excellent example of spanish direct-ness. this was a store that sold adult diapers, wheelchairs, and other products to take care of older people.
huelga!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Finally caved...
After nearly a month in Spain writing disjointed emails to various parties, I decided to consolidate and make me a blog. Wooo! Hopefully this method of communication will lead to more frequent postings on my part and easier access on the part of my dedicated fans state-side (ha!). That said, if anyone has suggestions, comments, queries or just wants to say hi, kindly drop me a line via email.
Introductions aside, today, September 29 (Miriam's birthday!) is a 24-hour general strike in Madrid. The impetus behind this strike is a proposed labor reform bill that Prime Minister Zapatero is planning for 2011. The basic arguments against the labor reforms are that they would cut paychecks substantially and lessen job security for government workers. Considering that Spain is rather socialist at the moment, this could affect a huge chunk of people. Also consider Spain's current unemployment rate: 20%. Yikes! The strike is supported by Spain's largest unions, UGT and CCOO, who together represent 2.4 million of the country's 23 million workers. Although the unions wanted to shut down the city completely, this didn't really happen. Things are open-ish, but the metro and buses are only running at 30-50% capacity. So far I haven't been out in the streets, but I think it's going to be a day for hoofing it.
Aaanyway, back to me. I started my internship with Cambridge University Press-Iberia on Monday and I absolutely love it. I was supposed to go back this morning, but the office is largely closed because of the strike. What to do with a free morning? I'm thinking about finding an english-language bookstore and curling up with a good book.
Cheers,
S
Introductions aside, today, September 29 (Miriam's birthday!) is a 24-hour general strike in Madrid. The impetus behind this strike is a proposed labor reform bill that Prime Minister Zapatero is planning for 2011. The basic arguments against the labor reforms are that they would cut paychecks substantially and lessen job security for government workers. Considering that Spain is rather socialist at the moment, this could affect a huge chunk of people. Also consider Spain's current unemployment rate: 20%. Yikes! The strike is supported by Spain's largest unions, UGT and CCOO, who together represent 2.4 million of the country's 23 million workers. Although the unions wanted to shut down the city completely, this didn't really happen. Things are open-ish, but the metro and buses are only running at 30-50% capacity. So far I haven't been out in the streets, but I think it's going to be a day for hoofing it.
Aaanyway, back to me. I started my internship with Cambridge University Press-Iberia on Monday and I absolutely love it. I was supposed to go back this morning, but the office is largely closed because of the strike. What to do with a free morning? I'm thinking about finding an english-language bookstore and curling up with a good book.
Cheers,
S
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