Our World in Spanish into English

Misperceptions around this issue are so gobsmacking that we decided to start a thread on squats, squatters and squatting.
Let us start by saying that squatters are not homeless people who take an empty house to destroy it or live in it. Squatting is a social movement trying to highlight the fact that some buildings are empty and everybody has a right to have a home, some shelter.
In Madrid, in contrast with squats in London, squats are mostly cultural sites, not housing squats. Before squatting a building, squatters find out all the information about the place and they usually squat buildings like old factories which have been out of use for over 25 years, or things like that.
Once the squat is regained for people in the neighbourhood, squatters clean it, which is usually very hard work, and put the place in shape so that other people can be welcome. Then they set up all kinds of services: using what people bring along with them, they set up libraries, child care, even computer rooms (if they get one or two computers), but mostly, they offer the space so that people can give and take (free) courses (yoga, theater workshops, languages, etc.) and celebrate all kinds of cultural events (live culture!) like showing movies, offering talks and discussions, organizing parties and collecting money for noble unpublicized causes! You see, if you paint, write, perform, if you have something to say to people, our society doesn’t allow you to say it or do it anywhere: we can’t publish, we can’t appear on TV, not even on the radio, you cannot share your knowledge and your skills anywhere, and there are tons of people doing interesting things that deserve our attention. So what you do, if you are one of those people, is go to a squat, and for instance, set up the course you want to give, and just give it!
We’ve been to El Laboratorio squats in Lavapiés and to La Karakola women’s squat in Lavapiés too. In one of the El Laboratorio, accoustics in the building were so amazing (Pza Cabestreros) that the squat was used by musicians who couldn’t afford to rent a place to rehearse. Here they could play without being a nuissance to anybody. Also drama groups came, and we had the chance to attend wonderful shows, for free, of course.
Another important role of squats is that they are meeting places. They try to offer drinks or food at low prices, and they become hangouts or very interesting people!

In Spain, we love coffee. Some foreigners say that it’s so thick you can kind of stick your teaspoon in it and it will stay in an upright position! Not quite, but it’s funny!
I love coffee. I stopped having 200,000 coffees a day, naturally, not on purpose. However, I can’t live without experiencing the delicious flavor of my morning coffee, with some milk and a bit of sugar.

Bars in Spain should be exported to Europe: in them, all kinds of people meet — children, teenagers, young adults, middle-aged adults, older people, men and women, talkative people and people who never speak, people with a sweet tooth, people with non-standard meal times, people who drink alcohol and people who don’t, yes, together, no problem! You can have ANYTHING ANY TIME with ANY KIND OF FRIEND. Yes, Europeans, it’s true! Sweet or sauvery, boiling hot or freezing cold, alcoholic or non-alcoholic. In Spanish bars, waiters and waitresses do not have to tell you that you cannot order a sandwich now and that you need to order a piece of cake, or the like! Aren’t Spanish bars a great idea? :)You don’t have to segregate your friends according to what they tend to have! (And anyway, what if they would rather order something different?) 

They’ve got a drawback, though. Noise. The noise of the coffee machine when used to heat the milk is really loud. And some bars are filthy, that’s true. I mean, if you press a finger against the counter, it might stick!

You can post here your adventures and misadventures as somebody from a Spanish-speaking cultural background who has traveled places! What called your attention? Any surprises or shocks? What did you learn which you were happy to learn? Anything!

Post about your favorite places in Spain!

I bet we can get very different descriptions here! Practice descriptions…

Write about an excursion you really enjoyed.

Write about your most embarrassing experiences…

Talk about this celebration!

Post your childhood memories here! Remember you need to imagine that the people who will read them don’t know anything about Spain… Walk in English-speakers’ shoes!

Why is this one of the very few women that were famous in Spain before democracy started making our society more equalitarian in terms of women’s participation outside the home?

An amazing painter… What can you tell English-speakers about Goya? Any favorite works of his to write about?

Any movies based on his life? Books you might want to recommend? Links? Any tours to suggest? In Madrid, you can certainly check out a couple of places…

Many countries haven’t got this item, but in Spain, we surely need it, especially late-night birds!

Can you describe it? Have you got any anecdotes about it?

Many countries haven’t got this very useful tool! Post your definitions, comments, stories around this amazing item!

“Cañas” are smallish glasses of beer you get in bars in Spain, and which are usually accompanied by a “tapa”. Hey, people, can you explain what a “tapa” is? Can you explain “ir de cañas”?

Post your “sangría” stories and recipes!

Here’s a link Alfredo, Y5C, 2007-08, sent. It’s English speakers describing “patatas bravas”.

Potato omelette * Spanish omelette

Post your recipes, your stories, the places where we can get good “tortilla de patata”, whatever you want to tell us in connection to this very typical Spanish meal!

Hello, everybody!

This Talking People project is so that Spanish-speaking learners of the English language can practice explaining things about their own culture in English. Feel free to post wherever you find a thread you’d like to contribute to! For example, imagine in our section “Food & Drink” we’ve got a thread on “tortilla de patata” (potato omelette). Well, you can post there your recipe of this meal, or an anecdote around this meal! Whatever!

Enjoy!

The TP webmistress