World Cup & Current Events

I have the pleasure of being in Madrid for the beginning of the World Cup in South Africa... or so I thought.  Yesterday had three distinct phases to it:  before, during, and after.  Before the match between Spain and Switzerland people were energized and excited.  During the match, which I will admit I only watched for a minute or two in a bar and couldn't stand the cigarette smoke, it was madness in any bar.  If you were walking the streets, it was as if someone dropped a neutron bomb; the streets and plazas normally over-filled with people were completely empty.  Afterwards, people were literally depressed (and if you don't follow, Spain lost in an upset or unexpected loss to the Swiss).  You would think that the president had been shot or worse, they had to go back to work.  It's been fun to observe and then discuss, because I'm finally learning how World Cup works and what people think about what team/nationality.  I even have a poster on my wall that I bought in my el Pais last weekend that shows all the teams, groups, dates, etc.  They have a great statistics site if you can navigate Spanish.  The Spanish team has two more chance not to lose (Honduras & Chile next week).

Also, I'm in Madrid during turbulent economic times - unemployment is high here and the government is debating austerity measures to address the national debt.  IMHO and to summarize a bit harshly, they have too many civil servants and too small a private sector and they need to lower salaries in the public sector.  Also, they have too many retired people with state pensions, the population is aging faster than young people are coming into the work force and their immigration policies don't address this deficit - common balancing acts across Europe to varying degrees.  So, they are also proposing that retirement ages be raised.  This is a bit of an entitlement society, unlike us in the US where our attitude tends to the other extreme, no one deserves anything.... especially if you're already poor [sorry, had to add that last bit].  Strikes and protests are brewing; July, August, and September are going to be rough.  A strike with the Madrid Metro will begin Monday June 28, 2010 - thank goodness I will be leaving on Saturday just before - it would be a royal pain to get to the airport without the Metro.

[geek moment]  Here is simple little reminder when talking about a date or a meeting with a friend.  There are two verbs used, one used commonly by foreigners.  Encontrarse (to meet or encounter) and quedar(se) (to stay or remain or meet).  English speakers tend to use "Encontrarse" a bit too much.  Note that this may reflect a peculiar usage in Spain.

-Quedar con alguien (to meet someome for a planned date) i.e. Quedamos en la Puerta del Sol [Let's meet at the Puerta del Sol]
-Quedarse con alguien (to stay with someone) i.e. Yo me quedo con mi esposo.  I'm staying with my husband (could mean a couple of things!)
-Encontrarse con alguien (to meet someone by coincidence or chance) i.e. Yo me encontré con Clara cuando estaba en Córdoba [I met up with Clara when I was in Cordoba].

¡Hasta la próxima entrada!