January 22, 2011 Intercambio

Saturday! I made an asadillo de pimientos rojos this morning with supervision and help from Sra Álvarez. It's essentially just roasted red peppers. When we finished removing the skin and tearing them into strips, we put them in a bowl,poured in the juices from the pan in which they were cooked, and added some olive oil, salt, and garlic. I had a few pieces on toast.

Roasted red peppers are one of those things that will never look as good as they taste. I think only those who have tried and loved them will find this picture appetizing.

Today was also the intercambio event hosted by NYU.


An intercambio is a chance to talk with Spaniards in Spanish (and a chance for them to speak with us in English). NYU also uses it to refer to a specific person you use for that purpose. They set up one big intercambio meeting for us at an adorable little café near the Banco de España metro stop. There are a lot of museums in the area and huge, pretty buildings.

Café sign and name.

So this is when I learned that in Spain, hot chocolate is hot chocolate. It's not water or milk with chocolate flavoring in it. It's chocolate. But hot. And sooooo good. You'll notice they gave me a massive packet of sugar with it... in case I needed to sweeten my... already very sweet and creamy chocolate? I guess the Argentine sweet tooth has its origins in Spain.

View of the main intersection near Banco de España. This was taken just half a block from the café.