Beware the “Menu del Dia”

Most local restaurants feature a “menu of the day” for a reasonable price during they’re main meal time (which starts around 1:00 PM and goes to 4:00 or so).  On visiting Lekeitio today with the students in my class (watch for an upcoming post) we ordered the menu del dia.  For the second course, you had a choice between stuffed red chilis (como se dice “yummy” ?) and another dish that was mainly described with a basque word (something starting with ‘a’ and lots of ‘t’s and ‘x’s).  A short discussion with the server revealed that it was a squid dish, which my students bravely ordered.  It was easily the most beautiful and interesting plate I’ve ever seen served.  Check it out:

No, it's not moving, it just looks like it is!

You really should click on the image above to get the full-screen view. It’s amazing.

According to S, the sauce in the upper-left is made from the ink of the squid.  Both students ate their meal with gusto, nothing left on the plates afterward!

Studies Abroad

I’ve been talking so much about the town, I almost forgot to discuss why I’m here!

The University Studies Abroad Consortium (USAC) is a cooperative effort involving 33 member universities, including Boise State University.  It’s members include many schools from the Cal State system,  big schools like UC Davis and U Iowa all the way to smaller schools like Hunter College and Mount Union and everything in between.  In the US, it’s run out of an office at University of Nevada Reno and has competent staff members all over the world.  USAC administers programs in over 20 countries and nearly all continents (but hey, who studies abroad in Antarctica?)

The program here in Getxo/Bilbao is designed to attract business students but this summer is their first experience with engineering courses.  Study abroad for engineering is, I think, more challenging than it is for most majors, but probably all the more important and rewarding because of it.  More on that later in another posting.

The students here in Bilbao for the summer come from a wide assortment of the USAC schools and I’ve really enjoyed getting to know them.  Last week, our resident director and his very capable staff took us all on a walking tour of Bilboa, starting with the downtown shopping district and ending at the Guggenheim.  Here’s great shot of the group egging to the camera:

"We Love USAC!"

The schedule for the summer session is a bit grueling.  Students are in class from 8:30 to 11:40 every day (and that’s just one class!) for 3 weeks.  I must admit, it’s been a real challenge for me to adjust my normal 15 week course from the leisurely pace of a semester into a more frantic setting, but I’ve learned a lot in the process as well  — which is part of the process, no?