Do you "adapt" to spicy food? And what biological explanation is there for this?

I have noticed that when I eat spicy food it tends to get less spicy as I go on. For example if I order an incredibly spicy meal the first few bites are untolerable, but I ajust after 2–3 minutes and at the end of the meal I can barely register any spice.

However I realise this is not really common as none of my friends seem to share these experiences. Do you, or anyone you know, adapt to spicy food in this sort of way and what explanations are there for it? And is this one of the determining factors to those with “high spice tolerance”?