Wrapping Up

The last few weeks at ESADE passed in a blur and then it was Christmas with the family in Surrey, catching up with friends in England, New Year's Eve back in Barcelona and the next thing I knew I was back in my apartment in Foxhall. Mouse, my dog was very happy to see me and it was wonderful to see all my roommates again and realize what a special home we have here and how much I missed everyone. 


Spain seems so far away considering its only been a few weeks, and MSB has done a great job of absorbing my concentration completely. I love my classes this mod -- I'm taking a lot of strategy and the teachers I have here are truly fantastic. Its also amazing to be in the new building. MSB has really stepped up their game since the move and there's a different feel in the air. Like that summer when you come back to school and you realize that everyone grew up. Its a good feeling and I'm proud to see these changes and appreciate them. 

Still, when I look back on the time I spent at ESADE there are a lot of wonderful experiences and friendships that I will always take with me, and a lot of things back in the US that I'm thankful for and probably appreciate more now I've been away. 

For example, it was great to remind myself what its like living in another country and its always good experience to have to struggle with the simple things once in a while. When I originally got to Spain, before going into a store, I would have to run through the entire encounter in my head first. Otherwise after the first question, I would be struck dumb by the speed of the language or forget what I needed to say or otherwise get into a mess. By the time I left, I was walking into anywhere or up to anyone and asking questions or giving directions without any problem at all. When I got back to the US and rediscovered water and ice coming out of my fridge door, I was reminded of lugging bottles of water and bags of ice back from the store every few days. I buy fruit and produce here and it lasts (probably because of the nasty additives) but I miss the availability of such a selection of cheap and delicious sea food and wine - even at the little local grocery stores. 


So what was my biggest take-away? Barcelona was fun, interesting, educational, exhausting, relaxing, gorgeous and so many other adjectives, but I think what I appreciate most, was being forced to slow down. Because of the language barrier, the different culture, the new people, I wasn't able to rush head-long into things they way I can back in the States. I had to think, plan, weigh things up differently. And when I slowed down, I felt like I experienced a lot of things that I would normally not have even noticed as I rushed past them in my usual single-minded pursuit of whatever goal I was chasing. So there you have it, my greatest learning and something if you had asked me before I left, would not have even made a top 20 list of things I imagined I would learn. 


Now  have just 3 months left of the MBA and so much I still want to do. I know I'm going to be tempted to rush back into things like I did before, but I hope that what I learned in Spain will stay with me -- at least for the next few months so I can fully appreciate the flavor of this stage in my life. 

Montjuic

Parc Güell

Changing Seasons

Everyone here keeps telling me that the weather we are experiencing this November is unusual. Actually, the locals seem pretty concerned about it. Having spent 6 and a half years in Miami, 70 degrees and sunny in November is normal, if not a little chilly. What is has meant though is that fall has been put on hold. It was only last week that I started to see any leaves change color (and its nothing compared with the beauty of the fall colors in the North East) and only this week that you start to see some on the street. 


Then suddenly, on Monday I noticed that even if the weather wasn't moving along, time most certainly was. I only have another couple of weeks of classes and a little more than a month in Barcelona. The Christmas lights are up on Muntaner, the street on which I live, and by some unspoken agreement, this weekend all the stores started putting up tinsel and Christmas trees. 


In the States, the start of the holiday season is punctuated by Thanksgiving, and in the UK, its pretty much December 1st, when people start opening their advent calendars. I have no idea what the holiday-season kick-off is in Spain, but while the lights on Muntaner are up, they haven't been switched on yet. I guess I'll know on the day this happens. 


My travels have pretty much finished other than several back and forth trips to England and I'm running low on money (my student loans were not designed for four months traipsing around Europe). I know I'm not the only one, but several other exchange students (particularly the North Americans) are still travelling right up to the end. As one of the Canadian student said today at lunch, "When is the next time you're going to be able to go to Rome for the weekend? And besides, next time it will cost a whole lot more because you're coming from North America." And that basically explains why credit card debt is so high in North America!


So in honor of things starting to wind down, I thought I'd collect some thoughts on things that I'm going to miss about Spain when I'm back in freezing cold DC.


Things I'm Going to Miss:

• All the little stores that sell only one type of product -- for example underwear, or light fixtures and fittings -- how on earth do they survive??
• The awesome fresh bread and food in general
• Drying my clothes on a clothes line hanging over the atrium in the middle of my apartment building (much more environmentally friendly!)
• Having a doorman and being able to put our trash outside the door for him to come and pick up
• Walking past a school and seeing a Catalan flag and a European flag, but not a Spanish Flag
• Still confusing Catalan and Spanish
• The sea! I had no idea how much I need the sea until I lived by it again
• Awesome, awesome coffee. Everywhere 
• No chain stores other than in the 'tourist' parts of town
• Buying really nice wine for 2.5 euroes at the supermarket
• Being proud of myself for having simple conversations (today was asking the guy in the gym if there were any more towels coming soon)
• Effective, punctual, incredibly cheap public transportation
• Guys selling scarves, fans, fake hand bags, belts and basically everything else you can imagine on the side of the street. They lay everything out on a sheet which has a rope on every corner which they hold on to, then when the cops come they grab the ropes, turning their sheet into a kind of sack and haul a$$ down the street
• Watching the sun and the moon set behind the mountains from my balcony
• Sitting on the roof of ESADE in November in a T-shirt having an awesome lunch for 2.9 Euroes
• Watching fireworks over the city from my dining room and not having the faintest clue why they have fireworks almost every night
• Holidays -- all the time
• 3 hour lunch breaks
• Hearing tons of different languages spoken around me all the time (happens a bit at Georgetown, but ESADE is something else!)
• ATMs that sell credit for your phone, bus tickets, movie tickets and do everything other than make you a cup of coffee (I bet thats coming next!)
• The wonderful warm, friendly people in Barcelona

Things I'm Looking Forward to:

• Not having to go to 5 different stores to buy what you need (hello Target and CVS!)
• Not having to throw away half a loaf of bread every day because it doesn't last more that 18 hours before becoming a solid brick.
• Drying my clothes in a dryer and having soft fluffy towels as a result and also not dropping clothes pins, socks, underwear, etc on the people who live on the apartment below me
• Steaks that are cut thicker that 1/8th of an inch
• Having a BBQ grill back again
• Going to the supermarket and knowing what everything is and not asking stupid questions of the people that work there because I forgot my dictionary
• Pandora and Hulu -- not having to go through tons of illegal downloads to watch my favorite shows in the US 
• Seeing my room mates and friends from school
• Seeing Mouse -- I missed her the most!

I know there are tons more things that I'm going to miss but these are the things that came to my mind immediately. I'll keep writing lists as I keep thinking of stuff.

ESADE Career Week

A couple of weeks ago was ESADE's fall career week. In DC we spend career week on industry 'treks' organized by the different clubs, but in Barcelona they organize things slightly differently. Instead of going out to visit the companies, here the companies all come into the school for three or four days of campus visits, on campus interviews and networking events. Its similar to the schedule of Georgetown's recruiter presentations, but all compressed into a week.


I was very impressed with the way ESADE welcomed their recruiters and organized the students. As an exchange student, unfortunately I wasn't able to attend any of the recruiter presentations but I was able to attend the mini career fair on each day. In a way this was even more useful for me as I got a chance to speak face to face with recruiters rather than sit in a room as one of 70+ students.


In general the job market here seems a little worse than the US, which is not surprising that the unemployment rate in Spain is currently around 19%. However London, some cities in Germany and France do seem to be hiring in certain sectors. 


Ideally, I'd like to find a consulting job for a US company based in Spain but that cuts things down to a pretty small universe of opportunities. I have applied for some opportunities in London and next week I'll be heading over for Consulting Trek, where we will be meeting with about 6 companies across 2 days. Hopefully this will lead to an interview at least!

Me Encanta Georgetown Alumni

Last night was a dinner to wish bon voyage to an MSB grad who leaves today for a two year posting overseas. I met this guy through one of my friends in DC, a current MSB student who emailed an introduction when I first arrived in Barcelona.  This alum has been one of my favorite people that I've met in Barcelona, taking me out, showing me the city, introducing me to other people and even helping me with my resume. 


Through him, I met a young woman from Barcelona who is learning English, and we meet a couple of times each week for a language exchange. I (try to) speak Spanish for an hour and she speaks English to me. This language exchange has been an incredible way to boost the daily language classes I get through ESADE and its also nice to know another local. 


Last night we met at an awesome restaurant in the Exiample neighborhood and our conversation was a mixture of Spanish, Catalan and English. It was a small group and it was really an honor to be included -- my favorite alum had invited his sister and a couple of other friends including another MSB alum. Between the three of us Georgetown students, we span almost 10 years of MSB and two continents. As ever, conversation turned to our favorite and professors, favorite and least favorite Georgetown experiences, fond memories and a comparing of notes. 


It felt great to be part of the Georgetown MSB 'club' and it reminds me that this is one of the key reasons I came to business school. There is no argument that the education you will get at Georgetown will be one of the best, most rigorous in the world. There are plenty of schools within our peers that can provide an equally excellent educational experience. What Georgetown means to me is and has always been the people. From Miami, to DC to Barcelona, I love our Georgetown  Hoyas. I love the willingness to help (oh you're interested in consulting, let me call my friend at AT Kearney), I love the friendliness, I love the openness and most of all I love the diversity of experiences. 


Even though last night I was only an honorary alum, I know that old chestnut is true; some of your best friends will be those you meet at business school.

Lake Como