My director wasn't lying when he said the
pulpada kicks off feasting season around here. Since then I've been dining with groups more often than usual, which of course is no problem. To paraphrase Bruce Springsteen, "Don't make no difference what nobody says/ Ain't nobody like to [eat] alone."
For starters, the top 10 tapas from Lugo's September competition were available again last weekend. So in addition to the two I tried during the contest, last Thursday we had a fun-looking one served in a halved Estrella Galicia (beer) bottle, and a little hamburger. Also during the week my roommates' group of friends came over for dinner. But apparently it doesn't even count as our "Cena de bienvenda." Typical Spanish: we started at 11 and ended at 1 AM...on a school night!
Then last weekend was a birthday dinner for a friend. I was stuffed before the main plate even came out. I whispered to my friend, "Are they still bringing the meat out? I'm full, can't I just cancel it?" Too late. I didn't realize there were going to be so many appetizers--bread, tortilla, fish on shells-- on top of the giant steak with fries. Oops. I had to refuse dessert, sadly. Next time I'll be sure to fast a few hours beforehand. It's all the fault of the free pintxo and tapa we got with our pre-dinner drinks!
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| Ok, some had labels |
Last week was also Magosto at school, which means
chourizada (chorizo meal) for the
profes. Olé! Chorizo is starting to grow on me. [Help! Get it off!] For a moment the
profes almost had a meltdown because they forgot to order bread. But how will the Galicians eat without bread?! It arrived in time for dessert, basically.
Pan y vino. Because the red wine got finished fast, they pulled out mysterious and unlabeled alcohol to ease the digestion. Then we went out for the kids' festivities. There were plenty of roasted chestnuts (no me gustan) and some cakes baked by students. There were traditional games and dancing. One of my students pulled me out to dance. I excused my poor skills by saying "I'm not Spanish! I can't dance!"
Let us not forget, American Thanksgiving is right around the corner, which will be followed by another birthday dinner and the "inauguration" of our piso. Ya era hora!
