Yes, another one. Since I have been here I have lost count of how many public holidays there have been. This province has its own public holidays, and also the national holidays. This means that there are lots of holidays. It has dawned upon me that there are a lot of "no work" days here. And holidays can be a nuisance as shops, supermarkets and other businesses and services are closed for the day.
This morning I received an email from an American friend wishing me a Happy Holiday - another one! I paused to think about it. There are just too many holidays in this place. How does Spain manage to have the 12th largest economy in the world taking into account, the amount of work it does? Work days are Monday to Friday. Many places work a split day (with a midday siesta of 2 to 3 hours) each day of the week and then a half day on Fridays. The beaches are full from 3pm on Fridays so it appears to me that almost everyone works half day on Fridays. It would seem that the people do light work here. In many countries of the world it is an honour and a privilege to have a job and you have to work hard and do your best, in order to keep your job. I know that is the case where I come from. Here it seems like a job is just something you can have or not have. No strings attached.
With all festivals and celebrations there are displays and fireworks etc. Lots of money is spent putting on a show for the locals. I cannot fathom how this country manages to be up there on the "leading economies list" when it is not working that hard, and it spends money on unnecessary things. Spain was also said to be one of the countries facing bankruptcy in this economic turmoil in Europe... I am sure the Germans do not like having to break their backs to bail out these other countries that are reluctant to change their working or spending habits... Unlucky for Germany, it has to work hard to keep the rest of Europe afloat!!
As it turns out the public holiday is Columbus Day. Christopher Columbus was the Spaniard who sailed across the Atlantic ocean and "discovered" the New World. This, despite the fact that there were already people living on the islands he landed on...
This morning I received an email from an American friend wishing me a Happy Holiday - another one! I paused to think about it. There are just too many holidays in this place. How does Spain manage to have the 12th largest economy in the world taking into account, the amount of work it does? Work days are Monday to Friday. Many places work a split day (with a midday siesta of 2 to 3 hours) each day of the week and then a half day on Fridays. The beaches are full from 3pm on Fridays so it appears to me that almost everyone works half day on Fridays. It would seem that the people do light work here. In many countries of the world it is an honour and a privilege to have a job and you have to work hard and do your best, in order to keep your job. I know that is the case where I come from. Here it seems like a job is just something you can have or not have. No strings attached.
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| Statue of Christopher Columbus in Barcelona |
With all festivals and celebrations there are displays and fireworks etc. Lots of money is spent putting on a show for the locals. I cannot fathom how this country manages to be up there on the "leading economies list" when it is not working that hard, and it spends money on unnecessary things. Spain was also said to be one of the countries facing bankruptcy in this economic turmoil in Europe... I am sure the Germans do not like having to break their backs to bail out these other countries that are reluctant to change their working or spending habits... Unlucky for Germany, it has to work hard to keep the rest of Europe afloat!!
As it turns out the public holiday is Columbus Day. Christopher Columbus was the Spaniard who sailed across the Atlantic ocean and "discovered" the New World. This, despite the fact that there were already people living on the islands he landed on...
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| Christopher Columbus |
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