The spanish culture when it comes to food is one that i knew very little about before i went o this trip. I was not as naive as some of my friends from home when it came to the food, but i did not know much. A couple people I told that I was about to leave for spain for two weeks said "oh my i love burritos and tacos!"......... this was something i got a great chuckle out of. Many people think that Mexicans and spanish are he same because they speak a similar language, but they could not be any more incorrect. I knew next to nothing about the food i was going to get in spain until we had our class before the trip. I knew that they loved their ham( which is completely true) and that i would most likely not see a hamburger in to weeks. What i can say though is in these last two weeks i have had some of the best food i have eating in my life from the seafood, to the paella, and those amazing spanish omelettes. I did not know what to expect going in but my did i love every bite i took!
When we first got off the bus on the first day in madrid we walked right into a place called the Ham museum, and well that was the start of a theme on this trip ham, Ham, and MORE HAM! Do not get me wrong the Ham in spain is delicious, but after having it for 6 meals in a row it can get a little old. The epitome for me of no more ham was when i was in a small bar restaurant in Barcelona and all i wanted was a hamburger, but what i got was a "Ham"burger. After that incident i kinda swore of ham for the rest of the trip granted that was only 3 more days but still!
Some of the best food that i had in Spain was the seafood, i am a big fish lover in the first place and in Spain i had some of the freshest and most delicious fish dishes that i have ever eaten. Paella with every bit of seafood you can imaging stew together hot and teeming with flavor, i could not get enough. In the underground choir club the piece of fish they served us with that sauce!! I could of eaten 4 maybe 5 helping of that it was so good. The moment i got back in the state i looked up immediately how to make the seafood like in spain and that is something that i am going to miss dearly.
A big thing that we all had a lot of in spain was Tapas. These small cheap appetizer like things you get with your drink for free(or a big plate for like 4 euro). by themselves these like delights are wonderful, but with a drink in hand, and the company of great friends this can be an even more enriching experience of camaraderie and friendship. Something that i really realized in spain were that two things in life bring people together no matter the language gap, race, or personality difference and that is Music and Food. That is a really powerful thing. Tapas are the top food for that kind of culture and they can be anything for little bits of squid to hummus on bread, but they are all delicious.
Something that really messed with me in Spain was the times that they eat and getting used to the new schedule. they eat breakfast at a pretty normal time (or at least we did), but then everything else was pushed back super late in the day. I know that they go out for Tapas snacks throughout the day, but not having a real meal until like 2pm really messed with me for a bit. Dinner was also a whole different story having it a 10 at night just felt a little wrong. so the first like week my stomach grumbled at very inconvenient times! In the end i was very used to this though and it all turned out fine, but it was quite a strange adjustment.
The food in Spain is something that i will miss the most. The atmosphere of the restaurants the amazing people i was with. It all made this trip one that i will always cherish and never forget. All i can say is that i know Old Madrid the restaurant in Racine is going to be seen in my near future!
This is your opportunity to share your experiences and observations about Spanish culture and discover the ones of your fellow classmates. Enjoy the experience!