profound parts of living in Spain was how banal it could when I wasn't traveling or doing something "cultural". It sometimes seems like the assumption in going abroad in the U.S. is that it will be exotic: things will be weird and new and exciting and you will gain some sort of insight from living in a strange land. I think this is largely because we as a society travel so little. In Erasmus, the European study abroad system, the assumption is that one studies abroad because it's a nice break that looks good on your resume. You'll meet some cool people, see some interesting places, and go to some good parties. There's really no underlying assumption of immersion, because it's not seen all that differently from an American going to "immerse" themself in the culture of California. While it may be easy to say that the Europeans are just more similar to one another, that often isn't the case.
While I've tried, especially in this blog, to focus on new cultural experiences, the truth of the matter is that life in Spain is just a life. There's nothing magical or romantic about it; it's just different. In some ways, the experience was really defined by focusing on the cultural aspects, and I could write a similar blog about my life in the States. In many ways, I think this was the most important note I've taken from my trip. It taught be to be on guard against exoticism and realize the role that culture plays in everyone's life.
In conclusion, I want to thank whoever has been reading this blog for doing so. I really enjoyed the experience of writing it, and I hope that you were able to share in some of the fun I was having. It was a great experience for me (both the trip and writing about it).
Hasta luego.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Things are going well...I swear!!!
I'm heading home in a week. It feels pretty weird. Though I realize it's pretty cliche, a lot of things have been happening, but I've been so busy I haven't been able to write.
Firstly, Basque Country: I had plans to write a long and super interesting post about Basque Country. It was a fantastic place and probably my favorite trip in Spain. It actually does feel like being in a different country. You hit the mountains at the end of the Castillan plain and all of a sudden everything is green, pastoral, and mountainous and the Spanish flag is nowhere in sight. People are more restrained, things are more closely packed, and if you listen closely, you can hear people speaking in Euskara, a pre-Indo-European language that is still widely used*.
For me, the most interesting part was the Basque nationalist movement, which is the driving force behind ETA, a terrorist group that has killed over 800 people in the past 40 years. While in Bilbao (the largest city, known for the stunning Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum), I learned that a bit outside of the city, there was a Basque nationalism museum. I took the bus ride into the countryside, got off at the town I was told it was in, and wandered until I found it. After eating, I rang the doorbell (a museum had a doorbell!) and a young woman came down. "Would you like a free guided tour, or should I just open the exhibit," she asked me, not minding that I only spoke the language of her "oppressors". After I tried for a while to express my confusion over the idea that this barely opened museum in podunk rural Euskadi even existed, she decided that she should give me the tour. It lasted an hour and a half and was fantastic. I learned all about the gradual construction of Basque nationalism in a way that was shockingly unbiased, stopping to clarify everything I seemed confused about. At the end, they gave me a 300 page color book to thank me for stopping by. Something tells me they don't get many Americans.
After a day in Bilbao, we headed to San Sebastian, a stunningly beautiful and formerly popular beach resort and old fishing town. It's known for pintxos, the Basque version of tapas, which instead of being free/cheap and plentiful, are shockingly expensive and stingy. In all fairness, they typically use expensive ingredients in small, elaborate displays instead of piling cheap fried things on a plate, but still, at around €3 a piece, it was impossible to get full on them. In addition to relaxing and just walking around (too rainy to go to the beach) we found a decrepit but functioning amusement park on the top of a mountain, complete with one of those old bumper car rigs. Although the sign only gave a price for children, the operator didn't mind letting us have a go. We also ran into one of the most famous of the nationalist bars, marked by the militaristic murals inside and pictures of terrorists (as martyrs) in the front. Photos are forbidden and we only walked in for a brief second, but I managed to find one online:
This weekend, I went to a bullfight, which was surprisingly fun. I even ran into some people I knew - the host family of another student (and the only other one I've met). We ended up getting some pretty good toreadors and I think we got a bit of the gist of it. I'm glad I went - I've seen too many videos of it on the news not to go.
Last Thursday was my final exam for Economics of the EU. My professor had told all the foreigners who showed up in class on a regular basis that he wanted to give us oral exams, both to make up for the additional inherent difficulty, but also to reward us for coming to class. My exam questions included:
Thursday and Friday were also the birthdays of two of my coworkers (I only have three). In Spain, it is tradition for the person with the birthday to take everyone else out, but we just did coffee and pastries at the cafe. Pilar told me that you are expected to give a gift reciprocal to the amount spent on you when you went out, but this seemed too complicated and I heard conflicting information. In the end, I got them both cupcakes from the only cupcake shop in Madrid, explaining that it was a very traditional American pastry to eat on your birthday. They got a kick out of it.
Over the past two weeks, I've been really busy helping to organize my internship's conference, which starts tomorrow and lasts until Friday. It's on the EU's response to a biological weapons attack, though I haven't dealt with the content at all. I've just been dealing with the nightmare of organizing hotels and a bit of the transportation. It has put me in a pretty bad mood when I first get back in the afternoon (not eating anything substantial before 4 PM doesn't help), and I've been really tired. Pilar (my host mother, if you've forgotten) was worried about me last week. First she kept asking me if everything was good, then she started to ask pointed questions to figure out what was wrong (were things good with Andrew? Were my parents alright? Did I not have friends to hang out with?). After finding nothing wrong other than my being tired, she started to try to convince me that I was having a good time. We eventually had an argument over why I would prefer to wear a pair of dirty socks than borrow a pair of her son's when she hadn't done wash for a while (Answer: I'm a college student accustomed to living in my own filth). Fortunately, she's had a few days off to relax and I felt much better over sleeping last weekend. We had some nice conversations over lunches on Saturday and Sunday. Still I'm not getting to see her much this week, since I've been working so late. I will certainly miss her.
It's sort of a shame that I'm not going to get to really enjoy Spain in my last week, but the conference should be really interesting and I believe there will be some interesting people**. Also, we get free meals with the delegates. I picked out one of the menus (the director gave me two options), which as I remember involves duck, foie gras, and tuna steak. After it's over, I have just one weekend to wrap up loose ends and get ready to leave.
*It should be noted that while Euskara (Euskara is the Basque language, Euskal is "Basque" in Euskara, Euskadi is "Basque Country" in Euskara) has nothing to do with Spanish, it is phonetically almost identical. As a result, you have to listen really hard to figure out which language people are speaking. In its written form, Euskara has been intentionally designed to look different. All the c's have been replaced by k's, many of the s's have been replaced by z's, and all the ch's have been replaced by tx's. For instance, kalimotxo, a popular combination of wine and coca cola, is rendered as "calimocho" in Castellano, though, a lot of people write it as "kalimocho" because writing things with k's is considered hip.
**One of the UN Disarmament people sent an email in which he commented that he rarely gets a bed when on assignment. I'm going to make sure to have a conversation with him. While it's possible that these assignments were otherwise uninteresting, I somehow doubt it.
Firstly, Basque Country: I had plans to write a long and super interesting post about Basque Country. It was a fantastic place and probably my favorite trip in Spain. It actually does feel like being in a different country. You hit the mountains at the end of the Castillan plain and all of a sudden everything is green, pastoral, and mountainous and the Spanish flag is nowhere in sight. People are more restrained, things are more closely packed, and if you listen closely, you can hear people speaking in Euskara, a pre-Indo-European language that is still widely used*.
For me, the most interesting part was the Basque nationalist movement, which is the driving force behind ETA, a terrorist group that has killed over 800 people in the past 40 years. While in Bilbao (the largest city, known for the stunning Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum), I learned that a bit outside of the city, there was a Basque nationalism museum. I took the bus ride into the countryside, got off at the town I was told it was in, and wandered until I found it. After eating, I rang the doorbell (a museum had a doorbell!) and a young woman came down. "Would you like a free guided tour, or should I just open the exhibit," she asked me, not minding that I only spoke the language of her "oppressors". After I tried for a while to express my confusion over the idea that this barely opened museum in podunk rural Euskadi even existed, she decided that she should give me the tour. It lasted an hour and a half and was fantastic. I learned all about the gradual construction of Basque nationalism in a way that was shockingly unbiased, stopping to clarify everything I seemed confused about. At the end, they gave me a 300 page color book to thank me for stopping by. Something tells me they don't get many Americans.
After a day in Bilbao, we headed to San Sebastian, a stunningly beautiful and formerly popular beach resort and old fishing town. It's known for pintxos, the Basque version of tapas, which instead of being free/cheap and plentiful, are shockingly expensive and stingy. In all fairness, they typically use expensive ingredients in small, elaborate displays instead of piling cheap fried things on a plate, but still, at around €3 a piece, it was impossible to get full on them. In addition to relaxing and just walking around (too rainy to go to the beach) we found a decrepit but functioning amusement park on the top of a mountain, complete with one of those old bumper car rigs. Although the sign only gave a price for children, the operator didn't mind letting us have a go. We also ran into one of the most famous of the nationalist bars, marked by the militaristic murals inside and pictures of terrorists (as martyrs) in the front. Photos are forbidden and we only walked in for a brief second, but I managed to find one online:
This weekend, I went to a bullfight, which was surprisingly fun. I even ran into some people I knew - the host family of another student (and the only other one I've met). We ended up getting some pretty good toreadors and I think we got a bit of the gist of it. I'm glad I went - I've seen too many videos of it on the news not to go.
Last Thursday was my final exam for Economics of the EU. My professor had told all the foreigners who showed up in class on a regular basis that he wanted to give us oral exams, both to make up for the additional inherent difficulty, but also to reward us for coming to class. My exam questions included:
- How would you describe the EU to a taxi driver on your way home from the airport when you get back to the United States.
- What do you think is the most important EU policy?
- Do you think the euro is doomed? Why?
- I'm sure you know (I do, but what if I didn't?) about the division of political and fiscal competencies in the EU. I don't know much about the American system. Could you explain it to me?
- What do you think about the weather we've been having lately? Pretty weird, huh?
- Let me tell you a little about my spring break trip with my family to New York City...
Thursday and Friday were also the birthdays of two of my coworkers (I only have three). In Spain, it is tradition for the person with the birthday to take everyone else out, but we just did coffee and pastries at the cafe. Pilar told me that you are expected to give a gift reciprocal to the amount spent on you when you went out, but this seemed too complicated and I heard conflicting information. In the end, I got them both cupcakes from the only cupcake shop in Madrid, explaining that it was a very traditional American pastry to eat on your birthday. They got a kick out of it.
Over the past two weeks, I've been really busy helping to organize my internship's conference, which starts tomorrow and lasts until Friday. It's on the EU's response to a biological weapons attack, though I haven't dealt with the content at all. I've just been dealing with the nightmare of organizing hotels and a bit of the transportation. It has put me in a pretty bad mood when I first get back in the afternoon (not eating anything substantial before 4 PM doesn't help), and I've been really tired. Pilar (my host mother, if you've forgotten) was worried about me last week. First she kept asking me if everything was good, then she started to ask pointed questions to figure out what was wrong (were things good with Andrew? Were my parents alright? Did I not have friends to hang out with?). After finding nothing wrong other than my being tired, she started to try to convince me that I was having a good time. We eventually had an argument over why I would prefer to wear a pair of dirty socks than borrow a pair of her son's when she hadn't done wash for a while (Answer: I'm a college student accustomed to living in my own filth). Fortunately, she's had a few days off to relax and I felt much better over sleeping last weekend. We had some nice conversations over lunches on Saturday and Sunday. Still I'm not getting to see her much this week, since I've been working so late. I will certainly miss her.
It's sort of a shame that I'm not going to get to really enjoy Spain in my last week, but the conference should be really interesting and I believe there will be some interesting people**. Also, we get free meals with the delegates. I picked out one of the menus (the director gave me two options), which as I remember involves duck, foie gras, and tuna steak. After it's over, I have just one weekend to wrap up loose ends and get ready to leave.
*It should be noted that while Euskara (Euskara is the Basque language, Euskal is "Basque" in Euskara, Euskadi is "Basque Country" in Euskara) has nothing to do with Spanish, it is phonetically almost identical. As a result, you have to listen really hard to figure out which language people are speaking. In its written form, Euskara has been intentionally designed to look different. All the c's have been replaced by k's, many of the s's have been replaced by z's, and all the ch's have been replaced by tx's. For instance, kalimotxo, a popular combination of wine and coca cola, is rendered as "calimocho" in Castellano, though, a lot of people write it as "kalimocho" because writing things with k's is considered hip.
**One of the UN Disarmament people sent an email in which he commented that he rarely gets a bed when on assignment. I'm going to make sure to have a conversation with him. While it's possible that these assignments were otherwise uninteresting, I somehow doubt it.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Barcelona: My Annoying, Very Attractive Acquaintance
I warn that this post is boring and whiny. I promise to do better next time. I wrote it after an 8 hour overnight bus trip in which we were told at 4:30 AM that we were going to take a 40 minute break at a rest stop and everyone had to get off. Basque Country will come soon...all in good time.
As my time in Madrid is beginning to rap up (two weeks for me), my program-mates and I have begun to get a little sentimental and do the whole meta-trip conversation thing when we occasionally run into one another while trying to use our printer in the office, since otherwise we're off on our own thing. Some people definitely talk about being in love with Madrid and being not able to imagine leaving. I think by and large these were the people who actually fell in love in Madrid, and the "with" part was the side effect, but maybe I'm just cynical. For me, I would say my feelings are best described by saying Madrid is just a good friend (metaphor stolen). Our relationship is pretty mundane, and while we enjoy spending time together, I won't be totally heartbroken leaving. In many ways, my departure seems more like a high school graduation than a breakup - we're both going our own ways, but we'll probably see one another again sometime.
If Madrid is my good friend, my trip this weekend to Barcelona revealed it to be a very attractive, if often annoying acquaintance. Sometimes I would convince myself into believing I really liked the character of the city, only to realize again that I was just taken with the old neighborhoods, nice beaches, and pretty modernist architecture. Don't get me wrong - I really liked Barcelona for these features, it's just not a very interesting thing to write about. The old neighborhoods are really well preserved and very pretty (not to mention the unbelievable Roman remains under the city), the beach was a nice place to spend the evening, and some of the areas (e.g. L'Eixample and Parc Güell) seemed like Gaudi-based fantasy lands. Also, Plaça d'Espanya is incredible at night. I wouldn't want to give the impression that I had a bad time; I just have zero desire to describe individual sites, so my overal positive feelings about the trip will just have to be taken at my word.
Perhaps the single most irritating thing about Barcelona is that it knows it's a tourist destination, and exploits that fact. Generally, tourists want to see one of a few districts that have interesting attractions. Perhaps there are just more tourists there than in Madrid (though Pilar tells me this is false), but it seems like the locals avoid these areas at all costs. As a result, they become a sort of Spanish-themed beach-side amusement park, reminiscent of ¡Bienvenido, Mr. Marshall!, a 1950's movie in which a Castillan town tries to become stereotypically Spanish (using mostly Andalusian culture) to impress American representatives who are distributing Marshall Plan funds. All the popular areas are packed with restaurants offering "Your choice of two authentic Spanish tapas and a sangria for €12" or images of six varieties of paella. Considering that tapas should in theory come free with drinks, that sangria is not usually consumed in restaurants*, and that those displays of paella indicate that it's probably reheated frozen food, I felt a bit angry at them for taking advantage of the passersby.
However, more than being angry for the other tourists, I found myself increasingly annoyed by them, even though they were in fairness the only people who wanted to talk to me as I was traveling alone (everyone from my program has already gone, and most were studying or getting ready to leave Spain). They were almost exclusively fratty spring break types or stereotypical people in bucket hats and ugly shirts that they must reserve exclusively for foreign travel. I couldn't understand why everyone in my hostel seemed to have come to sit on the beach and then go clubbing. From what I see on Jersey Shore, this can be accomplished for cheaper with much greater convenience in Seaside Heights. I got some really weird looks in the hostel for saying I didn't want to go out because I was tired from a busy day.
In part, I think, this has to do with what has become for me a near obsession with trying to pass as being either Spanish, or a resident foreigner (as the former ceases to be an option after I open my mouth). I think it's probably a mix of a bunch of things, including trying to show myself that I'm doing well at cultural immersion and some sort of thrill I get from passing (maybe it's a gay thing), but I get really disappointed when people treat me as an American. While it's easy in Madrid, the flux of tourists in Barcelona made this really hard to do. I think my annoyance was, in part because the tourists reminded me that we weren't so different from one another. In the end, I just spoke better Spanish and had a little more acquired cultural understanding than most of them. At least I'm hoping this is the case, because otherwise it bodes poorly for how my re-immersion will go. With any luck, I won't cringe at people speaking English in the streets back in the states.
Anyway, while the sites were lovely, I'm really glad I didn't study in Barcelona, which is the site of the Brown in Spain program. I'm sure there are better areas to hang out, but between the tourists and Catalan, I wasn't really a fan. The use of Catalan in public places is really annoying** and not exactly conducive to learning Spanish. Barcelona also seems to have this weird 90's feel to it that I couldn't shake. Maybe it was all the Olympic architecture, but it just felt a little past its prime.
*Sangria is known in Spain for being a) cheap and b) a fast way to get drunk. It is typically sold in 1 liter paper cartons for €1.50, and has the added bonus that one can add additional liquor without changing the taste too much. I doubt the restaurants in Barcelona are using the cartons (though my hostel did without anyone noticing), but it's not really that expensive to make. Most self-respecting restaurants only serve tinto de verano, an absolutely delicious mix of wine and lemon soda, since it's less boozy and more classy.
**On a Catalan note, my hotel was off a street called Paral⋅lel, occasionally rendered as Paral.lel or Paral-lel. The reason is that "LL" makes a "y" sound in Catalan, but for some reason they still insist on using to l's, perhaps to make it look like French.
As my time in Madrid is beginning to rap up (two weeks for me), my program-mates and I have begun to get a little sentimental and do the whole meta-trip conversation thing when we occasionally run into one another while trying to use our printer in the office, since otherwise we're off on our own thing. Some people definitely talk about being in love with Madrid and being not able to imagine leaving. I think by and large these were the people who actually fell in love in Madrid, and the "with" part was the side effect, but maybe I'm just cynical. For me, I would say my feelings are best described by saying Madrid is just a good friend (metaphor stolen). Our relationship is pretty mundane, and while we enjoy spending time together, I won't be totally heartbroken leaving. In many ways, my departure seems more like a high school graduation than a breakup - we're both going our own ways, but we'll probably see one another again sometime.
If Madrid is my good friend, my trip this weekend to Barcelona revealed it to be a very attractive, if often annoying acquaintance. Sometimes I would convince myself into believing I really liked the character of the city, only to realize again that I was just taken with the old neighborhoods, nice beaches, and pretty modernist architecture. Don't get me wrong - I really liked Barcelona for these features, it's just not a very interesting thing to write about. The old neighborhoods are really well preserved and very pretty (not to mention the unbelievable Roman remains under the city), the beach was a nice place to spend the evening, and some of the areas (e.g. L'Eixample and Parc Güell) seemed like Gaudi-based fantasy lands. Also, Plaça d'Espanya is incredible at night. I wouldn't want to give the impression that I had a bad time; I just have zero desire to describe individual sites, so my overal positive feelings about the trip will just have to be taken at my word.
Perhaps the single most irritating thing about Barcelona is that it knows it's a tourist destination, and exploits that fact. Generally, tourists want to see one of a few districts that have interesting attractions. Perhaps there are just more tourists there than in Madrid (though Pilar tells me this is false), but it seems like the locals avoid these areas at all costs. As a result, they become a sort of Spanish-themed beach-side amusement park, reminiscent of ¡Bienvenido, Mr. Marshall!, a 1950's movie in which a Castillan town tries to become stereotypically Spanish (using mostly Andalusian culture) to impress American representatives who are distributing Marshall Plan funds. All the popular areas are packed with restaurants offering "Your choice of two authentic Spanish tapas and a sangria for €12" or images of six varieties of paella. Considering that tapas should in theory come free with drinks, that sangria is not usually consumed in restaurants*, and that those displays of paella indicate that it's probably reheated frozen food, I felt a bit angry at them for taking advantage of the passersby.
However, more than being angry for the other tourists, I found myself increasingly annoyed by them, even though they were in fairness the only people who wanted to talk to me as I was traveling alone (everyone from my program has already gone, and most were studying or getting ready to leave Spain). They were almost exclusively fratty spring break types or stereotypical people in bucket hats and ugly shirts that they must reserve exclusively for foreign travel. I couldn't understand why everyone in my hostel seemed to have come to sit on the beach and then go clubbing. From what I see on Jersey Shore, this can be accomplished for cheaper with much greater convenience in Seaside Heights. I got some really weird looks in the hostel for saying I didn't want to go out because I was tired from a busy day.
In part, I think, this has to do with what has become for me a near obsession with trying to pass as being either Spanish, or a resident foreigner (as the former ceases to be an option after I open my mouth). I think it's probably a mix of a bunch of things, including trying to show myself that I'm doing well at cultural immersion and some sort of thrill I get from passing (maybe it's a gay thing), but I get really disappointed when people treat me as an American. While it's easy in Madrid, the flux of tourists in Barcelona made this really hard to do. I think my annoyance was, in part because the tourists reminded me that we weren't so different from one another. In the end, I just spoke better Spanish and had a little more acquired cultural understanding than most of them. At least I'm hoping this is the case, because otherwise it bodes poorly for how my re-immersion will go. With any luck, I won't cringe at people speaking English in the streets back in the states.
Anyway, while the sites were lovely, I'm really glad I didn't study in Barcelona, which is the site of the Brown in Spain program. I'm sure there are better areas to hang out, but between the tourists and Catalan, I wasn't really a fan. The use of Catalan in public places is really annoying** and not exactly conducive to learning Spanish. Barcelona also seems to have this weird 90's feel to it that I couldn't shake. Maybe it was all the Olympic architecture, but it just felt a little past its prime.
*Sangria is known in Spain for being a) cheap and b) a fast way to get drunk. It is typically sold in 1 liter paper cartons for €1.50, and has the added bonus that one can add additional liquor without changing the taste too much. I doubt the restaurants in Barcelona are using the cartons (though my hostel did without anyone noticing), but it's not really that expensive to make. Most self-respecting restaurants only serve tinto de verano, an absolutely delicious mix of wine and lemon soda, since it's less boozy and more classy.
**On a Catalan note, my hotel was off a street called Paral⋅lel, occasionally rendered as Paral.lel or Paral-lel. The reason is that "LL" makes a "y" sound in Catalan, but for some reason they still insist on using to l's, perhaps to make it look like French.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
A Quick Story
Due to these three weeks of midterms and finals, it is looking conceivable that I will not be able to update this blog much before I leave. That's a pity, since I have done enough interesting things to justify several more posts. I am mulling over the possibility of doing some post-hoc blogging upon my return to the states, or at least on the plane. In the mean time, I have a very short story of why I will miss Turkey.
I am now leaving in about 10 days, which means that I am mostly taking finals and saying goodbye to people. The prospect of leaving seems easier in the context of the heat and humidity that have suddenly colored all aspects of life in Ankara (and has made the library entirely unbearable) and the fact that I have been spending most days studying for final exams.
This evening, I decided that even my room was too hot to stay in, so I went outside to see if I could find a place to read my textbook. I found a globe light to the side of my dorm just sort of sticking out of the grass and some plastic chairs nearby. I dragged the chair over to the light, and sat down to read. I heard some people nearby but remained focused on reading, hoping they wouldn't mind that I moved the chair and was doing something so un-Turkish as reading outside alone at night.
Eventually I heard some footsteps approach, and saw an old man (probably a janitor) holding a glass plate full of cookies and a large glass of tea. He asked, "Would you like some tea?"
I said "Thank you," and put my hand to my chest in a practice that is unfortunately ambiguous, but seemingly the only polite way to say "no" in Turkish. Either the man believed that I had meant "yes" or refused my refusal (the second is very common) because he proceeded to hand me the entire plate/tea combo. He then took out a bowl of sugar and started scooping sugar into my cup. When I indicated that I had enough sugar by hastily stirring my tea, the man went away and came back with a chair. At first I thought that he wanted to talk, but he then put the tray on the extra chair. I thanked him and he asked if I was a foreigner. I told him yes, that I was from America. He seemed pleased by this and went off.
I finished my tea and all seven or so cookies, and found the man to give him his plate, cup and saucer back. He asked twice if I wanted more, and each time I politely refused, thanking him again for the tea and telling him it was good for studying. He then introduced me to his wife, who also wanted to know if I was a foreigner. I thanked them again and went off to study.
The thing is that that wasn't even the first cup of tea someone had given me that day. Turkish hospitality is so overwhelming that it can make foreigners feel uncomfortable. In fact, the other person that bought me tea today told me a story of a Korean in Turkey that couldn't understand why the bus would offer him food, drinks and cologne (I find the last pretty disagreeable, as it makes the entire bus smell like pine-sol). Here, anything less would be considered rude. I spent months believing that I had to live up to the wonderful treatment I was getting before I realized that everyone's kindness was only a response to my being there and nothing more. Having been a perpetual guest for the past six months, I can say that will really miss the world's most hospitable nation.
I am now leaving in about 10 days, which means that I am mostly taking finals and saying goodbye to people. The prospect of leaving seems easier in the context of the heat and humidity that have suddenly colored all aspects of life in Ankara (and has made the library entirely unbearable) and the fact that I have been spending most days studying for final exams.
This evening, I decided that even my room was too hot to stay in, so I went outside to see if I could find a place to read my textbook. I found a globe light to the side of my dorm just sort of sticking out of the grass and some plastic chairs nearby. I dragged the chair over to the light, and sat down to read. I heard some people nearby but remained focused on reading, hoping they wouldn't mind that I moved the chair and was doing something so un-Turkish as reading outside alone at night.
Eventually I heard some footsteps approach, and saw an old man (probably a janitor) holding a glass plate full of cookies and a large glass of tea. He asked, "Would you like some tea?"
I said "Thank you," and put my hand to my chest in a practice that is unfortunately ambiguous, but seemingly the only polite way to say "no" in Turkish. Either the man believed that I had meant "yes" or refused my refusal (the second is very common) because he proceeded to hand me the entire plate/tea combo. He then took out a bowl of sugar and started scooping sugar into my cup. When I indicated that I had enough sugar by hastily stirring my tea, the man went away and came back with a chair. At first I thought that he wanted to talk, but he then put the tray on the extra chair. I thanked him and he asked if I was a foreigner. I told him yes, that I was from America. He seemed pleased by this and went off.
I finished my tea and all seven or so cookies, and found the man to give him his plate, cup and saucer back. He asked twice if I wanted more, and each time I politely refused, thanking him again for the tea and telling him it was good for studying. He then introduced me to his wife, who also wanted to know if I was a foreigner. I thanked them again and went off to study.
The thing is that that wasn't even the first cup of tea someone had given me that day. Turkish hospitality is so overwhelming that it can make foreigners feel uncomfortable. In fact, the other person that bought me tea today told me a story of a Korean in Turkey that couldn't understand why the bus would offer him food, drinks and cologne (I find the last pretty disagreeable, as it makes the entire bus smell like pine-sol). Here, anything less would be considered rude. I spent months believing that I had to live up to the wonderful treatment I was getting before I realized that everyone's kindness was only a response to my being there and nothing more. Having been a perpetual guest for the past six months, I can say that will really miss the world's most hospitable nation.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
The Spanish Joke My Coworker Couldn't Stop Laughing About
I'm going to hopefully write a post about my trip to the Basque Country soon (it was awesome), perhaps mixed with my professor's claims of cultural universality, but first, this joke email the other intern in my office thought was the funniest thing ever. I don't get Spanish jokes. I think they just aren't that funny. The punch lines are always super blunt and tend to deal with the same five tired themes, most frequently that the government is corrupt and incompetent. I find it a little disappointing that I understood most of the jokes in a parody song in my second month in Spain, whereas I still don't get all of the cultural references on American TV. This example follows:
SOCIAL ALARM. NEW PHILOLOGICAL SCANDAL.
The Spanish Postal Service has released a new stamp with the image of the President of the Government, Mr. José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.Said intern is actually Italian, but married a Spaniard and has been living here for a while. The other person who works in the office had an Italian parent, so they speak Italian together. From my experience, it seems like people who speak both languages mix up Italian and Spanish quite frequently, so sometimes they speak to me in a language I only occasionally understand and then wonder why I look confused.
However, it has been detected that the stamps do not stick well to envelopes and fall off, which has infuriated the President of the Government, who has demanded an immediate and exhaustive investigation
After a month of inquiries and polls, the special commission of the Government presented the results of its investigation.
People spit on the wrong side of the stamp.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
A Tale of Two Festivals
First off, I appoligize for not posting in some time. I'm finally getting work in accordance with the end of the semester. I have now completed three classes (Seminar on Contemporary Spain, Politics of the EU, and the academic component of my internship program), the first two of which I did quite well in (still awaiting the third). I still have one more paper and an oral exam for Economics of the EU and I have to finish a paper for the academic component of my internship. Other than that, I finish my economics class tomorrow and then I can focus on my internship, my last paper, and my last exam, which I'm told will actually be a low-key conversation as a reward for attending class regularly.
Lately, I've been staying in Madrid on the weekends. Part of this is that I realize that travel is really tiring. While I enjoy travelling by bus, not sleeping, and holding all my stuff in my school backpack, it's not really sustainable and I think I've overdone it a little. The other reason is that there has been a lot to do in Madrid recently. It's finally getting nice outside (about a month later than expected), which makes the city about twenty times more enjoyable. Spanish culture just makes more sense in good weather. People spend a lot of time in the street*, which isn't much fun when it's cold and/or raining. Now that it's nice, it's worth it just to spend the afternoon having a drink outside or going for a long walk in a neigborhood I haven't seen before. I took a trip to the mountains this past weekend, which was incredibly beautiful.
Two weekends ago was Europe Day, the official holidy of the European Union, which commemorates the Schuman Declaration of 1950, which outlined French plans to create a de facto political union. While I have been...uh...observing this holiday since my sophomore year of high school, this was my first year doing so in the EU. Needless to say, I was quite excited. I looked online and found all the available information. There were a few events, but the important ones appeared to be a flag raising in Princípe Pío, a plaza outside a major train station, and music, dance, and theater festival in Lavapiés, the mostly immigrant neighborhood to my north.
It turns out that Europe Day is only slightly more celebrated in Spain than in the United States. The flag raising was fantastic, though poorly attended. The vast majority of people there, which was probably around 150, were official invitees, including politicians from all levels of government, civil society representatives, military honor guard, and some students in European flag shirts. The remaining 40 or so were just average people, who stood around outside the barrier trying to get a view. A young woman distributed pins and balloons and tried to get everyone excited. The ceremony itself consisted of some sailors raising the European flag with the band playing Ode to Joy (the European anthem) followed by Marcha Real (the Spanish Anthem)**. A few officials made speeches about the importance of the EU symbols (flag, anthem, Europe Day, and motto) for solidifying a European identity and discussed the goals of the European movement and the EU. I found it quite moving, but I'm admittedly strange in that regard. One amusing event was that I ran into a Spanish friend, Marcos, as everyone was leaving. He was officially invited and was sort of surprised that I would have bothered to show up. I was just surprised that out of all the people in Madrid, I would run into one of my few friends (and one who I did not meet in an academic or professional capacity, at that) at an event with such low attendence.
I have more pictures as well. I'll try to get all my other pictures up now that I have facebook uploader working again.
The afternoon celebration, entitled "Europe in the World of Lavapiés" was actually quite a big deal, though I don't think anyone realized what was being celebrated. They got performers from all over Europe and put them in the main squares of the neighborhood. I saw a Bulgarian folk dance group and some Czech jugglers. There were a ton of balloons (I got one to keep for posterity) and people watching and drinking beer. Lavapiés isn't exactly a classy place (some of my friends were once scoffed at for asking if there was more than one brand of beer in a bar), which made it a good site for the event. I didn't stay for long, but it was a good time.
In contrast to the underwhelming observation of Europe Day, the next Saturday was the festival of San Isidro, patron saint of Madrid. According to Pilar, San Isidro used to be a small affair characterized by a single folk dance event. It has since grown and this year was a huge celebration in honor of the 100th birthday of Gran Vía, the main street of Madrid. I checked out the Gran Vía first thing in the morning. It was covered from end to end in a bright blue carpet that erupted into celebration around 6:00 PM. What exactly people were doing on the carpet was not exactly clear. There were performances on either end (at Plaza de España and Red de San Luis), but in the middle there were many, many blocks in which the only excitement was the blue carpet. This did not phase the Spanish, who turned out in huge numbers to walk back and forth on the carpet, watch people do impromptu traditional dance performances, and sit down and drink. It's hard to believe that it would be difficult to move because everyone was crowding to see not much of anything. Other excitements included the traditional folk festival for which the holiday is known, a very avant-garde theater festival in Lavapiés (the immigrant neighborhood to my north), and a giant cake sculpture in Plaza de Callao. There were also fireworks at night.
Also, the number of men wearing black and white tweed vests, jackets and flat caps was astounding. This is apparently the traditional Madrileño costume, with women wearing not particularly elaborate white and black/blue/red polka-dotted dresses. Given how pretty the traditional dress in Valencia was during Las Fallas, it was a bit of a letdown. I did learn, however, that it represents Madrid's unofficial "chulo" attitude, which means something between cool and cocky.
As an added bonus (it took me weeks to get this post out) I saw a third festival, the "Homonaje a María Auxiliadora", which best I can do translates roughly to "Homage to the Assistant Mary" (according to some websites, it is because she is the "assistant" to God). The church on my street goes by the same name, so on her saint day, there was a celebration. After what I can only assume were many masses, a procession was held in my neighborhood, complete with horseback riders, two bands, adorable children, a giant statue of the Virgin on a float being pulled by two people with a ring of supporters around them, widows dressed in black, and a few priests. Afterward, there was a surprisingly good firework display. I'm not quite sure the religious significance of fireworks, but then again I don't understand virtually anything about Spanish Catholicism, and since no one I know really believes in it, I don't foresee an end to my confusion anytime soon.
This weekend I'm off to Basque Country! Nire aerolabangailua aingirez beteta dago!
*As a side note, Paco, my portero, expressed his concern to me this week that it must be very difficult for Americans to meet girls, since they don't spend enough time out in the streets, presumably drinking. I assured him that college culture makes it quite easy, and after that, there are pleanty of house parties and bars, but it didn't really translate culturally. Residential colleges seem just as real to many Europeans as cowboys. I once had an Austrian coworker (in the U.S.) ask me whether fraternities really existed or whether they were just from movies. Moreover, house parties and going to a bar to meet people make little sense in Spain. People only invite close friends into their houses and in my experience, going alone to a bar or club is generally viewed poorly. I once had someone ask if I was feeling okay when I was sitting alone in a lounge, because obviously this meant that I was sick and was taking a break while my friends danced.
**Both don't have lyrics that are used anymore; in the case of Europe because of laguage issues, and for Spain because the words were written by Franco. Because of this, Marcha Real usually seems silly, but less so when paired with Ode to Joy. Also, I say "European" rather than "EU", because these symbols were originally used by the Council of Europe, which is an unrelated human rights body. The Council of Europe also observes Europe Day, but on 5 May to commemorate its founding.
Lately, I've been staying in Madrid on the weekends. Part of this is that I realize that travel is really tiring. While I enjoy travelling by bus, not sleeping, and holding all my stuff in my school backpack, it's not really sustainable and I think I've overdone it a little. The other reason is that there has been a lot to do in Madrid recently. It's finally getting nice outside (about a month later than expected), which makes the city about twenty times more enjoyable. Spanish culture just makes more sense in good weather. People spend a lot of time in the street*, which isn't much fun when it's cold and/or raining. Now that it's nice, it's worth it just to spend the afternoon having a drink outside or going for a long walk in a neigborhood I haven't seen before. I took a trip to the mountains this past weekend, which was incredibly beautiful.
Two weekends ago was Europe Day, the official holidy of the European Union, which commemorates the Schuman Declaration of 1950, which outlined French plans to create a de facto political union. While I have been...uh...observing this holiday since my sophomore year of high school, this was my first year doing so in the EU. Needless to say, I was quite excited. I looked online and found all the available information. There were a few events, but the important ones appeared to be a flag raising in Princípe Pío, a plaza outside a major train station, and music, dance, and theater festival in Lavapiés, the mostly immigrant neighborhood to my north.
It turns out that Europe Day is only slightly more celebrated in Spain than in the United States. The flag raising was fantastic, though poorly attended. The vast majority of people there, which was probably around 150, were official invitees, including politicians from all levels of government, civil society representatives, military honor guard, and some students in European flag shirts. The remaining 40 or so were just average people, who stood around outside the barrier trying to get a view. A young woman distributed pins and balloons and tried to get everyone excited. The ceremony itself consisted of some sailors raising the European flag with the band playing Ode to Joy (the European anthem) followed by Marcha Real (the Spanish Anthem)**. A few officials made speeches about the importance of the EU symbols (flag, anthem, Europe Day, and motto) for solidifying a European identity and discussed the goals of the European movement and the EU. I found it quite moving, but I'm admittedly strange in that regard. One amusing event was that I ran into a Spanish friend, Marcos, as everyone was leaving. He was officially invited and was sort of surprised that I would have bothered to show up. I was just surprised that out of all the people in Madrid, I would run into one of my few friends (and one who I did not meet in an academic or professional capacity, at that) at an event with such low attendence.
I have more pictures as well. I'll try to get all my other pictures up now that I have facebook uploader working again.
The afternoon celebration, entitled "Europe in the World of Lavapiés" was actually quite a big deal, though I don't think anyone realized what was being celebrated. They got performers from all over Europe and put them in the main squares of the neighborhood. I saw a Bulgarian folk dance group and some Czech jugglers. There were a ton of balloons (I got one to keep for posterity) and people watching and drinking beer. Lavapiés isn't exactly a classy place (some of my friends were once scoffed at for asking if there was more than one brand of beer in a bar), which made it a good site for the event. I didn't stay for long, but it was a good time.
In contrast to the underwhelming observation of Europe Day, the next Saturday was the festival of San Isidro, patron saint of Madrid. According to Pilar, San Isidro used to be a small affair characterized by a single folk dance event. It has since grown and this year was a huge celebration in honor of the 100th birthday of Gran Vía, the main street of Madrid. I checked out the Gran Vía first thing in the morning. It was covered from end to end in a bright blue carpet that erupted into celebration around 6:00 PM. What exactly people were doing on the carpet was not exactly clear. There were performances on either end (at Plaza de España and Red de San Luis), but in the middle there were many, many blocks in which the only excitement was the blue carpet. This did not phase the Spanish, who turned out in huge numbers to walk back and forth on the carpet, watch people do impromptu traditional dance performances, and sit down and drink. It's hard to believe that it would be difficult to move because everyone was crowding to see not much of anything. Other excitements included the traditional folk festival for which the holiday is known, a very avant-garde theater festival in Lavapiés (the immigrant neighborhood to my north), and a giant cake sculpture in Plaza de Callao. There were also fireworks at night.
Also, the number of men wearing black and white tweed vests, jackets and flat caps was astounding. This is apparently the traditional Madrileño costume, with women wearing not particularly elaborate white and black/blue/red polka-dotted dresses. Given how pretty the traditional dress in Valencia was during Las Fallas, it was a bit of a letdown. I did learn, however, that it represents Madrid's unofficial "chulo" attitude, which means something between cool and cocky.
As an added bonus (it took me weeks to get this post out) I saw a third festival, the "Homonaje a María Auxiliadora", which best I can do translates roughly to "Homage to the Assistant Mary" (according to some websites, it is because she is the "assistant" to God). The church on my street goes by the same name, so on her saint day, there was a celebration. After what I can only assume were many masses, a procession was held in my neighborhood, complete with horseback riders, two bands, adorable children, a giant statue of the Virgin on a float being pulled by two people with a ring of supporters around them, widows dressed in black, and a few priests. Afterward, there was a surprisingly good firework display. I'm not quite sure the religious significance of fireworks, but then again I don't understand virtually anything about Spanish Catholicism, and since no one I know really believes in it, I don't foresee an end to my confusion anytime soon.
This weekend I'm off to Basque Country! Nire aerolabangailua aingirez beteta dago!
*As a side note, Paco, my portero, expressed his concern to me this week that it must be very difficult for Americans to meet girls, since they don't spend enough time out in the streets, presumably drinking. I assured him that college culture makes it quite easy, and after that, there are pleanty of house parties and bars, but it didn't really translate culturally. Residential colleges seem just as real to many Europeans as cowboys. I once had an Austrian coworker (in the U.S.) ask me whether fraternities really existed or whether they were just from movies. Moreover, house parties and going to a bar to meet people make little sense in Spain. People only invite close friends into their houses and in my experience, going alone to a bar or club is generally viewed poorly. I once had someone ask if I was feeling okay when I was sitting alone in a lounge, because obviously this meant that I was sick and was taking a break while my friends danced.
**Both don't have lyrics that are used anymore; in the case of Europe because of laguage issues, and for Spain because the words were written by Franco. Because of this, Marcha Real usually seems silly, but less so when paired with Ode to Joy. Also, I say "European" rather than "EU", because these symbols were originally used by the Council of Europe, which is an unrelated human rights body. The Council of Europe also observes Europe Day, but on 5 May to commemorate its founding.
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