jamon jamon, and other encounters of the fear factor kind

dear ham, i do not like you very much. i do not like your hairy legs on the counters in bars. and i do not like the way you make half of the supermarket smell.

everything here is meat. and ham is god. there are even ham flavored potato chips. seriously.

but i greatly miss vegetables. my senora likes to argue with me and emma about vegetarianism. according to her beans don't have protein, and we are the reason all americans are fat. thankfully, after some crying and RA talking, she only feeds us fish now. and even though it seems she is only able to make fish one way (fried), i am quite ok with it.

i can even handle the little fish with eyes that she feeds us. you eat them whole, eyes, tails, and all. if you close your eyes tightly enough they almost seem like really crunchy french fries. and the watery potatos from a box that you have to eat with a spoon could be bland soup.

there have been some pretty exciting meal times. some of us have come to believe that our host families are trying to kill us slowly, hansel and gretel style. my friend kevin's senora has been the best at it so far. one night, as just an example, she served them ham and cheese sandwiches that were then deep fried, with french fries, and mashed potatoes that were topped with chopped up hot dogs. followed by chocolate souflet for dessert. i wish i were exaggerating.

however, i did get paella today and it was beautiful.