LUGO!

OK! Technical difficulties figured out... for now at least!

Wow. So. So much to tell about Lugo.  This trip was one of the best since I have moved to Spain.  I seriously learned so much, made some good friends, and got to see some amazing things.

A couple weeks ago, a substitute teacher at my school had invited me to his hometown of Lugo for a weekend.  This last weekend I took him up on the offer.  We started the trip out by taking the boat from Vigo to Cangas, where Alberto lives.  From there Lugo was a good 2 hour and 15 minute drive.  The nice part about going to visit someplace with a Spaniard is that you don't have to solely rely on public transportation.  Even though the public transportation is really very convenient compared to that in the US, it seems like a luxury to drive someplace now.

After arriving in Lugo, we went for a drive around town at night.  Alberto showed us the river, La Muralla (The Wall), and the old part of town.  Then we went to meet some of his family and friends.  I was so glad to have my friend Alex with me.  She speaks Spanish very well, and when there is a lull in the conversation, she knows just what to do.  Needless to say, we had an awesome time at this cafeteria getting to know Alberto's girlfriend, friends and brother, Juan.  We hung out, ate some tapas, and played a few practical jokes on each other.  (Alberto told one of his friends that we didn't speak any Castellano [Spanish].  This friend tried so hard to carry on a conversation with us using the very limited English that he knew.  "You, meat, Wisconsin, cows." After a good 30 second recording on a cell phone and lots of laughs, he finally figured out we were all joking.)

The next morning Alberto had so graciously arranged for us to visit a farm in the countryside of Lugo.  Alberto, his sister, sisters friend, Alex and I headed out to the farm.  After a long curvy road and a quick car sickness incident, we had arrived.  The farm was awesome.  It was like a taste of home.  It was a dairy farm of about 150 cows.  They had two locations.  One site that housed their dry cows, young stock and calving cows, and another site with the milking cows.

Dry cow barn

Beautiful countryside! 

This is the main original farm where they keep their young stock, dry cows, and calving cows.  

And this is their second location, where they have all their milking stock.   It is a brand spanking new 1 year old barn. 

Bulk Tanks! 

And on top of it all, a parlor! 

I learned that larger Dairies are very similar to those in the US.  The farm owner was so delighted to show us around and teach us about his business.

After a very scenic drive through the countryside we made our way to the Feria, which is apparently where the BEST Pulpo (octopus) is.  Now I know everyone back home probably reading this is thinking, yuck. Octopus? Really Erin? I'm not kidding you when I say it is seriously AWESOME.  I love Pulpo.  If anyone else comes to visit me, this is going to be part of our itinerary.  The Feria was essentially a traveling market.  People with random tents and campers travel from small town to small town every weekend selling clothing and other products.  We ate outside, under a tarp on a wooden picnic table.  It was raining, cold, and a bit windy, but none of these things dampened the experience.  We first ordered two plates of Pulpo.  It comes out on a wooden platter, the cook sprinkled a bit of paprika on top and doused it with olive oil.  Then everyone passed around a loaf of bread, cracked off a chunk, and used a toothpick to scoop up the pulpo onto the bread.  The meal was nothing fancy or extravagant, but I think it was one of the best experiences because it is something that really happens.  Its not a touristy gimmick.  Everyone there was Galician.  After a nice relaxing meal of pulpo (that lasted 2+ hours) and some intense playing of a game called logoquiz on my phone, we headed on to our next stop.

This is what the Pulpo is cooked in. 

Can you smell it? Yum! 

The finished product! 

I'm not sure if any of you know this, but Lugo is actually an ancient Roman city.  It is the oldest city in Galicia founded in 15 AD.  Because of this, the city has many Roman sites to see.  Our next stop was the Puente Romano (Roman Bridge) and the Termas Romanas (Roman Baths).  The bridge wasn't exceptionally exciting, just a bridge.  They have closed it to all traffic because it had started deteriorating in recent years.  We then walked down to the Roman Baths.  These are located inside a hotel.  The water in these baths is thermal, meaning it is heated from the ground.  The average temperature of this water is 111 degrees F! It is said that this water has healing powers and Romans would travel from far and wide to experience it's power.  Now there is a hotel constructed on top of the baths, and many sick and elderly people travel from all over the world to come bathe in the thermal water.  The rooms were very interesting, and smelled a bit like sulfur.

Roman Bridge

Roman Baths

The lighting was clearly not the greatest.  

The "healing" water.

Next we headed to the Cathedral.  Almost every larger city in Spain has a Cathedral.  It's always a very common place to visit.  The cathedral in Lugo just recently was doing some cleaning on the roof and uncovered an amazing painting the covered the entire ceiling of the Cathedral.  While the lighting inside isn't the best, these are the pictures I was able to get.

Inside the Catedral in Lugo. 

For the rest of the night, we enjoyed the company of some great new friends.  Since everyone we met spoke only Spanish, this was a great weekend of learning and practicing my Spanish.  Its hard to explain but in think by only speaking Spanish for an entire weekend I about doubled my comprehension and fluency skills.

The next day we took it easy.  Slept in a bit, lounged around and ate slowly (as most Spanish people do) and then decided to go for a walk around Lugo.  The weather was wonderfully sunny and Alberto, Pilar, Alex and I wanted to enjoy the fresh air.  This was when I really got to see Lugo for all its beauty.  The Muralla, which encircles the entire old part of town is amazing.  You are also able to walk on the top of the Muralla.  While I could go on talking about all the things I learned about the Muralla, I think I will sum it up with some photos and a link to some great information about the history of La Muralla.

The walk around the top of the Muralla is about 1.5 Miles.  

It is the only Roman wall that is still intact in an entire circle around a city.  

This is the cathedral (Catedral) poking its head above the city.  

This is the outside of the Muralla.  

Technical Difficulties

Well, apparently I love my photos on here.  Recently Blogger reported to me that I do not have any more space for more pictures.  Because of this I must apologize for my lack of Blogging.  I am currently looking for a fix and will hopefully be back at blogging before you know it.

Keep checking in and hopefully soon I`ll have things up and running! 

Nigran

Last weekend a couple friends and I decided to check out a small town close to Baiona called Nigran.  I'll be honest when I say this trip wasn't a "highlight" since I've been here. 

This was a tiled mural on the side of a church.  The bridge that is in the background is the Puente Romantico da la Ramallosa.  

I'm not sure what type of trees these are but they are everywhere.  

And here's the Puente de la Ramallosa.  This bridge was neat because it had a diamond shape design.  

Apparently the Portuguese camino de Santiago goes through Nigran.  

Camino de Santiago symbol.  

Right next to the roman bridge there is a new more modern bridge, since of course they can't cross the roman bridge with cars.  

This was a beautiful church popping up in the city.  We wanted to go in but there were services going on and decided not instead.  

Mural near the church we stumbled upon.  

Dara and the HUGE leaves here! 

View of Nigran from a walking path along the water.  

Interesting List. 

I know this wasn't the most exciting blog post, but there is plenty to come! I had an amazing weekend in Lugo and am headed to Ireland tomorrow! I can't wait to share it all with you! 

N-14: Reflections & Happenings

Remember Remember the .... 14th? of November? Today was a day for the books.  Sitting here watching the news, each union leader, representative, and public speaker have said that this is a day for history.  If you are unaware of what I am talking about, you should probably read yesterday's post first.

November 14, 2012 started out with a bang, literally.  Throughout the night the streets were filled with noise, bangs of firecrackers, and commotion.  While I attempted to get as much sleep as possible since I was to go to school in the morning, I was abruptly woken at 6:30am to a huge blast from the street.  Unsure of what made this sound, I was up at 6:30am.  Looking out my window, everything seemed fine and normal.  I got ready for work and headed down the street to meet my ride, Marcos, when I stumbled upon the cause of all the noise.

I met Marcos with ease, as the streets were almost empty.  There was barely any traffic and not very many people walking through the streets.  Everything seemed calm and safe.  We made our way to school where all the teachers at my school showed up for work.  

Since the buses, food services, and local businesses were all closed for the Folga Xeral, we had a whopping 1 student come to school today.  That's right.  One 3 year old student came to school today because his father is a lawyer, and was obligated to participate in legal matters pertaining to the strike.  

After spending the day lesson planning with various teachers, we made our way back to Vigo.  While I was at school, there was an organized peaceful march from Plaza España to Plaza America at 11:30am.  While I wasn't able to attend, I had a few friends participate.  Thousands of people showed up for the march.  While talking with friends, one of the comments they made about the march was how surprised they were that people marching were yelling at the bi-standers watching the march from their balconies above.  The protesters yelled their disappointment that these people were not supporting the cause by walking with the assembly.  

Plaza America in Vigo, filled with protesters blocking major traffic through the city center.  

Along with this, many businesses closed in the streets.  Those businesses that closed displayed signs in their windows declaring their loyalty to the general strike.  

Some other businesses who either chose to not close their doors, recognize the strike, or are considered large corporations with dodgy funding were treated differently by the participants in the streets.  

Blanco, a clothing line in Spain, has a broken window, posters plastered on its windows, paint splattered on its door, and was set fire on its second floor during protesting activities.  

Now you may be asking yourself, why was the general public protesting.  In reality, depending on the person protesting, there are a lot of issues with the economic and social situation in Spain.  

Some people were protesting against the current leader of Spain, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and his budget and policies he has set into place since the start of his position in Dec.  

Others were protesting because of the manner banks in Spain have been doing business with the general public in Spain, forcing many out of their homes due to bankruptcy and foreclosures.  

There were people protesting the current relationship of Spain in the overall European Union, and the choices that the recent EU has made.  And some protesting against large corporations and supporting the legacy of the small business in Spain.  And there are probably other issues at hand as well that I am not aware of.  

All in all, the public here is not happy.  With unemployment in Spain teetering between 20-25% of the population, people are certain that something needs to change.  This general strike is the second this year, which is a rare event since Spain has only had a total of 7 general strikes in its history of democracy since 1975.  The news reported tonight that 75% of teachers in Spain and 80% of students in Spain went on strike today.  

After taking a walk through the street at the end of the day I have mixed feelings.  I understand that the education system is dealing with high budget cuts, unemployment and homelessness is tearing through the country and the overall outlook of Spain is not good economically.  A day like today does make me thankful for the fact that I have a job here, while so many others do not.  I walked down the trash and litter filled street of principe, which is usually sparkling with joy and excitement from families and friends taking a walk or doing a little shopping.  

Normal day on principe

Today

I couldn't help but think to myself.  Ok, so today you went on strike.  You shut down factories, you cancelled over 700 flights to and from Spain, you ceased public transportation at train and bus stations, you marched through the streets proclaiming your unhappiness with the situation, and then you vandalized shops, blew up dumpsters, started fires in the street and spread trash and litter as far as the eye can see.  Now tomorrow, who is going to pay to replace the dumpsters, windows, atm's, and buildings that were damaged in this event? 

Ladrones = Robbers/Thieves 

While writing this post I also would like to emphasize that not everyone in Spain is participating in these activities.   While many people did participate in the peaceful march through the streets, I believe that only a small percentage of extremist groups are involved in the damaging activities going on.  As one of the teachers at my school stated, "How embarrassing for our country that you have to witness this vandalism."  Fortunately I do understand that there are many views involved in this debate as to how changes should be made, and I am not going to lump or judge the Spanish people.  I am definitely not an expert in foreign economic affairs.  The same types of situations happen in every single country in the world where there are a variety a views about a situation and how to deal with what is happening.  

Tomorrow is another day.  

Huelga - N-14

This week the streets are plastered with signs saying FOLGA XERAL.  People are buzzing about, are you going? I don't know, are you? Public notices are being sent out that transportation will be shut down.  

That's right people.  Tomorrow, November 14, 2012, not only the entire country of Spain, but also other major countries (like Portugal, Greece, and Italy) in the EU are organizing a general strike against austerity.  The bus services won't be running.  Iberia has cancelled several national and international flights due to employee shortages.  The trains will shut down.  All catering service and school bus services will be closed.  The local bakery, tailor, and candy shop all had signs that they will shut their doors for the Huelga (Strike).  

Unfortunately I do not follow politics in Spain as closely as I probably should, so I don't entirely understand the true intentions and reasons for this general strike other than the general public disagreeing with the spending of its governments' budget.  At 11:30am (Spain time) tomorrow morning thousands of people in Vigo will join together at Plaza Espana to voice their disagreement with the government decisions.  

Unfortunately for teachers, if we do not attend work this day, we do not get paid.  While I have heard from many other schools in the area where my friends teach that most teachers will not be attending school, the majority of the staff at my school have expressed that they can't see themselves loosing 100 Euro for a strike.  So as usual (actually 30 minutes earlier) I will head to school tomorrow.  Whether or not there will be students there is another story.  Since all bus companies and catering companies are shutting down tomorrow it is likely that the majority of our students will not attend school tomorrow.  

I am a little sad that I still have to go to work tomorrow, since everyone has told me hardly any students will show up at school, because I think it would be a real once in a lifetime experience to attend the huelga events happening tomorrow. But all in all, I still will be able to see the effects this labor strike has on the country.  

If you are interested in whats going on, here is an article that gives some general information about this Muti-national strike. 

Magosto

Chestnuts Roasting over and open fire .....................During the month of November in Galicia, the people celebrate a tradition called Magosto.  This past Friday, my school held their annual Magosto celebration.  To read a tid bit on Mogosto CLICK HERE

To start the day off, all the students received colored bracelets that put them into different color groups for the morning activities.  These are the 3 year old students showing off their "Pulseras" (Bracelets).  

Next all of the students from all ages formed their color groups outside.  Fortunately we had spectacular weather for our Magosto celebration! Behind the groups you can see the Infantil school.  This is where students ages 3-5 attend school.  Once in groups, the students attended different stations set up throughout the playground.  All of the activities were related to Magosto.  

One of the activities was using a ball of paper, a string and a cup.  The students had to fling the ball into the air and catch it in the cup.  Here is Carlos (5th and 6th grade teacher) demonstrating to the group!

Clearly it took a lot of concentration =) 

The next game involved to lines of students, each an equal distance away from a ring with a chestnut in the middle.  Each student in the line would have a number.  The teacher would call out a number, and the students with the corresponding number would run to the middle and try to snatch the chestnut first and return to their line without being caught by the opponent.  

These two were pretty evenly matched! 

Here Marcos (The Special Education Teacher) is showing students how to balance on the rope while carrying two plates overflowing with chestnuts! 

Marta (1st Grade Teacher) led a storytelling activity with the students.  

Patricia (The Librarian, Secretary, and Physical Education Teacher) helped students make mobiles using sticks, string and pinecones/leaves from the woods nearby.  

Pilar (English Teacher) and Alberto (Infantil/Preschool Teacher) led a relay race game.  Students had to run through hoops, jump and collect a branch. The team who finished first won the game.  

Ismael (4th Grade and Music) played a traditional game with students.  They had to spin around in circles with their finger on the ground.  When he said go, students had to run to a hoop, and try to throw the hoop over a block set up.  Very difficult if I do say so myself.  

One of the 3 year old students shares his Magosto artwork with his teacher, Marta (3 Year Old teacher).  

Love the look of accomplishment on his face! 

After a morning of fun and games, students headed to the main area inside for a feast of Chestnut proportions.  Cakes, breads, sweets, and more all with chestnuts incorporated in some way shape or form.  

Here are what chestnuts look like! 

After our feast, some parents came by the school and roasted the chestnuts.  They built a fire and then used some chicken wire to keep the nuts out of the coals.  

This was my first taste of a real chestnut, and it wasn't half bad.  I have to say I probably wouldn't eat them all day every day, but they were pretty good.  Once roasted you crack the shell off and there is a soft potato like inside ready to be eaten! 

This is Josefa (2nd Grade Teacher) with her students.  Each student made a necklace out of recycled materials.  They put the chestnuts into these boxes while they ate them.  

Yum! Chestnuts!