Teachers on Strike and Carnival Festivals

First and foremost – we finished that paper! We are entirely over and done with the first semester at the University of Vigo, affectionately referred to as CUVI (Central Universidad de Vigo) by the townspeople. With that behind us, Matt and I were looking forward to beginning a new set of classes and meeting the new Erasmus and American students coming for the second semester only. Sadly, meeting new friends also means saying goodbye to friends who are only staying for the first semester. On Tuesday, Matt and I went to a farewell party for two of our favorite friends, two girls from Germany and Poland respectively. We enjoyed hot chocolate with cinnamon and whipped cream and several Polish dishes with the traditional Spanish tortilla while a rainstorm raged outdoors with the power of a fierce wind. On our way home, we were battered by the wind for a few seconds before coming to the conclusion of taking a taxi as it was too late for a bus and we thought it would take twenty minutes or more to walk. We shared a taxi with Carolina and told the man our address, and surprisingly he took a road we were unaware of and we ended up at our apartment door in two minutes. We couldn’t help but laugh at our surprise and thankfully the expense of a taxi only cost 3 euros for our two-minute ride in the rain. As far as our new classes we cannot say too much because…the teachers and faculty went on strike! Honestly! We had class on Monday and everything seemed to be normal but indeed, nothing was normal on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The strikers formed a roadblock that forced students and non-participating members to park alongside the road instead of in the lots. Even the buses did not enter the university; the students were booted out ahead of the roadblock. Furthermore, there were not any classes during those days even though many students were milling about and we couldn’t determine why. So quite truthfully, we haven’t had a full week of class since December. When we returned in January, we only had two of our four classes, and then there was the long exam period, and now a strike. Now Vigo is enjoying its festivities for Carnival, a celebration similar to Mardi Gras. Last night, Matt and I went to an evening parade and discovered children in Halloween-like costumes and a number of adults dressed in intricate costumes. My favorite was a family dressed as Native Americans: the father as a warrior, the mother as a beautiful princess, and the baby with war paint wrapped tightly in a blanket like a papoose. The parade highlighted Asian exotics and American icons and hidden political messages in its displays. My favorite was a group of girls wearing poodle skirts and Spanish John Travoltas dancing along to the soundtrack from Grease. Matt and I both had a good laugh at men dressed as Vigo’s green busses whirling around and people dressed up to imitate broken down houses and shacks with writing that stated “abandoned neighborhoods.” It was a distinctively Spanish parade and certainly entertaining. Now this next week, my family from the Midwest will be in Vigo! I am so excited to see my family and to show them around our European home. Class can wait another week!