Leaving my preconcieved notions of Spain behind

During my time in Santander, in Cantabria, on the northern coast of Spain, I am staying with a local family. While there are many benefits to staying with locals, including continuous inoculation to the language, I have to say the best part is getting a taste of how locals really eat. This isn't some restaurant or chef's interpretation of Spanish food, this is real, stick to your bones home cooking. I'm not sitting in a four-star restaurant being bombarded by jazzed-up interpretations of what makes Spanish food uniquely Spanish, I am tasting what comes from the hands and hearts of people raised on the cuisine.

I have to say, I am constantly surprised by the variety of foods I am served here. I have had a classic soup from Burgos, pasta tossed lightly with hard-boiled eggs and white-fleshed fish, garlicky meatballs, steamed cabbage, fried sardines, chicken wings and roasted pumpkin soup. I guess I didn't really know what to expect in terms of a "theme" of Spanish food, but so far I haven't been able to grasp on to a strong common thread, besides the use of olives and olive oil, which I expected.

It seems people have a kind of "anything goes" type of mentality when it comes to preparing meals. What they have on hand, what they got at the local market, is what is served. Sometimes each part of the meal is separate and compartmentalized. Sometimes it seems there is no cohesion. But the strange thing is it works. I can't complain about anything I've had. And even though with my American-mentality I first questioned the pairing of certain foods (Why aren't we having pasta with the meatballs? Wouldn't pork go well with cabbage?) in the end everything was fluid and logical.

I am more than ready to encounter another odd couple and have my preconceived notions of what makes a meal "a meal" challenged again and again.