OpenCor and Spanish Food

First off, I have some rather sad news...

I lost my camera in the discotech. Whether it was stolen or lost due to carelessness is undeterminable. But the point is, this blog is going to be lacking pictures for a little while.

But let's not let that get us down! This is a once in a lifetime experience. I don't want to spend it being down in the dumps...

The OpenCor at the corner of Músico ginés and Poeta mas y ros (about two blocks from where I live) has been a meeting spot for my friends and I since we got here, but I have only recently discovered its greatness. I actually ventured inside the OpenCor a few days ago and found everything I could ever need. Apparently, as one of my professors told me, OpenCor is a spin-off of the American concept of a convenience store. In Valencia, there is really nothing equivalent to a WalMart. You buy your bread at the neighborhood panaderia, you buy your fruit at the fruteria, and you buy your books and paper at the papeleria. You most certainly don't find these things under the same roof...unless you're at the OpenCor. I guess Cortes Ingles (a huge Spanish department store that does everything from selling clothes to cutting hair to selling baked goods) thought the American convenience store was a good idea for Spain, staying open 7 days a week and also during the siesta (about 2-5p).

OpenCor sells books, magazines, flowers, bread, gum, candy, chips, cheese, yogurt, mini-burgers in plastic packaging, chorizo, wine, booze, purses, batteries, various electronics, amongst many other things. I suppose if I were in an OpenCor in the US, I would just say "oh, another convenience store," and keep walking on by. But most of the things in OpenCor are things I've never seen before. There are flavors of chips I've never seen before (like jamón- ham and aceite de oliva- olive oil).

And speaking of Spanish food-related items...

Today was the clase de cocina (cooking class) set up by the university. We went to a private cooking school and they taught us to make paella valenciana (with rabbit, chicken, and veggies), paella con mariscos (seafood paella), and flan (custard dessert). First we ventured over to the market across the street to buy the rabbit and the chicken. The market itself was amazing. I'm making a mental note to go back there to explore all the fresh meat, seafood, produce, and everything else they have! When we got back to the school, we watched the instructor hack away at the whole rabbit and whole chicken (heads and everything). Part of it was completely disgusting, hearing the bones cracking and blood on the skin, and the guts, but part of it was really cool to see the entire process of preparing the food, rather than buying a package of pre-cleaned and prepared chicken breast. There's something really exciting and fulfilling about starting with completely fresh produce and turning it into a meal. So we cooked all this food and ate it and I have to say, it was a really nice way to spend a Saturday "morning" (according to the Spaniards- it's not afternoon until after you eat lunch). I can't wait to cook with mom when I get home!

The food here has been really great. My madre cooks pretty healthy and fresh stuff. I love the rice dishes with fish in them. And the salad my madre serves is so simple. She puts some bag-o-salad in a bowl with some olive oil and a dash of salt (sometimes vinegar, too) and we all eat from the bowl in the middle of the table. Sounds boring, but it's delicious and I recommend that you try it. A couple nights ago, dinner consisted of calamari cooked with onion and olive oil with mushrooms (and possibly a little curry powder) and it was absolutely amazing! I thought it would be gross, but it was really delicious. Especially sopping up the sauce with a chunk of bread.

Más Fotos

Fotos: Round 2

Gulliver and the "Botllón"

Valencia is great for many many reasons, and these are two of my current favorites.

1) Gulliver

If you don't know what Gulliver is, you have to check it out on google maps, and even if you do know what it is, you should still check this out. I'm not sure of any historical significant of this Gulliver character, but it's a playground for kids (or anyone, I guess) in the shape of a man (most likely Gulliver) who has fallen (probably in battle) and he's all splayed out and his sword is on the ground. People can jump around on him and slide down his clothing and climb in his shoe. It's quite possibly the coolest play structure I've ever seen! Plus, it's quirky (or morbid, depending on your perspective). There are all these people jumping around on this guy.

2) The "botellón"

Imagine a tailgate without the (dreadful) football game following it. Here, you have the "botellón." (Wikipedia has an article about it, too) I met a group of students from my program outside of "the center" (where we take classes) and we walked a few blocks to the University of Valencia. We turned the corner and saw a parking lot full of college-aged students (give or take a few years) standing, sitting, mingling, and blasting music from their cars. After spending plenty of time mingling with our fellow Americans, my friend, Jessica, and I decided we really really wanted to have Spanish friends. We asked a girl who did this program last semester what is the best tactic for picking up Spanish guys. Unfortunately, it seems to be asking Spanish men for a cigarette. Fortunately, Jessica smokes on occasion, so it wouldn't be entirely weird to accept a cigarette and do nothing with it. Following a few failed attempts, we met Javi, who told us, in English, that he did not have a cigarette. We did, however, exchange phone numbers and later went to a "discoteca" with him and his friend, Andres. We did not, however, make it into the discoteca. We waited in a long and crowded line for a while until we bailed for fear of being completely trampled to death. That's okay, though, because Javi and I are now facebook friends.

Yesterday, the weather in Valencia was absolutely perfect. I spent some time in the "jardín" near my apartment sitting in the sun and writing in my journal. It wasn't too hot or too cold and there was just a slight breeze. It couldn't have been more perfect. Today, however, is a different story. Cloudy and chilly and a little reminiscent of the dreary Michigan winters.

Pictures: Round 1

Here is the link to the pictures I have taken so far. I haven't taken many and the ones I have aren't great, but I promise to start taking better pictures. Most soon!

If it's not the curried vegetables...

I've been in Spain now for about 6 days. Getting here wasn't nearly as horrendous as I expected it to be. I slept on the plane until I was unceremoniously awoken by the flight attendants bringing food and drink. Normally, I welcome food and drink with open arms, but not when it's actually food substitute. I have a bad track record with sitting next to the person on the airplane who gets the last chicken dish at meal time, so I end up with the infamous curried vegetables, but, ALAS! That was not the case this time around. This time, I got the infamous...curried CHICKEN! How lucky for me, it's just about as good as the vegetables.

When we arrived in Valencia, we met out host families at the stadium. They all held up signs with our names on them. My roommate, Megan, and I found our host mother, Loles right away and did the kiss-the-cheek thing. She took us home, gave us the grand tour, let us unpack, fed us, and then let us sleep. It was great. The picture shows the bedroom I share with Megan. My bed is the one closest to the window.

At first, I could barely understand anything Loles said to me, but now that I've been here a few days, I can usually figure out what she's trying to tell me. At meal times, Megan and I usually bring a dictionary so that our conversations don't have to end as soon as we can't think of a word.

Even though it's so hard sometimes to say what I mean and I feel silly stumbling over all my words, I couldn't be happier to be here. I love the way the program is set up. I love my "madre" (host mom). Valencia is fantastic, and Spanish men are beautiful.

One week to go.

I leave for Spain one week from today. One week from today will kick off the 114 days I will spend in Valencia, Spain taking Spanish classes. More importantly, I will be learning about Spanish culture. MOST importantly, I will be learning about gorgeous Spanish men (I hope)!

This is what I know:

I will be living with a woman named Loles. She has two children, but they don't live with her. I will be sharing a room with another student from Michigan State named Megan. I will be speaking a lot of Spanish as the school has a very strict "Spanish Only" policy. That's pretty much all I know at this point.

I've been checking google maps for a sneak peak of where I will be living for the next 3.5 months. Click here to see where the university is!