Are We On The Verge of Living in a New Country?

I have finally decided to shake off the cobwebs of this blog site and write a blog regarding the recent events in Barcelona and Catalonia.  Although I have lived in Barcelona for over 3 1/2 years, I feel that I have taken a crash course over the last few weeks on Catalan and Spanish sentiments and the rocky history that has brought them to this moment.

Writing in English, my intended audience is for my American and English-speaking friends.  However, all are welcomed to read and reflect on the tumultuous times in Catalonia and the rest of Spain.  Although some of you may have seen recent news about the violence that occurred on Oct 1, the day of the planned referendum, when many Catalans went to voting centers to express their opinion about whether to remain within Spain or to separate and become a separate country as well as the violent response from the Spanish national police to prevent this voting to occur, that is just the tip of the iceberg.  This is a very complex topic and no one can fully summarize everything that has led the country to this point.  I will try, but some of my Catalan and Spanish friends may be dissatisfied with my observations and views, probably from multiple sides.  I welcome constructive criticism as long as it does not become a personal attack.  I am here to learn and grow in my understanding of this tense and explosive situation.  Please be part of my retinue of teachers on this topic.

Before I go any further, I need to say how shocked, horrified and saddened I feel about the violence and suffering that occurred on Sunday, Oct 1, as thousands of people went out to vote peacefully at their polling stations and many were met with plastic billy clubs and rubber bullets as well as roughing up civilians.  It was deplorable and shocking and was a disproportionate response to the peaceful civil disobedience that was displayed by thousands of ordinary citizens.

I say civil disobedience because the Constitutional Court of Spain (Tribunal Constitucional de España), the highest body with the power to determine the constitutionality of acts and statutes of the Spanish Government, declared that the law passed by the Catalan government, Referendum 1-O (Oct 1), was unconstitutional and thus illegal.  However, the pro-independent politicians, who have a slight majority of seats in the Catalan Parliament, and many Catalan citizens ignored that ruling and voted anyway, or at least tried to.  This is a very brief summary of what happened on Sunday, Oct 1 and what brought them to this violent collision.

Sources

First, I should let you know what have been my information sources.  I have read many Spanish and English articles from various newspapers (I do not know Catalan well enough to be able to read Catalan newspapers) and have listened to news reports and analysis on different local and national TV stations.  Also, an invaluable source for me has been a recently published book written in English on Catalonia's relationship to Spain and quest for independence called Struggle for Catalonia by Rafael Minder, published Sept 1, 2017, which captures the historical and recent events in this region putting it in context up through February 2017.

Finally, I have read many, many Facebook publications and commentaries from my Facebook friends and their friends' responses and reactions.  Facebook may not be as accurately factual as other sources, but it certainly helps me feel the emotional pulse of the people here and other parts of Spain.  This is not only a battle of ideas and votes, but also a battle of deep-seated emotions that are very real and also makes it very difficult for one viewpoint to listen to a different viewpoint.  I find that there is some truth to most points of view, but many times they are one-sided and ignore other facts that may not support their arguments. I will try to be as objective as I can be and any inaccuracies that you may find here were unintended.  Please let me know about them.

Recent Events In Brief

This is a rapidly changing environment.  Within the last 4 weeks we had the Catalan Parliament with a slight majority of seats of those who want independence from Spain (heretofore called Separatists) pass a law of referendum for Oct 1.  They bypassed parliamentary rules and did not allow input or modifications to the draft before passing it.

The central conservative government of Spain responded and tried to stop the referendum by having the Constitutional Court rule against the law.  Then the High Court of Justice of Catalonia made various rulings placing high fines on the politicians who were organizing the referendum and arrested some of them claiming that they had broken the law.  The Justice Department (La Fiscalía) ordered the Catalan police (los Mossos) to impede the referendum and tried to switch the head of the regional police to a high ranking officer in the paramilitary national guard (La Guardia Civil), which in the end did not happen.  The Mossos raided a printing shop and confiscated millions of ballots.  The national guard also raided and searched for evidence in the headquarters of various Catalan ministries.  They also tried to find and confiscate the ballot boxes for the referendum, but were unsuccessful for the most part.  The central government also called up the Guardia Civil and the National Police from the other parts of Spain, boarded them on ships and docked those ships at the ports of Barcelona and Tarragona.  La Fiscalía ordered that the Mossos seal off the 2,300 plus schools that typically are used as voting stations by 6 am Sunday morning, Oct 1, the day of the referendum.

From my perspective, the Catalan government (El Govern) was prepared for the central government's actions.  When they confiscated the ballots, El Govern had a website for people to print their own ballots.  It seems that they had purchased from a Chinese factory plastic, translucent boxes and had them shipped to France and then transported them to Catalonia, put the Catalan governmental insignia on them and announced two days before the referendum that these would be used as ballot boxes.  Some citizens decided to camp out at the schools and set up cots to sleep there the weekend of the referendum and some brought their children.  El Govern also had a website for those who were unable to physically show up at the voting station to be able to cast their vote online, which was subsequently taken down by the central government.

October 1 arrived.  The Mossos did not seal off the schools.  For the most part they backed away from following the central government's orders.  As a result, Spain's government ordered the Guardia Civil and the National Police with their billy clubs and rifles with rubber bullets to deboard their ships and shut down the referendum.  At the same time, thousands of Catalan citizens, young and old, went to their polling stations to cast their votes.  Organizers for the most part were able to set up their ballot boxes and welcome the voters.  It was a day for an inevitable collision on the streets and in the voting stations between the Spanish authorities and the citizens of Catalonia.

That day physical violence occurred and blood was spilled.  No one died, but there were over 800

civilian injuries with at least 2 in serious condition.  It was also reported that police agents had over 400 injuries.  The videos of police brutality of civilians have gone viral.  From news reports and videos on Facebook, one gets the impression that it was a day of total warfare,  In reality, many people were able to wait in line peacefully and cast their vote and not encounter any confrontation.  However, the violence that occurred was very real and many felt that their right to vote was brutally violated.  The central government justified their actions by saying that the response was proportionate and necessary to stop an illegal referendum.

The results of the referendum is that 90% voted for independence, 7.8% voted against with the rest of the ballots being blank or void.  About 40% of the electorate voted.

Political and Technical Issues with this Referendum

The central government has always been against a referendum that asks the citizens of a particular region whether they wanted to separate and become their own nation.  The government claims that it is unconstitutional and it is true that the Spanish constitution of 1978, agreed upon by all Spanish regions a few years after the dictatorship of Franco, makes no provision for secession.

As a result of the intransigence of the central government to negotiate with the Catalan autonomous government, when the elections of 2015 voted in a slight majority of pro-independent politicians in the Catalan Parliament with the promise of giving voters the opportunity to vote for independence within 18 months, the game of cat and mouse between these two governments began in earnest.

"Yes, Hello New Country"

The separatist politicians developed a detailed plan for independence and to enact a binding referendum.  They voted and passed the Law of Referendum less than a month before the date of the referendum to give the central government as little time as possible to react.  They ramrodded the law through parliament, ignoring parliamentary procedures and did not allow opposition parties to voice their views or make amendments to the law.  The new Catalan law states that there is no minimum percentage of the electorate required and that a simple majority is all that is necessary for El Govern to declare unilateral independence from Spain within 48 hours after the referendum.

Due to the Spanish government's opposition and intervention to the referendum as well as the short time frame that the Catalan government gave to prepare, there were few guarantees preventing voting irregularities.  There have been reports of voters voting multiple times at different voting stations.  There were no voting booths to ensure privacy.  There were no official international observers to independently confirm that voting followed international procedures.  Also, some voting boxes were confiscated by the Spanish government.

Besides these issues, my personal concern with this referendum was that it was not organized by a government that represents all Catalans and that truly wanted to know what the vast majority wants for their region. Rather, this organized effort was biased from the start in favor of independence and made every effort to have a referendum that would legitimize the government's goal of making Catalonia independent from Spain.

Battle of Ideas and Identity

Although the current Catalan government may have failed in guaranteeing an accurate and unbiased vote in this referendum that represents the entire population, they and past governments have certainly won the battle of the minds and hearts of many Catalan people.  The Spanish government's violent response on the day of the referendum also has moved more moderates into the Separate's camp for independence.

Before the referendum, the latest figures for independence from the Catalan government's own surveys showed a little less than 50% in favor.  Before 2010, that percentage was lower, but has grown as a result of decisions by the Spanish national courts, one of those being the decision to strike down a law passed by the Spanish Parliament in 2006 that gave greater autonomy to Catalonia.  Another court decision more recently struck down the Catalan law that prohibited bull fighting in Catalonia, saying that this was a national heritage that should be preserved in all of Spain.  These and other actions by the Spanish courts have alienated a growing number of Catalans by ignoring or overriding Catalonia's self-rule.  Additionally, the economic crisis that hit Spain in 2008 and the subsequent government cutbacks due to the country's growing deficit and their obligation to strictly stay within the budget parameters of the European Union, greatly contributed to the unrest in Catalonia and their already distrust of the central government.

The Spanish conservative government also has contributed to alienating many Catalans.  Led by Mariano Rajoy from the People's Party (Partido Popular), this government consistently ignored the petitions from the Catalan government for more advantageous fiscal treatment. Later the government decided to stop doing politics at all in Catalonia, basically abdicating its influence, which was already waning in this region.  In 2016 Rajoy campaigned and won national reelection partly because he promised to quash any Catalan attempt to break Spain's unity.  They have also been accused in recent years of trying to suppress the Catalan language in public schools.

The Spanish and Catalan Flags Combined

This has all led to more and more Catalans identifying less and less as being Spanish.  Many do not feel they are represented by the central government nor do they believe that they are listened to or respected by them.

Self-Determination

It is important to note that although the last Catalan government survey figures showed less than 50% supporting independence, it also revealed that a large majority believed in being given the opportunity to decide for or against independence through a referendum.  The Catalan government has encouraged that view by associating the referendum with the idea of basic democratic rights claiming that the right for self-determination is the foundation for a democratic state.  And that a country that does not allow a region to vote on their right to decide is therefore not democratic and hence must be a more dictatorial and/or fascist state.

"To decide is a democratic right."

Some have argued that the international right of self-determination as defined in the U.N. only applies to colonial countries and thus Catalonia would not qualify, unless one would go back over 300 years when the Bourbons conquered Barcelona and stripped the city of its laws of self-governance.  However, since the death of Franco, Catalonia has been part of the modern democratic country of Spain, first as a region and later as an autonomous community.

Personally, in the case of Catalonia, based on their history both ancient and recent, I believe they should have the right to decide in a referendum that has all the protections and guarantees of any modern democratic election.

Get to the Point

You might say that most of these viewpoints are mute today.  When the Spanish police on Oct 1 came in and destroyed public property and bashed the bodies of peaceful civilians, a line was crossed that can never be erased.  Most residents are outraged by these actions although there are some that applaud the work of the national police and believe it was justified. Regardless, many more minds have changed in favor of independence.

I haven't even addressed the question of how an independent Catalonia might work or what it might look like or whether it is even feasible without impoverishing the population, for at least a period of time.  But that's the subject of another day.

What happens next?  It's anyone's guess, but most likely Carles Puigdemont, the president of Catalonia, and the Catalan Parlament will probably declare unilateral independence within a week.  Spain will probably escalate the tension by taking away autonomous rights of Catalonia as allowed by the Spanish Constitution and they might arrest the President and some members of Parliament for acts of sedition.  Autonomy may not be granted again until a new parliament is elected.  Citizens will express more outrage and there will be more protests.  Up to now, the independent movement has been peaceful and non-violent.  I hope that will not change.

I sincerely hope that more rational minds will prevail and that the escalating tensions on both sides will step back and come to the table with maybe different leaders representing them to finally talk and negotiate and especially listen to each other in order to find a way through this complex and vexing political situation.

As Bette Davis said "Fasten your seatbelts.  It's going to be a bumpy night."

The Times They Are A-Changin'

Wow!  It's been more than 4 months since I last blogged.  But alas, I'm still here and I'm still in Barcelona.  I just didn't feel like I had anything new to write.  Until now that is.  So let me tell you what's been going on for the last month or so.

The Fall -  Broad Brush

The major news about the Fall was that I started to take Spanish again.  I felt that although I was

My language school

pretty fluent, I still struggled being around my Spanish friends in a group setting.  One on one I was fine.  But in a group was a different story.  Also, I am not one to hold court and have funny stories to tell, even in English, so getting two words in edgewise was difficult enough and then trying to follow the conversation that many times bounced all over the place was also a struggle.  So how could I overcome these challenges?

I began to realize that many foreign residents work in a Spanish speaking environment, and/or had a Spanish partner or lived with Spanish roommates.  These are great opportunities to naturally improve one's language speaking skills, and more importantly, think consistently in the language.  I had none of that as a retired person with an American partner living in another country.  In fact, there are many hours of the day where I am not in contact with anyone speaking in Spanish and sometimes one or two days a week not speaking in the language.  Chris and I speak with each other each day in English, which is great, but I also need Spanish speaking opportunities on a daily and even hourly basis, which I was not getting.  Don't get me wrong, each week I meet up with friends for dinner multiple times, go to the movies with local friends, go to the Barcelona Shambhala group weekly, and do all-day hiking trips with Spanish friends once or twice a month.  But for me, with my language learning capacity and my age, I saw that I needed more.  And for better or worse, many adult learning classes offered by the city are in Catalan, so it is not easy to find other avenues to get more Spanish interaction other than TV or radio.

There are a multitude of Spanish language schools in Barcelona.  But I learned that those who are accredited through FEDELE, an association for schools teaching Spanish for foreigners, have higher quality instruction.  I visited 3 different schools with that accreditation, two of which required me to take their placement test, and both of them put me in level C1, which is Superior (there is only one higher level, C2, which is almost a native Spanish speaking level).

The one I finally chose was BCN LIP (Barcelona Language Immersion Program).  I decided to do only two hours two days a week in the afternoon, although one could do up to 4 days a week.  I found that the classes were small, the teacher skilled, animated and friendly, and the materials very useful.  I only did two months to test out the program, but in the end I was very satisfied.  However, I realized that although I did not get lost by only going two days a week in a class that met four days a week, I could see that I was missing information that would have been helpful for me.

I have now signed up again in January for 3 months in a C1 level class that meets in the morning and I'll be attending all four days each week.  I'm looking forward to it!!

A question you might have is what am I doing with the Catalan that I started to learn last year?   The simple answer is that I have put it aside for now.  If I were living in Girona or in a smaller town, it would be necessary to learn Catalan to really be integrated in the local life.  But I find that in Barcelona that is not necessarily the case.  I also found that learning Catalan while my Spanish was still like wet cement caused me to mix up Spanish with Catalan.  So, for now, I decided to improve my Spanish.  I am not abandoning learning Catalan.  I just need to postpone it until a later time.

The Winter Holidays

Dinner near Reedville, VA with Carol and Dave

It's been two years since I returned to the U.S. so I thought it would be good to go with Chris back to my home country.  We spent almost 3 weeks there.  It was great!  We got to see many friends (I wish I could have seen more!), visit with my niece in the DC area, spend almost a week in Chris' home town visiting with his mom, his family and his friends there, and even got to go to NYC for 3 days to take in the Christmas festivities there.

We also got to see our good friends Carol and Dave and stay in their beautiful home in Reedville in the Northern Neck of Virginia.  They also were very generous in allowing us to stay in their small condo in Arlington, VA, which is right next to a DC metro station.  Because of that we didn't need a car while we were in DC.

It was a great time.  It was especially good to spend all that time with Chris. But I was looking forward to getting back to Barcelona.  It's hard to describe, but the pace of life, even in a large city such as Barcelona, is different and I find more enjoyable than in the DC area.  I really do feel at home here and am glad to be back.

Visa Renewal Time

My current visa will expire on March 11.  I can submit my visa application two months before the expiration date, which I did on Jan 12.  This will give me another two years to live here.  This will be my third visa.  A non-lucrative visa, i.e. a visa which states that you have your own means to live comfortably without having to work, generally starts off with a 1 year visa.  You can renew it two more times for a two year period each time.  After that, you would apply for a long duration visa, which lasts for five years.

Waiting for my number to come up....

For me, I spent the month of December preparing my documents, which consisted of getting the most recent copies of my government pension statement, my social security statement, a letter from my federal health insurance company stating that it covers me in Spain, my retirement savings investments and finally my property record showing that I own my condo here free and clear.  Other than the final document, all the others needed to be translated by a certified Spanish translator.

I thought it was going to be easy submitting these documents.  A few months ago I got a digital signature from the Spanish government to install on my computer so I could submit these documents from the comfort of my home computer.  But after spending 3 hours the morning of the 12th trying to upload these documents without success, I finally went to one of the government offices to submit it in person.  This too took another 3 hours.  But it's all done.  Now I need to wait up to a month to find out whether they approve the visa.  I don't think there will be any problems, but you never know.

Best of All, Chris is Moving Here in June!!!

The best news of all is that it has been definitely decided that Chris will be moving to Barcelona this

summer.  He is now gathering the information that he needs to apply for a year long student visa.  He will spend next year studying Spanish in the same school that I am attending.  He visited it when we got back to Barcelona just a couple of weeks ago and he really liked the school.  The upcoming summer will be hectic:  Chris will move here at the end of June and then we will go for a week to southern Spain, probably staying in Málaga and driving to some of the other cities in Andalucía. Then Chris will be in the U.S. for almost a month and will celebrate with his mom her 85th birthday and will be doing the flowers for the daughter of a good friend.  He'll be back at the end of July and I'll be leaving a few days later for a three week retreat, most probably.  Finally, at the end of August we will both be together again and settle in Barcelona making our love nest here.

The longer term plan is for Chris to get a job in Barcelona but having Spanish under his belt will be very useful for him, both for his future job and his social life here with our Spanish friends.  I am very much looking forward to our new life together here!

What's Been Happening These Last Few Months?

I have lapsed in writing on my blog site for the last few months.  I will provide some highlights of what I've been doing during this time.  I'll also refer to Chris' blog site for some details about our Paris trip.

May/June

Upon coming back from an amazing trip to Istanbul with Chris, the very next day I went with friends to the city of Girona, to see their annual Temps de Flors (literally Flower Time).  During that week, the city puts on a beautiful, creative and unique display of flowers and art that one can discover in the patios, corners, steps, and even streams and river throughout the center of the city.  It's an event that is becoming more and more popular with each passing year and is very close to Barcelona.

Another popular one day flower event in the beach town of Sitges is Corpus Christi.  Traditionally, this festival was the Catholic celebration of the Eucharist, which represents the body of Christ (the literal meaning Corpus Christi). It is generally celebrated 60 days after resurrection Sunday, but there

is a convoluted way to calculate it.  It is the Thursday after the 9th Sunday after the first full moon in Spring in the Northern Hemisphere.  Whew!!  I just let them tell me when it is.  In Barcelona it is celebrated over a few days with flowers and an egg that is dancing and held up by a fountain stream of water, representing the fertility, regeneration and vitality of life in Spring.

In Sitges you don't see the dancing egg, but for one day you see carefully laid flowers displayed on small streets in the center of town.  It is quite a sight to behold.  Due to the fragility of the flowers, it is held on just one day.  At the end of the day an outdoor Mass is said and the temporary fencing around the flowers is taken down for the people to walk on this very impermanent show of beauty.  The city workers clean up during the night and the next day there is little evidence of what was there the day before.

On the 23rd of June is the eve of Sant Joan (Saint John) festival, which in many Mediterranean towns, including Barcelona, is celebrated with fire.  In fact one of the designated places in Barcelona is on the corner next to my building.  It is quite a sight and the ferocity of the flames can bring a chill down my back in spite of the hot day and the even hotter radiance of heat from the fire.  I celebrated the evening with some friends and we had an outdoor picnic of sorts after the bonfire on the grounds of Montjuic, a very large hill near the center of the city.

I celebrated my birthday soon afterwards at my favorite wine bodega near my home.  I invited about 30 of my friends for a glass of wine and champagne (called cava here) and then had a large dinner group at a local restaurant.

But the highlight of June was flying to Kiev to be with Chris for a short four days.  We really didn't do anything special.  But it was perfect just spending time together in his apartment, going out to dinner, doing some window shopping, and basically sharing more of our lives together.

July

After a two week stay in the U.S., Chris came to Barcelona and the very next day we flew to Paris for 10 glorious days discovering this incredible city.  Chris really goes into some delightful details of our trip and what we got to see (http://travelguychris.blogspot.com/2016/07/summer-part-2-highlights-of-paris.html).  I'll just add a few things from my perspective.

This is my second time to Paris.  I was here three years ago. Since this was Chris' first time, we went

to some of the same places I had already visited, but it was very enjoyable to visit these sights again with the man I love.  I found that using Paris Pass was a great way to visit both well-known and some off-the-beaten-path tourist places.  We did a 6 day pass, which seemed expensive, but we got our money's worth with the number of museums and tourist spots we visited, the quick access, the unlimited use of metro and bus services, etc.  Having visited these places, I wouldn't use the Paris Pass again, but if it's your first time to Paris, I would highly recommend it.

I wish we knew French, but we don't.  However, my knowledge of Spanish and exposure to Catalan helped me to discern and understand some of what I read and heard in French.  It's a beautiful language and so pleasant to listen to, even if I couldn't understand much of what was being said.  Contrary to the stereotype of Parisians as being snobby and unhelpful, we found the people in Paris to be quite helpful and friendly.

I find Chris to be an excellent travel partner, always accommodating, positive, and adventurous. We

had a fantastic time exploring the streets of Paris together and we make a great team!

After Paris, we flew back to our home in Barcelona where we are spending relaxing days together and visiting with our many friends here.  Although he will be going back to Kiev on Aug 10, he will be back again for a few days in Sept 7 for a weekend in Sitges.  I look forward to the day when he will be staying here in Barcelona for good.

Where East Meets West

In the short span of one month I returned to Kiev, Ukraine to spend time with Chris, enjoyed 10 days with Chris in Istanbul, Turkey, and did a day touring the Flower show in Girona, Catalunya, north of Barcelona.

Kiev

This was my second trip to this Eastern European country where Chris lives.  Spring weather made Kiev much more alive and enjoyable than the first time in the heat of August.  Also, Chris has gotten to know the city pretty well so we visited some areas and streets that were more attractive and pleasant.  My six days there were very relaxing, waking up late and leaving the apartment late morning, going to the shopping malls (a favorite pastime of Chris!), and enjoying some delicious meals in the city.  I also got my final tattoo there for a very good price,  It took two sessions and 7 hours.  But I am happy with the results.

But what I enjoyed most about my time there was the hours upon hours that Chris and I could talk and share our lives and our love.  It was just wonderful!

Istanbul

This is the city that spans two continents - Europe and Asia, and the most muslim country that I have every visited.  It was amazing the number of mosques that occupies the city.  At first I thought it seemed excessive, but then I remembered the city of Washington DC and the number of churches that there are, averaging one every couple of streets, and on 16th Street one or two on almost every block!

What would seem an oddity in DC or in Barcelona was the norm - the majority of women with their head covering (hijab) to varying degrees, men wearing either western clothes or muslim robes, and call to prayer five times a day from speaker systems attached to the towers of the mosques.  Having so many mosques close together made for a cacophony of calls that sometimes competed with each other.  The cityscape of mosque domes and towers created an exotic allure, at least for this westerner. Between that and the incredible harbor with three intersecting bodies of water (the Golden Horn estuary, the Bosphorus strait and the Marmara sea), makes Istanbul one of the most beautiful harbor cities in the world, rivaling Sydney, Australia.


Tourism apparently was down, according to one of our waiters, due to the bombings that occurred in Istanbul this year.  We also had some doubts about going, but we decided to go through with our plans and we glad we did.  As a result, we did not have to deal with huge crowds in all of the tourist places that we visited, which made our excursions very easy.  We also were very impressed with the public transportation system.  The trams and metro were very clean and modern.  The buses and ferries were quite good as well.

Having 10 days (8 full days) gave us plenty of time to see all the major sights and not be too rushed.  We felt very safe throughout our entire visit there.  We are considering returning to Istanbul for a 4-day weekend since it's very easy for Chris to find flights to Istanbul.

Girona

Although I didn't get home from Istanbul until 7;30 pm on Monday, May 9, I had indicated that I

Game of Thrones is filmed in Girona, thus this theme

wanted to go with a small group of friends to Girona to see their annual flower show the very next day.  It's an unusual show in that the flowers and other decorations are displayed throughout the historic part of the city.  There are displays in patios, in parks, on bridges, in waterways, in churches, on building steps, each one created either by private citizens, businesses or the city government.  Most of these flower displays are filled with creativity and are a delight for the eyes.  We escaped the rain most of the day but the drive back to Barcelona was brutal with heavy rains.  As usual, I had the pleasure of meeting some new friends on this trip.

My Hiatus (Month-long Meditation Retreat)

Before

My good friend Carol came to Barcelona for a two week visit.  It worked out that she could come
around the time that Chris and I would be going to Gran Canary for some R&R before I headed off to my retreat.  I got some alone time with Carol and we picked up just where we left off when she was here last September with her husband and friends.  It was great to catch up and and spend time together.

Chris got here a few days later and we got to spend the day and evening together before we flew off to the Canary Islands.  It was great to have some beach time, down time, and fun time together.
You would think that we couldn't go deeper in our relationship or that our love wouldn't intensify more, but my experience has been that it continues to grow.  And for that I am truly grateful.

During

At the end of my month retreat, I was very content and glad to have done it.  I certainly didn't feel that way in the beginning.  It was a shock to the system, going from a leisurely retired lifestyle in Barcelona to a rigorous and disciplined schedule of meditation and contemplative activities.  Plus I was taking on a new role as a meditation instructor, which gave me additional responsibilities in supporting the group as a whole (there were about 60 of us) and also working with a few participants individually.

But I see that it was all worth it.  I have deepened my meditation practice and have developed more skill in working with others who are on this path.  But actually being a good meditator is not the goal.  It is the means by which I can rediscover my basic and intrinsic goodness, develop confidence in it, and express it in words and action with intelligence and compassion, not only to benefit my own well being, but also for the well being of others.

And what an ideal place to make this discovery.  Away from the hustle and bustle of the city, in the beautiful rolling countryside of southwest France, we were nestled on the grounds of Dechen Choling Meditation Retreat Center, one of the land centers of Shambhala, an organization that is based on trust in human dignity and which offers a path of meditation practice and contemplative arts oriented towards modern life. We woke up early, did some sitting meditation and body movement before breakfast, returned for meditation afterwards which many times included outside meditation walks and experiencing the land waking up to the early Spring.  On some mornings or afternoons, we would listen to talks given by the retreat director on topics such as meditation, fear & fearlessness, the ego, working with emotions, doubt, waking up to the world, etc.  They were always timely and very motivational.

We all had our little work assignments that most of us did after lunch.  Then back to meditation

practice in the afternoons, dinner and a final shorter meditation session afterwards before some free time in the evening.  Many times I would take night walks in the cool, fresh air and appreciate this time in nature that I rarely ever have the opportunity to be in living in Barcelona except for times when I go on a hiking trip in the Catalan mountains with friends.

The participants and staff were from all over Europe.  There were Germans, French, Polish, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, British, Irish, Scottish, Austrian, Dutch and Belgian folks with age ranges from early twenties to late sixties. And besides myself, there was only one other American who came over from the States specifically to be in this retreat.  Most spoke English and the retreat was conducted in English with translation offered for those who spoke French.  There were some who were very new to Shambhala and meditation practice and others who have been with Shambhala for many years.  But more than the demographics, the people themselves were genuine and sincere and very interesting to get to know.

In our short stay there, we created a little society, experiencing some of the same issues and problems that we have in our everyday lives.  But in this environment, we had the time to look at those issues and the habitual patterns of reacting to them and by slowing down, we had the opportunity and skillful tools to work with them and ourselves to possibly make some better choices that we could carry back to our regular lives.  I feel that was the case for me.

After

Sunset, our cat, was thoroughly pampered by her Uncle Oscar in his home.  I arranged to pick her up and slowly reentered back to living in Barcelona and seeing friends after being away for a month.  I am now getting ready to take another trip this Friday to visit Chris in Kiev and help celebrate with him his birthday.  I am so much looking forward to that and to enjoy Kiev from Chris' perspective after him spending almost 9 months there since my first visit last August after Chris had just arrived himself.  I then come back to Barcelona for only a week before I fly to Istanbul to meet Chris again and spend 10 days there.

Leaving Barcelona (Briefly)

I thought this would get your attention.  Before I talk about my short term exodus from Barcelona, let me share with you what's been happening over the last few weeks.

Taxes and Declarations

It's tax season in the U.S.  And because I will be gone for around a month, I wanted to be sure that I had everything in order.  In the past I did my own taxes, but both last year and this year I am using an American accountant who specializes in clients who live overseas.  Tax year 2014 was very complicated with finishing work, retiring, selling my part of the house, moving to Barcelona, etc.   For 2015, it will be less complicated, but having begun receiving Social Security payments in 2015, along with my continued government pension, I wanted to be sure that it was handled properly.  I am still awaiting on my tax statements for my retirement and non-retirement investments, but I already sent off the rest of the documentation to my accountant, which she very much appreciated.


Although Spanish taxes are not due until June, there is an annual Declaración de Patrimonio (Wealth Report) that is due by the end of March for residents.  It only needs to be filed if  you have accumulated assets anywhere in the world that exceeds 50,000€ in at least one of three areas; bank or cash accounts, property (other than your primary home unless it was purchased for over 300k €), and investment accounts.  There are HUGE penalties if you do not declare your assets and are caught, enough to wipe out your entire assets.  These penalties are very controversial and my Spanish accountant told me last year that it is being challenged in Spanish court, but it will take many years to obtain a decision.  He also said that many people here, both citizens and foreign residents, have not filed, either intentionally or by ignorance.  But I did not want to risk my financial savings by following their example.  So last year I filed.  This report does not in itself require any taxes to be paid.  However, during the Spanish tax season, it does become incorporated into taxes owed to the Spanish state.  Let me explain further.


When you file your taxes in June, you may also need to file your Wealth Tax report if your accumulated world-wide wealth is over a certain threshold.  That threshold in Spain is different depending on the region (called Autonomous Community), like Catalunya, in which you reside.  So, last year I had to pay around 700€ for just that part of my Spanish taxes.  What I found difficult to accept at first is that one has to pay tax on the same wealth over the set threshold each and every year.   In the U.S., that is inconceivable.  Once you paid tax on a set amount of money that was earned in a given year, it is never taxed again.  This Wealth Tax in Spain is not unique.  Many other countries also have a wealth tax, including France, Norway, India, Italy and Switzerland.  I just look at this tax as the small price that I pay to live in this beautiful city and country.

First Hike After Surgery

Last Sunday I decided to go on my first hike after my knee surgery.  It was probably somewhat precipitous in hindsight.  The distance was short, only 7 kilometers.  But what I didn't know was that there was a steep descent at the beginning of the hike, which put a lot of pressure on both knees.  We went to a beautiful pueblo called Rupit, and nearby was a waterfall and magnificent cliffs.  I enjoyed it, but I've been paying for it this week, slowly getting my knee back to where it was before the hike.


Leaving for France for a Month

Chris arrives on Feb 27 and the next day we will be going to Gran Canaria for 5 days.   This is one of 7 main islands that are called ¨Las Canarias¨.  They are part of Spain but sit on the Atlantic off the coast of Morocco.  So it's the perfect destination in the winter if you want some warmth, sunshine and beach.  I know that Chris is in need of a break from the Ukrainian winter and of course it will be wonderful to be with each other again.

The day after we get back to Barcelona I will be taking the train to the Shambhala Meditation Retreat, Dechen Choling, which is located in France for a month-long retreat, called a Dathun in Tibetan.  I've been there twice before.  It's a beautiful rural center, a serene, idyllic and bucolic setting.  I will be there to assist the program.  I am very much looking forward to it.  Sunset, our cat, will be taken care of by my friend Oscar in his home and another friend will be stopping by the house often to be sure that everything is okay.

My next blog article will be in early April.

Maintaining the House and Body in BCN

All homeowners know about home maintenance and the eventual replacement of small and large appliances.  Well, this one struck early and the heat pump that heated and cooled the house gave up the ghost.

Before going on, let me give you some background information about heating and cooling in

Typical Heating/cooling units in Barcelona

Barcelona.  Barcelona has a mild climate, especially during the winter (they hardly ever have snow and most evenings during the winter are well above freezing).  That fact has hit home for me just recently hearing about the winter snowstorm in Washington DC and the very cold and snowy weather that Chris is enduring in Kiev.  Summers are a different story and although tempuratures rarely go higher than 28º C(or 86ºF), the humidity is so high (higher than DC) that it feels like 100ªF at times.  Living on the top level of my building, it's especially important to have good air conditioning.  Now, most homes do not have heat pumps with a central forced air heating/air conditioning system.  Some, like my friend Jordi, have no heating or air conditioning system in their homes.  Others have radiators or individual units to heat the home during the winter. During the summer, some have a wall unit that will cool one part of the house.

But what is also interesting to note is that the expectations of staying comfortable indoors for Catalans & Spaniards are different than for most Americans.  Possibly due to the relatively cheap energy in the U.S. (compared to Europe), we have been spoiled in having our heating/cooling system on most of the time, except on those spectacular days during the Spring and Fall when the weather is perfectly comfortable (California is a different story - for example, my brother lives in San Luis Obispo and does not need cooling system and rarely turns on his heat because of the ideal weather there).  The opposite is true in Barcelona.  Unless it is absolutely unbearable, most Barcelonians will not put their heat on and only when they can't sleep at night will they have their air conditioning on during the summer.  In winter they are satified with wearing triple layers of clothing inside to stay warm and during the summer they endure the heat and humidity much more so than Americans do.

Heat Pump and Ceiling Unit for our home

So, most people here do not have central air and I was fortunate to have found a home that had it installed (I believe most heat pump units are more used in businesses or if used in homes, they are for a specific part of the house, since most homes do not have a duct system throughout the home). But the prior owner did not maintain the unit as he should have and after around 15 years, it died.  The cost to replace it here is about the same as it would be to replace one in the U.S.  But to a typical Barcelonian, that seems outrageous.  Be that as it may, I decided to bite the bullet and they started the installation on Friday and will finish it on Monday.  The rest of my winter days & nights will be toasty warm and summers here with Chris will be cool and comfortable.

Building Issues (Continued)

A couple of articles ago I talked about the water issue that my neighbor below me has and the mystery about the source of that leak, which only occurs during heavy rainfall, which is rare here in Barcelona.  I also checked with my homeowner's insurance company but they do not cover problems caused by possible faulty construction in the home.  To move forward with this, I agreed to allow the contractor of the building to break through a large tile in the bathroom near the toilet and to pick away at the cement that was covering the drain pipe (burying pipes in concrete is common here).  They think they discovered the source of the problem, but it's difficult to prove.  They found a couple of cracks in the building's Y connector that takes waste water from my home to the building's drain pipe.  Hopefully they will conclude that this is a building issue and it will be fixed and paid for by the condo association.

Health of the Body

My knee is coming along nicely.  I've finished physical therapy and I'm no longer seeing my surgeon.  Now is the slow process of recovery.  I'm walking just fine and can do that for some distance, but I am still not able to run or do hiking excursions.  That will come in time.

I've depended on my Federal insurance company, Blue Cross Blue Shield. for my medical needs.  It's worked, but I have to pay most things up front and then get reimbursed a month later.  The only time I didn't do that was for the knee surgery but I had to constantly be on top of it, communicating to BCBS, the provider, who knows nothing about our medical insurance system and has to trust me that the process will work.  I have seen doctors here, but they tend to be for special things.  I have not had a good physical check-up since I've arrived. Then there are the copays, which are not insignificant.  It works, but it takes time and money.

So I've been thinking about possibly buying private health insurance here.  There are some plans that

have no co-pays and have a network of many physicians, clinics and hospitals.  I would keep my American insurance but only use it here for medication and for special needs.  I calculated that my premiums here would have equaled the co-pays that I spent last year.  So it seems logical to go through with this idea.  It would just a matter of choosing the best network and taking the leap.  We'll see.

Politics and the Holidays

Big things have been going on politically here in Barcelona and in Spain.  The first big change was

the Sept 27 regional elections in Catalonia.  The result is that the two parties that are in favor of becoming an independent nation and separating from Spain together received the majority of seats in the Catalan Parliament, even though they received less than 50% of the popular vote (which is not uncommon here).  These parties have announced for months beforehand that if they received the majority of seats, they would pave a path for independence.  This they started on Nov 9, when a resolution was passed to begin the process toward the creation of an independent Catalan state in the form of a republic.  Currently, however, they are at an impasse because the smaller of these two parties will not support the prior president of the Parliament, Artur Mas, to continue in that post.  Some news reports stated that by law the Catalan parliament had two months from the elections to elect a president, which has long passed and they are still debating.  Other reports stated that after the second vote held on Nov 12, which Mas failed to obtain a majority, two months are now open for new debates.  If after those two months, a president is still not elected, then elections will be repeated early in 2016.  I just heard from a friend that Jan 10th is the deadline.  Sometimes I get the feeling they are making this up as they go along, but I digress.

The other big news is that on Dec 20 Spain had its national elections.  Unlike the national elections of four years ago, this time no one party received the absolute majority in Parliament, although the conservative party, Partido Popular (PP), received the highest number of seats.  But in order to form a government, a candidate has to be elected among the representatives to be President (or prime minister).  This year, it requires at least two or more parties to form alliances, a difficult task at best, as the parties that have more in common still would not have the sufficient number of seats to form a majority and would have to join with parties that are idealogically very different.  If a solution is not found in early 2016, new elections will occur in May.

Personal Thoughts

I am still very new to the politics of Spain and Catalonia, so my opinions are still forming.  The path to independence for Catalonia, if it moves forward, will be fraught with pitfalls and obstacles, I believe.  It won't occur in the near future.  It is much too complicated and Spain is diametrically opposed to an independent Catalonia.  Although those in favor of independence believe the new state would be more prosperous after separation, I believe Catalonia would experience very hard economic times that would continue for a while before finding its economic balance and begin to prosper again, as I'm sure it will.

The recent Spanish elections show a very divided electorate still reeling from the economic crisis that has not ended, and a profound disgust for the high level of corruption that has infected all levels of government, to some degree or another.  They are also very concerned with the very real possibility of Catalonia attempting to separate, which would have a devastating affect on Spain. Whatever government eventually is elected to govern Spain, it will most likely be weak and ineffective to move its agenda forward.

The Holidays

This year I decided to stay in Spain for the Holidays (last year was my first and only visit back to the

My favorite pastry place!

States). Holiday lights were turned on Dec 1 throughout the city.  Around Dec 19 four blocks of wooden/steel booths were set up on the Gran Via on both sides of the street, just two blocks from my home, filled with all types of small stores, from candy to children's toys, to jewelry and artesan products of every kind.  On almost every corner there is a Churreria, where they make fried dough that is in the shape of a long, thin tube, sprinkled with suger and can also be dipped in hot chocolate. This will stay up until Three King's Day (Dia de los Tres Reyes - see below).

In Catalonia, families gather on Christmas Eve evening and/or on Christmas Day to exchange presents and have their Christmas dinner.  They also have the following day, Dec 26, St. Stephen's Day,as a holiday, with a big meal that includes canalons, where the leftover meat from the previous day are ground and stuffed in a pasta roll and covered in a bechamel sauce.

A friend who I've known for a few years and who lives in Madrid invited me to spend Christmas with him and his brother and niece in the northeastern coast of Spain in the city of San Sebastian, which is the Basque region of Spain.  I took the train up and back, long but relaxing.  It was a great time.  I've only been to San Sebastian once for less than a day, so it was a real treat to be there with a friend that was born in that area.  The city is beautiful on the Cantabrian Sea (or the Bay of Biscay).  It's also well-known for its amazing cuisine and delicious tapas called pintxos.  Besides San Sebastian (or Donostia in Basque), we also visited the picturesque town of Hondarribia which is on the sea and borders France, as well as a small and historic town called Oñati, where we visited some friends of mine who live there.

Chris is crooning away at our New Years Eve party

Of course New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated here, with the Spanish tradition of eating 12 grapes when the clock strikes 12 midnight, eating one grape with every chime.  You generally stuff your face with grapes in order to eat all 12 within a minute.  Chris arrived on New Year's Eve after visiting his family in the U.S. and we celebrated New Year's Eve at the home of one of our friends.  One of the guests brought the latest version of a kareoke machine (all contained within the microphone and connected to a flat screen TV).  We had a lot of fun singing Spanish, South American, American and English songs.

The last holiday of the season is Three King's Day, which is the same day as Epiphany, this year falling on Jan 6.  This is the traditional day when children receive their presents, although many receive presents earlier so that they can enjoy them before going back to school the day after Three Kings.  Here in Barcelona, the "three kings" arrive by ship to the Barcelona port the day before, where they are greeted by the city mayor.  A parade is formed and traverses throughout the city.  We are planning on seeing the parade at our friend Jordi's home, where his balcony overlooks the parade that passes on his street.

Chaos at Condo Meeting (Reunión de Comunidad)!

What an ideal condo meeting
would look like

Almost everyone lives in condos or apartments in Barcelona.  There are very few detached homes in the city.  And every condo building has a condo association or as we would say in Barcelona, Comunidad. Each association contracts with a company who is licensed and dedicated to administer the maintenance of the building.  Additionally, in my association, a president and a vice president are elected by the owners.  By law, the condo association needs to call a meeting of the owners at least once a year.  This usually occurs in December and we had ours on Dec 3, which I attended.  And it was a doozy.

I arrived late because I had my Catalan class that afternoon.  Although we have 22 condo units and two commercial units, only 6 condo owners attended and the 2 owners of the commercial units, one which is a restaurant and the other is an artificial flower shop.  The administrator of the condo association company presided over the meeting.  His assistant, the President and the Vice President were there as well.  We went over the income and the expenses of the building for the year.  We also talked about the indispensable need for repairs to this 100+ year old building and the need to temporarily increase our reserves, as the administrator earnestly suggested to us.

This is how our condo meeting felt like
most of the evening

That was the bird's eye view of the meeting.  However, at ground level, it was a chaotic discussion.  My level of confusion only increased as they constantly switched from Spanish to Catalan and back again and again.  The two commercial owners had a list of complaints and their diatribes almost reached the level of blatant insults to the condo company.  The restaurant owner insisted that we were paying way too much money to the condo company for the little work that they do.  The flower shop owner felt that the figures that were presented to us were not correct since she was not able to balance them to her satisfaction.  My next door neighbor, who had major water damage to her unit due to water leaking from the unit above hers, kept insisting that the condo association should fix this problem, although it was already determined that the issue needed to be resolved between the insurance companies of the two units.  Six conversations at once would erupt at various times with the administrator attempting to bring order to this very unruly meeting.

I was barely able to understand all the reasonable and unreasonable issues that were being raised. But one thing became clear to me.  The interests of the commercial owners are very different from the condo owners.  They want to minimize costs at any expense.  Any increase to our association fee, which is currently quite low, means to them a 5 fold increase, since they occupy 5 times the amount of space that a typical condo unit occupies.  The other thing that is clear is that this building is in desperate need of maintenance.  We recently had the front facade renovated.  There are major cracks on the sides of the building, the patios have water leaking in them, the back balconies need to be repaired, and a host of other minor repairs need to be attended to.

I truly don't know how we got there, but in the end most of us agreed to increase our condo fee by 100 euros every quarter and to begin to do a thorough assessment of the repairs needed and to prioritize those that need to be done first.

Getting More Personal

Speaking of building issues, for the past year, my neighbor below me has been having water leaking into his condo every now and then, generally during heavy rain storms, which we do not have often here.  The mystery is where this water is coming from.  He had his insurance company looking at it, the condo association insurance company investigating it, and when we had the facade of the building renovated, the contractor who did that work also was involved in trying to determine where it might be coming from.  My neighbor is a very kind and reasonable man, in his late thirties, early forties, I presume.  He and these other agents at various times also wanted to look at my bathroom, which is above the location where he is having his water issues.  BTW, his water issues started occurring before I bought my flat.

The possible culprit in this Y junction

Finally, about two weeks ago, they discovered that inside the large drainage pipe that goes down the outside building and passes my bathroom, using a powerful flashlight, they could see what seemed to be another drain pipe that was coming out of the building, apparently from my bathroom, and protruding into the community drain pipe.  This could very well be the cause of the problem.  You see, when there is a heavy rain and water is streaming into the drain pipe from the roof terrace, the theory is that it would hit the protruding pipe and the water would build up and back into the building, which would then leak into the space between my floor and his ceiling.  The other issue is that the Y junction that goes from the building into the vertical drain pipe is at a low downward angle, making it easier for the water to back fill.

When they discovered this, they, being the condo administrator, the vice president, the condo contractor and my neighbor, while visiting my place again, discussed the option of opening up the wall behind my toilet to verify their suspicions.  When I asked about who would pay for this, the answer seemed vague.  This is where my level of Spanish may have been lacking.  In principle I was agreeable to have them do this work, but I first wanted to have my insurance company also look at the issue and to find out that if it was coming from my condo, whether they would cover the cost of the work.

My insurance company did come and my neighbor was also here for their two visits, but they did not think that my policy would cover this cost.  Most insurance contracts do not cover problems that are the result of faulty construction.  Whoever worked on the bathroom under the prior owners seemed to sloppily install the drain pipe that leads out of my condo.  I am now waiting on my insurance company to make a final determination.

The hopeful news is that my neighbor explained to me the full contents of the conversation that he, the administrator, the vice president and the contractor had in my presence, but I did not fully follow, which was that the association would replace the Y junction, which is the property of the building, with a more inclined Y junction.  At that time, they would also ¨fix¨ the protruding pipe coming out of my bathroom.  They talked about sharing the cost, since it would be repairing both the community property and my property.  So, in most likelihood, I would not bear the full cost of this repair.  I will know for sure in the next few weeks.

Knee Progress and Medical Records & Privacy in Barcelona

It's been now 4 weeks since my knee surgery.  I had my surgery on Nov 5.  Since then I feel that I have been treated like a sports athlete, since this doctor specializes in using Growth Factors to help regenerate some of the torn meniscus that was removed from the knee and to facilitate quicker healing.  I've received 3 injections of my own plasma enriched with other substances into my knee to promote healing.  I have also received Ozone Therapy, which reduces pain in joints, which in my case is my knee.  I feel like the famous Barcelona football player, Messi, although he has not been getting good press recently.  These treatments are not FDA recognized so I need to pay this out of my own pocket.  But I believe it's worth it.

Progress

After my first two weeks on crutches, I was able to go the third week with just one crutch and in the

house without any at times.  After the third week I have not had to use crutches at all.  I could go grocery shopping on my own again!!  The knee is stiff and a little painful, especially when I bend it.  I will be starting three weeks of physical therapy this week.  The physical therapist that examined my knee said that it is healing very nicely and is in good condition considering that the surgery was so recent.

When I talked with my surgeon on Wednesday, he said that mid-way through my therapy sessions I can begin to do light sports activities.  After the 3 weeks of therapy I can do moderate exercise, and in January I should be back to normal.  We'll see how all this goes.

Medical Records

Unlike in the U.S. where there has been a big push to store all medical records electronically (which has had mixed reviews, especially among U.S. medical professionals), here in Barcelona, many records are still written on paper.  I was amused when I went into the doctor's office the other day and they had large index cards with information about me on it.  There are file folders, and envelopes and index cards and paper documents to keep track of my records.  Of course this hinders the ability to easily communicate to other health professionals working with the patient.  But it also reduces the amount of administrative work that US health workers are burdened with.

Medical Privacy

I also noticed that there is not the rigor to keep an individual's medical information absolutely private.  I am not saying that information is indiscreetly shared, but there seems to be a more casualness to sharing.  In my case, I found this doctor through a good friend who highly recommended him.  One day, I was talking to my friend.  He mentioned that the doctor had told him that when they went into my knee, they found that there was a lot more torn meniscus there than what they were expecting.  He said that the doctor told him that it was pretty beat up.  I already knew this information, but I was surprised to hear it from my friend who had heard it from our mutual doctor.  Although I was not offended by this, my initial shock came from my experience of the strict standard in the U.S. for professionals to never share medical information about their clients.  I don't know if this was an isolated incident or whether this is a common occurrence.