End to Mediterranean dream for 90,000 Britons who left Spain last year - Chinese the only nationality to increase presence

Nearly 90,000 Britons abandoned their Mediterranean dreams in Spain last year, according to new figures.
The ongoing effects of the eurozone crisis, a huge property slump and a rapidly shrinking job market have contributed to the exodus, reducing Spain's total population for the second year running.
Town hall registers across the country recorded a steep drop in Britons, falling 23 per cent from 385,179 on Jan 1 last year to 297,229 at the end of December.
Other European expatriates are also taking their leave – the registered German population fell by 23.6 per cent to 138,917 and the French population by 12.7 per cent to just over 100,000. The only nationality to increase their presence in Spain were the Chinese.
Although town hall records show those officially registered, the British embassy in Madrid estimates as many as 800,000 Britons reside for at least part of the year in Spain.
New research has found those who migrate to southern Europe are often less happy than those they leave behind.
Dr David Bartram, from Leicester University, examined the survey responses of 329 people who had moved from northern European countries to either Spain, Portugal, Greece or Cyprus.
He found that, when asked how happy they were on a scale of 1 to 10, the migrants scored an average of 7.3 compared with an average of 7.5 for 56,000 people in northern Europe who were also surveyed.The decline in foreigners choosing to reside in Spain has led to an overall population decline in the nation for the second year running.
According to official statistics Britons remain the second largest EU expatriate community in Spain after Romanians.   Full story...

Photo: Screenshot from a video accompanying an article in The Times: Britons’ Spanish paradise reduced to a pile of rubble

A one, two punch – May 1st and 2nd

May 1st is Labor Day in Spain and much of the world. May 2nd is the anniversary of the beginning of what Spaniards call the "Guerra de la Independencia española." (This translates as the "Spanish War of Independence" but in the English speaking world it is more commonly referred to as the Peninsular War.) While not an official national holiday, it is in certain communities (most significantly the Community of Madrid) and is an unofficial holiday everywhere else. While some people view these dates as simply another chance for a “puente” (literally, “bridge”; figuratively, “long weekend”), others take one or both of these days very seriously.

.
First things first : May 1st is a bank holiday in Spain known as el Día del Trabador/a, or Workers Day. Here it is usually translated into English as Labour Day. (This is Europe, so British spelling is more commonly used.) Globally it is also known as International Workers' Day.

.

Several times during my time in Spain I have used the history of this holiday, and the fact that "Labor Day" is not celebrated on the same date in the USA, as a basis for English lessons. (Lessons based on historical events provide opportunities for past tense usage, vocabulary building and conversation skills practice.) Students are usually surprised to learn that one of their country's holidays actually has its roots in events that took place in Chicago, Illinois -- and that this connection is not well known in the USA either. Below is a brief history:

.

In 1886 the American Federation of Labor (AFL) called for a strike on May 1st to demand a limit to hours employees had to work each day. The proposal was for an 8 hour workday. So, on that date hundreds of thousands of workers across the USA walked off their jobs. In Chicago, perhaps as many as 80,000 workers struck that day. The strike continued and grew over the next few days and eventually unrest broke out.

.

On May 3rd Chicago police killed 4 strikers outside a factory. During a rally in Haymarket Square on May 4th to protest the killings, someone threw a homemade bomb at the police, who then fired into the crowd. One policeman and seven civilians were killed. Although the bomber was never identified, the authorities arrested several of the city's labor leaders. Seven individuals were tried and found guilty, four of these were executed and a fifth killed himself in jail while awaiting execution. The trial was widely viewed as rigged and six years later the Governor of Illinois pardoned the two who were still in prison and declared that those who had been executed had not been guilty. Today this series of events is known by various names: the Haymarket Affair, the Haymarket Riot, and the Haymarket Tragedy.

.

At the request of the AFL in 1889, the world labor movement's congress, which was being held in Paris that year, adopted May Day as an international day of action to call for the 8 hour workday as a norm and to commemorate the events in Chicago. May 1st has been known as International Workers Day / Labor Day ever since.

.

Under Franco this holiday was not observed. Indeed, it wasn't until 1978, 3 years after Franco's death, that Labor Day gatherings were legalized. Despite this, events did take place in '76 and '77.

.

These days the holiday is marked by rallies around the country, most of which are organized by two of the major Spanish labor unions, The CCOO (Comisiones Obreras = Workers' Commissions) and UGT (Unión General de Trabajadores = Workers' General Union). This year some 60 events are planned nationwide. Of course, the biggest rallies are usually in Madrid and Barcelona. The slogan the unions have selected for this year's celebration is, "This is the moment for equality, a decent salary and productive investment." (“Es el momento de la igualdad, el salario digno y la inversión productiva.”) The unions hope that year parliament will raise the minimum monthly salary from 600 euros to 800 a month -- to take effect in 2012!

.

Let me explain here that Spain has a minimum monthly salary for full time workers, rather than a minimum hourly wage. (I believe this is the same in other EU countries that have a legal minimum. Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy and Sweden do not set legal minimums.) For part time workers I suppose that amount is divided into fractions based on a 40 hour work week. Over the years I've asked may Spaniards about this, but no one I've ever asked has known.

.

As a comparison, it's interesting to note that Spain's neighbors have wildly differing minimum monthly salaries: according to the Federation of European Employers, France's is currently 1,309 euros a month, while Portugal's is 426. Of course, in all three of these countries most residents earn more than the minimum.

.

While lots of people will attend rallies today, many will be traveling, going to the beach, hiking in the mountains, eating out and such. Of course, in these uncertain economic times we live in, there may be many this year who will simply stay home.

.

I'll write more about May 2nd, the unofficial holiday, in my next post.

.

Chao amig@s,
.

Carloz

Scam Warning for teachers who advertise classes on the internet

Do you ever advertise for private students on the Internet? If so, then from time to time you may receive a response like the following:

.

"This is to inform you of a visit my family is taking place in texas and your service will be needed.My family are coming over to the united state for a summer without me.I will want you to let me know your price to teach English in hotel.I will email you the address as soon as i get a response from you.Just email me your price and also your full name,address and cellphone nbr so i can have a Certified check from a usa bank send to you.I will be waiting to read from you asap."

.

or this

.

"Greetings, How are you doing today, i can read your description and i am very impress and interested in your lesson you advert on web site, my son is coming for an holiday pension in your area,he is 16 years old and he know a little about the lesson for private lesson, so i don't want him to be less busy in the time of the day and i have decide to let him atending your lesson, so he will becoming 2hours in a day(9 am to 11 am) or time that you will have chance,so i want you to calculate the cost for 1 week and send me the total cost and i will be paying you with UK Cashier Cheque that will be easy for you to cash in your country,so get back to me with your cost of 2 hours per day.I will like to hear from you soon via my email address. Best Regard Looking forward to read for you"

.

or perhaps in another language

.

"mi nombre es Maria Rolston, de Suecia deseo a profesor particular mi hijo que sea 17 años de la edad y quisiera que lo enseñaras para una hora por día 2 veces en una semana por 2 meses y calcular amablemente tu dinero para los 2 meses de profesor particular y tú me envíen tu nombre completo, la dirección y tu número de teléfono porque te estoy pagando por el cheque y arreglaré el hotel que mi hijo permanecerá en hotel que cerca de tu .kindly casero me envía tu nombre completo, la dirección y tu número de teléfono .thanks"

.

The first one was sent to someone in the USA while the last two were sent to teachers in Spain. So it seems teachers everywhere are targeted. I've also heard of a saxophone teacher who received a similar offer.

.

The way the scam works is like this: the writer offers to pay you for classes in the first email. If you respond, a contrived reason will be given for why he/she needs to send a payment of a bit more than you are asking. Of course, he/she will say that they will trust you to send them the difference. However, the scam will be a cashiers check which is actually forged and will bounce. The aim is to have you send them the difference before the check bounces.

.

Apparently this works well in countries where banks clear certified checks relatively quickly and sometimes even let you withdraw money on it. Of course, when the bank later discovers that the check was a forgery, they take the money back.

Spain’s Sunday News Highlights: Who are more undesirable - French tourists, cats, dogs or politicians? Read and decide!

Fresh from reading El Pais and El Periodico at the beach, here are some of the items that struck me:

.

Hoteliers Fear French Tourists and Idolize the Japanese.

.

(By the way, this article had me, and the French friend who was with me, howling!)
.

According to a survey of European hoteliers by GfK for Expedia, the Japanese are the favorite tourists, while the French — well the article said, “son groseros, quejicas y no se adapten a la cultura del lugar que visitan.” (They are rude, complaining and do not adapt themselves to the culture of the places they visit.)

.Where the Japanese were considered polite and interested in local culture and cuisine, the French were generally described as poor tippers who refuse to even try to learn a few words of the language of the host country and who show little interest in trying local culinary specialties. Only in fashion consciousness did they excel, along with Italians and Spaniards.

.
The article also pointed out that the survey broke with some sterotypes; namely, that of American’s as arrogant and not interested in other languages. Although Americans ranked highest in the category of complainers and were seen as the worst dressers, they were ranked number one in the categories of trying to speak the local language, interested in trying the local cuisine and tipping.

.
The Germans and British were noted for their lack of fashion sense. The Russians and the British scored low on respecting local customs.

.
All-in-all, the top 5 tourist groups were: 1. Japanese; 2. Americans; 3. Swiss; 4. Swedish and 5. Germans. At the bottom of the list of 28 nationalities were: 24. British; 25. Russians; 26. Chinese; 27. Indians and 28. French.

.
The article then had an interesting postscript about a Japanese doctor who has identifed something called the Paris Syndrome. Here is my translation of what was written about this condition:

.
“That the words thanks and please have almost disappeared from the dictionaries of the French is not only verified by the GfK survey, which was carried out in April. It is also verified, with genuine fear, by the Japanese that land in the French capital. The cultural clash that occurs between the code of reverential conduct and hyper-respectfulness of the Japanese visitors and the aggressiveness and lack of courtesy of many waiters, sales clerks and Parisian cabdrivers is transformed, in some cases, into an illness that has been named the Paris Syndrome by Dr. Hiroaki Ota.

.
“Each year he diagnoses about twenty cases among subjects of the Chrysanthemum Throne who visit the city they idealize as the mecca of culture and love. Auditory and visual hallucinations, feelings of persecution, confusion, anguish and even depression are some of the symptoms. There are some who do not overcome the clash. In the most serious cases, he opts for hospitalizing and repatriating the patient.”

.
Clcik here for the online version of the article.

.

This country is going to the dogs - and cats: Sticking with El Periodico and surveys, in an article entitled The Spaniard, tolerant of pets, another poll found that 53% of Spaniards interviewed were in favor of cats and dogs being allowed in hotels, restaurants, beaches and other public places, while another 37% thought this should be allowed as long as the animals behave themselves.

.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Both El Pais and El Periodico had a lot of coverage of the agreement reached among the 27 EU countries on a new “treaty.” El Periodico claimed, “Europe Unblocked with Concessions to Poland” , while El Pais announced “Europe Regains Its Pulse.”

.
El Pais described Merkel as having played the bad cop and Sarkozy the good in negotiations with Poland at the meeting of EU leaders in Brussels this weekend. It reported that Germany threatened to leave Poland out of future negotiations on the treaty by the Inter-Governmental Conference Group if President Kaczynski continued to hold up the agreement. The paper claimed that Merkel’s forcefulness, along with Sarkozy’s skilled negotiations over the telephone with Prime Minister Kaczynski (who was in Warsaw) were key elements of a successful strategy. It also cited efforts by the PMs of Spain, Britain and Luxembourg: Zapatero, Blair and Junker.

.

Tweedele Dumb and Tweedle Dumber: The Kaczynski brothers are increasingly depicted in an unfavorable light in much of the Spanish media. A cartoon in today’s El Pais depicted them wearing identical police officer uniforms and interchangable scowls while looking down at a pair of ants on a beach. The caption read: “Polish police check with horror on the promiscuous nudity of ants on the beaches of the Baltic sea.”

.
Click here to see the cartoon.

.

And that’s all from me from Spain for now…

Copied from original http://myspainblog.wordpress.com/ posting by Carloz on 24 June, 2007

An English Teacher’s Tuesday

This article has been updated and can be found on my Newsvine column.
Here's a link to the article: An English Teacher's Spanish Tuesday

Monday Morning for an English Teacher in Spain

This article has been updated and can be found on my Newsvine column.


Here's a link to the article:  Monday Morning for an English Teacher in Spain