Bars and Restaurants in Spain

The food from the Basque country is delicious, I have loved everything that I have tried so far. The food here tastes fresh, and I think that's what makes it rich. Here in Spain, there is always two courses and then a postre, or a dessert for lunch. In America, we usually just mix everything into one course. The biggest difference between American restaurants and Spanish ones are the tapas. In Basque country, they are also known as pinxtos. Pinxtos are like little appetizers that are served to you when you order a drink. A pinxto can be anything; for example, olives, bread, meat, cheese, ect. The atmosphere in restaurants here are set up for enjoyment and socialization. In America, they serve everything in a hurry and everyone is in a rush to eat. It takes my host family two to three hours to eat a meal here, but in America, it only takes my real family about half an hour to eat. In America, we eat because we have to, but in Spain, they eat because they want to. In general, the attitude about meals is different. One of my favorite things so far is salmorejo, its a cold soup made with tomato juice, ham, and eggs. Flan is another one of my favorites, along with the tortilla de patata. The ham here is also delicious, it is dry cured, something you don't usually see in the US. In bars here, you can order alcohol, coffee, and tea. In the United States, these drinks are usually seperated. In general, you only find alcohol in the bars, but if you want coffee you have to go to a restarant or cafe. I think its neat that they do this, because then people of all different ages can mingle.

Home in Spain

My home in Spain is very different from my home in the United States. In Spain, they are very energy efficient. For example, clothes are hung out in the open air instead of using a dryer, they take short showers, and my host mom is always running around after to me to shut off the lights that I leave on. Meals are also very different, lunch is a huge meal here, and dinner is not eatin until around 9 p.m. Following along with the meals, they have some interesting food and drink mixes, like wine and coke (kalimoxto), the coffe here is much stronger, and they usually only drink warm milk These are all things which are very different from my home. More than anything, the one thing that really suprised me is the kitchen door. In the United States, in general, homes are open spaces, but here in Spain, there is a door seperating the kitchen from the rest of the apartment, and they close it while they eat. There are also many similarities between my home in the United States and my home in Spain. The aparments here have the same basic set-up as ones in the U.S., bedrooms, bathrooms, a living room, and a kitchen. The inside of Spanish homes are very modern, just as modern as a normal house in the U.S. with internet access, television, warm water, ect. I think there are more similarities than differences actually. However, when I return home, I plan to take a few things with me . . .  kalimoxtos, strong coffee, and energy efficiency.