Huelga General de Espana - September 29th

What a crazy day. My friend and I went out walking around town this morning and saw a bunch of signs for the strike to take place in plaza nueva in Sevilla. This was a nation wide strike in response to the governments moves to push for labor reform. We walked into the plaza and out of nowhere thousands of people began to march. There were a few bombs that went off, nothing dangerous just made a lot of noise. It seemed like the whole country is in opposition to the government. here are a few photos and videos from the day.

This was right before they started marching. The line of people goes literally as far back as you can see

This banner is calling bankers thieves, and the president of spain a puppet

The explosions were a bit scary at first. But they were just loud firecrackers. It was a very organized and peaceful protest.

Everyone Marched towards a plaza with a huge stage set up with speakers every 10 feet. A few people got on stage and spoke. The mainly were commenting on how the workers of spain were united and that the government couldn't ignore them forever.

There was literally hundreds of police all around, which was probably a good idea. A few of the protestors who spoke hinted that the president, Zapatero, put "100% of the police force out on the streets and in the sky to intimidate the workers." Overall, it was a very interesting and exciting event to be able to witness.

Huelga General en Sevilla

So all my plans for travel to my town where i will teach will have to be put on hold until thursday. The entire country is preparing for a "general strike" in response to the government's moves to lower the state deficit through measures such as pension freeze, wage cuts and labor reform. The Buses, trains, and most public services will be closed tomorrow. This will make my day a little difficult, but hopefully everything will be back to normal on the 30th and I will atleast be able to head to Dos Hermanas and find the school I will be teaching at.

I thought the US had it bad, Spains unemployment rate is around 20% right now. The citizens do not want a capitalist society and wish to lean more towards socialist society.

Even the band U2 is in support of the strike. They were set to perform at the Soccer Stadium in Sevilla tomorrow, but ended up moving the concert to the 30th in support of the strike.

It's a small world after all...

Woke up early today after sleeping probably 12 hours yesterday. I was in the hostel using the computer this morning when I saw a guy with a shirt that had the city name of "Puyallap" on it. For those people who don't live in Washington, Puyallup is a city south of Seattle. I asked the guy if he was from there and he ended up being from Mount Vernon, which is only 20 minutes south of Bellingham where I have lived that past 5 years! He went to college at Central in Ellensburg and he is doing the same thing I am.

We walked around in 95+ degree weather all day, probably like 10 miles in total. He studied abroad here last year so he knew the city pretty well. We are currently looking for an apartment to rent for the year.

It was so hot and I forgot my camera, but I did take one photo with my Iphone. This is along the Guadalquivir River.

There is a lot of cool things to do along the river. You can rent canoes or paddle boats and there are also a few tours.

The town is also very biker friendly, which I like a lot. You can see in the photo the path along the river. There are these cool bike lanes that are off the road on the sidewalk. The also have this bike service called Sevici. There are numerous bike stations around the city. If you want to go on a bike ride you swipe your card in a kiosk and ride for as long as you want. When you are done you can go to any Sevici station and put the bike back. This is the cities way to provide environmentally friendly transportation for the public to use. I planned on buying a bike, but depending on where I live I might just use this service. It's pretty cool service and a lot of people use it.

Arrived in Seville

What a Long Day.

I got into Madrid around 8:00 am. I didn't get much sleep on the trip over but I still had a lot of energy at the time.

The sun was coming up as we were coming in for our landing in madrid. It was so pretty! I wish I could have taken a photo but I had it packed away.

I finally made it to the Train Station in Madrid after going to the wrong one first. I took the High Speed Rail from Madrid right into Seville. That sucker was fast! I wish we had that kind of transportation in the USA. It was a quick and smooth 2.5 hour train ride into Seville. The only time I actually got to get some sleep on the train. Way more room and and a lot smoother ride then the plane trip.

After I got off the train I walked to my Hostel and slept for 6 hours straight! its not 12:30 am and Im getting ready for bed.

Tomorrow I will be heading to Dos Hermanas to find the school I will be teaching at. I also need to find a place to live.

Preparing to Leave for Spain

I will be leaving for Spain for eight months on the 26th of this month. I received an academic "continuing education" grant provided by the Ministry of Education of Spain. I will serve as a teaching assistant in a Spanish Public School outside Seville Spain in a town called Dos Hermanas. My job will be to share my knowledge of the English language and North American culture in a K - 12 classroom. It was my goal to apply and participate in this program ever since I came back from taking a semester in Granada Spain during my sophomore year at Western Washington University.

My final day of work at Costco in Bellingham will be on September 23rd. I leave from Bellingham the next day. I will be in Fall City at my girlfriend Ingy's place until the 26th.

I depart from Seattle Washington on the morning of the 26th of September. I will arrive in Madrid The following day and take a train into Seville. I will have a lot to do the first week. (apply for a temporary residence card, open a bank account, find a place to live and find my school.) I plan on finding a room to share inside Seville and commute to Dos Hermanas for work either by bus or bike.

When I arrive in Seville I will find the hostel that I am staying at for the first week. I booked 5 nights at The Garden Backpacker. The goal is to at least find a place to live by the 2nd of October.

I will hopefully be periodically updating this blog for friends and family who are interested in where and what I am doing for the next eight months. If anyone is planning to be in europe or spain over the next year let me know and maybe we could meet up!