The flu?

Yesterday I, unfortunately, got really, really sick with the flu. You all know what that means, right? Puking, pooping, misery. If I told you I had gastroenteritis, would you know what that meant? Well, it means puking, pooping, misery.

When I got sick yesterday I had to cancel a couple of tutoring lessons, saying that I felt quite sick and couldn't go. Their responses were (in Spanish of course), ''Oh, you probably have gastroenteritis! That's going around...''

I'm like, umm, what's gastroenteritis? And so I look it up at my new favorite website, mayoclinic.com, and find this: ''Viral gastroenteritis- often called stomach flu...'' And all my little head stars start to flash and I start to realize that all this time I thought when people here referred to gastroenteritis, I figured it was some upset stomach thing, but not THE stomach flu! 

And here, in Spain, when you're sick with a head cold, they call it the flu (gripe). I was always confused as to why people were telling me they had the runs when they were actually stuffy and coughing. Here I am thinking Spaniards don't know the names of common illnesses, that they confuse head colds with stomach flues.

So, upon this gastroenteritis discovery, I decided to check out mayoclinic.com's definition of influenza (flu). To my surprise I read this: ''a viral infection that attacks your respiratory system.''

So all my other head stars start flashing and I start to connect other dots. In Spanish (and English, really) varicella is the real, medical term for what we like to call ''chicken pox.'' And everyday, normal people here call it varicella. Turns out Spanish is quite more practical in that sense. They just call things as they are. In English we seem to like to switch up words and definitions, make it real confusing.

So, why do we do it? Is varicella so hard to say? Why do we have to call it chicken pox? And why do we use the word ''flu'' to describe gastroenteritis when it is really better refers to a head cold?

And I hope I'm not the only one who was unaware that gastroenteritis is the stomach flu... cause if I am this entire post is kinda silly.

Here's to keeping food down... ta ta for now!

THE Crisis

Here in Spain they refer to the economic recession as "la crisis," or "the crisis."

It's a big f-ing crisis. And it just keeps getting worse.

When I graduated from college in 2009, I was told I was a part of the most unlucky graduating class ever. Job openings had never been less open, and the recession was in full force. I was lucky enough to "get out" of the states and end up in Spain, teaching English, where "the crisis" was present, but at least I had a job. Everyone at home was talking about how they couldn't find jobs, how they were all disgracefully living with their parents and how they could see no money-light at the end of the tunnel except for AmeriCore and Starbucks. The daily conversation was the downfall of the economy and how it was all going to the crapper.

Here we are, in 2012, and all those same friends who were jobless and living at home are now working and independent. No one talks about how bad the economy is and things are looking much more up than down. Everyone knows the housing market will take a while to get back on its feet, but at least people are working. And people are buying houses!

Here in Spain, every day things get worse. And the recently elected president doesn't seem to be helping much. The new administration has made it easier for a company to lay you off, has cut civil servant pay a lot (I'm keeping it simple) and has just increased VAT (value added tax) to 21%. National unemployment is hoovering around 25%. Every single day I take part in at least three conversations about how bad things are right now. Just about everyone I know is unemployed or holding onto their jobs with dear life.

Pelayo owns a bar here called "Rocket Rock Club," an American rock n' roll style joint that has quite a following here. It's unique in the sense that it plays good music and is decorated in it's own special way (complete with a MN license plate of course). I can't really explain how bad things have gotten here except by example. When I started working at Rocket in March of 2011, there were six bartenders working on a Saturday night from midnight to 6am. We would be running up and down the bar making drinks and tapping beers all night long. A number of times in the night we'd run out of glasses and have to open new boxes of them to re-stock the shelves. Five hours would pass without even a second to look at your watch to see the time. Around 5am, someone would announce that it was almost closing time. Cut off is at 5:30am, and we were outta there by 6. Now, a year and a bit later, on a Saturday night there are three bartenders, four when we hope it will be a busy night. I now wear a long sleeve shirt to work because I know I most likely won't work up a sweat. The six hours til closing won't pass. Ever. Nights are eternal. Boring. Empty. On average we sell 30-40% less than we did last year. And the worst part is that Rocket bar is known for being successful in comparison to other bars in town. It still has a following and still has some patrons during the weekend. So, I can only imagine how bad it is for our liquor-vending neighbors.

So, you walk around Oviedo on a Saturday night two years ago. It's packed. Full of ambiance and life. Everyone's drunk and having a gay old time. Bars are packed- all of them... even the crappy ones. You walk around Oviedo on a Saturday night now and the streets are more than half empty, along with all the bars and restaurants. No one goes out to dinner anymore, and going out for a drink frequently involves four friends sharing a bottle of the cheapest beer on the menu.

The downside is the prices won't drop. Bars can't drop prices because beer, liquor, rent and electricity prices just keep going up. But, bars also can't raise prices to compensate for rising costs because it will lose patrons.

So, a couple of times a month a bar or restaurant or family-owned business closes. Even big-time businesses close. And as you see this happening all around, and all you hear on the street is whispers about "the crisis" and how there's no money to do anything anymore... you get sad. Real sad. Because the ambiance here is full of fear. It's scary. It feels like something has to be on the brink of changing. Something drastic. I can't fathom what it may be, but I do think something radical has got to happen, because people here are no longer the happy-go-lucky Spaniards who are always out and about having a coffee or a beer, celebrating at all hours of the morning with no shame and simply enjoying themselves.

The American way is "live to work." The Spanish way has always been "work to live." And so, here we are. In the country where there is no work to be able to live freely and carelessly as they always did. And here I am, living in a country that is completely fucked economically and watching it all fall apart, piece by piece. Is there hope? I can say that last year there was a lot of hope that it couldn't get worse- that a change in president and policy could give a new jump-start to this country. But, here we are, starting a new school year in September 2012 and watching how it is, to everyone's fear, getting worse.

And I have to say it's a bit surreal, and a bit scary. And I'm quite anxious to see what happens next. All I can say is that it's times like these that I'm happy to have an American passport.