Spanish food: the good, the bad, and the really, really gross.

Let me tell you, that in general, I love Spanish food. Or at least the Spanish food that I choose

to eat. This is the schedule of eating:

8:00 am Breakfast: toast. Or we also have cornflakes. Cocoa Krispies are a big hit as well. You drink tea or OJ - freshly squeezed of course, with nothing added. It isn't super sweet, but it sure is tasty!

sometime between 11:00-12:00 Mid-morning breakfast: Fruit, or some kind of little sandwich or pastry.

between 2:30-4 lunch: huge meal. Salad or soup, bread or "picos" (like those little italian breadstick things that don't have seasoning but are similar to crackers), some type of main dish, and fruit/ possibly cheese for dessert. Yum. But after that, you must rest because you've just eaten a ton of food. Some people like tea or coffee after this, and some drink wine with this meal.

between 6:30-7:30 "merienda" - afternoon snack. Again, I usually go for the fruit, but I also crave sweets at this time of the day. Mmm ice cream, te quiero.

between 9-11: supper. usually something light. From what I've determined, once you hit about 21, you should no longer eat bread or bananas at this meal. Because they make you fat if you eat them at night. Clearly. So, instead, we have soup or salad or something light. Many Spanish eat seafood at this meal too. The first night we ordered Chinese food and I felt a little sick afterwards. I've decided I don't need any more of that from that specific restaurant.

Now... there is also the option of going out after supper. In this case, you will drink some and eat sunflower seeds and popcorn.

So, tonight, I went out with some Spanish friends again, and first we went to a bar in the city center. We had drinks and delicious olives (with pits). Then we drove to a little restaurant in my neighborhood that has seafood. I decided that I would try it. I didn't submit any opinions when we were ordering. Here, it's normal to order several small dishes and share off the same plate.

[WARNING: If I weren't the one writing this, I would stop reading here in order to not get grossed out. Amelia, I don't know if you're reading this, but I'm thinking of you in particular.]

Well. I was doing great. I was trying things that looked really disturbing and things that didn't. All of it was fried in olive oil. I've heard that somehow that makes it not so bad healthwise, so I consoled myself by saying that even if I didn't actually like it, it was good for me...

So the first plate came and it was super weird. Apparently it was like caviar, but cheaper... It was bearable. The second two plates came and one looked like fish sticks and the other looked like some tiny unrecognizable sea creature that had been fried. I ate one of those and thought the other was okay. It was of the octopus family. So was the tiny thing... tentacles, gross.

I was doing alright. I told myself, "well, you can try at least one of everything."

Then it came.

Let me back up. Today I went to the beach with Faby. It was AWESOME. I love the beach. We walked along the surf for awhile and saw some schools of fish that came in with the tide and swam back out. In Spanish, it's not a school, it's a bank of fish. So they were cute and nearly touched my toes.

Back to the restaurant: it was as if a bank of fish had been very lightly sautéed and placed in a heaping mound in front of me. Seriously. Imagine a goldfish, but smaller. Like the size of a double AA battery. A pile of those tiny fish. Whole. And my friend Abel said, "Se come en entero." (you eat the whole thing). Then he stabbed them with his fork as if they were green beans. EW. He paused and said, "Ellen?" pushing the plate toward me. At this point everyone looked at me; and, wearing an expression of true horror, I said (probably incorrectly) "I am NOT trying those. That is where I draw the line." Everyone said "Why? ¿Por qué no?" To which I responded, "¡¡¡Tienen cabezas!!! They have heads!!!" They all thought that was just hilarious. Seriously. It may have been the funniest thing I've ever said in Spanish, and I was being absolutely serious. yuckyuckyuck. I am still shuddering about it. Ugh. Gross. This is why I am a vegetarian. Not really. But it is an advantage.

I start observing classes tomorrow!