BARCELONA, for the books and for the sun!

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Classes Tomorrow!!!

Today is the last day before classes (Spanish classes) start. So far so good.

What do I think about Barcelona? The main thing that really stood out was the hours that Spaniards live/work/eat by. Nothing is opened on Sunday. Nada. Even Ikea, 'though on the website it shows that it should be opened all week. Dinner is after 9pm. I have been hungry for the past few days, dying waiting for dinner. Oh yeah, the super market isn't opened on Sundays either, and since it is August, it's closed from 2-5pm on weekdays.

Saturday night, after I arrived, I meet up with a few classmates to have dinner and later went to a club called Mirablau. It was a great place. Situated on top of a hill, it has a very good view of the city. Plus I enjoyed the music. Met quite a few first years. Now, I'm trying to put the names and faces together. There were a few whom I talked online earlier.

Didn't get back home until 5am. And got up around 2pm on Sunday. My roommate, Anna, and I wanted to go to Ikea so I looked online for directions. Took me about 2 hours. I'm not kidding. The transportation system is confusing at first. Anyways, finally we left for Ikea but it was closed. So, we tried Carrefour, but, obviously, it was closed too. Disappointed, we started heading back home but took a detour at Plaza Catalunya. Spent about an hour there looking around. I haven't actually done any touristy stuff yet.

On Monday, I was going to get up early to go to the bank, buy groceries, get a mobile phone service and buy a few electronic appliances (ie. Boombox, digital recorder). But I didn't get up until 1:30pm. I only had time to get groceries. In the mid-afternoon, my 3rd roommate, Mario from Portugal, arrived. After he settled in, we left for Ikea. This time, it was opened. We bought tons of stuff from Ikea for our flat. Pretty productive. Now, I can live quite comfortably. Not as comfortable as at Taiwan, but pretty much like at Stone-D. Afterwards, at 10pm, we met up with a few other classmates who lived quite near us for tapas. My first time having real tapas. After dinner, I went home, while the rest went to join another group for drinks. Me too tired. Need to sleep, or else I won't get anything done.

Today, after struggling a bit, I got up and finally opened my bank account. So, for those who want to send me money, heheā€¦ Just kidding. Went to IESE to check out the campus. Small campus, I gotta say. Got my cell phone service setup. I ended up using the same Nokia phone that I have been using for the past 3 years. Cannot seem to get myself to get a new phone. Went downtown to do more shopping. Dinner (dimsum) w/ classmates. We all went home by 10pm. Gotta get up early tomorrow morning. Wahhhh, Spanish placement test and I haven't studied yet.

For those who want to go to Ikea, get off of Station Gornal on L8 of the FGC. (You can catch L8 of the FGC at Station Espanya.) After you leave the station, walk backwards towards the highway. Once you reach the highway, turn left for about 5 minutes. You should be able to see the huge blue Ikea building. If you look further down, there is GranVia 2 which houses Carrefour, a cinema, H&M and many other stores. If you just want to go to GranVia2, take FGC L8 and get off at Station Ildefons Cerda.

Saturday, August 26, 2006

At Barcelona!

Flew Scandinavian Air from Seattle to Copenhagen and then Spanair to Barcelona. Seeing Copenhagen's airport made me think about Copenhagen Business School. Actually, through this whole flight I have been thinking about my decision of going to IESE. Never was (and still am) so uncertain of a choice that I made.

Maybe it was because I applied to all the schools at different time and got responses back quite far apart from each other. I had to make a decision soon mainly for visa purpose. I even had to withdraw my applications from IE and ESADE since I didn't have time to wait for their admissions reponses. Is it because the application process and, especially, the final decision was rushed that I feel insecure? Or is it because I know that a MBA program is like no returns final sale item that I only got one chance? I do not know.

On my way to Copenhagen, I was, I think, the one of two Asians on board. This shouldn't be too surprising, though. Going to a different country is challenging. Going to a place with a whole different ethnical make-up is challenging. Going to a place not speaking the local language (in Barcelona, it's languages, plural, Catalan and Spanish) is challenging. Man, just going BACK to school is challenging.

I'm about done w/ unpacking. Seems like I am doing a much faster job than before. Going to meet up w/ a few classmates for dinner and for drinks. Btw, it's about 9pm. And it's still considered early for dinner for most Spaniards. Talk about cultural shock.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Count Down!

Finally, finally, FINALLY, the Spanish consulate (of SF) called me about my visa status. My visa (and my passport, thank you very much) will be mailed tomorrow so I should get them on Wednesday. Yeah, getting them two days before my flight. Such a nightmare. I'm surprised I haven't got a heart attack yet. (Advice to future MBA applicants: unless you are absolutely determined to go overseas, just stay in the States. It will make your lives MUCH easier.)

I just dropped off a few boxes at the post office, sending them mainly via surface. The post office employees all know me by now, after my frequent last-minute application mailing, deposit sending, and package sending runs. Now all I hope is that the packages arrive safe and sound (wah, sounds like I'm talking about a person) in Spain.

After playing Kingdom Hearts 2 and Final Fantasy X at a friend's place for about a week, I'm so tempted in getting a PS2 station in Barcelona. But knowing me, ha, that is definitely not one of the best ideas. I already mailed myself enough books to keep me busy alongside with my classes. My sis will be mailing me the newest SWD game which will definitely be able to entertain me for quite a while. Wait, I know, maybe I should find a Spanish RPG PC game which can achieve two purposes: improve my Spanish and fulfill my need for entertainment. Me a genius.

Now looking back at the past 6 months (my pre-pre-MBA months) I learned quite a bit. The application process was a journey of self discovery itself. But I think what really changed me was the interview I had with a school in Ireland. After that interview and after a series of serious discussions w/ my father, I am finding myself gravitating towards a field/place that I have been resisting for all these years. I have been ignoring my greatest advantage which was pointed out by all of my admissions interviewers. But now especially after the Ireland interview, I realized that if I use this advantage wisely, I may be able to reach where I want to be. I have been spending the last two months trying to overcome this personal (and strong) resistance and starting to prepare myself for the "real world". It's a somber reminder that things don't go always as planned and there will be sacrifices that need to be made.

Just cinco dias left before going to Spain. Other than actually getting my visa (and my passport back) and packing, still one more thing to do. I better resume my Spanish studying. Yeah, I think I got too much faith in my last-minute studying ability. Although my MBA classes don't officially start until October, I'll have a month of pre-MBA: Spanish language classes and two prep courses in accounting and quantitative methods.

Okay, back to Rosetta Stone's Spanish course. And keeping my fingers crossed for my visa.