Since our classes start at different times, my roommate and I make breakfast independently each morning. I usually eat a bowl of cereal, toast with peanut butter (it’s about 5€ per jar here, but it’s been worth it), and tea. Sometimes I had fruit to the mix, but I usually opt instead to bring a banana or clementine with me to school as a midmorning snack. Lunch in my house starts every day at approximately 2:45pm, and it usually lasts until 3:30 or 4:00. Although nearly EVERYBODY warned me that Spanish lunch portions are huge, I haven’t found them too overwhelming. We usually have a simple salad, sliced tomatoes with olive oil, and some sort of main course—usually chicken, pasta, or pork. Around 5:00pm, I have my daily ColaCao, otherwise known as hot chocolate. It’s a very popular drink here, and its name comes from the brand of the most popular manufacturer of the cocoa powder mix. We gather again for dinner in the evening somewhere between 8:45 and 9:30. Unlike in the United States, dinner is the more modest meal in Spain. Our dinners have been pretty varied as far as taste, texture, and how filling something is, so it’s been hard to find a hard and fast rule for what constitutes “dinner” food here. One of the dishes we have regularly for dinner is a tortilla Española, and it is nothing like our idea of tortillas. Sometimes known as a “Spanish omelet,” the tortilla Española is an omelet-like dish of eggs, potatoes, and onions. There are other variations as well: no onions, just eggs, with spinach, etc.
Lunch in Spain is an almost sacred meal. Cities shut down from 2:00-5:00 so that people can go home, eat lunch, and rest. Stores, banks, and government buildings close, and the streets empty. I’ve flipped flop back and worth on whether I find this annoying or awesome. You really can’t get anything done in the late afternoon since everything is closed, but it’s a great incentive to do as the Spanish do and take a siesta. If you’re not a napper, I suppose you could take this time to get work done or walk around the city, but I always find myself sleepy from classes and food. Dinner here is a little more flexible. We push around the time if we have evening activities, or sometimes we skip dinner altogether if we’re planning on eating tapas with our friends.
The most frustrating thing about eating here is simply living with a host mom that doesn’t want to disappoint. My host mom ALWAYS cooks too much food, and she has told us multiple times how much she hates throwing food away. I’ve definitely felt pressure to eat more than I would like, and for the first few weeks I was uncomfortably full after every meal. As time has gone on, it’s gotten easier to be firm with my host mom and assure her that I really do not want a third helping of food. Another struggle of living with a host family is having practically no say over what you are eating. While I have never been grossed out or disappointed by my meals, being powerless in this way has been frustrating and at times has made me feel homesick.
Lastly, I would be remiss not to mention olive oil in a post on Spanish food. Spain’s Mediterranean climate means LOTS of olives, and EVEN MORE olive oil. Absolutely everything is cooked in olive oil here. Pasta, meat, vegetables, everything! They even fry things like chicken nuggets or french fries in olive oil! In the morning, Spaniards eat toast with olive oil and salt for breakfast. While olive oil is a common kitchen ingredient in the US, I was shocked by just how often I consume it here.
