flowersinhair

Hi everyone... I've been off and on the wagon for 2 years now and I'm 26 years old. I moved to Spain a month ago for a job and have 7 more months here. I have been meeting people and trying to find some friends (ones I actually enjoy), but have ended up drunk several times, which leaves me feeling miserable for days afterwards. Everyone seems to say the Spanish people have a "healthier approach to alcohol"-- so I thought I could try drinking with them at their pace, but still it doesn't seem to help. I just want to keep on drinking once I start... and I also feel like even after one glass of wine my personality starts to change... definitely for the worse. On Halloween I met some American girls who invited me to their party. When I got there they were already wasted. Later I went to some bars--and drank-- with other people from the party (the girls were passed out at the house), and stayed out with these randoms until 8 a.m. I woke up the next day feeling completely depressed, sick, and still without true friends. I don't know what to do here... I feel like I'm missing out on the "cultural experience" if I don't go out to the bars and the clubs... but the only way I feel SAFE is staying in my house during the nights and weekends. A guy I work with told me I'm "too young" to not be going out... this happened after I turned down a trip to a vineyard this weekend. I just don't have a support system here and it seems everyone I do meet always drinks a lot... and I feel like saying "No thanks, I don't like drinking" just doesn't cut it. Any advice? Thanks for listening.