You´ve gotta pick a pocket or two

Madrid is rife with sneky robbers. Not the kind you would find in the Bronx in NY or the ruthless maniacs you would find in Tranchtown. Satistically, you are less likely to be a victim of violent crime in Madrid than you are in most cities in Europe. However, Madrid is one of the cities you are most likelty to get pickpocketed. The most touristy parts and the busiest parts are pickpocketers´meccas.
Pickpocketers are real sneaky ****s. You won´t know you´ve been pickpocketed until you need to go into your wallet. The rush hour is the worst. Morning and Night. They know that people are are at their most tired at these times and less vigilant. What´s more, they will have to cram onto a crowded Metro carriage like sarines. Pickpocketers love this as they can easily slip their hands into people´s front pockets.
After nicking your wallet, they will get what they want out of it and bin the rest. I was told that if I return to the station that the slimey thieves got off, I could at least retain my wallet. I got my wallet back OK without my J and J books loyalty card, my debit card and my Metro pass.
Despite the fact that the ticket office knew my Metro pass had been stolen, they still stung me for 55 Euros for another mothly pass.
So what can people do???
Being vigilant is never enough. These people are professionally trained to nick your contents.
1. Try and avoid the centre carriages of the Metro. They pack out the most.
2. Try a money belt and keep the thing under wraps. That said, pickpockets have been known to rob moneybelts.
3. The FCO website asks people to avoid places lie Lavapies, Sol and Atocha on busy days.
4. Carry a dud wallet with no money and a strong message.
5. Never speak English on the Metro and don´t hang around reading Lonely Planet guidebooks at station platforms.




You see, Oliver...
In this life, one thing counts In the bank, large amounts I'm afraid these don't grow on trees, You've got to pick-a-pocket or two You've got to pick-a-pocket or two, boys, You've got to pick-a-pocket or two.

Large amounts don't grow on trees. You've got to pick-a-pocket or two.
Let's show Oliver how it's done, shall we, my dears?
Why should we break our backs Stupidly paying tax? Better get some untaxed income Better to pick-a-pocket or two. You've got to pick-a-pocket or two, boys You've got to pick-a-pocket or two.
Why should we all break our backs? Better pick-a-pocket or two.
Who says crime doesn't pay?
Robin Hood, what a crook!Gave away, what he took.Charity's fine, subscribe to mine.Get out and pick-a-pocket or twoYou've got to pick-a-pocket or two, boys You've got to pick-a-pocket or two.
Robin Hood was far too goodHe had to pick-a-pocket or two.
Take a tip from Bill SikesHe can whip what he likes.I recall, he started smallHe had to pick-a-pocket or two.You've got to pick-a-pocket or two, boys You've got to pick-a-pocket or two.
We can be like old Bill SikesIf we pick-a-pocket or two.
Stop thief!Dear old gent passing bySomething nice takes his eyeEverything's clear, attack the rearGet in and pick-a-pocket or two. You've got to pick-a-pocket or two, boys You've got to pick-a-pocket or two.
Have no fear, attack the rearGet in and pick-a-pocket or two.
When I see someone rich, Both my thumbs start to itchOnly to find some peace of mindWe have to pick-a-pocket or two. You've got to pick-a-pocket or two, boys You've got to pick-a-pocket or two.
Just to find some peace of mind
We have to pick-a-pocket or two!

There´s always a lawyer in madrid if you need one.

I have been here for more than 3 months and I find that most people I meet in Madrid are lawyers. Not necessarily criminal lawyers, but mainly corporate ones. In addion, I find that there are even more Madrilenos who have done law degrees and are doing something else. Why is it that there are so many lawyers in Madrid in comparison to other professions?

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Back in Brown's Britain and NOT Smoking

I arrived back on the 19th December after having to deal with a 90 minute flight delay due to bad weather in Amsterdam. I don't know how that effects a flight from London to Madrid, but there you go.
For over two weeks, I can sit and relax without having to push myself on crowded Metro trains and running around a big city with photocopied pieces of paper to simply 'entertain' business people for a couple of hours. I don't have to think if there is going to be a class or not. I also don't have to worry about having to travel at all if I don't feel like it. I live For these two weeks, I don't have to worry about trying to communicate with people in another Language. Almost everyone in my home town speaks the same language.

What's more, I can sit in a pub or cafe without being in a haze of foul cigarette smoke. I can sit in pubs with carpets and nice comfortable chairs, as opposed to rickety bar stools.

One of the main things I miss about Britain is being able to go for a drink without sitting in massive clouds of smoke. The smoking ban is working and makes life more comfortable for the majority of us. In Spain, it seems that everyone smokes wherever you go. It seems that smoking is a classless habit in Spain. It doesn't matter what the age or class of that person is. If that person is an adult, he or she is more likely to smoke than people from Britain or the US. There have been attempts to bring in a similar ban on smoking in Spain. However, they openly gave bars the choice whether to allow smoking or not. Most bars simply decided that they were not going to allow their customers to break a habit of a lifetime.

Spanish Flu

The weather is pretty mild here as one can imagine. however, the evenings are getting pretty cold. This means that there are lots of horrible viruses spreading around the city. Whenever I tavel on the metro, I find that at least 10 people are coughing their guts up. i have been a victim of this myself, as I´ve had a cough for over 3 weeks.

Spanish pronunciation

It is said that Spain and Portugal hvae the lowest number of English speakers in Europe. Speaking Spanish is essential to survive here.
The Spanish who do speak English often have problems with pronunciation. Many cannot make the ´sh´sound or the ´j´sound. The ´zh´sound is also another one. These sounds don´t exist in Spanish.
Whatsmore, some students have problems sounding some vowels. I recently had a student who couldn´t say the word ´sheet´without saying ´shit.´ After 15 minutes of trying to get him to make the ee sound, the guy just simply went back to saying ´shit.´

Teaching in Madrid

Spain is one of the most popular places in Europe to teach. According to tefl.com over 26% of jobseekers who have their CVs posted on their website is looking for a position there. Apparently, there are now more people entering Spain than leaving the country.
Why?
1. It probably hasthe best weather in Europe. Everyone wants a place in the sun.
2. Many people have a romanticised vision of the country. People have an image of the country being laid-back and relaxed.
3. The language is easier than Korean, Japanese, Slovak or Polish.
4. There is a large ex-pat community here. Apparently, according to the last count, 1,000,000 Britons live here. There are also a fair number of Germans, Canadians and Americans.
5. Thanks to low-cost airlines, it is cheap, quick and accessible to get here.
6. Spain is not too much of a culture shock.



Spain has always had many English language schools. Most of them are relatively dodgy outfits, which have a high turnover of teachers. Due to the demand of people wanting to live in Spain, they can keep wages relatively low. The current average wage in Spain is 1000 Euros a month for a teacher. This is only just enough to survive.
In Madrid, the salary is not much better, despite the additional costs.