revision: dining and splitting tips

When I was in Spain I quickly learned something about the way in which Spaniards eat--it is never done alone. Meals, and particularly coffee breaks, are a time to enjoy the company of your friends. Because of this, it is very atypical to see people eating on the go, or in class. I rarely even saw an option at coffee shops for a "to go" cup. I think that this comes from their value of friendship and taking time in the day to enjoy the people around them. Another thing I noticed about the value of peoplea nd relationships through dining was how bills at restaurants are handled. Instead of receiving separate checks, like we do in the United States, large parties and even parties of two are split down the middle. Even fi one person technically "owes" twenty euro and another owes 10 euro, the bill is equally split. When i asked my Spanish friend about it, she said, "the few extra euros, what does it matter? it will all even out eventually, and i'm here to be with my friends. You can't put a price on that". I couldn't help but wonder why we don't do this in the United States. In my opinion, our values as Americans are different than those of Spaniards. In the US, we value work, independence and money. This is reflected in how we handle restaurant bills because of the idea, "what's mine is mine, what's yours is yours". We want to be responsible only for what is ours, not for our friends. This mindset in America is something that I have grown to resent since coming home. I wish that our culture was more collaborative so that our individual successes don't interfere with our relationships.