About what is going on

I would love to write about what is going on in Spain. Not only because it is interesting, but also to please that inner feminist-revolutionary I have inside (and not very well hidden) with a few burning paragraphs of seriousness.

I would love to but I can’t because, as I realized during my latest visit, I don’t have a fucking clue about what is going on in Spain.

Of course I keep myself informed. I read the press everyday and I follow all those tweets about concentrations and demonstrations. But then, I land in Madrid airport and I think “what the heck? 4,80 Euros to Chamartin? Are we crazy?” Of course I immediately post it in Facebook obtaining no reaction from my friends. “It’s been a while. We are now equal to other important European cities: Moscow, Oslo, Helsinki, Geneve…”

I know, with the problems in Spain today I shouldn’t go bananas over the price of a metro ticket. I am more than spoiled. I became one of those German that get curious about what is going on in your country but are really worried about proper sorting of rubbish. First world problems.

Same first world problems I have when I complain about railway station employees being rude and elevators out of order and the absurd way of working of the carts for luggage in Barajas (you have to carry your bags to the second floor in order to purchase a token so you can go down, get a cart and carry your bags to the second floor).

Here is where I’m asked how long have I been living in a cave. With all the problems the railway service has, the least of its concerns is that employees walk the extra mile to help you, and with the situation in the Spanish airport, there is no much room to question if the carts system is effective.

Only Germans would worry about such stuff.

It reminds me when I saw in certain countries people throwing rubbish to the sea. When alphabetization is an issue, there are no many policies enforcing environmental conscience. “Reuse, reduce, recycle” is not in the top agenda.

And there I come, with my permanent position, my German immigrant husband and my average German recycling problems, frowning upon someone (someone working at a hospital or at a school) that says “You should do as your boss tells you. Even if you know is stupid. You cannot afford to lose your job these days”.

In Candyland, where I come from, I cannot conceive that an employee is discouraged from questioning his or her boss. We spent literally hours questioning each other and I would not like to work with someone that doesn’t question me. It is really boring talking to yourself. See what happens when you do not question your boss. http://www.publicspeakingtoolkit.com/ethnic-theory-of-plane-crashes.html

Sure, I understand that in these hard times one is forced to accept half of his salary in an envelope, a relaxation of the safety conditions in the workplace and basically working like a slave for peanuts. With the unemployment rate in Spain it is normal to bend your principles, until they match the ones in your company. I would surely do the same. I’m no kamikaze, especially when the food for my family is on the line. It is understandable, but it is not right. And it cannot be right, even if it is the norm. It is not right to throw rubbish in the sea, it is not right to relax your professional standards to please your boss and it is not right to be rude when you are facing customers. And till recently, you will agree with me, we used to worry, and get upset about this kind of silly stuff. What is happening? We cannot allow that only North European countries will from now on complain about absurdities!

So, obviously I cannot write about Spain. I would be insulted, and rightly so. People would say my expensive Shampoo is doing something in my head, which is probably true. Looks like my only contribution will be to remain slightly unaware of the situation and come back from time to time asking why the public transport is so ineffective, like some annoying granny shouting over the price of baking powder. Like her, my mission will be to keep things in perspective. In first world perspective, that is. And I will repeat it whenever: Public TV is getting more and more ridiculous, a universal rent reduces criminality, the world would be a better place if people would take pride in their jobs, it is not right how vegetables are treated before they come to the stores, animal cruelty should be way more punished, we need more green areas and more computers in the schools and the prices of public transport in Madrid are a robbery.