RUN: No Justice, No Peace

After some tough lessons I have come to realize that Life isn’t fair; sometimes we face inequality or unfair treatment and we just have to deal with it. However, sometimes the injustices that we face must be confronted. I have truly come to love and respect my students and the admiration that I feel for them increased tenfold this last Friday.
In my opinion Spanish heating leaves something to be desired, and our school is no exception. The average temp for the past month has been around 8̊C so that means that our school is usually 5-6̊C inside. At it’s worst kids wear coats and bring blankets to class, and even this Coloradan can be seen wearing a coat and scarf. The heat seemed to be functioning at the beginning of the winter, but as the weeks went on it got colder and colder. Initially the lack of heat was blamed on the “Crisis” (as so many things are) but eventually they told us that there was no heat because the heat was “broken”. Gimme a break! So, last week was the final straw for the students and they decided that they were going to go on strike! Yep, you read correctly... A STRIKE! The entire week they had been threatening that if the heat did get fixed then they wouldn't be coming to school. So you can imagine my disappointment when I showed up on Friday and all the students were there in their classrooms. Then all of a sudden the bell rang all of the students started stacking their desks and chairs in the entry ways so their teachers couldn't enter. The students then started climbing up on the desks and yelling that the strike was in fact starting right at that moment. It was truly the best example of organized chaos I have ever witnessed by kids. The students then proceeded to move outside as the principle kicked each classroom out individually. From then on the students rallied and demonstrated outside with signs, blow horns, and whistles. 

But don’t just take my word... see for yourself.  

The students were not deterred by threats of suspension or even the cops showing up. They demonstrated outside for the entire rest of day shouting “ Sin Calefacción, No Hay Educación” which pretty much translates to “Without Heat, There is No Education” Sometimes we can’t always see the effects of our actions but this strike did have a positive response and outcome. As of Friday, the heat was “fixed” and we have now had heat for three days now. Bien Hecho chicos!!

RUN: Girl Power

Statue near my house in what
 I call "Girl Power" Plaza

My sister-in-law Rebecca is seven months pregnant right now so unfortunately that means I will miss the birth of my nephew/our family’s first grandchild. And while I have never had a child (and don’t hope to have one for at least 5 more years...from this keyboard to God’s ears) I do feel very strongly about natural birthing. I don’t know what it’s like to push a 10lbs turkey out of my lady parts, but somehow my mom gave birth to six children with no medical interventions or drugs so I feel as though it is possible. As women I feel as though the one of the most gratifying and important things we can do is to give birth. What an amazing act; to create, give life to, and then foster the growth of another human being. WOW! So as women I think we should find as many reasons to celebrate our bodies and ourselves, and I’m not the only one. 
This weekend in Zaragoza we celebrated Santa Águeda de Catania (Saint Agatha of Catania), and man have I been waiting for this. This history was first explained to me after a long dinner and a few shots so I wasn’t quite sure that I had understood everything correctly, but sure enough I had. Santa Águeda is the patron saint of women, earthquakes, fire, and eruptions of Mount Etna.  And legend has it that a powerful suitor was not happy with the pledge of virginity that Santa Águeda had made to God,  and after she continued to reject him he ordered that she be tortured and her breast cut off. And even after this, Santa Águeda still would not succumb to his advances so he eventually had her tortured and killed. Águeda was eventually named a saint and I guess the rest is history, literally . So how do we pay homage to Santa Águeda today? 

Well, here in Zaragoza we do it by eating sponge cake in the shape of breast (yes, breast with fruit nipples and all) and throwing a city-wide party---bachelorette style! 
Yep, that means that after our boobie cake we go to the bars for body shots, cute Spanish strippers, and very very strong drinks. I think the women in Zaragoza have it right... we carry the weight of the world on our backs and the weight of our babies in our bellies... and sometimes, 
GIRL JUST WANNA HAVE FUN!