Huelga!

The word 'huelga' will be a well known piece of Spanish vocabularly for anyone who has lived in Spain recently. Madrid is a city full of life and fiestas but also of deep underlying social unrest. Huelga is the spanish word for strike, and during my year abroad, a week wouldn't pass without this word coming up in conversation. 

Most of you will know that the Spanish economy is up the swanny. The country's situation is particularly poor for students at the moment. At my University, there wasn't a month that went past, where there wouldn't be a huelga. After listening to a lecturer speak for over an hour in Spanish about Organisational Structure, my mind would begin to wander. But as soon as I heard the word HUELGA, my ears would prick up like a little overexcited puppy. Remember back in High School when it would snow, and the next morning you would pray that school would be called off. Well imagine the excitement of a snow day, times a million, every couple of weeks. Yeah it's awesome. You get to spend the whole day in the sun, without that 2 hour round trip to Uni, sipping on Tinto de Verano, without a care in the world.

During my first couple of weeks in Madrid, I was told that if an Erasmus student went into Uni when the others were on strike, that they would get oranges thrown at them… pretty hilarious. Pretty weird as well though… Another hilarious strike which I encountered was a cleaning strike in my faculty. On the first day of the strike, I was greeted with thousands of little pieces of shredded paper all over the floor in the Business School. 13 days later, lifts were full of rubbish, the toilets were indescribable, and there were news reports that rats had invaded the campus. Not so funny anymore… However, when we returned to University on the 14th day, we were pleased to see that the students had spent their own time cleaning the entire building. Cheers guys!

On a serious note, I’m not surprised that Spanish students are protesting and striking all the time. There has been a huge increase in tuition fees, which means that many Spanish youngsters will not be able to go into higher education. And without an education, it will be difficult to get a job. (if there are any..) There is a severe lack of jobs in Spain at the moment and the unemployment rate for under 25 year olds is currently 55%. Pretty bad ey? With such little opportunity for youngsters in Spain, it really makes me appreciate my education so much more. 

Another issue which I am concerned about is the state of Spanish healthcare system. One of my house mates had to take a trip to the public hospital as he had an inflamed gland in his throat. We knew that he would have to wait for a long time, but we didn't think that it would be as much as an ordeal as it was. The waiting room was full to the brim of people who needed immediate medical attention. We took a seat on the floor as we waited for someone to call out our name and luckily we only had to wait 4 hours in total for the doctors to give us their verdict. However, others weren't as lucky as us, and could have been waiting there all night.The facilities were very poor, the bathrooms were dirty and there was a severe lack of staff. A couple of months before our hospital trip, we attended one of the biggest strikes of 2013 in Madrid. Hospital staff, students, pensioners, single parents and many other unhappy Madrileños lined the streets to protest against the budget cuts. 

Let's hope that the economy begins to improve, because Spain is in a pretty bad place right now. 

Pamplona - San Fermin

When I was in Madrid I decided to go to Pamplona for 1 night to experience the festival San Fermin aka the Pamplona Bull Run. I knew it was going to be a great weekend, but I never thought it would ever be as eventful as it was!

I embarked on a 5 hour bus journey down to Pamplona very early on the Saturday morning. The journey was actually pretty chilled, and went by a lot quicker than I expected. But as soon as I arrived in Pamplona, I was feeling out of place, silly and very embarrassed. When I arrived I realised that I was wearing completely the wrong outfit. The whole flipping city was wearing white tops, white shorts and red scarves round their necks, and I turn up in a full length black jumpsuit. Typical Giselle getting herself into awkward situations. 

I met up with some friends from Madrid and we got drunk Spanish style in the street. We were all in high spirits, but as it approached the early hours of the morning we all started to lag. We didn't have a hostel to stay in as they had all been booked up months in advance, so we had to stay awake until 8.30am on the Sunday to watch the bull run. The boys decided to do the run, whilst the girls waited in the Bull Ring to watch the run on the big screens. The bull run only lasts a couple of minutes, and then the bulls and the men enter the ring. The Bull Ring was completely packed and holds nearly 20,000 people. As you can imagine the atmosphere was insane! After the big bulls left the ring, the next event involved baby bulls entering the ring so the participants of the bull run can 'play' with them. I really didn't enjoy this part. These poor bulls are let out into the ring with hundreds of drunk men prodding them, slapping them and generally winding them up. Obviously the bulls react, and I witnessed many males thrown into the air and trampled on. One of the guys that I was with jokingly smacked the baby bull on the bottom, which resulted in a horn going through his mouth. Not a pretty sight. Pretty damn scary as well. Multiple stitches later he was left with a very swollen mouth and couldn't eat properly for a couple of weeks.

I told you it was eventful! Here are some photos which I took during my 24 hours in Pamplona...

Doner Kebab

I am writing this post from a random hotel room in La Almunia de Doña Godina… To cut a very long story short, we left Monasterio de Piedra at 5 o'clock this afternoon to go to Comaruga, a town on the beach near Barcelona. Three and a half hours later, we had only made it 30km down the motorway...

The mother was having a panic attack at the wheel as she said the car felt weird to drive… She's a very stressy, nervous woman, and overreacts all the time about the tiniest things. So she decided she needed to stop somewhere to get the car checked out. We trekked around 5 or 6 car garages, and finally found one which could look at the Audi. However, they could only look at her car the next morning. So after various heated phone calls between the father and mother, we decided to leave the car at the garage and check into a hotel for the night. Everyone was starving, and there wasn't a McDonalds or Burger King in sight, so the mother decided we should have pizza from a random Doner Kebab shop. It was the exact replica of my favourite Doner Kebab joint on Broad Street which I only ever frequent when I'm intoxicated. I went for the safe option and decided upon a cheese pizza, and whilst I was munching, I saw on the TV that Kate Middleton had given birth to a baby boy! What a classy way to celebrate the birth of the future King of England. 

The next day we found out that the car wheels had too much dirt on, which meant the car felt odd to drive...WOW. 

The Whole Truth and Nothing But The Truth.

Nesquik Overload

I'm not a huge comfort eater. But here, I am munching all flippin day. For breakfast, I have at least two chocolate milkshakes, biscuits, cakes and toast, for lunch I'll have soup and salad, plus another two milkshakes, maybe a yoghurt and more cake. Then for dinner I'll have chicken, tortilla, cheese, a yoghurt, then another chocolate milkshake before bed, and I'll probably polish off another four Oreos in bed. Surely this diet is not doing me any good... but I can't help it. 

I've had a pretty awful day, and the only thing which makes it better is eating. This morning the children refused to do their class. Then when the Mum comes in to check on me (as per usual), she thinks it's my fault. For some reason she thinks that her children do everything I say and that I can control them. Well I'm sorry Madre, but you are wrong. If you can't control your own children, then how am I supposed to? 

I'm in bed, it's 10:30pm and the children are screaming the house down in the bedroom next door. When I was younger, my bed time was ALWAYS before 9pm up until the age of about 13. The children are 4, 7 and 8 years old, so why is their bed time 10pm? 

It's a real shame because I feel like I want to quit. I want to tell the father tomorrow that I've had enough and want to go home, but I haven't got the cojones to do so. I've said to myself, that if this carries on and I am no happier by next Tuesday when we leave Zaragoza, then I am going to have to say something to the father. The other day the 8 year old girl bit her 4 year old brother on the back until he bled. At first I stood there in shock, then tried to pull her off him, and I got punched in the face. Is this how all children act!? To be honest I don't know, because I'm never surrounded by children, but I'm pretty sure this is awful behaviour. 

To be honest, I'm not really upset with the children's behaviour, because they are children. I'm more upset with how the mother treats me. She watches my every move and it makes me feel extremely uncomfortable. Every day she will come into the class and question the way I'm teaching her children. If you are so bothered, then hire an English tutor, not an Aupair. Whenever I'm with the children, if I am not chatting away in English every second, then she will shout at me and tell me to make more effort. There is only so much I effort I can put in, and I'm seriously being pushed to my limit. I feel like her child when I am with her. I have absolutely no independence, and it infuriates me. I understand that I am a fussy eater and that it can be a pain in the backside at times, but you are not my mother. You cannot shout at me for having a poor diet, you cannot shout at me for not wanting to eat fish, you cannot tell me how to make a cup of coffee, or how to cook a pizza, when I obviously know already. 

Wow. I'm sorry. That was a pretty intense rant. I'm just pretty frustrated to be honest and I can't meet up with anyone to drown my sorrows in Vino Blanco and moan about my day, so I'll just have to do it here instead, with a chocolate milkshake… 

Julia Roberts

Today we walked up the road to see Uncle Pedro's house. He has 7 huge dogs which roam around his farm, and recently the mummy dog misbehaved herself with the neighbours male dog. 10 days ago, two little Perritos arrived on the farm, so the children like to go and visit them in the afternoon. Pedro is an absolute legend. He has a bald head, is pretty hefty and looks incredibly Spanish. He was wearing a black t-shirt which said 'No me gusta la ciudad', which made me chuckle. For all you non spanish speakers out there, he is basically a proper farm lover.

As soon as he met me, he goes 'Julia Roberts ey!' Pretty funny guy. I've actually been called Julia Roberts on a number of occasions, which is obviously quite a compliment! It's better than being called Jessie J I guess! 

The Second Part Of My Aupair Experience

16.07.13

Today has been an absolute nightmare. I have been looking after the children, without a break for 14 hours straight. The girls refused to do their English class, the little boy cried after his mother for an hour by the swimming pool, they fought throughout the whole journey to Zaragoza (we were in the car for 4 hours) and then they were misbehaving and showing off at the dinner table in front of their cousins and friends. 

It is now 10:30pm and I am absolutely shattered. The house we are staying in is a lot older than I imagined. It houses over 30 people and is very traditional with high ceilings and heavy mahogany doors. Usually the family stay here when all their family are here, as the mother has 8 brothers and sisters, and the children have over 30 cousins. However, at the moment it is just us and their 18 year old cousin and her mates. My bedroom has a balcony which overlooks a huge forest and waterfalls. Tomorrow the family are going to show me round the area, and I am pretty excited! The house has no internet (holy moley how am I going to live!) so I will have to go to the hotel tomorrow to publish this blog post. 

17.07.13

I am feeling a lot more positive today. I was able to lie in until 9.30am which was awesome and I actually slept really well despite being in a different place. We are staying in an area called Monasterio de Piedra. It is incredibly quiet and chilled here. We spent the morning doing a bit of homework, and relaxing by the pool. The pool was situated at the top of a cliff, surrounded by trees and is extremely peaceful. The mother told me before we arrived that there isn't much to do here, and she was right. However, it's kind of refreshing being in the middle of nowhere. I am writing this from my balcony, looking down onto the forest, listening to the sounds of waterfalls and wildlife. Being away from home this summer has really given me time to think. Everywhere I live, there is always some form of drama. There is never complete peace and tranquility. 

After this experience, I don't think I will be au-pairing again. It's been fantastic to be able to travel around Spain and not worry about money, and the family have been incredibly generous. However, my patience can only go so far until I break down. There have been a few moments where I have just had enough and gone for a little cry in my room. Children really know how to push your buttons. Being called fat, ugly and a pig every couple of days by a 4 year old boy doesn't exactly boost my confidence. Being spat on by him is also pretty rancid… However, there are a couple of moments in the day where he will make me smile and I'll forget about how much of a little brat he can be. 

Buenas noches x