If you’ve never gone from foraging for weird-looking fungi to yelling at a soccer referee in the same afternoon, let me introduce you to my host family. When I joined the Meddeas program, I originally wasn’t sure if I wanted to be placed in a host family or do independent living. Now, I’ve had a lot of singular cultural experiences that I wouldn’t have gotten without being a part of this Spanish family, and I’m glad I’m with a host family. Let me take you through one of the most fun weekends I’ve had here in Spain: La Casa Rural.
I am currently living in Cataluña, and here, it is very common to rent a cottage in the mountains in the Fall with friends and family. My host family rented a large property for the weekend with seven other families. We arrived late, so we pulled into the driveway as lunch was being served. It was honestly an impressive feast: they were cooking enough food to feed thirty people over a massive stone fire! I mean, cottages in Canada (where I’m from) come equipped with electric ovens, but this was an entirely outdoor exploit, and needless to say, I was amazed. Well, amazed until I realized what was on the menu: snails. Real ones. Like the kind I’ve only ever seen on sidewalks after it rains.
As you can imagine, I was pretty averse to eating snails, and my Canadian brain said absolutely not. But then I remembered something my exchange partner told me many years ago when it was her first time abroad. She said, “I try to say yes to as many new things as I can because I’ll only have this experience once”. So I figured that I’m in Spain now, and apparently, this is what we do. Did I hesitate? Yes. Did I try one anyway? Also yes. And shockingly… it was good. I’m still processing that. And I’m still maybe not going to eat snails anymore, but I’m glad I said yes.
After hiking around the mountains, we gathered for dinner. Then, everyone came to the fire, pulled out their guitars, and sang Catalan songs together. It was a really heart-warming evening.
In any case, we set out bright and early the next morning for mushroom gathering. This was the reason we had come to the casa rural in the first place. What I had pictured for this morning was a gentle walk through the woods. What actually happened was more like a scenic obstacle course: climbing, ducking, wandering, and getting excited every time someone spotted a mushroom that looked even slightly promising. And here’s the twist: I do not like mushrooms in Canada. But we were out there collecting them for hours like we were on a mission.
And I guess we kind of were because they turned everything we found into a massive mushroom paella. As a mushroom-destestor, I was quite apprehensive about eating this dish, but it ended up being unbelievable. Like the kind of meal that makes you rethink your entire stance on mushrooms as a species. Like my favourite meal I’ve consumed in this country kind of unbelievable. And we gathered those mushrooms ourselves!
We finished the weekend watching the big Barcelona vs. Madrid soccer game. Normally, soccer and I exist in completely separate universes– I’m from Canada, and we love to watch hockey– but here fútbol is pretty much a cultural event. Honestly, the game wasn’t too bad, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to every scream at the TV in Catalan.
By the time we headed home, the whole weekend just felt like one of those experiences you don’t plan for but are really grateful to have: good food, good chaos, good company, and a bunch of things I never expected to enjoy but absolutely did. I’m glad I stayed open to all of the new experiences, and I plan on continuing to do so during the rest of my time here in Spain.
Author: Brianna A.