End of Week 2: Food

Let’s just start out this post by saying that I have eaten a lot of delicious food in Spain thus far. I didn’t really know what to expect – the words that came to mind when I thought of Spanish food were tapas, paella, and sangria. To be honest, that pretty much sums up the best foods here! Mostly every time we go out to dinner as a small or large group, a few tapas to share are the preferred menu item. That way, everyone gets to try a few different things, and it ends up being pretty affordable. The best tapa that I personally have had was the one I ordered the first night we were here. It was roasted red peppers stuffed with shrimp, tuna, and a delicious sauce of unknown ingredients. I’ve had some pretty amazing paella as well, rich with fresh seafood and plenty of flavor. And there’s nothing like a cold glass of fruity sangria to wrap up a stressful, busy day.

Despite the plethora of amazing restaurants that we’re surrounded by here in Tarragona, I’ve tried to limit how often I eat out. The first week, we dined out every night, as well as going out to lunch during our hour break between our two classes. Despite each meal being a delicious treat, this whole situation was not great for my wallet. At €10-15 a meal, I soon realized that I needed to come up with an alternative. Luckily, our dorm is right around the corner from a supermarket, so I picked up some bread and peanut butter to make lunches with. I also often stop in there to grab a prepared salad for dinner. On that note, it’s very hard to eat healthily here – especially without a fridge. I’m doing my best, but it’s hard when you’re constantly surrounded by gelato! (ice cream is my weakness)

I have noticed a couple of major differences in the culture here as opposed to that of the US, and meal etiquette is a huge one. First, we discovered early on that it was considered rude to tip your waiter or waitress. In general, it is offensive to tip anyone here, because it feels to them as though you believe they’re below you in social or economic status. Also, everyone here takes life at a much slower and relaxed pace. This is especially exposed when we are out to dinner. The waiter barely ever stops by your table, and you’re kind of expected to be there for hours. We usually ask for our check pretty soon after we finish our meal. Otherwise, it could be another hour until the waiter gives it to us unprompted. Finally, meal times are very different here. If you’re walking around outside around 6 or 7pm, the restaurants will be pretty empty. We usually go out around 8pm, and are often able to get a table no problem. It doesn’t start getting busy until 9 or 10pm. I don’t think I’ve adjusted to this quite yet; even leaving the dorm at 8pm still feels late to me. However, it doesn’t get dark until about 9:30pm here, so that helps. Also, we’d probably get a lot of weird looks if we showed up at a restaurant at 6. No matter when we eat, everything is so delicious! I can already tell I’ll really miss Spanish food and low key culture once this trip is over.

I can’t believe we’re already halfway done – two weeks in, and two more to go!