The Cuadrilla and Other Quirks

One of the more interesting things about living in Pamplona, is discovering the strange little quirks that have developed over the years, that to a Pamplonika might seem normal, but to the rest of us just seem, well, rather odd.

Take the cuadrilla. This is made up of a group of friends, of the same sex, that grow up together, and from their teens on, go out on the town together. It's incredible to watch how the groups go from place to place, bar to bar, in tight little circles, all turned in on themselves, avoiding the pleasure of mixing socially with people from other groups, all members of the cuadrilla on the alert for any one that might care to intrude and break the hermetic seal that binds the members together. If you're a member of the opposite sex, then be prepared for stony looks, and pleas of 'Come on, X, we're going now',to the one deemed responsible for inviting the outsider into the fold. Many of the cuadrillas still get together on a regular basis, well into their twenties and thirties, after going to university, or getting married and having kids, and then spend the following day after a night out complaining that their friends aren't the same anymore. X just has nothing in common with Y, who spent the night trying desperately hard not to get drunk, so that she wouldn't open his/her mouth and reveal how she truly felt about one or some of the others. It seems that no-one has the courage to break free of the cuadrilla, no matter how irrelevant the people in it have become to their lives.

Aside from the cuadrilla, another noticeable quirk is the self-inflicted separation of the sexes when out having a drink. Perhaps this is a manifestation of their Catholic upbringing, in a town where many private schools still separate the boys from the girls, despite the Government's claim that Spain is a secular society. Religious roots run deep here, and boys will set themselves down at one table, and the girls, who have perhaps even accompanied them to the bar, then form their own group at a nearby or attached table. Have a look at this picture for a typical view of a Pamplona bar scene, where the same ritual was played out at other tables outside this bar on Pío XII Avenue.

Take a look around when you're out and about in Pamplona. You see it?

Hermano Lobo – Watch out Grandma, The Wolf Is At The Door!

One of the most interesting things about coming to live in Pamplona has been to see just how far other Brits have integrated in this town. Are we mixing with the locals, sharing their customs and culture, are we forming our own isolated Little Britain, watching Eastenders on satellite, supping pints and cursing the fact that TVE only seem to show the Olympic events featuring Usuain Bolt or Spanish athletes in the water?

The answer seems to be a bit of both, and these opposite characteristics are often present within the same person, so it is refreshing to find a rock band here in Pamplona made up of both local Navarrese and Brits, playing music influenced by the roots of all in the band. Singing lyrics in English, the world language, whilst writing lyrics influenced both by their native cultures and local people, places and events.

The band consists of a Scot, of Englishmen with English, Scottish, French and German roots, and of Pamplonikas “de toda la vida”, and all have a history of being involved in music. The bass player played in various bands in Edinburgh, and has been involved with another band that made something of a name for themselves in Navarra : The Caravinagres, (the name coming from the cult figure Caravinagre, a miserable faced man that comes out in times of fiesta and chases after kids with his stick hitting the local kids.) as were the singer/guitarist and drummer who have played in various London based bands, the drummer having served a sentence of twelve years in Tindersticks, and who were both a part of Pamplona folk band Tomania. The band also feature the talents of an English trumpet player, while the lead acoustic guitar and viola are played by musicians from bands such as Sold Out and La Red Bullet, well known on the Pamplona music scene.

As for the music, what an extraordinary mix of rock, pop, folk, swing, blues boom, country, rumba and whatever else it seems takes their fancy. The amazing thing is that while it is all these types of music that have influenced the band, it's impossible to pigeon hole this band. Hermano Lobo sound like Hermano Lobo. There are some bands that you recognise immediately no matter that you haven't heard the song before, and no matter what the genre of the song and Hermano Lobo are one of those bands.

Looking at the lyrics, these songs contain an amazingly wide range of topics : psychological journeys to new places, laments for people that are no longer physically present, criticism of social injustice, rituals and rites of local festivals, forest fires, the importance of friendship, life in local bars and their idiosyncratic owners, murder mysteries, stagecoaches, famous international authors and more.

The band's next gig forms part of the CULTUR Navarra series of concerts promoted by the Gobierno de Navarra. Hermano Lobo play in Bera de Bidasoa, Navarra on Thursday August 23^rd at 8.30pm.

Keep 'em peeled for one of the best bands you're likely to hear in quite some time. Good luck lads!

So, You’re Thinking of Working For IH Pamplona?

Well, why not? International House in the UK have a good reputation. It must be a great place to work.

Well,after working as a teacher here in Pamplona for the last four years,and talking to many others who’ve been here for much longer, and to some, probably like you, who’ve decided to come and give it a go, it seems that the answer is no, so :

What the hell are IH doing involving themselves with Clen College?

There are only so many ways to earn a living as an English teacher in a city the size of Pamplona. A city of 200,000 inhabitants, it lies around an hour and a half inland of Donosti/San Sebastián, is not on any of the low cost airline routes, nor is it’s weather particularly pleasant.Temperatures of a roasting 35º are common in late July and August, and lows of -6 or so are common in winter with snow, sleet and plenty of‘bracing’ icy gales for you to enjoy. That said, it does have it’s charm, hence the fact that there are a decent number of Brits here that have stayed on for between two and thirty years. The options for teaching are basically private classes, language academies and the two Universities (one public, one private).

The Public Sector

Unless you have studied in Spain for the ‘Oposiciones’ (exams that enable you to become a civil servant) then you won’t be allowed to work in the public sector (the exception being six month stints each year as aLanguage Assistant in primary and secondary schools for around 630 euros per month). Likewise, to find work at UPNA (the public Uni) is extremely difficult, a) because jobs come up very infrequently, and b)to do more than occasional ‘short courses’ you will need to have done the Oposiciones. If you have a degree in teaching, there are ways however of gaining employment in the private schools and colleges wothout taking the Oposiciones.

Private Classes

A good option for short termers. A decently qualified teacher can expect to charge 20 euros per hour for individual lessons. Many teachers go self employed and make a good living working from home. You can always do it cash-in-hand of course but then you’re fucked when it comes to a pension / getting decent dole if you need it.

Language ‘Academies’

Don’t get us started on this one. Poorly paid, poor conditions and you’ll probably be wishing you’d never come here after a month. Of all the schools in Pamplona, perhaps The Three Kings, Four Corners and ESIC are three of the better ones. Pay is around 15 euros per hour before tax and you will teach long hours in a variety of different locations, but the conditions are generally better than for others such as Clen College (IH Pamplona). Academia Iturrama used to be terrible, (no contracts, low,low salaries, next to nothing in the way of teaching materials, no teacher support/development) but has now been taken over by new mangement and has become a model of virtue in a murky sector. Academia Iturrama we salute you!

What’s the story with Clen?

Firstly the interview. This will be conducted by Celia Galdeano, who will spend around 45 minutes espousing the company’s history and explaining the structure at Clen. You will then be sent to see Alfonso Layarroz who will sit you on a low chair while he‘explains’ the financial package and contract terms to you in very fast Spanish (he’ll claim to not speak English) while looming over you from a great height and drawing incredibly complex equations on the board.If you’re Spanish is anything less than fluent and your grasp of Spanish contract and tax laws not exactly ‘up to scratch’ then you’ll probably find yourself agreeing to sign a contract for 22 contact hours per week (You will be asked to sign a pre-contract at the time). When you actually go to sign the contract you will probably find that this has been increased to 25 hours. (some teachers are on 30+ contact hours!) Be aware that if Clen can only give you say 20 of these hours, even when the reason is that they haven’t got the work, you will then ‘owe’ Clen the extra 5 hours that they have been unable to give you. These will be stored up, and you can find yourself working the summer on NO PAY, ifyou ‘owe’ them enough hours. (That Clen are unable to fulfil their obligation to give you your full contract hours is a FREQUENT occurrence).

Your take-home pay will be just over the 1,000 euros per month mark,however, of this, the basic salary is only around 7-800 euros. It is this that counts towards your pension payments etc. And it is this from which your entitlement to unemployment benefit is made up when you find yourself claiming in the summer months if you don’t accept Clen’s offer of poorly paid summer work with kids (the dole here is worked out as a percentage of your income). The rest of your wage is made up of vague payments that appear on your payslip as strange ‘extras’. Doing it this way benefits only Alfonso Layarroz and Clen College. When your contract is up at the end of June, Clen must pay you a ‘finiquito’ (end of contract payment) by law. However, there have been numerous complaints of non-payment of this ‘finiquito’.

The other issue with Clen wages is how often they are paid late into your account. Of six payments to staff last year, four were between 2 and 4 days late. This was due to ‘problems at the bank’.

Clen pay through CAN and other teachers paid through CAN by other schools had no problems of this ilk. Bearing in mind that Clen have around 50 teachers working for them at any one time, all earning around 1,000 euros per month, you can calculate the amount of interest that the school is earning from not paying their teachers on time and keeping that money in the bank.

Finally, your timetable. Even if you have a car, do not admit to it. You will be given an insane timetable. Even those that don’t have a car find that their working day can start at 7am in distant outlying industrial estates such as Berriozar or Orkoyen that are served by infrequent bus services, with stops that then require some walking until you reach your first job of the day. Your next job can then be as far away as Mendillori on the other side of the city, with barely enough time to get from one to the other, followed by jobs in places like Barañain, or Mutilva. These are not even officially in Pamplona, and speaking to new teachers a month after they have begun at Clen always brings the same response : that any free time to prepare is eaten up by the distances that they are forced to travel between jobs, leaving them exhausted and having to prepare late at night for the following day (if they have the energy to prepare at all). Classes in businesses or with kids, are then subject to unbelievable amounts of paperwork, such as reports and so on, (that you will write in your unpaid freetime) you are obliged to keep records of everything that you do with the students, and you are to give the students regular exams that you will spend your free time correcting.The amount of time that you really spend working will, in reality be almost double the 25 hours in your contract, so you will be doing a lot of work for FREE.

So, I hope this leaves all of you a little bit wiser as to what you can expect from IH Pamplona. The choice is yours.