Zaragoza: 2 days in a shelter for homeless people

1^st to 3^rd of September, 2017.

               The first woman who I talk to, the social worker, is not that kind, but she helps and let me stay. The other one who arrives in the middle of the registration is very kind.
              They would let me stay for 6 nights, but of course I just need two nights.
          The first resident I meet is Joseph, an elderly man who is going to collect grapes in Basco Country. He is nice and we talk a little bit in that night.
              At the Municipal Housing they serve three meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner. I have my dinner over there and I am not ashamed to say that I have fish. I am in a circumstance similar as the cave man: you eat what you have for eating. The menu is French fries, fried fish, bread, cold soap, and yogurt as desert. I think it is great!
              We leave our bags in lockers downstairs, and do not keep the keys with us. I take only what I need for shower, my laptop, camera and money and go to the room. Small rooms, maybe 3×3 m², but very clean. In my bed there is: two small shampoos, one soap, toothbrush and toothpaste, a razor and a shaving cream, clean sheets, towel and a pillow. And we have a key.
              When I lie down, listening to “Reign over me” on the radio, I cry. I start to think how is life with almost nothing, with much less than what I have now. How is to live on the streets and to be a homeless person. At that moment, I decide to do something different, I decide to take another path in my travels (yes, another one), a path that makes me feel better, prouder of whom I am, and happier. After these 3 months in Spain I must have a different perspective.
              But now I am still here in Zaragoza, sitting in an isolated part of The Bruil Park, and just a few minutes ago, one of the guys from the Municipal Housing went away after talking a lot for several minutes. He is from Portugal and to not say too much, he most talked about how handsome he was and how this made a lot of people get jealous of him, and also about women. The end.
              Back to my first night in the Municipal Housing, around 5 a.m., the woman at my right side goes to the bathroom but has problems with the door, what makes the woman at my left sided get all upset and they both start to yell at each other, saying horrible things.
            The breakfast is served, at 8.30 a.m. but at 7 o’clock an alarm wakes up everybody.
              We have an sandwich (cheese or ham), two small toasts, olive oil, coffee with milk and juice. Again, very good for me.
              After I finish, I take some stuff that I need from my Monster and leave her there (thanks, Loki!) while I walk around Zaragoza.

             Zaragoza is a Roman city. I mean, if I have to define in one word. Because you can see the Roman traces everywhere. I mainly like how in most of the buildings, in all windows, there are beautiful balconies. It is a nice town, which grows around the Pilar Cathedral: this huge and monumental building. It is beautiful, outside and inside, but when I am there, watching all the chapels and the ceiling, the only think I can think it is: why to build something so big and gorgeous to a god who’s son preaches the humbleness? My incapability to understand that makes me feel so bad, that I cannot enjoy anything else, so I leave. And is not even allowed to take pictures! I take one, hiding, from the place I like the most: no golden stuff, just a nice wall in rocks with a lot of details.
              After there, I go to the Palacio de Alifajia. You can visit inside but you have t pay. It is not expensive though. I just take a picture from outside and leave.
              I feel the same at the Roman Theatre. It is beautiful but I could see from where I was. Why pay 3€ to get 5 metres closer? “Wow, Lei, just 3€ and you could not pay?” Yes, I do not think that was expensive, although you can pay 9€ and visited 5 museums. It is great! But I prefer save my money and going to Louvre, than visiting all the small museums in all the towns I pass through.
              So, it is 12 o’clock and I do not want to walk more or make any more “touristic” things in town. So I decide to come here to this park and write.
              The guy comes back. He is here, talking and talking and talking.
              I will stay one more night in the Municipal Housing. Tomorrow I will leave in the morning but I haven’t decided yet if before or after breakfast.