i know no limits

you place churros y chocolate in front of me and you bet i will eat them until there are no more! Pura serves the italian guests first (cuz i'm part of the family right) the paella from lunch. i got the pasta from yesterday mmm!! she heated it one by one in the microwave so yeah it took awhile well, lucky for me she treats me so well. while the other got served their paella, i got served churros y chocolate omm nom nom mmmmm delicioso!! que fabuloso! i must be special or something. so i got the first share of the desert. she commente, something along the lines of "poor kelly being served last, i know you don't mind mixing foods (you american you: i know that's what she was thinking! lol) wanna start with chocolate?!" mwuahhhhhh cheyaaaa you bet i will!! kinda feeling all the chocolate i just consumed...do i regret it? nahhhhhh of course not silly : P

best bfast evaaaa

Filloas con chocolate (gallego crepes), galletas (chocolate cookies), y orejas (ears: like elephant ears with powered sugar) mmmmmmm nom nommmm YUMMY!!! ohhhh y cola cao but i didn't make any because i didn't have time too lol

ma, you got some competition in the kitchen

Pura makes my fave food ALL the time! i LOVE it!!! she's made patatas ali oli, filloas (gallego crepes)--i fill them with chocolate, and the other day patatas bravas mmmmmmmmm yummmm!!! in our Galician class the today we were talking about different dishes and i was able to say that i had filloas last night for the 2nd time haha ahhhh so good! then she proceeded to talk about patatas bravas and well i had that one covered as well. so i had to ask what the difference between patatas ali oli and patatas bravas are because they taste very similar. notes from class are as follows: (las salsas)

Patatas ali-oli -- AJO + mayonesa

Patatas bravas -- Ketchup + picante

and that ladies and gents is the difference between the 2. i tell ya they are the most amazing patatas evaaaaaaaa

mom--your potato salad and grilled diced potatoes have some competition...i'm a sucker for that garlic sauce!

**but yes, if will be coming home knowing how to make patatas ali oli, patatas bravas, filloas, y tortilla espanola i will tell ya that!!!

lunch time convo

today's lunch was interesting.  we had clam things again. after i had soup, chicken, patatas fritas, i had 5 clams and then of course she still tries to feed me more but i think i called it quits after the fish. i tell her i like the food but i don't think she believes me cuz i don't eat as much as i did in the beginning. for me, once i become costumed to the type of food i don't need to chow down on it, plus, i've learned how to portion myself much better since arriving.  i need to stop inspecting the clams, i think i spend more time looking at them than anything. they're good don't get me wrong, but i want to know what i'm eating. at least it doesn't have teeth like some of the others i've seen.

but of course, meal conversations are always the best. i forget how it started off...but i had brought up how i need a travel mug....oh she probs asked me why i didn't make cola cao this morning...then she proceeds to answer her question...you didn't have time? she told me that the spanish don't eat nor drink on the streets when i asked about where i can buy a travel mug. well, i guess once i get one shipped to me, i'll be a true american walking the streets drinking my hot cafe or cola cao ; )

la cena típica

dinner is the least formal fo meals en mi casa. we sit and eat whie we watch the news. it's interesting cuz there's usually always something abut the US at some point but stuff that i would never ever pay attention to. idk if people from home even would care to know the stuff. i dunno. random.  but the spanish people don't know much at all about america except for like the "stereotypical american" i guess you could say. always on the run.

ay dios mio! most AWK dinner convo evaaa right now...was just asked how old i think Pura is...apparently she is 76? believable but she's more active than what i would picture a person that age in america. not going to get into details of this convo....ay dios mio! wish there was a word for "awkward" in spanish!

i wake up every morning...

to the smell of Pura cooking something deliciously wonderful for lunch on Saturday afternoons...tortilla espanola mmmm

well its a good thing i like fish

cuz we've had some type of fish every day this week. we had slamon a few days ago which was pretty good. it's been one of the few times i've had a dish here here with type of seasoning. yesterday was some type of shell fish which apparently tonya had too. celine said is was muscles of something idk tho. today we had some type of fish with its tail still on. ¡que asco! i had my own baby/medium sized fished.today. i mean it wasn't bad tasting but it looked blahhh. each day, i know less and less what i eat.

hola marisco

we had seafood today for lunch. idk what it was. i don't know what it is in english. i'm not a fish expert. i enjoy my fish don't get me wrong. but i've never had this type of fish this big before. it came in a shell and then you pick it out and eat. it was a weird texture. but than again i guess all fish have a weird texture. idk. i didn't mind it but it was def different. i think i spent more time starring at it's inside cuz i was fascinated by it than i did anything else. i only had a few cuz we had chickpea soup and it was a HUGE bowl loaded with chickpeas so i was kinda stuffed halfway thru eating that but wanted to try this scallop/clam/shell fish something or another.

i'm learning the tricks of the trade

that disgusting plain yogurt = add sugar
hot tea = add honey and lemon juice (pura's got a cool lemon juice squeezer thingamabob)
and i'm coming home knowing how to make patatas ali oli (and coming back with the recipe too)

Pura, along with other older people buy fresh meat and fish the day of for our meals unlike in the US where we buy in bulk for the week. some of the younger people are more busy here so they might not go every day but it's common for people to but their food the day of from the market. (learned in my fave class here and asked Pura about it)

mom, don't be mad

i have to take advantage of the rebajas (sales)! i love the entiendas (stores) here! i know you're gonna read this at some point mom, so don't worry, i'm only buying pretty clothes aka no sweats...i'm in SPAIN!!! today i got a shirt and a dress from Mango. i also picked up a spanish/english and vice versa dictionary for meal convos so i can fully understand something i'm not really grasping because they don't speak english. and also bought a book with good phrases to know and words by subject so i can study them...yes hopefully i'm going to study them and know them. oh and then i did by a nice crew neck sweatshirt with the university logo on it tho cuz i only have a fleece here and then my jacket so i need something else to keep me warm in this chilled house...huh sounds like home.

the trip to the famous candy store was yesterday...i stocked up. i need some flavor and variety. the food here is great don't get me wrong but they don't really season anything and i've been deprived of my juice! seeing juice, but especially milk come in a box is so weird. random note: there is not a word for "awkward" in spanish i don't think.

i had a wonderful time walking around with Olivia, Tessa, Alice, and Becky shopping....boots are SO tempting!

a day spent in heaven

with the exception of our first class. me encanta Pura. so yesterday i was telling her about our trip to Padron and how i ordered patatas ali oli and that they were basically horrible. well i come home during la siesta for lunch and what did she make? PATATAS ALI OLI!!! mmmmmmm i was in heaven. she had me try the sauce before lunch was ready...que delicioso! she thanked me for reminding her how much she also likes them so i was like DE NADA....MUCHAS GRACIAS : ) oh and she whipped out a nice bottle of red wine to top it off : )

and not to mention, i didn't bring my sun glasses to school today...during our break there was sun!!!  have never seen such a beautiful sight (ok i have have but there was SUN!!!) i'm meeting up with a few people to get some school supplies and possibly read in the park while we wait for las entiendas to open.

la siesta & la comida

I'm loving the BUILT-IN NAP deal. But my poor hungry body cannot take the long hours without craving food!!!  Por ejemplo, this morning I had breakfast at 9 am and then didn't get outta class until 2 pm so I made it home around 2:30 pm -ish give or take a bit. This is siesta time...from the end of class until 5pm when stores open up again (so like 2-5pm i guess). All through class all I could think about was food, food, FOOD!!! I come home to a HUGE lunch. I can't keep doing this. No food, LOTS of food, no food (starving!), LOTS of food. Ain't no good...no good at all. I'm used to eating like every 3 hours or so and never being starving nor full...i like being content, and i have yet to feel content here.  Lunch is the biggest meal of the day.  And then dinner is really anywhere between 8 and 10 pm. Today is the only day I've had dinner before 9pm so idk the program all that well yet but so far that's how it's lookin.

Pura loves to feed me. We usually have some type of soup, then the main course (which includes at least 3 different selections like chicken, potato, some really good bread which she makes sure to always have lots of for me haha etc...). After having my plate loaded with this food and asked if I want more, she proceeds to ask if I'd like some fruit or yogurt. And well yeah of course I do! Not making fun by no means, but the way los españoles pronounce the word yogurt is just tooo precious and adorable. I couldn't imitate if I even tried.