Days Twenty-one through Twenty-five

Monday

After work Monday I went to an embassy event called the Caixa Forum with my fellow intern Carolyn. It was a small event (maybe 40 people) in a classroom-like setting, and the subject was "España en el Espejo de Europa" - "Spain in the Mirror of Europe". The professor gave a lecture (in Spanish) on why Spain is "different" from the rest of Europe, and he arrived at a few conclusions.

First, in 1898 Spain lost the Spanish-American war (to America, of course) and in so doing lost the last of its colonial possessions in Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. This initiated a period of complete national mourning - everyone thought that Spain was dying, because it was an end of an empire that had once owned literally half the known world. The cultural impact was profound, and not something that other European countries ever experienced in quite the same way.

Second, Spain didn't get involved in either of the World Wars. What this caused was a massive population boom relative to the rest of Europe. From the beginning of the century until the civil war, Madrid went from a few hundred thousand people to more than a million.

However, Spain's governmental structure could not match the population explosion, and things like social services and, most importantly, education, were doled out by private institutions. And the most powerful private institution in Spain was, of course, the Catholic Church (broad definition of the word "private", yes, but bear with me). As a result, Catholic schools sprang up like weeds, contributing to a decidedly more religious population today than, for example, France, which now has so many agnostics and atheists that the remaining Catholics are outnumbered by Muslims. Spain's percentage of Catholics is still something like 75%. That's a huge difference for two neighboring countries with such strong historical ties.

Tuesday

Tuesday I had to go sign another condolence book, this time at the embassy of Kenya, in mourning the loss of a Nobel Prize winning professor. I entered, and (speaking English as I was in the Kenyan embassy) was shown to the condolence book, and the receptionist went to get her "boss". I never learned exactly who he was - he may have been the ambassador - but he sat and watched as I signed the book. It was a bit unnerving but I feel I properly conveyed the sympathies of the US Embassy.

Wednesday

I went to the Caixa Forum again to finish up the series on Spain, and this lecture was over the Spanish entry into the EU and the end of the Franco regime (Franco being the rightist dictator who ruled Spain from the 30s to the 70s). The democratic roots of the post-franco order were being planned out for decades, so that when he finally died, the new democracy was put in place virtually without any conflict. One observer at the time of the transition, noting the lack of bloodshed, called Spain "boring".

Thursday

I was surprised halfway through the morning as Elaine, Political Counselor at the embassy(my supervisor's boss, essentially, but mine as well), tasked me with attending a conference on Defense in the culture of Latin America. Weird, I thought, especially since she was telling me to go right that minute. It turns out that it was right around the corner at the headquarters of the European Commission in Spain. I made my way in and watched the presentations for a few hours (over drug trafficking and South American Defense Councils and all that good stuff) and enjoyed the coffee break in between sessions.

That evening I went to dinner at an Indian restaurant, and it was one of the best meals of my entire life. Free appetizers, a massive assortment of sauces and chutney things, and chicken, simmered in spicy creamy sauce and tender beyond compare. It was so delicious that I didn't even care that I lost my phone.

Friday

The high point of Friday was likely the fact that we got to meet the Ambassador. His name is Alan Solomont, and he is a Jewish American individual, appointed by President Obama as ambassador to Spain. Despite his august role, he was very down to Earth, asked a lot of questions, was very friendly, and further cemented my feeling of being thoroughly disturbed at just how nice everyone at the embassy is.