The beginning

Going to Spain is my first trip ever. I’ve never even been on an airplane before, and when presented the idea of studying abroad I thought it was a perfect way for me to step out of my comfort zone. Going into this trip, a million thoughts ran into my head. What if I don’t like it here? What if I don’t make any friends? So many what ifs.

Only 5 days into this trip and I feel like i’ve made my lifelong friends and countless memories I will bring with me for the rest of my life. Yes, it was extremely difficult to get into the groove of things. I also cannot take a look at any form of bread for the rest of this year.

Other than that, though, I feel like these next three weeks will continue to bring me joy and more knowledge about the Basque Country and culture.

Pintxos tasting

What are Pintxos? Pintxos is a type of appetizer people of the Basque Country eat that are traditionally eaten on skewers and toothpicks. Pintxos are also eaten with wine. They’re a bread based dish that are served with fish, olives, pickles, squid, and practically almost everything. You will find everyone eating these anytime, anywhere.

I was extremely excited to try the pintxos. I have a pretty big tasting palate and I also told myself I would mot say no to anything I came across. I unfortunately did get full after the first restaurant we went to though. At the first restaurant we went to, Professor Z started by introducing us to the practical foods that most people start off with. We had different types of ham, squid with potatoes and vegetables, blood pudding, and the very traditional pintxos, olive with pickled peppers and anchovies.

I was mainly excited to try the pintxos because I felt as through it would be a good way for me to truly fit in with the culture here. You can learn a lot about a country through the food they eat and how they’re served. When we went to the second restaurant, I was given the honor of making guacamole. It did really catch me off guard when they brought all the ingredients to me. Being able to make this myself helped me to feel immersed in the

culture as well as try new things. It was so fun being able to do it with everyone and experience a new type of food none of us are familiar to. Being able to try it with everyone also gave me a sense of clarity that we are all in this trip together.

The tradition of Pintxos reflex’s the culture of Spain regarding the food and that the citizens of the Basque Country like to enjoy and savor their meals and not simply rush it just for nutrients. They eat the pintxos for enjoyment alone, and to spend time with the people they love. One thing I found very cool was that although they only serve alcohol during specific hours of the day, the restaurants get packed with loyal customers who will spend all night eating Pintxos and drinking wine.

Professor Z told us that an old tradition to find a good Pintxos restaurant is to see if they have napkins on the ground, because that means people enjoyed their food and used a lot of napkins.

Me and the group attending Pintxos Thursday as well, a type of Pintxos tasting that takes place every Thursday. You can get Pintxos and wine for only 3 euros. I saw Pintxos Thursday as a way to get the community of the Basque Country together and celebrate one another and enjoy one another’s company.

Not so favorite

The one thing that I did try that I was really surprised I did not like was the gelato. My favorite flavor of Gelato back home is pistachio. The pistachio I tried yesterday was actually salty. It caught me off guard since I was craving something sweet. I did have the banana split flavor which was extremely good but did not make a good mix with pistachio.

Closing statements

I cannot wait to continue to try new things during my stay in San Sebastián and continue to learn more about the Basque culture and language. By the end of this trip, I hope to try almost every restaurant with pintxos and continue to fall in love with this country. I will continue to treasure these moments with my new lifelong friends and hope to look back on this trip positively.