The results: Coalition government

The results of the recent election don't entirely match my prediction. I really expected the PP to take a slim majority (with former PSOE supporters leaning right instead of left), which didn't happen. Participation was at 62.23%, significantly lower than 2008's. The PP took 40.66%, which still allows the PSOE and IU to form a coalition government, since they get 47 and 6 seats respectively to the PP's 56. I was thinking way too much in US-centric terms, forgetting that in a parliamentary system with more than two parties, a majority victory is pretty rare.

Andalusian Elections

Written Sunday, published Monday.

I've noticed that Spanish chains don't really care about US copyrights, from Duffin Dagels to lingerie chain Women'Secret. Most recently, I heard the Pirates of the Caribbean theme playing from the living room in a friend's house and, upon examining the source, found that it was being used as background music for a bull fight. The same channel that plays the popular American-Idol style Flamenco show, "Se llama COPLA," follows up the program with bull fighting... Not my thing at all.

And I watch a lot of Copla when visiting friends in or around the town of Peñaflor, because one of the show's contestants, Manuel Cribaño, is a Peñaflor native.



The whole town is abuzz with news about "el niño de Peñaflor," and there are posters everywhere encouraging residents to vote for him-- more posters than there were for today's elections, although some people hung huge banners in support for PSOE. The elections were held only in Andalusía and Asturias, to determine the government of the autonomous communities. My local friend took me with her to vote. Spanish voting is very different from what it is in the US-- very old school. Green pieces of paper lay in stacks on a table in the corner of the town library. At the top of each piece of paper was the name of the party, and below it a list of candidates. You take the piece of paper for the party that interests you, fold it, put it in an envelope, and put the envelope in a see-through box (talk about transparency!) while somebody crosses your name off a list of registered voters. There were at least fifteen different parties represented on the green-paper-table, including Andalusían nationalist parties and one party which bore the Falange symbol associated with Spanish fascism. Another party bore only the name, "Party in favor of ending the crisis" or something similar.

After my friend had voted, we went to the tail end of Mass to see the local church. As someone with zero experience with Catholicism, I wasn't sure to expect. I was half surprised the mass wasn't in Latin! When we arrived, the children in the church were performing some sort of song-and-dance routine and were rewarded afterward with lollipops. The nuns chatted away happily with the other women. The priest looked to be in his early 30s (and greeted people with a kiss on each cheek like any other Spaniard would).

The church was very well decorated, with many different pieces of artwork... it was almost an eyesore, there were so many statues and paintings. In the front of the church, where one would normally see Jesus on the cross or Mary crying on her son's body, was a statue of Saint Peter. One of the carvings of Jesus on the cross featured sinners burning in hell at his feet. A painting depicted the Romans nailing his hands to the cross. It was a little more extreme than what I'm used to.

It's now Monday morning and I'm editing this post. I haven't looked at the election results yet, but here's my prediction.

People are fed up with Socialist party PSOE (which is rife with corruption) as demonstrated by the right-wing Partido Popular's massive victory in the federal elections. I don't think that the PP's victory was motivated by careful consideration of its platform and a collective decision to embrace austerity, especially since much of the anger directed at PSOE seems to have come from their austerity measures. I saw on the news that participation was very low, which seems to go along with this theory. Many people don't want to support PSOE, but don't want to see the PP take power either. I expect that this election will see much less support for PSOE than in the past and increased support for the PP-- but ALSO the IU (Izquierda Unida, or "United Left") which seems to be the biggest left-wing party after PSOE (which isn't really left-wing anyway). But because PSOE still has a loyal base, IU won't win enough votes, so the victory will go to PP, which will now have control over the Parliament AND Andalusía's autonomous government.

Perfecting the tortilla

The Spanish tortilla seems like such a simple dish. After all, there are only two ingredients: potato and egg (some people add onions, but I hate onions). Tortillas abound in Córdoba. I've had tortilla with salmorejo, tortilla bocadillos, and tortilla with ali-oli. I've had it in restaurants, in bars, and in Spanish homes (I've even had it in Belgium; Henri's grandmother is from Valencia). Every household has its own tortilla recipe, and the tortillas in Andalusia are different from the ones in other regions.

But although I've tried and tried, I can't seem to get the tortilla right. I've cut the potatoes into thick slices and into thin slices. I've used three eggs and I've used six eggs. I've boiled the potatoes beforehand and I've put them straight on the frying pan (and I've used every type of potato known to humanity). No matter what I do, this basic Spanish dish evades me.

But now, after many efforts, I've finally got it-- more or less.

I take the biggest golden potato I can find and use a potato shredder. I shred the entire potato. I put the bits of potato on a frying pan filled with just enough olive oil to cover the surface. I cook the potatoes on medium for a long time. I break five eggs into a glass and mix them. I pour them into the pan, wait until the bottom is solid (NOT brown; I like it to be liquidy inside), then turn the pan upside down onto a plate to flip the tortilla. Cook it for a bit more and it's done.

The problem is, you can follow whatever recipe you like without getting any results. You have to know what it should look like. Henri can make the perfect tortilla, but when he passed on his recipe it failed me. Now I've got my own recipe, and I can make myself all the tortillas I can eat!

The Stairs

Sometimes, while walking from my apartment to the house of some older friends, I pass a set of stairs wedged between some buildings. Purple flowers hang over the right wall, and the staircase is divided by a fountain near the top. I'll share a picture later, once I've gotten some batteries for my camera. It's really beautiful.

I finally climbed them last Monday with a friend. At the top of the stairs is the Biblioteca de Al-Andalus, which, according to its website, is part library, part cultural center. Its goal is to advance knowledge about Arabic and Arab culture in Spain.

It's a pretty area, and I'm glad I took the time to explore it.

Petite clothes, petits noms

Spain has sales from January to mid February, and so I thought I'd do some shopping. For me, that's mostly window-shopping rather than actually spending money, but I did need some pants. Unfortunately for me, women in Spain are quite a bit smaller than I am, and most of the clothes I encountered were in Petite sizes.

I'm studying for exams. I'm not too sure what I should be doing to prepare, to be honest; all of my exams are essay-based. In the US I'd just glance over my notes a few times and get the theory down, but here the expectations are slightly different. Although I nailed cultural relativism on my anthro midterm, the professor took off points because I mentioned some thinkers but not others. So right now I'm basically memorizing each name mentioned in every text, which is a bit of a pain since I'm used to just remembering the important folks. But I guess even the one-hit wonders will have to make an appearance.

My apologies to Spanish readers. I've just realized how slang-filled this particular entry is.

Politics, professors, and death threats

Note: Tuenti is the Spanish Facebook.

My professor cleared her throat. "I'd like," she began, "to discuss Tuenti.

"As I mentioned last class, a student recently posted death threats against me online. I've spoken with the student, and I know that this person is not really going to kill me. Nevertheless, with so many crazy people out there, that kind of behavior is dangerous.

"But what I really don't understand," she said, face tight, "is why this person threatened to kill me with the Spanish flag." Several students gasped.

"The Spanish flag is my flag. I am Spanish. It's the flag of my country, too. Right, left, or center, the flag belongs to all of us, not just one party."

A few students cheered. Some clapped. Others remained silent, faces stony.

***

The professor has always made her views fairly clear, to which I have no objection (I'd rather be aware of my professors' biases). But she does sometimes shut down opinions contrary to her own, which I find unfortunate in a class that has so much discussion potential. That said, slamming an opinion and threatening to impale someone on a flag are on two pretty different levels. It's upsetting to learn that one of my classmates is so violent.

When I think about today's events, I wonder how a country so divided can reach any sort of common understanding, and I'm not just considering Spain. Whatever candidate is elected in the US this November may not even win the popular vote, or, if he does, it will be by a slim majority. Among his supporters, how many will have supported him only because they think he is the lesser of two evils? Democrats are rooting for Obama because he's the strongest candidate despite his negative approval rating, and Republicans can't figure out which tea cup to drink from. Even within each party, no one can agree on anything.

[insert optimistic conclusion here]

The bliss of solitude

Have you ever been in a changing room with two mirrors on parallel walls? That's a bit what Córdoba's Mezquita is like.

I'd been putting off seeing the Mezquita because everyone kept telling me how incredible it is, and I belong to that jaded, nothing-new-under-the-sun generation that thinks it knows everything. In other words, I had low expectations. Besides, I'd seen plenty of photographs of its iconic red-and-yellow arches, and I wasn't too impressed.

But photos of the arches don't give perspective, and no image can recreate the feel of a space. And to me, that's what the Mezquita is about. All those enormous, repeating arches in the vast room of the Mezquita make you feel minuscule. The emphasis is on nature; though some of the stone is painted, most of the geometric carvings bring out the natural beauty of the rock. The building has a great deal of natural light as well.

The low point of the Mezquita is the assortment of Catholic art, which might be quite beautiful in a medieval cathedral but looks very out-of-place in the ancient, minimalist building. Whereas the Arabic writing and designs are gold-gilded or have a smidge of silver, the Catholic areas display piles of pure-gold artifacts, like the lair of a really tacky dragon.

There's also a slab of stone carved with a large number of names. Beneath the names, the stone reads:
Sacerdotes diocesanos que dieron su vida por Cristo en la persecucion religiosa 1936-1939*

This "religious persecution" was the Spanish Civil War.

*"Diocesan priests who gave their lives for Christ in the religious persecution from 1936-1939"