Getting to know people in Madrid that were my age was a pretty similar experience to the one I've had in N.Y.C. Young adults tend to keep to themselves, and being new to the country, I felt pretty intimidated making friends. As I mentioned last week, I initially stuck to my American counterparts until I had the courage to download the Bumble app, which has an option for making friends! Most of the people I met were from different countries. I saw people on the app from England, Mexico, America and more, but I did luck out finally by meeting a local, Bisola!
Along with becoming friends with a local, I found that I was able to integrate more into my new community in Madrid by watching "Day In My Life" videos on YouTube by people who lived in Spain and by reading blogs. By doing this I got to know what was in style and what wasn't. Did you know that wearing sweatpants or pajama pants is not a common occurence in Spain and is mainly done by tourists? I wouldn't have known this without reading up on Spain, and when I got there I did notice that nobody wore sweatpants, even at the supermarket! Everyone always looked their best. Since I wanted to play the part, I too always tried to dress well so that I didn't stand out. I've also learned that here in Spain, tipping isn't common, and people are really affectionate!
