Those of you who read my blog often know that I recently moved to a new apartment. After the move, I decided to make a short video (“MTV Cribs” style) to show everyone what my new, improved place is like. I’ll admit that my video might be a little bit “low budget” in comparison with a typical “MTV Cribs” episode; but still, I think it’s worth a view. You should especially pay attention to the hodgepodge of decorative items we have scattered through the house — Disney in the living room and half-naked girls and saints in the hallway. It’s quite interesting, if I do say so myself.
To me, it seems as though Spain is light years ahead of the States in at least one thing: public transportation. I, for example, can get anywhere within the city that I’d like to go on the bus system, which is efficient, modern, and always on time. In addition to city buses, Spain has light rail systems, subway systems, and long-distance buses and trains that transport passengers to virtually any corner of the country that they would like to visit. For me, the transport system here is absolutely amazing.
Of course, there are always hiccups. Renfe sometimes is late, the metro in Madrid may occasionally break down, a bus could arrive a little behind schedule. Still, comparing with what I’m used to in the States, Spain is pretty “well off” in terms of public transportation and, in general, Spaniards can (and do) rely heavily on things like buses and trains rather than always grabbing the “coche.”
I’m sure everyone has had some type of awful experience while traveling on public transport; so, here’s something fun for this post. Would everyone who reads this please comment with your funny/unique/strange public transport stories? Perhaps later we can come to a conclusion about which of my readers has had the most unique public transport experience. Continue reading this post…
Ok, I know that this is a Spain blog and I normally write about things that happen to me while living here in Spain; however, I’m going to “steer off” the topic a bit to talk about something that I think is pretty important and is happening right now in my home country, the USA. You guessed it – I’m talking about the great “Health Care Debate.”
Living in Spain has made me realize something: we Americans are stupid for not having some form of public health care system in place. You see, Spain has a two-tier health system in which there are public hospitals and doctors (which are free) and private hospitals and doctors (you need insurance to go there) and, in my opinion, the system works WONDERFULY. Everyone here has the basic care they need under the government-run, public system and those who wish to buy a private insurance plan in order to have more choices of doctors and hospitals can do so if they are unhappy with the public system. In my eyes, it’s a “win-win situation” for all involved, both the rich and the poor.
The public heath care system in Spain also helps to keep the private system in check. For example, if the private doctors and hospitals were to “cross the line” by charging too much for a treatment or service, they would loose patients to the public system, which provides the same quality care but is free. More importantly, however, the public system here allows everyone in the country to have affordable access to health care when they need it. There’s no such thing as waiting for insurance authorizations before surgery, co-pays, and “in-network” and “out-of-network” services like in the States.
Truly, the Spanish don’t know how good they have it when it comes to health care. I think it’s about time for us Americans to “wise up” and establish a plan that, like Spain’s, entitles everyone to health coverage they can afford while still allowing for individuals to make choices. Maybe we don’t need to make a completely public health care system in the USA like what is here in Spain; but, we do need to do something and I think the government does need to take a more active role. That’s why I support President Obama’s call for health care reform and hope that you too will show your support. Continue reading this post…
When I first arrived in Spain in September, I signed a lease that would last until June and, well, June is here and my lease is up. I’ve decided to move to a new apartment that is more centrally located rather than renewing this lease, which means that this week I am going to “make the big move” to my new place.
Right now, I’m in “packing mode” and am sitting in my room looking around me. I have boxes scattered all over the floor, a large garbage bag full of things I’m going to throw out, open suitcases, and lots and lots of dust (it seems like whenever you move you find dust in places you never thought possible). I guess to get through it all I just have to keep in mind my nice, new place waiting for me.
Hopefully, by this time next week I will be all moved into my new place. I’m going to take the move a little slow because here I do not have a car and thus have to move things by foot and rely on friends with cars. Continue reading this post…
Some young musicians perform during Youth Music Week in Burgos.
That’s right, this week was the “Caja Círculo” sponsored “Youth Music Week” here in Burgos. That means that all week long “Caja Círculo” stages were being put up and taken down around the city and various young artists were scheduled to perform on them. It was really an interesting sight — as I was walking through various sections of the city, I got to be “serenaded” by the many young musicians. Of course, some of their music was a little too “heavy” for my taste (by “heavy” I mean head banging, screaming at the top of your lungs noise)… but that’s ok.
This is one thing that I like about Spain: there’s always a cultural “something” to do and usually that “something” is free or low-cost. Of course, in this case, head banging teens screaming lyrics at the top of their lungs wasn’t really my “cup of tea,” but still, it’s cool that this event was held in the city. Continue reading this post…
The children of Class Four at Silkstone Primary School in South Yorkshire, England have recently interviewed me to find out what a “typical day” in Spain is like. I thought their questions were really interesting and have decided to place a copy of the interview here for all to enjoy. Perhaps this post will give you a little bit of insight into what a typical day in Spain is like (at least what my typical day is like).
Without further ado, here are the questions and answers:
1. What time do you arrive at school and what transport do you use? The first class at school begins at 8:30, but as a teacher I normally arrive around 8:10 or 8:15 in order to prepare for the day. I do not own a car here, so I get to the school by city bus. The bus is very inexpensive and very convenient for me – and it beats walking! Continue reading this post…
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