(End of the Week Recap)
Host Family Stay
My first week of staying with my host family (a mother and her 19 y/o daughter) has been nothing less than welcoming and accommodating. My host mother is limited in English and her daughter doesn’t speak English at all but this doesn’t pose a problem at all– in fact this only makes the experience better! Being forced to speak Spanish (since my Spanish is better than her English) gives me consistent practice all in a fun manner, as I learn from them and they learn from me. The neighborhood surrounding my host family home is great. It’s an easy place to wander destination-less, which is what I have been doing pretty much everyday after class. The infrastructure is well-developed and the streets/zones offer an urban but traditional feel–enough to still have the feel of a city but still surrounded by enough culture to be appreciated. My host family is a mother and a daughter who
Food Of the Week
For the first time I tried a cuisine, popular throughout Spain, known as Caracoles (snails). These particular Caracoles were grilled and simmered in in oil, garlic and salt to add a savory flavor and are usually prepared as appetizers. Although I personally could eat them as an entree alone–they were amazing!
Bonus: Throughout Spain, a popular category of foods seen at bars, restaurants, and cafes are tapas. Tapas can be best understood as analogous to appetizers in the U.S. but instead here in the Spain, they are much more integral to the food scene! Tapas are almost always paired with un cerveza (beer) or una copa de vino (glass of wine). Above I have two popular tapas (which were served in larger-than-normal portions because they were ordered for the whole table): calameres aka calamari and an ensalada aka a salad which this one particularly includes olives, tomatoes, thinly sliced ham dressed with olive oil. One of the biggest adaptions I am making is how customary wine consumption in Spain is. Because of its abundance in Spain, a glass is almost always one of the cheapest drinks on the list and there isn’t a single time of the day where a glass or two isn’t appropriate.
Zaragoza
Zaragoza is a beautiful city and full of culture. Although the foot traffic, flourishing industries and well ordered transportation all contribute to a city feel, stores and businesses do a perfect job of preserving the history of the city. Because the days are long (sunset ~ 9:30/9:45pm), it’s easy to explore and visit different places so I plan on soaking in as much as I can in these next couple weeks!
Song of the Week
Don Patricio ft. Cruz Cafune – Contando Lunares
From the Canary Islands
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