A night out, Spanish style

As you've probably already heard, nightlife is a big part of the Spanish culture. The Spaniards are practically nocturnal. They love to go out, and they stay out practically all night. They don't even leave the house until eleven or midnight, and that's just to start the pre-gaming. They call it salir de marchas, and it's normal for jovenes (young people in their late teens and twenties) to go to a bar or club two or three times a week at least.

Sangria is a wine punch thats popular in Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The basic ingredients are red wine, slices of fruit such as lemons or oranges, a sweetener, and spirits such as brandy or triple sec. A carbonated beverage is sometimes added, although it isn't necessary. The specific ingredients and their ratios vary widely, so there really isn't much uniformity in the recipes. That can be troublesome if you drink a lot of it, since you're never quite sure what the alcohol content is....

Another drink that's popular in the summertime is tinto de verano, which is essentially wine with some kind of carbonated beverage. It's really refreshing in the heat. You can also enjoy a mojito or agua de sevilla (a sweet cocktail). Or if you're not feeling adventurous, just go for a Cruzcampo, a light beer that's made right here in Sevilla.

The spirit of Spain is to relax and enjoy life. Whether you're sitting in a cafe drinking coffee, in a bar with tapas and beer, or out on the town with a mojito, the idea is to have fun with friends and to take advantage of the present.

What's for dinner (other than paella)?

Ah...food. What is culture without food? After all, food takes up a huge amount of time in our lives. It's natural that we all develop our own customs and practices about mealtimes, and one of the tastiest things about cultural exchange is sharing those food customs with others.

So what are some typical Spanish dishes that you'll see in Sevilla? Yes, you will eat paella. And yes, it is as delicious and traditionally Spanish as everyone says it is. But there's far more to experience as far as Spanish cuisine, and the Andalucían dishes are as colorful and vibrant a the people themselves (that is to say, very).

A typical Spanish dish is something called tortilla de patatas, which is a Spanish omelet or quiche that's made with potatoes and fried in olive oil. You'll also see a soup called gazpacho. A cold tomato-based vegetable soup, it´s a common dish served in Andalucía, especially in the summertime. Spaniards also eat a lot of seafood. Tuna, shelfish, and fried fish fillets are very popular. Other common foods include ham, garbanzo beans, chorizo (spicy sausage), and rice pudding.

Something you can´t help but notice about Spanish food is the olive oil. "¡El aceite es buenissimo!" is the constant litany of Spanish cooks. And you can understand why. Spain is one of the largest exporters of olive oil in the world. The Andalucían countryside is covered in olive groves. So it's natural that Spaniards eat a lot of olives and use them in their cooking. Though I admit, it can get a bit tiring when you see your third course is once again served in a pool of that shiny liquid.

So what about the meals themselves? How and when do the Spaniards consume all of this tastiness? Let's start with breakfast. Spanish breakfast is a little different than what most Americans are used to. Here you won´t find omelets, bacon, or pancakes. A typical Spanish desayuno is coffee and toast with some sort of spread, like Nutella, and maybe some fruit. I usually start the day off with a café con leche (coffee with milk) and a croissant or magdalena (a kind of lemony muffin).

Spaniards don´t like to eat big meals early in the day. Instead they opt for two or three small snacks throughout the morning. Lunch, called el almuerzo or la comida, is the biggest meal of the day here, and is normally eaten at 2:30 and 4:00. It´s served in several courses. There´s usually at least a soup or salad, followed by a main course, with fruit or cheese for dessert. Warning: the señoras usually cook huge amounts of delicious food, and expect you to eat it all, so come prepared.

La merienda is a small snack that´s served between lunch and dinner. It's usually something sweet, like cookies or a piece of cake, served with coffee or tea. It's supposed to hold you over until dinner, or la cena, which is served anywhere from 8:30 to 10:00 pm. Yes, that´s right. When Americans are winding down and thinking about bedtime, the Spaniards are eating dinner. While not usually as large as la comida, la cena is a substantial meal. Again, be prepared for more food than you're used to, since the señoras really like to cook. However, many locals (especially young women watching their figure) don't like to eat so late in the day, and therefore just eat a bit of fruit or something before bed.

There you have it, a basic rundown of Spanish meals. Now, let's quit with the chatter and go eat!

Firsts

Today´s a lot of firsts. First day at a new job. First day living with a new Spanish señora. First time eating snails. First blog entry. You find yourself dealing with a lot of firsts in a foreign country. For me, the firsts are the best part of traveling. I love trying something new everyday!

The first week in a foreign culture is always the hardest. You´re bombarded by so much new information your head spins! When I first came to Sevilla, I felt like Alice in Wonderland, falling headfirst down the rabbit hole into a world where nothing made sense. Figuring out how to use the ATM, which bars are the best, or even just how to find my house again felt like an Olympic endeavor. But after a couple weeks I learned how to navigate my new city, and everything got easier to handle.

When it comes to integrating into your Spanish family, I confess I´m cheating a little bit. This is actually my second time living with a señora. I stayed with a señora this past semester while studying abroad, and I have another señora now that I've started my summer internship with CC-CS. So when I walked into my new house and was greeted by kisses on both cheeks and a stream of unintelligible Spanish, I wasn´t too surprised. This time it has been much easier for me to adjust to my new household. I know what time dinner is (10:00 pm), that I should expect my laundry done in days rather than hours, and that there is nothing more important than soccer in a Spanish household.

My first señora was a little elderly woman who took in American students so that she wouldn´t be lonely. She always said she had more energy when she had someone to take care of. She was very patient with me as I struggled to learn Spanish and got lost on my way home. She repeated everything she said multiple times to make sure I understood. She used to cook huge amounts of delicious food, so much that I could never eat it all, despite her best efforts to put more meat on my bones. I still miss watching her work around the house humming traditional Spanish tunes.

My new señora is a middle-aged woman with a husband and a teeange daughter. Like any busy family, they run back and forth balancing work, school, volleyball practice and aerobics classes. Thus, sit-down dinners sometimes take a back seat to daily demands, though they go out of their way to make sure I at least get home-cooked meals. The house is gorgeous. The picture on the left is what it looks like from the street. It´s only two streets away from Calle Betis, a street that´s popular as a nighttime hotspot with locals and foreigners alike.

All in all, I´d say I lucked out. Both of my Spanish señoras have been fantastic!

The hardest thing about living in Spain is definitely the language. Unless you´re a native speaker, communicating in Spanish all the time is quite a shock. And on top of that, there's the accent. Sevillanos talk very fast and drop a lot of consonants, so it can be very difficult for foreigners to understand them. But with patience and practice, you quickly get accustomed to it. After being here for several months, I´ve come to love it!

Getting used to the firsts takes a lot of time and patience. But eventually, everything that´s strange and new becomes a familiar habit. The greatest first of all is when you finally become bicultural. When that happens, you know you´ve truly integrated into your new life in Spain.