Food and Fashion

I realised that I'm halfway through my year abroad and am yet to talk about two of my biggest passions, so this post was made to rectify this situation.

Anyone who knows me will know that I love to eat, however I'm fairly fussy when it comes to what I’m willing to eat as I tend to stick to what I know (this first became very apparent when I travelled to Senegal, and after two weeks of refusing to eat the delicacy of fishy rice I forced my Mum to drive me to the nearest McDonalds upon arrival to England). I am spending a year in the Basque Country, famous for its amazing pintxos and fish. The sight and smell of fish makes me feel sick, let alone the taste, so I'm afraid I can't give you my review of the seafood, but I'm sure it's very nice. Due to the fact that I only eat meats which I’m familiar with it took me about a month to work up the courage to eat chorizo, and even then it was only a small slice. I didn't realise that it's pretty much the only sausage they have in Spain, and the students were unable to understand that the Christmas pigs in blankets I have been telling them about aren’t chorizo wrapped in bacon, but it is in fact possible to buy other sausages in Britain. I ate my first whole chorizo sausage about 2 months into my stay and I've come to the conclusion that it's ok in small quantities. 

After eating about 50 pintxos I would say that I'm becoming a bit of an expert in this area of Basque gastronomy. Surprisingly, one of the tastiest pintxos I've tried since being here has been foie on toast. I would never normally eat duck liver but when in Rome (or Bilbao in my case), and I was very pleasantly surprised. Of course you can't beat the Spanish tortilla made with lots of potatoes and eggs which also comes with bread (because lots of carbs is always a good idea), and with a variety of fillings such as onions, peppers, ham, and cheese to name a few. This was our attempt at making one with chorizo (so Spanish), and it turned out so good.

When you enter a bar in Bilbao you won't be able to miss the vast array of pintxos on sale, and I think it's such a good idea. They're so cheap if you only want a snack (around 1€), or you can choose to make a cheap and varied meal by buying as many as you want. You can get anything from small sandwiches to the most delicious garlic mushrooms you will ever taste.

Now, to talk about the fashion found in the Basque country. I only mention this because the clothes, piercings, hair, everything here is so different to anything I've seen before. The first I’d heard of the Basque beret was on the plane flying to Bilbao in one of the magazines. I thought the beret was a French thing but it turns out I was very wrong, and the beret is thought to have actually originated from the Basque country. It’s not unusual for every man you see walking down the street to incorporate a beret into their everyday wear. It is very much a tradition still popular today.

Also in the Basque Country the mullet is going strong on the female population, while boys prefer short hair on top with a ponytail at the back. I would say that 90% of the male population have their ears pierced with facial piercings also very popular, even on students as young as 12. The styles here are so diverse that after 4 months of living here I don't think I will ever become desensitised to them, but who knows maybe by the end of my year abroad I'll have adopted a whole new style taking inspiration from the local people.