On Saturday, January 19th a group of GWCS Spanish students met their teacher, Senor Torres, for lunch at Jaleo, a Spanish restaurant in Crystal City, VA. The trip was designed to provide the students with an opportunity to try authentic Spanish tapas (small Spanish savory dishes) and experience various elements of the Spanish culture via the food, the spoken language, the decor, and the music. They enjoyed three delicious courses of food, one of which was dessert. The most memorable and favorite tapas for some of the students were the flan and the crystal bread with tomatoes. Gabby, one of the students at GWCS who was present, has traveled to Spain many times and has a lot of knowledge of Spanish culture. Gabby shared with the group her experience of life in Spain like how dinner was often eaten at 10:00 pm. She shared a picture of her town, which was quaint and beautiful.  They learned about the origin of the word “tapa” and  how in Spain there are a lot of flies, so people have to cover their food(with “tapa”) so that it won’t be contaminated. Senor Torres and his students enjoyed talking with each other, the waiter, and even the head chef in Spanish. The chef was from Puerto Rico and he was eager to share more details about the delicious food that they sere. Overall, the students learned a lot about Spanish culture and life in Spain in addition to savoring delicious tapas —a win-win situation.

GW Community School
Spanish Tapas at Jaleo
Senor Alejandro Torres, Teacher
January 19, 2019