Just the Right Meal Ending at the Right Time

Today, many students and faculty for that matter throughout Spain protested hikes in tuition and other fiscal cuts.  The country is in the midst of an economic crisis not seen in decades.  I had known about today's protests for quite awhile, since the possibility existed of my classes being canceled.  And they were.  So I used the day to redraw my syllabus, go for a run, and take the family out for lunch. 

I jogged with Cassandra and Olivia.  It was the first time we had run in more than a month, and we all huffed and puffed our way through the Barcelona streets.  As we were meandering through the streets, we saw that students were blocking the streets, but overall, the protests had a peaceful feel to them.  They seemed orderly.

After our run, we went out to lunch right near the University of Barcelona, the place where the protesters would gather.  The restaurant had been recommended by faculty, and though we had gotten there relatively earlier--for Barcelona time, there was a slight wait.  The food didn't disappoint.  Nolan, who had insisted on having a spicy hot chorizo pizza the evening before, this time chose not to experiment and stuck simply to bread.

The Meal Inside the Clueless Comfort of the Restaurant

As we ate, he insisted that we had to go to a playground. Figuring we'd find one along the way our walk to Sagrada Familia, we proceeded out of the restaurant.  That's when we took no more than two steps out and encountered students sprinting by us, and booming noises and sirens echoing against the buildings.  One of the restaurant workers yelled at us to get back in the restaurant, and I pulled out my camera and recorded the video in Olivia's post. We waited for about ten minutes and walked away from the university, taking the long way back to our apartment.  As we did so, chaos still reigned. 

We spent the rest of the day in the apartment, watching helicopters hovering above us, and relying on the Internet to inform us of developments. We learned then, from YouTube footage that the protests had become riotous, with a car being set on fire, and property being destroyed.  For the kids, this became a lesson on what it means to protest, what it means to resist, and what it means to persist.  I can only imagine that as they read about demonstrations and disobedience in the future, they'll remember the sounds of sirens, helicopters, and sprinting students. Of course, for Nolan, it will be another unmemorable day during which he didn't even get to see a swing. 

The Protest During the Morning Jog

Helicopters Hovered Above into Early Evening