Marcela Foster

May 16, 2016

​Today I experienced quite an eventful day. I woke up to get ready for class and headed off of the ISA office. There we had a discussion on cognitive flexibility, awareness of alternative, willingness to be flexible and self-efficacy in being flexible. These are all topics that I have not really gone in depth with. It was very interesting for me to think about these on another level. I also enjoyed getting to hear the opinions from other members of the group on what they thought on these topics as well. 

​The fun part of today was our tapas tour. The whole group met up at the Isabella statue and we went to La Gran Tabena. There, we had four rounds of drinks with tapas. They were all pieces of bread with a different topping on each. The first one consisted of an omelet type of thing, it was delicious! Then we had some with meat, ham and cheese. Some drinks that people would order would be a tinto de verano (red wine with sprite), clara(beer with sprite) or just white wine or a beer. I was told that a beer was the most common choice for people that are just here to enjoy a drink with some friends. The atmosphere of the bar was very relaxing and laid back. I was also told that the bar we went to was a bigger one and that usually they are a lot smaller. But, since we had such a large group we had to go here so they could accommodate all of us. 

​Tapas are interesting to me because it is not a normal thing back in the states to be drinking during the day. But, Angel gave us a bit of reasoning for what exactly tapas were so it made a lot more sense after. Spaniards are heavy drinkers however, they didn’t want everyone to be drunk everywhere they go. Having little snacks keeps people from getting intoxicated when they would go out. I think this is a great way for people to enjoy their drinks and company but not drinking too much. 

Back in the states we do not have tapas. This was a very enjoyable experience for me to learn more about the Spanish culture. It was a very relaxed day but I still had the pleasure of sharing some great conversations with others in the group. We then had the rest of the day to explore the city in whichever way we wanted.

Me eating jamón!

La Gran Taberna menue