This past month, my family and I, sans my brother who stayed behind in Philadelphia, packed our bags full of bagels to make our trip overseas. We prepare a week ahead of time, frequenting the local bagel shop for fresh bagels and freezing them right away in order to ensure freshness. Admittedly it is a strange routine but we do it because my dad wants to send his brother the NJ/NY bagels he loves and left behind years ago when he moved to Spain. Who can blame him? The bagels in Spain, if you are lucky enough to find them, leave a lot to be desired. Needless to say, there have been plenty of airport officials scratching their heads wondering why the nice Spanish family has 4 dozen bagels in their luggage.
Trips to Spain with my family are often characterized by one very important thing… food. My family is from Galicia, the northernmost region of Spain. The people of Galicia speak Gallego, a language derived from Spanish and Portuguese. During his reign, Fascist dictator Franco forbade Gallego to be taught in schools, but now you hear it everywhere you go. It sounds brusque and interesting, marked with lots of shush sounds from the extra X’s thrown into words. I love it.
We arrive in Galicia just in time for la comida (lunch time) the most important meal of the day. The rest of the day is spent preparing for la comida, talking about la comida, or recovering from la comida.
Eating is never done lightly. You don’t eat while on your way to work, or as an after thought when you get hungry. Meals are talked about, planned out, and enjoyed, sometimes a little too much. At my grandparents’ house, every waking moment is plagued with thoughts about food, worries about what we are going to cook, and if there is going be enough food and enough time to prepare it all. Trust me there is always enough food.
Learn one phrase before you come here. Come mais! When you hear the phrase come mais you will need to find room in your stomach to fit just a little bit more food. Come mais! A phrase my grandmother uses often when she urges everyone “eat more”. If there is one thing I learned, even when you think that your stomach is at full capacity and you can’t have one more bite, when your grandmother asks you to eat more, there is no use arguing.
