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Easter in Spain.

It's that time of year again, Easter or patch as some call it, a week where some celebrate Jesus' resurrection from the dead, a few days after his crucifixion by Romans at Calvary. Easter time, as we all know, isn't a fixed holiday. This is due to the fact it follows the Julian calendar, which depends entirely on the cycle of the sun. It is determined by a lunisolar calendar similar the Hebrew one. This post is mainly focused on the Spanish Easter week, or as they call it ' Semana Santa '. Depending on what area you are in, it is celebrated one way or another, but the main attraction is the massive holy parades taken place. I will speak from now on solemnly of the city of Málaga, where I have seen them first hand.  The parades start on 'Domingo de Ramos' or Palm Sunday in English and end on the following Sunday, resurrection Sunday. There are around 6 to 8 parades taken place daily walking many streets of the city. Each parade cons...

Racism today

Freedom   Equality Justice Fairness Firstly, I would like to point out the difference between racism and xenophobia as many people treat these as synonyms when in fact they are very different.  Xenophobia refers to those who have a fear or dislike for something or someone that is different to them or unknown. Racism refers to the disrespect one person has towards another of a different race.  What is a race? The word technically only has a social meaning, although many relate to it a biological one.  In a social sense, a race is a group of people who are bound together by their morphology or ancestry with common inherited features that distinguish them from other groups. There are four major race divisions: Caucasians - white Mongolian - Asian Negroid - black Australoid -  Australian aborigines  It amazes me how many people are racist in their own way, it may not be verbally but it is expressed in other ways, I enco...

What is technology doing to us socially?

This isn't an infrequent topic to read about in recent years, but it is definitely something I consider relevant to most and necessary to point out. 'What would happen if the titanic happened now?' This is also a question that many have posted on their networks, think about it. This image is probably the best reflexion or answer to the question. I am 90% sure most would be trying to take a snap of what was happening and make it trending topic! We are living in a time where people find it easier to socialise virtually than in real life, I must admit I for one have an account on many social networks, and use them frequently, I do not however consider myself to be addicted to them. I do not feel I need to check them every 10 seconds, but use them mainly when I am bored. A few days ago, I went out with some friends for a night out and there was a moment, or a few, where everyone was on their mobile, whether it was checking Instagram, Snapchat or their messages I d...

Are university degrees worth it?

It's exam time and I have decided to write a little piece on a university degree from a current student's point of view. A survey taken place in the UK in 2015 says half of all students agree their university degree was not worth the thirty something thousand pound debt it left them with. However, records show that over ten thousand more students applied to university last year.  A similar study was done in Spain, in 2015 there was a record of 1.361.340 students inscribed in university, public and private. Again, the number of college applications has increased while over half or the recent graduates regret their decisions on course or university.  Sixty percent of graduates in Peru said they regret getting their university degree. Many of the surveyed pupils say they regret their past decisions due to either they didn't get enough orientation or the course wasn't structured properly. Students today are demanding more than what they expected when un...

thinking out loud.

What can we expect to happen in the next 364 days? An unanswerable question I have been asking myself today. A new year has started and many will be making their new years resolutions, for what i'm not sure as I doubt 80% will keep it up for more than a couple of weeks, those of you who last longer have my eternal praises. The past few days I have been thinking about the notion of time, how quick it passes, how everyone always says make the most of every minute as you know never know what can happen. How many of us actually do that? How many of us take the plunge and do what we really want to do? I thought I would share this little refelection with you all to encourage everyone to do something about it. My new years resolutions are to travel more, meet people, take more photos, learn something about everyone I meet and most importantley spend as much time as possible doing something productive. If you were to sit for a moment and think what has 2015 given to you, what ha...

Unlinking refugees to Paris attack.

By now, most of us have heard about the attacks in the french capital on Friday evening. For those who haven't, here is a brief summary: First attack Friday 13th of November, Stade de France - explosion outside the national stadium while France played Germany. Little after a second explosion echoes inside the stadium. Both carried out by suicide bombers.  Minutes later, in Paris's 10th districts gunmen arrive with rifles at two restaurants, Le Carrion and Le Petit Cambodge. Soon after, another explosion at Stade de France, meanwhile a shooting was carried out at La Bonne Bier in the 11th district. Followed by shootings at La Belle Equipe and Comptoir Voltaire, another two restaurants. Finally, the last attack at around 9:40 in the concert venue Bataclan, also by shootings.  All of these attacks happened between 9:20 and 9:40. As many start hearing of the attacks they automatically started to link them with the Syrian refugees. This is plastered all over soci...

What's your goal?

Life goals, something not many people really think about. I, on the other hand, have a sort of obsession  when it comes to thinking about the future and life in general, what are we doing? Where are we going? What is it all for? At the end of the day we are just mere pawns, answering to bishops who answer to the knights and the rooks who answer to the king and the queen, not literally of course, but you get what I mean, just pieces in a game we call life. Ask yourselves right now what are your life goals? What do you want to get out of life? Health, money, love, friendship, travel... so many things people aspire to. I have no clue when it comes to what I want. We study to work, work to pay bills, pay bills to live 'comfortably', live 'comfortably' to be happy, be happy to enjoy life and enjoy life to eventually die. How many of us are really enjoying life or doing what we want?  When is it too late to go after your life goals? At this very moment, 18:04 on ...