La Comida

The food in Spain was a drastic change for me. Spain eats mainly a Mediterranean diet, consisting of a lot of fish, vegetables and bread with every meal. Breakfast usually consisted of light things like toast or crackers with tea or coffee. I was used to the traditional full American breakfast of things like eggs, bacon, pancakes, and fruit that my mom cooked for my family every day. However, the light meal worked for them because lunch was the biggest meal of the day. At around 2:00 p.m., the family would all reunite at home for a large, multi-portioned meal. The meal was honestly enough for a whole army, but it was more about the fact that they were all taking time out of their day to be together as a family. The final meal of the day was served around 9:00 p.m. and was almost always some type of seafood. My favorite meal was paella because it was so fresh and traditional to this culture. While eating fish everyday is not something I would go back to, it is what worked for their culture. For them, meat is for the most part very expensive and fish is often the cheapest, and freshest, option for them to eat. However, they do have a large influence of the American styles of eating. No matter where you go you can’t escape the McDonald’s, the Burger King’s and the KFC’s. Also, even in nice restaurants they serve things like hamburgers, chicken nuggets, and French fries. It’s hard to believe that even a culture so rich in culture and tradition are enamored by American foods.