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.