I have a lot of fun teaching. It is always super interesting. I just wish the preparation wasn't so stressful.
Marcelino is always fun. Tonight we studied words for routine daily activities, like getting up, brushing teeth. We had a misunderstanding about which he was asking about - the teeth brushing or the shaving, and I wrote down "to shave", so he said, "I shave my teeth."
Then somehow we ended up telling each other about grandparents: me about my grandfather on my dad's side, and him about his grandfathers, who had fought in the civil war in the 30s. Somebody had cut someone's head off and was actually walking around holding it by the hair. His grandfather ordered that particular person to be shot.
As I walk home and Marcelino takes the opportunity for a walk, we always switch back to Spanish, and this time the subject was the Spartans and their war against the Persians, and the Mongols and their hardiness and efficacy at war.

Today there was a "general strike". Two big national unions called for it. Nearly the entire city was shut down. Paco last night told me it was going to happen, and also told me that in every company above a certain size in Spain, there is something like a union, or a labour representative at least, that is elected by the employees. Anyways, it really was general. Even small businesses closed their doors in support of it. It was basically against the recently elected right wing government's cutting of certain rights or benefits of workers. Public transit and other services were running in a reduced fashion. People that may not have had anything directly to do with a big union were participating by turning off their cell phones to protest the cell phone companies, people were talking about trying not to consume or buy stuff in general, and Rocio didn't go to rehab today, to support the strike. In the morning there were people going around with noisemakers and whistles, in late morning there were people standing around talking in groups and lots of people everywhere in bars.

I have to go cook dinner and plan classes now.