I never wrote about the "Occupy Wall Street" rally in Madrid. I had never realized that these rallies basically began in Madrid and then spread across the world and now circled back to Madrid.
Well the rally was enormous. Thousands of people shouting Spanish chants, waving signs, cuddling (there are always couples cuddling, even at rallies). It was quite energizing and inspiring, as any massive gathering of people would be. Various marches all joined in a big plaza, Puerta del Sol, where there were huge posters on buildings and speakers and people climbing statues and other people trying to coordinate the masses to wave hands at the same time and sit at the same time. It was pretty cool to see and be in the middle of. This could totally make sense or not.. but I watched Ratatouille last night and there was a quote when Remy is fighting with his dad, and his dad says:
"You can´t change our nature, Remy!"
and Remy replies,
"Our nature IS change, Dad!!"
Gregoire & I looked at each other and were both like... phwoah.. deep. But it´s totally true. And to bring it back to this rally, how cool and different and yet totally necessary and natural to be rocking and fighting what has become the nature of our social and economic worlds.
Anyway, moving on, I went to a theme park this past weekend and got so scared at the haunted house that I cried and suffered chest pains afterwards from what I presume were violent heart palpitations. I immediately told my friend Amanda that I would rather be mildly beaten than go through that again and I stand by it wholeheartedly (though my whole heart is now weak and fragile).
The whole day was a huge success, though. This past weekend we discovered a place called La Tabacalera. It´s an old abandoned warehouse that has basically been occupied by artists and turned into.. well.. the most awesome place ever. Everyday from 11am to midnight there are workshops, classes, music, performances, screenings, a cafe, everything.. it´s just.. so cool. The entire place is covered in graffiti, different art exhibitions (photographs, sculptures, paintings). When we went on Friday night there was live ska music in one room, an interpretive dance performance in another, a portrait sketching workshop in the cafe, freestyle rapping in a room downstairs. When we returned Saturday morning, there was a free Brazilian Capoeira class where the interpretive dance performance had been the previous night. .. you get the point. And most of these classes.. or all of them I´ve come across so far... are completely free. It´s all about the art, all about the creation, all about the expression, and for once, nothing else.
Anyway, so the theme park was really cool. Before that we went to Casa del Campo, this big open area that looks like a big pretty park on the map, but is actually just dry empty space with a lot of hookers. But we found a pretty-ish area and picnicked and it was nice. Then the theme park!! The rides were really fun and I had a lot of fun. The haunted house.. well, I already explained.
It´s been fun and I´m having fun. I got a clase particular with this group of mothers that want to learn English for traveling. It´s only on Mondays and I started yesterday. It´s a bit of travel and considering how many of them there are (6-7) I don´t get paid that well (€25).. but.. I like it. It´s super relaxed and honestly, I think it´s easier with a group because simple activities take up more time. Also she made me coffee and fed me cake.
I got my hair cut and I´m getting it cut more today. WOAH!! I´ll post a picture soon but I doubt it will be that "omg", more like a "oh, huh."
Anyway, love and miss you all!
Connie
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