Submitted by Rachel Levithan on the 2016 winter session program in Spain and Italy sponsored by the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice…
I am on the Political Science Spain and Italy study abroad program and this first week we stayed in Madrid. During our week in Madrid, we had the experience of celebrating Three Kings Day. Three Kings Day is celebrated on the 6th of January and is represented as the day where all the children receive their gifts. Instead of receiving gifts on Christmas, on Three Kings Day the children receive gifts from the The Wise Men. This is a national holiday and all the stores and shops were closed. Three Kings Day is equivalent to Christmas in America. We also had the opportunity to watch the parade. We also toured the Royal Palace and traveled to a place called Segovia.
It was very different adjusting to a different country. To start off, the food was very different and took a little while to get used to. In addition the times and portions of meals were also different. For breakfast, they usually have ham and bread, a very light breakfast. Then for lunch, it is usually a bigger portion and usually we ate lunch a little later around 2 or 3. For dinner, we did not usually eat until 9. Most people eat tapas for dinner, which is smaller portions and a variety of foods. A common tapas food is croquettes which is potato and ham mixed together and then fried. The croquettes have been my favorite. Another interesting food is paella. It is a mixture of rice and then there is a choice of meat or seafood mixed together and served in a big pan. This sounds interesting, but it was actually delicious. Another interesting experience is they have siestas. Siestas are built in naps during the day and stores close during this time. Siestas are from about 3-6 and we napped everyday. All in all, Madrid was very interesting and finally towards the end of the week I was able to adjust as we continued our journey and traveled to Granada.