Foreign Food

This weekend has been more relaxing than anything. There isn't much to talk about aside from going to the beach and eating with the host family. It's been raining a lot recently and the rain here is interesting. It comes down light like snow and creates a sort of mist in the sky. Anyways, this post will be dedicated on the food I've eaten while I've been here.

Interestingly, my host family is more Americanized than the other families participating in the USAC program. On the first day, I had burgers and on another I had pasta alfredo. But I've done some local shopping at the various markets around town (including one on the sixth floor of the El Corte Ingles, the biggest department store name in Europe). Here are some food I've encountered:

• The milk in Spain isn't refrigerated like in America.
  
• The cereal they have in my house is even more sweet than in America. It's filled with something similar to the cream you'd find in an Oreo. 

• Hello Kitty brand cookies I found in the store
  
• Actually, Hello Kitty and The Simpsons are two cartoon characters that I've noticed a couple of times on my journey throughout Bilbao
  
• They even have a restaurant tailored to The Simpsons
  

• Aquarius is a popular sports drink in Spain. It's similar to Gatorade and comes in either limon or naranja.
  
• Found some snacks made in Spain that remind me of shrimp chips
  
• White asparagus is in every convenience store. The ones I bought were local and have the texture of mush.
  
• Also purchased some strawberry tarts imported from France.

• Bread is a big thing here. Almost everyone goes to the store daily to pick up some fresh bread to eat with their meals. I've had french bread every day with both lunch and dinner.
  
• The cheese is amazingly rich. The spread that I got was made from the milk of cows, sheep, and goat and tasted almost like butter. Maybe because they also put butter in it.
  
• Spaniards don't go light on rich ingredients like olive oil. Maybe to make up for their lack of spicy foods?

 

• I found a cookie called Filipinos
  
• They come in a variety of flavors, including chocolate and white chocolate
  
• Not sure what the reasoning or correlation is behind the name but it was interesting

Other things I've noticed while shopping/dining is:

• Spanish stores have a lot more dried meats than in America
• Fruit is much cheaper and, at least in my house, is considered like a desert for after the meal
• People don't really snack in Spain and it's rare to see somebody eat while walking
• You can't get dinner after 11pm; only alcohol and coffee is served after 11pm

Although I've yet to really have traditional Spanish/Basque cuisine, I plan to go sometime soon. There are three things on my list to try: pintxo (which are like little appetizers); menu del dia (which is a multi-course menu for a relatively cheap price); and lamb brain (which is very popular here). I'll blog about these experiences as they come.