Food and ish.

Dear friends,

Do not take the fact that you have good food to eat for granted. Many people here are struggling, and the things they eat overall are very different.

The people here and the food they eat have been the hardest things to get used to. I didn't realize how nice it is to be able to choose when and what I want to eat-it really is a luxury. Here, my host mom prepares meals for me, and if I want food I have to eat them. She makes me a plate, so there's no being picky. I never know what I am going to come home to, which is sometimes scary. I wouldn't consider myself a picky eater, but I do not like to eat things unless I know what they are. Here I just have to force myself to do it. And they eat some weird shit here! They are also very careful about wasting food, so if you say you're hungry then you had better finish your plate. I cannot tell you my relief when I get to the table and it is something I can identify and know for sure that I like haha.

On the plus side, everything Marisa makes me is pretty healthy. They use olive oil rather than canola oil, and Marisa rarely fries things. The portions are small and are usually mostly beans, soup, eggs, or a little piece of meat. Also, since Asturias is on the coast, there is a huge selection of fish and seafood. And everything is fresh-there are not many preservatives used because food is delivered to the city daily. I don't think I've been served frozen, pre-packaged, or boxed food yet! I get fresh fruit daily, and the oranges here are amazing!

Some of the things I've decided I really like are tortilla española, dried jamón (ham), and the cheeses. There are so many different types of cheeses its crazy! Also, the cafe con leche and churros con chocolate are delicious of course, but those are special treats haha.

Also, I´m getting a cough and Marisa is forcing me to take medicine. In Spain there are no pills. Don´t ask me why, its crazy to me. Nearly all medicines they take by dissolving a tablet in a glass of water. Similar to the denture cleaners I use to clean my retainers. Its disgusting, and I don´t quite understand why they don´t just sell pills. Booo.