Where are we

The midterm elections of 2022 took place a few days ago, and I've been surprised by the degree of interest over here in Madrid. The national newspaper, El Pais, led with the election results for two days, and coverage was on TV news too. When it came up in Spanish class, the teachers knew who the Republicans are.

Today we had a discussion about objectivity in journalism and the role of newspapers in today's world. We talked about the principles of objectivity and professionalism, assassinating journalists in Mexico, the Philippines and Russia, and we started to approach the issue of both-sides-ism, but I don't think any of us had the vocabulary in Spanish for that.

Our statements (at least mine) were, of course, filled with improper tenses, guesses based on what we hoped were cognates, and number-agreement and gender-agreement mistakes. Still, we managed to discuss. It's nice to be able to talk about adult ideas and concepts once in a while and not just sentences like "I put the milk in the regrigerator."

Above, a completely unrelated picture of the nearby Plaza Callao taken Wednesday on a beautiful evening.