That’s right, this week was the “Caja Círculo” sponsored “Youth Music Week” here in Burgos.  That means that all week long “Caja Círculo” stages were being put up and taken down around the city and various young artists were scheduled to perform [...]]]>

Some young musicians perform during Youth Music Week in Burgos.

That’s right, this week was the “Caja Círculo” sponsored “Youth Music Week” here in Burgos.  That means that all week long “Caja Círculo” stages were being put up and taken down around the city and various young artists were scheduled to perform on them.  It was really an interesting sight — as I was walking through various sections of the city, I got to be “serenaded” by the many young musicians.  Of course, some of their music was a little too “heavy” for my taste (by “heavy” I mean head banging, screaming at the top of your lungs noise)… but that’s ok.

This is one thing that I like about Spain: there’s always a cultural “something” to do and usually that “something” is free or low-cost.  Of course, in this case, head banging teens screaming lyrics at the top of their lungs wasn’t really my “cup of tea,” but still, it’s cool that this event was held in the city. 

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com

Ever since arriving in Spain in September, I have been eating my spaghetti without sauce.  I would put butter on it, or maybe some cheese, but never spaghetti sauce.  Why?  Here in Spain spaghetti sauce is only sold in boxes [...]]]>

Nothing like some spaghetti sauce from a box rather than a jar. Yum!

Ever since arriving in Spain in September, I have been eating my spaghetti without sauce.  I would put butter on it, or maybe some cheese, but never spaghetti sauce.  Why?  Here in Spain spaghetti sauce is only sold in boxes – not in jars — and until recently I just couldn’t bring myself to eat “fried tomato” from a cardboard box.  In the USA when you want to have some sauce with your spaghetti, you buy a little Ragú in a jar and have at it.  For the longest time, I just couldn’t comprehend how “cardboard box sauce” could be the same.   

Anyway, things have changed now.  I finally got tired of eating my spaghetti dry and bought a box of “fried tomato” at the supermarket down the street.  As you can see in the above photo, the box came complete with a picture of a tomato on the front (for us foreigners to easily recognize it) and there was even an “easy open top.” 

Of course, once I had made my “boxed sauce purchase,” I didn’t really know what to do next.  Since I had never prepared spaghetti using sauce that literally came from a cardboard box, I didn’t know if there was something special I had to do like add water.  Luckily, the same person who put the picture of the tomato on the front of the box for the foreigners also put directions on the side of the box detailing how to prepare it.  Really, the directions were pretty simple and basically told me to “heat the sauce and then dump it on the spaghetti.”  So, I heated up some sauce, boiled some spaghetti, and dumped the sauce on top of the spaghetti just as I had been instructed in the directions. 

Really, the sauce tasted pretty close to what I’m used to having in the USA.  I guess it was just a mental thing with me for a while: box sauce didn’t sound appetizing to me so I refused to try it.  Maybe that’s the moral of this blog post: give things a chance before you come to a conclusion about them (and I suppose that can be applied to any cultural difference — not just food). 

In any event, are there any Spanish foods that you just find too different to try?  Have you ever been surprised by a Spanish food that you thought you wouldn’t like?  I’d love to hear about your experiences with Spanish cuisine in the comments section of this post. 

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com

Anybody familiar with Spain knows that Burgos, the city in which I live, is quite famous for being a cold and sometimes snowy place in the winter.  I guess that explains why as soon as spring arrives, [...]]]>

A child plays in a fountain as her parents enjoy the sun at an outdoor café.

Anybody familiar with Spain knows that Burgos, the city in which I live, is quite famous for being a cold and sometimes snowy place in the winter.  I guess that explains why as soon as spring arrives, people here take full advantage of it.  As you can see in the above photo, lately we’ve had some nice weather here and the outdoor cafés (along with “street life” in general) have really been booming. 

This is something I love about Spain.  In most American cities, you don’t see very many people out taking a leisurely stroll or spending half an afternoon at a café soaking up the sunlight.  It’s like we’re always running from one place to the next and we don’t take time to “stop and smell the roses,” so to speak.  The Spanish, on the other hand, can spend all afternoon sitting carelessly outside a café, sipping on a cool drink, and talking with their friends about the latest soccer match or the most recent political blunder. 

I guess the Spanish just know what they’re doing when it comes to taking things “con calma” and enjoying life (and spring sunshine). 

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com

Recently, the city of Burgos launched a new ad campaign to get people to “buy, buy, buy” in the downtown shops.  Above is one of their new signs, which have been strategically placed throughout the city.  The signs must be working because shops in Burgos are [...]]]>

Signs urging customers to buy in Burgos.

Recently, the city of Burgos launched a new ad campaign to get people to “buy, buy, buy” in the downtown shops.  Above is one of their new signs, which have been strategically placed throughout the city.  The signs must be working because shops in Burgos are booming and shoppers are out at practically all hours of the day looking for deals (except during siesta time, that’s sacred). 

I sometimes ask myself how it can be possible that people are out shopping like never before while Spain is in “Financial Crisis Mode.”  The unemployment rate in Spain is on the rise and people on the street generally “complain” about the crisis all the time, yet everybody seems to still be “buying up a storm.”  Where’s the money coming from?  How can this be happening?  It’s an enigma to me….

This whole “crisis” thing makes my head spin.  I guess that’s why I’m a foreign language teacher and not an economist.  Leave your comments on Spain and the economy below.

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com

Now that the election in the USA has ended, I thought it might be interesting for me to write a post with what Spain’s reaction to Barack Obama’s victory has been like. As you may or may not realize, the Presidential Elections of the USA are followed quite closely in Europe [...]]]>

Now that the election in the USA has ended, I thought it might be interesting for me to write a post with what Spain’s reaction to Barack Obama’s victory has been like. As you may or may not realize, the Presidential Elections of the USA are followed quite closely in Europe and in other parts of the world because the decisions made in our country often affect those everywhere. In fact, as the election in the USA grew nearer, more and more Spaniards began to ask me who I would be voting for and what my thoughts were on the subject in general. Later, when Obama won the election, I was bombarded with questions about whether or not I think he will be good for the country and whether or not I am happy with him as president. Just as I’ve formulated my own opinions about Obama, Spaniards, of course, have formulated theirs. Here’s what many are saying. 

In general, Obama’s victory in the USA seems to have been received in a very positive way in Spain (and in most of Western Europe as well). In fact, to me, it seems as though many of the people of Spain feel as if Obama will bring a breath of “fresh air” to our country (and the world at large) by sweeping “change” through our government and enacting numerous reform plans. The day after the election, I even felt as though the people here in Spain were already looking at the USA in a sort of “new light.” By this I mean that our government was no longer associated with “Bush” and “wars” and instead had been somewhat put on a pedestal as a prime example of “dreams coming true,” “courage to overcome,” and “positive change that will fix all the world’s problems.” Sometimes I wonder if our expectations for Obama are too high.

Don’t get me wrong… I’m very happy that Obama won the election in the USA and think he absolutely was the better candidate for the job; however, I also think that we can’t forget that he has many challenges to deal with. He has an unjustified war to “clean up,” a financial crisis that is the biggest we’ve seen in a century, and a lot of promised social reform plans to initiate on American soil. He has a tough job and I hope that people don’t become disappointed with him if “change” doesn’t happen as quickly as they’d like.

I know that I have readers who visit this blog from all parts of the world and I’d be interested to know how my fellow Americans, as well as those from other countries, view Obama’s victory. Please, post your comments about the election here….

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com