Limited mobility with no accessibility

“The hardest thing about being in a wheelchair is not being able to do things for your self.”

This is the answer that I got when I asked my father 57- year- old Edmund Zendejas, who has been in a wheel chair for the past eight years what it was like to be disabled. For these past eight years, my mother and I have constantly had issues with accessibility. I have found that when I go out with my father here in Texas, there are more and more sites that have made their places more than accessible.

According to a report done by the State Committee of Representatives of the Handicapped there are over 3,881 disabled people in Spain. They make up 7.4 percent of the total European population. While I was there, I found that the accessibility is very rare. To get into any building or go anywhere, you need to go up some flights of stairs or a hill. As I traveled around Spain, I noticed that it was not a place I could ever take my father, because of the lack of accessibility. It also got me wondering how the people there manage.

As a normal and healthy person, getting up and going somewhere is not a problem. If you have to walk up two or three flights of stairs just to get into a restaurant, you may be tired afterwards but it can be done. You don’t tend to think about how big the doorways are, or if the restrooms are big enough for a wheelchair, much less if the place itself is big enough to walk around comfortably without bumping into anything. These are all things that I, along with many others around the world, think about on a daily basis.

Being handicapped or taking care of someone who is gets you in the habit of not only knowing your surroundings but also questioning them. You find yourself thinking about accessibility every time you go somewhere even if you’re alone. Accessibility is a big issue anywhere you go. Places are built to accommodate regular people who are able to move about freely. Nowadays you will find that handicapped accessibility is a lot more common because of ADA enforcement, or so I thought.

While at the Gay Pride Parade in Madrid, Spain, I ran into a mother daughter pair. Though it was very crowded and loud, I did manage to ask the mother, Sophia, and the daughter, Isabel, how they were able to get around being that Isabel was in a wheel chair. Sophia’s’ face dropped a bit as she replied, “It is hard, but we manage. Unfortunately, unlike the rest of Madrid the metro is not an option for us. If we have to go anywhere, we just drive our own SUV. It costs more than taking the metro while in the city, but it has to be done.”

The metro is a very convenient way to get around on a daily basis for an average person, but for someone in a wheelchair, it’s not. Getting into buildings is one thing, but getting transportation to that place is just as difficult. I noticed that the public transportation system in Spain was not designed for people with a physical disability. The last five days I spent in Madrid, I spent a lot of time on the metro, and of all the metro rides I took, I only saw one of them that had a space specifically reserved for a wheelchair. I was amazed that they actually had a space reserved that had a seat belt to strap in the chair. As refreshing as it was to see that the metro actually had reserved spaces for the disabled, it made me wonder how exactly someone in a wheelchair was supposed to get down there to take the metro. The whole time I was around the metro stations, I only saw an elevator or two, though that is not to say that Spain as a whole does not have accessible transportation.

I’m so used to seeing handicapped signs that indicate accessibility. While in Spain, I didn’t see such signs. The city and its buildings were pretty self-explanatory in the sense that there was just no way to get a wheelchair in them. The U.S. Department of Justice released the ADA (American Disability Act) Standards for Accessible Design in 1990. It is a document that gives graphics and notes on dimensions as well as specifications for stairs, ramps, parking zones and other items related to accessibility.

As I said earlier, I found that lately it has become easier for me to find accessible places because of these new regulations that are now a requirement. It definitely lessens the stress on me and my family to know that wherever we go, it is more than likely that my father will be able to get in and move around more comfortably. When I spoke to the two women at the parade, I asked Isabel, who was in the wheelchair, how she gets around as far as going out to eat and what not. She replied, “I go where I can, even if it’s just for a ride, but I don’t get to eat out much. For the most part, I stay at home or go to school.”

Although there are not many indications posted around the city of Madrid there are many options as far as transportation goes for the disabled. Fundacion ONCE is an organization based in Spain that has funded the Euro Taxi. The Euro Taxi is a fully accessible taxi for those with limited mobility. There are 336 Euro Taxis throughout Spain, and 150 in Madrid alone. As of 2005 36 percent of Spain’s buses have been adapted to the needs of the disabled thanks to Fundacion ONCE. So, there is public transportation for those who need it, but most buildings, not all, are still lacking the tools necessary for easier access.

Thanks to organizations like the European Disability Forum and National Coordination Bodies working to get better accessibility in both transportations and businesses, Spain will eventually be a country that everyone can enjoy without worries.

Classroom vs. Study abroad.

Reading about something out of a textbook and actually seeing it are two totally different things. I am glad I had the opportunity to go and physically see the things I was learning about. Very few people have that chance.

What was best about it is that I am a hands on learner and for me to be at the Gaudi Park after just reading about it on the bus made it much easier for me to store that information in my head.

Being in a classroom all day will loose the interest of the students if there is nothing to reel them in with. I would not have been as interested in either one of these classes if I was just going to be sitting in a room listening to a lecture.

In my communications class we had to write this blog to record all that we have seen and done. Of all my classes that I have ever taken this has been the best assignment I have had. Not only is it allowing me to have an online record of this unforgettable trip, but also it has allowed me the on hand experience of journalism. Three weeks ago I didn’t know how to conduct an interview much less write in such a way that my readers are drawn into my stories. Now because I was immersed into it these things come a little easier to me.

The same thing happened with the humanities course. You are immersed into history itself. One of my favorite sites on this trip was the park that Gaudi created. To be walking through this park and seeing he creation up close and personal makes the experience somewhat surreal.

I can research and read about something until I’m blue in the face, and that information will only stay with me until I have used it. But if I actually stand before and read about it and research it then I am actually obtaining and keeping that knowledge with me for the rest of my life.

Going home.

Well today is Sunday and we leave tomorrow for Texas. I’m so excited! These last five days have been a blast, and these last three weeks have been unforgettable. I had a chance to go see a Van Gogh exhibit which was amazing, and tonight we go see Carmen. Yesterday, Saturday, was a blast. I went to see the Gay Pride Parade, and it was like nothing I had seen before. There was an estimated 200,000 people there last night.

Other than that my last few days here were spent shopping for gifts for friends and family. Today my roommate and I went on a search for the Harley Davidson store. My brother just got a Harley Davidson bike so I thought it would be great to get him a shirt from the store. Well we went to the store after getting lost yesterday and when we got there it was closed. I was so disappointed. I wanted to get myself a shirt from there too, but no dice.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, my roommate who is from Chile, wanted to go to a Chile restaurant and when we got there we found out it had been closed for two years already. It’s been more than fun here, but I can say with everything in me that I am more than excited to go home. Texas here I come!

Lucky Turtle...

Sorry I seemed to have left out where the lucky turtle is located. I, along with some friends, found it in Barcelona at the cathedral...you´re going to have to ask around a few times becuase it is really difficult to find being that it is small. Its worth it though. It was a great little adventure and with the way my trip has gone so far after I rubbed it...the turtle works..if you believe in stuff like that. I will post a picture of the turtle along with many others as soon as I get back home in good old Texas.

Final Judgement

Today we visited the Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla, and we got to see ¨La Planchadora¨by Pablo Picasso. It was amazing to be standing less than 10 feet away from such a wonderful painting. As beautiful as it was there was another painting that truly caught my eye. It was ¨Final Judgement¨by Martin De Vos.

It was painting that depicted the final judgment and how people were being separated between heaven and hell. There were several demons grabbing on to people and pulling down to the side. Those who were being pulled into hell had looks of agony on their face. In the very back of the painting you could see people being tortured by being stretched out and apart and by hanging. Up above all of this are angels coming down and bringing people up to heaven. Those people who are being touched by the angels to be taken into heaven have a look of relief upon their faces, like a lost child who has found her mother, its a huge weight taken off. The way De Vos had it all meshed together, at first glance you can’t really tell who is going to heaven and who is going to hell. As you look at it closer and longer at it you can see the angles coming down and people crying. It’s a painting of both eternal pain and happiness.


What attracted me most was off to side of the painting there is a pair of yellow eyes. At first you can’t tell what it is, but as you look at it you realize that they are they eyes of serpent. The snake eyes are evil yellow and the mouth is open, and inside the mouth is where the condemned are at. These beasts like looking creatures are tossing, or pulling them into the fire. All the while the others are at the bottom waiting to meet their maker.

Martin De Vos ¨Juicio Final¨

The reconquest.

Wow its been really hectic theses past few days. I think all the traveling is finally catching up to me. Right now we are in Sevilla, we got here yesterday, Saturday. Thursday and Friday we were in Torremolinos, which is now my favorite place to be. It has a wonderful beach and ice-cold water. Friday was a free day, so my roommate and I spent the whole day at the beach. It was truly a day of relaxation. We sprawled out on the beach chairs under the umbrella and got a golden tan. Well my roommate got a golden tan, and I just got darker. Either way it was great.

About half way through the day two people walked by selling half hour massages, so we figured we might as well get one. It was great to have a massage while being on such a wonderful beach, for a second there I forgot where I was. I was so relaxed I think I fell asleep shortly after that. As comfortable as I was with just laying down we did get up and get in the water. I swear my toes were blue because the water was so cold. As you walk deeper in your legs start stinging a little because of how cold it is. If you just jump in and start swimming it makes it easier to adjust to the temperature.

Well with a day of relaxation comes several days of work. In class we went over the re-conquest of Spain. One key player of the re-conquest was a man who went between sides, the moor and the Christians, El Cid. El Cid is a native of Burgos, but Spain as a whole adopted him as a national hero. Another major part of the re-conquest was the expelling of the Jewish. They were given a choice to be baptized or to leave and never return. Although they were allowed to take their belongings with them they had to give up all money and land as well as any other property they owned. The Jews were kicked out simply because it was thought that they were persuading others to go back to the old religion. There were several reasons as to why the re-conquest happened. It was to establish political and religious unity, to weaken local political opposition to catholic monarchs; out of fear and profit are just a few of those reasons.

Well I still have much to see as well as much to learn.

Holy Grail!!!

Well yesterday I saw something I thought I would never see in my life...the Holy Grail. It was so exciting. I was one of the ones who jumped on the bandwagon and read the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. It was a brilliantly written book and I rather enjoyed it, but I never in a million years thought that I would be able to actually see it. When we went in to the cathedral I just wanted to skip everything else and go straight to the Grail, but my friends wouldn’t let me. I´m glad they made me stick around and take a gander. I saw so many other interesting things like a Painting by Goya that had St. Francis in which he is performing an exorcism. The man lay dying in the bed refusing to repent his sins. Behind the man there are two demons lurking at his side waiting to take him. As morbid as it may sound this by far has been my favorite painting I have seen while in Spain.


The Valencia Cathedral held many chapels inside. There was one chapel in particular that I found extraordinary that would be the chapel in which St. Vincent the Martyr’s intact arm lies in a glass box. While listening to the audio tour I was looking at this arm in the box trying to figure out why they would just randomly put it there. Well to my astonishment it is the actual arm of St. Vincent, and it is in fact still intact.


Overall I would have to say that my time in Valencia was well spent. I’m am so glad that I had the chance to see such art and history all once.

Natural art with man made art.

Barcelona may not have been my personal favorite, but it still had a lot to offer. Spain as whole has such beautiful architecture, and its all wonderful especially the Parque Guell done by Antonio Gaudi.


Antonio Gaudi was a brilliant artist who combined natural art with man made art. Normally you visit a park thinking you see some pretty flowers, some trees, maybe a pond or a river. You would never walk in and expect to see arches, pillars, domes, and mosaics. At Parque Guell that is exactly what you get. When I saw how he incorporated his art to blend so well with nature I was astonished. I had never seen anything like that before. It felt as if we were in a different world. It was like something out of a fantasy. Technically we were in a fantasy, his fantasy.


Another place we visited was Sagrada Familia. This church is amazing. It was started in 1882, and it is still in progress. The 330 ft. towers are considered local landmarks. Gaudi was considered different and unique because of how he would combine different styles to create one. The church was a mixture of medieval and modern elements. The fact that that it is still unfinished will make that much more unique, because now there will be more modern feel that still follows his pattern.

After seeing these two great pieces by Gaudi, me and some other students decided to go look for a lucky turtle. This turtle was shown in the Disney Channels Cheetah Girls. It is said that if you rub the turtle you will have good luck for a year. So the whole time we are looking for the turtle I’m thinking that its pretty big statue of a turtle. Well it turned out to be a medium size sculpted turtle that was on a wall. It was pretty funny all of us were rubbing the heck out of that turtle. So far nothing really lucky has happened to me so we’ll see if the turtle really works.

Mellow atmosphere.

Right now I´m in Valencia. We´re having lunch on a patio of a cafe. This is just how I imagined it. Sitting down and just watching th world go by me. It feels so hot you can literally feel your skin toasting. I was in the sun no onger than five minutes and I already have tan lines. Its worth it though.
Valencia is so relaxing. It reminds me of the beach back home for an exception of the water. The Gulf of Mexico is more like river water, and here the water is more like a saphire blue. I didn´t get a close up of the beach but what I saw was more than enough to get me to come back.
Lunch was great. Being from Texas I´m used to eating fried fish, and i normally don´t eat fish any other way. This fish that we had at the restraunt was so juicy and full of flavor I just couldn´t resist. It was baked and smothered with butter sauce that had some lemon in it. After that we had baked apples. I had never had baked apples, and I´m gladI tried them. It was a whole green apple, like the granny smiths, covered with carmel baked to perfection. The apple itself was still crunchy on the outside becuase of the skin, but it was nice and soft on the inside. Most of the juice from the apple came out and blended with the carmel.
What made the meal even better was the entertainment. A man just sat off to the side playing his guitar and singing. You could tell that he took his art very seriously becuase he showed up with an amp and a microphone. Normally the street performers show up with just an instrument and box for money.
Valencia has a mellow atmosphere. The people are friendly, the weather is comfortable and the experience is one of kind. Well I´m off to see another one of a kind article...the Holy Grail.

Finally real fresh air!

Well we are here in Barcelona. It is a nice city but its not my favorite. I do like how it does have a big city feel to it. There are many shops here alot of them name brands such as H&M and Louie Vaton. In way it reminds me of a spanish version of New York. We did take a guided tour that had alot of information to offer. We went to park that was just so alive. What I mean is that there was so much green and flowers that I, for the first time ever, saw, smelled, and felt what real nature feels like. All of spain is like that in a sense. There is no trash, and hardly any pollution. Everything is so clean. When you breath you don´t smell the gas fumes, trash, or sewage. It smells fresh, like when after it rains, you can get hints of water and grass mixed when you breath in.
The tours are fun but what i like most is walking around and exploring the city. I like to just walk and watch a listen to everything that is goin on around me. I understand spainish but not that greatly. I noticed that when I´m trying to listen to conversations the ones in english are then ones that pop out, becuase I understand them better. Alot of the Americans I´ve overheard seem to agree with me in the sense that Spain is alot more clean than the States. One couple was talking about how they didn´t want to go back home. They were on a cruise of some sort and they decided to stay an a couple of more days. As they walked away I believe I heard the female say they were headed back to California. California has the worst air in the US, so its understandable as to why they prefer this air. I find it amazing how you can just tell the difference.
Another thing I´ve noticed is that when we would walk into a gift shop they owners would always ask if we were mexicans. Naturally we would say being that we are of mexican origin. After saying yes, one of the men turned to the others as if to make the announcement that we were indeed mexicans. I´m not sure if there is any significance to that but I did find it interesting. In away I´m afraid to say I´m American. I´m not sure why its not like I´m ashamed of it or anything.
Well either way I am having fun. This is a once in a lifetime experience and I´m glad i was able to take advantage of it. I strongly encourage anyone who has the opportunity to take it. Well unitl next time...

Knowledge overload...

We are here in San Sebastian, it is a beautiful city I haven’t left and I want to come back already. Yesterday we were in Bilboa and we went to the Guggenheim museum. I only liked two exhibits there, the dress exhibit and the maze. The dress exhibit was about the goddesses. It was dresses coated in led and for their heads the artist used something to signify what they represented. Like the goddess of war he used tall spiked branches for the head. The maze exhibit was just fun. When walking through it you would feel as if you are twisting and turning because depending on the angle of the wall it would get closer or farther away from you. I felt like a rat in a maze. I never got my cheese at the end of the mazes though. If I had to choose between all the museums I would go back to the Prado. The Prado is so much better in my opinion. At the prado they have a painting by Goya titled “The third of May” which depicted Napoleons invasion.

Test of time....

It’s my fourth day here in Spain. In this little amount of time that I’ve been here I’ve been able to see so much. Yesterday we went to the Prado and saw so many great pieces of art. To be honest I was not completely thrilled about going to the museum, but once I got there and took a look at the religious based art I was intrigued. The way so many of the artists portrayed their version of heaven and hell was interesting. I find that what I like most about Spain is the art and architecture. The buildings and paintings and dance ect... are things that you don’t see back home in the states. We are so into the modern and technical. Its more common to find archaic pieces of art here then it is over there. Every corner you turn there’s something that has somehow manage to survive the test of time and still looks just as beautiful as it did so many years ago. Today, June 14, 2007, we are in Burgos. We will be visiting the Burgos Cathedral which took about 300 years to build. The fact that people here are so proud of these things that they dedicate their time, effort, and money into up keeping it so people like me and the rest of the group can come and enjoy it. Last night some of the group went to a flamenco performance. It was held in the back of small restaurant, so the setting was very intimate. I was so blown away by every second of that performance. The music was intense, the singers’ voice was phenomenal, and the dancers were so passionate. The singer took my breath away his voice literally took me to another world where nothing existed but his voice, his music, and his story. The male dancer danced as if though not only his life but everyone else’s in that room depended on it. A show like this could have probably been seen back home in San Antonio, Texas, but it would not have the same effect. The intimate setting, the fact that we were in Madrid added so much more to the moment itself. Although it may not be apart of our history it is still apart of our ancestors and where we came from.

Hit the ground running....

Well we’re in for one heck of a ride. After two very long fights we finally reached our destination...Madrid, Spain. It is so beautiful. The fact that I’m here hasn’t really hit me yet. Today when we got to the hotel my roommates and I decided to take a nap before meeting up in the lobby to start our tour. Well that didn’t work out quite the way we had planned. We had to get a call from Denise to wake us up. After I answered I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off. I’m more than certain I scared my roommates. It was embarrassing as well as rude and I do more than apologize for our tardiness. However bad it was though I must say that at dinner when me and one of my other roommates were talking about it...it was kind of funny the way we ran down 7 flights of stairs. None the less it won’t happen again that’s for sure. After that incident we went on the Palacio De Madrid. It was absolutely breath taking. I loved the rooms and the paintings up on the ceiling. There was just so much to take it...it was hard. After we took the tour we went outside and took several group pictures. That was so fun because, everybody wanted a picture with their camera. So one person would be taking several pictures with so many different cameras. We would stay in the same place for like five minutes but it’s worth it. Dinner was good although, it was not quite what I expected. I did however enjoy the dessert. After this we will go back to the hotel and shower and rest because at 2 a.m. some of us are getting up and going to a bar to watch the Spurs game!!! I’m really looking forward to that. Even though I just got here and I love it...I miss home so much already. As much as I argue with my family I can’t wait till I get to see them again. Go Spurs Go!!!!!!!!!!

Culture influences on Spain

Spain is called the Iberian Peninsula because the Iberians were the first group to enter Spain. They brought with them their knowledge of metalwork, including bronze, and agriculture. The typical Iberian was quarrelsome, suspicious of strangers and superstitious in religion amongst other things. The Spaniards throughout history have pretty much kept these characteristics alive. The Greeks, Phoenicians, and Romans are three other groups that influenced Spain. The Greeks developed olive and vine cultures. They are also credited with striking the first coin. The most notable legacy is the classic influence on Iberian sculpture. Because of the Phoenicians alphabet the Iberians were able to put their language into written form. Roman impact on Spain was a great one. Though the Romans did not have an easy time with invading Spain once they did they left quite a mark. The Romans built roads, bridges, aqueducts, towns, an advanced legal system, their language is the base of most peninsular tongues, but most of all they brought Christianity.

Arts & Entertainment = Happiness

Every time I read the newspaper I, like everyone else, critique the stories that they write about. I sit there and think of all these different things they could be writing about but don’t. With so much negativity in the news it would be nice for once to read about something positive. There is more than one side of town in this city and each side has something different to offer. If had to chose a story to write about in my neighborhood I would write about the many different programs available to our children. With after school programs being almost non-existent many non profit organizations have popped up all over the city. Information such as how these organizations are changing the lives of children should be out there for parents to read. Aside from that there are many functions that go on around town that a lot of people don’t know about. Things like theater productions at local community centers, local bands playing at local clubs, and poetry slams ECT… Sure these things are in the paper but it’s not as publicized as an armed robbery. I would much rather be reading about a new show at the majestic, or Maya Angelou coming to a local university to speak of her work as opposed to another robbery or shoot out. If I had to choose what I would write about in my lifetime it would be about any form of arts or entertainment. Writing about such things that are not mainstream entertainment would bring more diversity and cultural into homes. Things such as music, books, poets, movies, shows and many more like that bring some type of happiness to peoples lives, and I would like to be apart of that.

one week till departure...

I didn't think the time would pass as quickly as it did. When I first signed up for this trip it seemed so far away. Now I sit here with one week left till we depart and still many things to do. The closer it gets till we leave the less sleep I get. I can't seem to stop thinking about the many things that I will see and do. I have this vision of Spain as being very artsy and fashionable. I picture the people to be sitting outside on a patio at a cafe having a glass of wine and watching the people go by. I envision it to be very classy in a way that is so normal to them. Not like here where everything is more extravagant just to show how much money you have.

I can't wait to try my hand at going to another country. "I'm going to Spain in a week" just the sound of it gives me Goosebumps. Although I'm so excited about going I am equally excited about coming back home. Not because I would be anxious about leaving such a place as Spain, but because I can't wait to tell of all the things I saw, ate, learned etc...

I like the idea of being the traveler of the family. I want to be the one that went to Spain and walked through the Prado. I want to be the one that sits at all the family functions and tells stories of my adventures. Most of all I hope to go and take advantage of every place and live my life the way I have always imagined...a young girl with nothing to worry about other than what I'm going to do next.