Prohibitive cost of public transport

I   wanted to write this post for a long time. At year end, you can read in the newspapers or listen on the radio that Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), the authority in terms of public transport, is getting ready to increase the prices of the different travel cards.

When 2013 was finishing, they said that they were thinking of increasing the single ticket and the T-10 (a travel card with ten journeys), because these two are the ones most popular amongst tourists. Certainly, who made this sentence has never caught the bus or the underground, because there are thousands of Barcelona citizens that use one of them.

However, finally, they decided to increase the price for all travel cards, which means a lot of money when you think about it: in our case, my wife has to pay three Euros more every 30 days that means about 36 per year. My sister, who has a ticket of two zones,   double the cost and a cousin of my wife who has to travel three zones has to pay nine Euros every month, which means180 Euros extra per annum.

During last year, and thinking in back cutting my expenses, I decided to go to work by metro to save some costs. At the beginning I thought it was worth it, but now, after doing some calculations, I have realised that I spent the same amount of money if I travel by car or by Metro. Conclusion: I will go to work by car as it takes me about forty minutes less to go and return home.

I honestly think this IS a great mistake of TMB and the council. With these prices the only thing they are going to achieve is that Barcelona citizens travel more by car or motorbike instead of using the public transport, that is supposed to be better in many ways for the city, the atmosphere and the pollution.

I am very disappointed with all the increases we have suffered and I have decided to join any campaign to show our disagreement with this decision. On the Internet I have seen groups that are thinking of doing actions and the other day they gave me a flyer criticizing the local government.

Public transport, as it says, should be for everybody. Every Barcelona citizen should be able to afford a travel card without a problem, but now it has become a service for rich people, who, in the other hand, never use it. It is terrible, because nowadays families have a lot of expenses and they shouldn’t be forced to pay this amount of money for a service that should be public.

Is it so difficult to say hello?

This morning, as usual, I went out running. When I got back to my house, I’ve met this neighbour. As my parent taught me, I said ‘Hello’ to her even though it was the first time I saw her. My surprise was didn’t answer me back. Maybe she didn’t hear me –I am absolutely sure that she did because I said laud enough-. What annoyed me more was the look on her face. She didn’t look a really nice person. Maybe she has a bad morning o she had some kind of a problem. I don’t want to judge her, but I think that she could have answered me back. It is free and good manners.

This neighbour is not the only person in the world who is not capable of saying hello. I sit near a door in the office and most of the persons that come in never say hello. My colleague Mireia and I, we always say something to force them to answer back. As I said before, it is good manners. I really think is something easy to do.

When you get to a place or you are with somebody in a closed room or space, I think that you should, at least, say ‘Hello’. I am not saying that you have to start a conversation or ask anybody for things that maybe don’t be appropriated but saying ‘Hello’ or ‘Good morning’ is an easy thing to do.

I think that it is very important that people have good manners. In this sense, I really thank the education my parents give me. I know that it looks difficult and maybe now society is changing, but you should never lose good habits or your education. Parents and teachers have to do an effort and try that the new generations are as polite as the actual. Obviously, there are also older people that don’t have any manners and it is also reportable.

Good manners are important and everybody should have a minimum. Or is it very difficult to say hello?

Chinese people

In Barcelona there are thousands of Chinese people living. They have opened many different businesses: they started with the Chinese restaurants and the ‘bazars’, and now they started others liked vegetables shops, beauty centers and they have also bought many typical Spanish bars.

Chinese people work a lot. I have to admit. Instead, they don’t really spend money. Chinese people are very special. They are especially nice with customers, most of them don’t speak Spanish or Catalan and you hardly see them laugh. They also speak very loud as they were always shouting. I respect them a lot, but they are people hard to have a normal relationship.

However, near my house, I have met this Chinese woman who is really nice. She always says hello when you get in, she laughs a lot and she always asks you how you are. Nothing to do with most of her compatriots. Last time I went, she asked me how the Christmas holidays went even though she doesn’t celebrate them.

As I said, I respect the Chinese because they work a lot and they have a good view for business but I think they could be nicer. All of the Chinese could take example of this woman, who is always in a good humor and she is so pleasant. Only for that reason every time I have to look for something, I go to this shop.

I know it is difficult because it is their culture and it is not easy to change, but I am confident that the new generation of Chinese will be more similar to Spanish people.

2013

I know I am a bit late, but I wouldn’t like to start 2014 without doing a brief summarize of the year we have just left. In 365 days a lot of things can happen certainly and, hopefully enough, most of them have been good. Obviously, you can always things could be better, but we have to be happy with our lives.

Nearly a year ago, Hugo and Marta told is that they were going to become parents. Berta was born in July the 27th and also Nil who is Albert and Vanessa’s son. The two babies are lovely and very cute. It also was a very important year for my friend Marc, who I know since I went to school, and Lorena. The 5th of July they got married and we all celebrate the 13th. And, of course, the other great news has been that Jordi and Miriam are going to be parents of a baby boy.

I think 2013 has been a good year. My family is all right, Jéssica and I are happy and have work and, all in all, I think we did quite well. Jéssica has started a new job and she is really happy about it. I think it will be very good for her. We have been able to travel and visit cities like Rome, Santander, Bilbao or London. We have enjoyed ourselves and I think we can presume of being a happy couple.

We had our bad moments like when my firm didn’t pay me for months and they decided it to begin an ERE, but we always kept fighting to go forward. We also have been forced to postpone some projects, but we hope to become them true this year. Sometimes things do not turn out as you wish; however, you should never give up.

As I wrote, 2013 has been a good year. I honestly hope that 2014 is better and I can list a lot of great news for me, my family and friends. The beginning of the year has been quite good. Let’s hope it keeps like this.

Christmas

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year...”, says the song. I really love Christmas. Since I was a kid, I thought they were great days. I remember writing my letter to Father Christmas and asking for presents for all my family. Films, series and cartoons on TV specially broadcasted for these days. All the lights in the streets, the Christmas decorations all around, the Christmas tree and the ‘pesebre’... The big and fat Santa Claus with his sleigh and the reindeers, the three kings... The lottery, the ‘turrones’, all the food and drinks. It reminds me of my grandparents, my aunts and uncles, of Bilbao, of the great ham my grandfather Jaime bought... And, of course, all the presents: buying them, wrapping them up and opened them. I really, really like and enjoy these days.

This year my wife Jéssica and I decided to go to London before Christmas. We really enjoyed it, even though we notice we should have gone a few weeks later if we could. The problem is that we couldn’t because of my work. In the future we hope to repeat and to go back to live the Christmas spirit.

I also love Christmas because family comes together. You spent time with the people you love more. I enjoy every Christmas meal with my family, the same jokes, the same stories again and again. What is really nice is that everybody gets together, laughs, enjoys themselves and for a few hours you are able to forget all your problems.

I know that a lot of people think that is not worth it, they don’t like it because of different reasons. I know that not everybody feels about Christmas as I do, but for me is a best moment of the year.

Today it is the last day of Christmas. I have to admit that I am a bit sad, because it al finishes. The three kings have arrived to our houses and they have left the last presents. Now we will have to put away the Christmas tree and all the decorations until the last weekend of November or the first of December. When time gets I will try to do as every year: enjoy the time before the Christmas holidays and live those days as I was a little kid. My Christmas spirit will always survive.