Waking up the day after the vote went through and reading this news again, I am still surprised at Switzerland for this. There should be some international pressure regarding this issue. This is a country, which has “promoted” human rights in the past and now, does it just stop here?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh53RO_y9Jk

And safety is a critical concern. In February 2008, Lawrence King, an eighth-grader from Oxnard, Calif., who occasionally wore high-heeled boots and makeup, was shot to death in class by another student.

I asked myself if we’ll ever really be able to move forward as a society with this amendment still standing strong and people so ready to fight and protect it?  Gender and sexuality in schools is a very up and coming issue which needs to be dealt sensitively and cautiously, however when death is involved because an individual decides to express his or her freedom differently (Amendement 1) which doesn’t coincide with another person’s idea of expression, we should just really ask why this student had access to that arm in the first place.

This is just so sickening and saddening to me.

As I put on a few items of clothing and made my way down to the awesome Churreria next to my apartment, I realized that today is a Catalan holiday. Last year I worked in a school where the students were mostly Catalan and explained to me in detail how they celebrated “Halloween.”  In fact, they didn’t. This year in fact most of my students knew and celebrate Halloween in their countries. So anyway, instead here in Catalonia, we celebrate La Castanyada. I can go on and explain what the holiday is, but a fellow blogger has done a great job at it and feel free to visit her site by clicking the above link.  The best part of the festival, for a non Catalan is that since we cannot totally immerse ourselves in the deep cultural significance of the holiday, we get to enjoy the “superficial” things that come along with the festival. For example, the food, music, etc…So my students, who didn’t really know why they celebrate the holiday either, told me that all we do is “sit around with family and have panellets, the parents have cava and we eat chestnuts and sweet potatoes.”  So as I slowly got nearer to the churreria I had the gut feeling that I wouldn’t be eating chocolate covered churros today, but instead panellets. There were about 300 pieces of panellets prepared already and I can only imagine how many more in the process of being made. So I asked, like a true gringo, if they have any chocolate covered churros and they said, “no, but we have panellets.”  From my previous experience, I knew that these round almond balls covered in pine nuts, weren’t the most inexpensive holiday treat. Last year I was so interested in what these bite size things were so  I bought 4 thinking, what the hell. But they ended up costing me 4 euros. Anyway, they were good and well worth it. So I ended up buying two this time and another chocolate pastry not worth mentioning and came back to my apartment.

In conclusion, I am glad they didn’t prepare churros today and I was able to share another great cultural event that happens here in Catalonia.  As for Halloween, I’m still in the process of trying to convince a few people to dress up and go to a party I’m invited to by a fellow American friend I have here. I’m not usually into the whole idea of preserving home culture abroad, but Halloween is also getting really popular in Barcelona, especially with the strong international population. Locals like it too and I’m sure the young ones find every reason to escape the panellets and sweet potatoes for some sweet rum with coke

Round Almond Treats Covered in Pine Nuts (panellets)

The greater the loyalty of a group toward the group, the greater is the motivation among the members to achieve the goals of the group, and the greater the probability that the group will achieve its goals.

While I have been dealing with a lot of organization issues at my workplace and with the department of education I’ve been working for, I thought of the following response to my friend’s status update. I wrote:

the greater the love the leader shows towards the team, the greater the motivation and production of the entire team

Sometimes it just doesn’t matter what type of organization or setting we find ourselves in, but in our very power driven society (and might I say it is not only in the U.S.) we forget that the ones in charge are usually the ones responsible for inefficiency, mistrust, and lack of motivation among colleagues.  I truly believe that leaders (if they are assigned or chosen leaders) should not take their task too seriously and always show respect (and love) towards whoever works with (not for) them.

In my case, I am a teacher and am considered as having “more” or “absolute” power compared to my students. This is NOT particularly my belief, but a mainstream idea. I truly think that one of the reasons why I get along with my students and don’t have to raise my voice as many times as most of my colleagues do is because the students and I agree from the first day on that we are all equals in the community that we share and will share together.   During the first meeting with my students I put the following on the whiteboard.

I am not better than you and you are not better than me.

This quote came to my mind suddenly and as I was faced with blank faces, as most of my students do not speak English (some have just barely began understanding Spanish) we had to break the sentence down. Finally, we all agreed that its trying to say that we are all equal. They liked it!!!

I can’t say this idea is completely mine, as I can thank a few of my great teachers who have taught me the use of that skill throughout the years and who have introduced me to some literature, which supports the idea of community building.

So it doesn’t matter if you are a boss at a multinational or a lead nurse in a hospital, a little respect and love goes a long way. I’m sure we all knew that, but sometimes we don’t practice what we preach.  Good luck in trying!!!

1 relating to, denoting, or preserving the character of an early stage in the evolutionary or historical development of something

However, rather than evolutionary or historical, I would like to talk about the the early stages of our human development , especially around the time when we learn how to do simple mathematics.  Today I caught myself using my fingers to count the number of days remaining until Wednesday. I’m just really excited for Wednesday, apparently.  When I did that, I remembered a time when I was promised that I’m going to Disneyland or just counting down for winter or summer vacation. When I was rushing out of the metro today to get to my private class, I reflected on the action I had just done. Children, when they are really excited about something, tend to do countdowns like no other. So I just thought that it was so “primitive” or maybe just so cute how I used my big, thick fingers to do a two-day countdown and say….”Woohoo, its almost Wednesday.”  Next time you catch yourself doing that, or if you’ve done that before (as an adult) and have never reflected upon it, think about it…We are in fact so primitive sometimes, aren’t we?  To everyone who wants to argue with my usage of the word primitive, please do so, but know in advance I am in no way referring to it as a derogatory or diminutive manner.  It was just the first word that came to my mind during my reflection period.

Not quite cooked yet, needs to blister/brown a little bit more

.

So I went in for blood work when I was feeling ill the first few months I came here and when I was expected to pay nothing, my doubts were slowly settling, but not completely.  A few weeks later I hurt my knee badly while spinning and running too much at the gym. Normally I would’ve let it heal by itself and let time do its work (like most Americans do to avoid the hundreds of dollars of medical fees). However, I said fine, I’ll see if this public health system is what it’s all hyped up to be. Ladies and gentlemen, my doctor saw me at no charge and referred me to the XRay department, no charge.

Usually, we get so excited when we have full health coverage through our employers in America and don’t have to “pay” for health insurance, but at the end, we end up paying co-payments or for primary doctor visits for them to see us for 15 minutes and refer us to a specialist.  Anyway, I have never been a big fan of the American health system. We might have the latest technology and patient care is probably top notch (only to those who can afford it), but I would overall put them below average, as many people would, I suppose.

Where was I going with this…So yes, I didn’t have to pay a single “centavo” for all the above XRay work to get done. So what happened today that made me write about this wonderful experience. Well I went in to get the last of my 3 series vaccination I began receiving last October. I thought why not get vaccinated for Hepatitis B and prevent my body from ever getting that virus. I had made an appointment for 9:30am, they took me in at 9:35 (public health has a reputation for long, nasty lines), but the problem was that they had run out of the Hep B vaccine.  Generally, I would bitch and complain to the health administrator at the clinic, but no way. Firstly, I am so thankful that they are providing this service to me and every resident (legal or illegal) in Spain, that I will just follow what the nurse ordered. She said, “please call next week and see if we have received the vaccine and just come in and we’ll shoot you up.”  Many of you are thinking words like: simple, primitive, socialist, etc…Honestly, it didn’t even bother me that they didn’t have the stuff. So I took advantage of my appointment and complained about the sore throat I’ve been having the past 10 days, she took a look, saw some irritation and prescribed me some medication. I was expecting to at least pay about 10-15€ for it. I went to the pharmacy and it only cost me 1,20€ for 40 tablets. When your wages are below whats considered the American “poverty level” you really try not to spend on extras. But, take that America!!!  I didn’t have to empty out my piggy bank for a simple medication, which the state even subsidized a little for me.  Pharmaceutical companies have negatively influenced our American governmental policies so much. These are the bodies and people Americans should be focusing on and educating people about the nasty power these companies have in our society. For more information on pharmaceutical lobbying, you can check out this article.

In any case, good luck with getting health care reform in the states, everyone. There is life beyond a public health care system. You can trust me and millions of Spanish people who enjoy this human right. The countries who have adopted a universal health system can vow too.

Health and happiness to us all!

Today my expenses have included cafe con leche (coffee with milk from a cafe) and a salmon steak from the supermarket.

It was very interesting as I spent almost the same amount on both of them, but one gave me nourishment and omega-3 fatty acids, while the other just gave me anxiety, but got rid of my headache (caffeine addiction).

So you probably want to know how much I’ve paid for each…1,20€ for the coffee and 1,24€ for the salmon steak (160grams). So Barcelona can be very inexpensive, if you know where to look for the right stuff.

Is it wrong that I see these teenagers as the innocent ones??? Am I just being that young idealist teacher who thinks can make a difference in their lives?? Well I might be so, but I rather be idealistic than unsupportive and give up on the very little expected from these marginalized groups of individuals. I began my class with a quote last week, in English, which said “you are not better me and I’m not better than you.” I think the kids liked that. It is important to keep that perspective always in check and not forget that my priveleged status as a teacher should not be abused.

Keeping spirits high and trying to get over the difficulties that come with this profession.