La comida

I've discovered over the last five months that although there are some very delicious dishes here in Spain, Spanish food is not my favorite. I think that the main problem is that there is very little variety. There are about six or seven different meals that we get to eat here. Soups are VERY popular and we have one nearly every day, with the main ingredient rotating between garbanzo beans (the soup is called garbanzo), lentils (lenteja), and pinto beans (habichuela). Except of course you actually can't call these dishes soups or else you will get in trouble--they are called potejas. There is also paella, which is delicious when made right. Luckily we don't have to eat the kind that has the shrimp heads in it! Every once in a while we get roasted chicken with fries from a pollo asado place. And then we often for dinner have some kind of pasta with various sauces. Add a salad of lettuce and green tomatoes covered in olive oil and some bread, and you've got an authentic Spanish meal! With fruit for dessert, of course! Also very common are dishes made with potatoes and/or eggs, like Spanish tortillas or patatas de los pobres. Again, some of the food is actually pretty good, but after five months of the same few things, I am ready for some variety! I am also ready for a complete LACK of olive oil in my food... oh I can't wait! =)

Pork chop, fried egg, salad, y patatas de los pobres
Spanish tortilla- kind of like an omelet
Paella!
Habichuela, a type of poteja
Patatas de los pobres