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At one of tapa/cocktail places we went too that night, I got to meet even more local people and made friends with them. Can't wait to hangout with them soon

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This outing put a lot into perspective regarding the Spanish culture. For example, in the U.S. we are used to going out to eat and getting split checks, but here that is not a thing. Instead friends hop around different places and each of them take a turn paying the bill and just hope that it evens out at the end. This is what I did when I met up with these girls, it was different but I liked it. It takes the money pressure off the table and allows you to fully enjoy yourself.  Frequently in the U.S. people get caught up in "Oh venmo me this amount" and here everyone is much more relaxed. They do not care about the money, they just want to have a good time, even if they paid more. I wish sometimes our culture would worry less about money and fully just live in the moment.

On the other hand, I know understand why they eat so late in Spain. When I first got here, I hated the fact that they had dinner super late, but the longer afternoon gives you more time to hangout with friends and then go back for dinner. It also allows you to spend time with friends and family rather than having to choose whether to have dinner with friends or family. In the Spanish culture I have noticed that they do a great job at integrating both in your life and finding balance.

Probably the most interesting conversation I had was that I found out that they do not study at coffee shops or libraries, instead only at home. This is very different for me because I love to Study at places like lavender and honey or Panera at Wake. It is very hard for me to concentrate at home, especially because my desk is so small and I need a bit of noise in the background. Finding a coffee shop to study at has been hard especially during midterms week, but I have managed to try to adjust to their ways and stay at home. It has been very interesting/challenging but I am trying to fully immerse myself and try to adapt and not just stay in my comfort zone.

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We did a lot of hopping around at different places and ended the night at a candy store! I loved this because I got to taste their candy, which is so cool because they are shaped in different ways like little mini fried eggs, mushrooms and cumbers.

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During one of the times I was at a coffee shop and studying, I went up to a group of girls that seemed to be from here and asked if they wanted to do something. They said they usually like to get tapas and drinks before dinner on Thursdays and luckily they invited me.
We set on meeting up at a little spot called Cafe Niebla at 6pm. Usually this is around the time I eat dinner at home in the states, but they said they usually meet up at around this time because they eat dinner super late (10pm) and do not hangout with friends after dinner. Therefore the term "tapas" is used for small plates like snacks you usually share to hold them off before dinner. Its very common here and I've honestly grown to really like it.

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Song recommendations from the ladies!

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The tapas!! I had never liked ham, but it all changed when I got to Spain. Ham is very common here and people have as frequently as every day. They include it in everything. This is a perfect our tapa on our meet up. This reminds me of how people tend to buy a bag of popcorn or nuts in the United States but instead here its little cut up pieces of ham.

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Another big switch was getting used to texting on whatsapp instead of imessage. I am starting to like whatsapp more, it has more creative setting options that imessage does not have. This is the group chat that we made that night! Really looking forward to meeting up with them again!