The whole of Spain held its first general strike since 2002 on September 29. Anticipating marches in the streets and possible riots, we were all quite excited for this ‘momentous’ event (and for the day off uni and the chance to sleep in). However, nothing happened. Most classes were cancelled, the city seemed a bit quieter than usual, but apart from that, everything was fairly normal – some of the shops were even open. Although disappointed, after watching the news that evening, we were also somewhat relieved: in Barcelona police cars had been smashed and set on fire and it looked like World War Three had broken loose; in Alcala de Henares the teachers didn’t come to class and we got a day off – more reflective of a holiday than a strike.
Despite the general strike not working out quite as planned, something that is always on strike in Spain are the lights in restaurant bathrooms. Each cubicle has its own touch-sensitive pad which you use to activate the lights. So, obviously, when you first enter the pitch-black cubicle, you touch the pad, but then about twenty seconds later, the pesky thing times out and you are left fumbling around in the dark, wishing you’d taken more notice of exactly where this pad was. The first time this happens and you are left inexplicably in the obscurity with your jeans around your ankles is far from pleasant, but as with anything, you get used to it as time goes by and gradually it has developed into more of an inconvenience than a cause for alarm.
I dedicated my previous article to university life, so in this one I want to swing the focus towards life outside of uni. The other week, we enjoyed a luxurious five-day weekend, thanks to a little thing called puente. Tuesday was a national holiday, but the Spaniards (praise them) clearly don’t see the point of working on a Monday only to have the next day off. This, combined with the Friday we have off anyway and the usual weekend, added up to five wonderful days of socializing, fun, chilling out and exploring the city. Being girls, the first activity that sprung to mind was of course shopping, and being so close to Madrid, it was an offer hard to resist. We headed off to Gran Via which is close to Sol, the centre of the buzzing capital city. The staple Spanish fashion stores were there – Zara and Mango and the likes, as well as H&M – three stores within five minutes of each other in fact – which seems slightly excessive, not to mention illogical as all the clothes in each one are pretty much the same. Then again, logic doesn’t seem to be a strong point in Spain, a country whose tapas bars serve tortilla in a sandwich. Rather worryingly I am actually getting used to this, however one thing I need to accustom myself to before my second shopping trip are the European clothes sizes: in somewhat of an oversight I forgot to check my UK size against the European system and consequently ended up lugging all of my chosen items around the stores in two sizes, giving a literal meaning to the phrase shop ‘til you drop.
On the subject of clothes, I would like to add that despite the huge number of shops on offer in and around Madrid, the Spanish do not seem to make the most of them. In fact, walking down the street sometimes, it genuinely feels as though I’ve stepped back into the 90s, evidenced by the sad fact that many Spaniards still seem to think that jeans with a denim jacket is a good look. They also take a scarily obsessive liking to the colour red and can be frequently seen donning the brightest shades in a less than delightful shirt AND trouser combination.
Last month, however, the denim was placed into (hopefully) the back of their wardrobes for a few days while Alcala de Henares’ medieval market took over the town’s countless cobbled streets. The array of middle ages outfits was impressive, and with this added to the buzzing atmosphere it became clear that this annual event is something that Alcala is very proud of. It had everything – owls and birds of prey flying around the main plaza, pigs and other animals in cages (I only realised what these were for after walking past the spit-roast) and a huge variety of food and goods stalls. I’ve just found out that the Christmas market is due to start tomorrow and if the medieval one was anything to go by, the festive one is certainly set to be quite an experience.
hahaha better you never leave UK!
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