tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67330562011-04-21T16:32:13.124-04:00Reporting from Barcelona...JPnoreply@blogger.comBlogger161100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6733056.post-30322505228246893412007-05-11T00:04:00.000-04:002007-05-11T00:00:06.180-04:00

Alright, so this is my last posting!My exchange at ESADE was an incredible and unforgettable experience and this can only be because of the terrific people I met; to the ESADE administration, the full-time and exchange students: THANK YOU! And I guess being located in Barcelona definitely didn't hurt!!On that note, I would like to wish you all good health and great success in your current/future

JPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6733056.post-48992762782170109962007-03-13T07:08:00.000-04:002008-12-09T03:27:34.511-05:00

Went to a nice "chill" bar on the week-end called El Bosc de les Fades. It's very nice as the inside looks like outside; it would definitely make the guys from the movie "A night at the Roxbury" very envious. It's a dark, warm/humid forest with trees and waterfalls. I felt like at any time we would see hobbits popping up from this "Lord of the ring" like decor. Anyways, it's a very nice place and

JPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6733056.post-75003325369458507772007-03-06T09:38:00.000-05:002007-03-06T15:49:42.409-05:00

Last Thursday I went to the opera...yes yes, you heard right, I went to the opera! Basically I was given good tickets to the premier of Boulevard Solitude at the Liceu theater in Barcelona. All the singing was in German, a language I am very familiar with (not!) but there were subtitles in English and Catalan. Although the piece itself was visually incredible and driven by good music, I found the

JPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6733056.post-70193576727981898562007-02-27T09:22:00.000-05:002008-12-09T03:27:34.837-05:00

So we spent a few days in Lisbon (capital of Portugal)...what a beautiful city! People listing Prague as their favorite probably haven't seen Lisbon yet; the architecture and the colors are simply incredible. So much to see and do, that 3 full days are not enough if you include the surrounding villages as part of your visit. We pretty much saw most of the capital in the first 2 days, and then

JPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6733056.post-74153449279051405722007-02-22T15:30:00.000-05:002007-02-22T09:25:02.216-05:00

Here's yet another example of Spanish engineering nonsense... I'm in a land where inaccuracies and inefficiencies are part of everyday life, with 10 minutes being 30, 2 miles being 4, lenience towards speeding limits, difficulties in forming a straight line at a bus stop, and the list goes on (trust me). BUT, do not try to exceed the suggested maximum number of people permitted in an elevator,

JPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6733056.post-46450359051305179732007-02-18T13:06:00.000-05:002008-12-09T03:27:35.067-05:00

I promised I would spend the week-end in Barcelona and I didn't. Let me explain...In the spirit of self-development and quick decision making (a crucial element in management) we decided to be spontaneous, make a decision and go ahead with it. So we went to Sitges Saturday night! Sitges is a small village about 30 minutes away from Barcelona by train, and very popular in the summer as it is on

JPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6733056.post-28708786611485869592007-02-15T10:39:00.000-05:002008-12-09T03:27:35.371-05:00

Finally have some time to write!Andorra I got back from Andorra late Sunday night. There’s really not much to see there (sorry to all the Andorrans out there); it’s mainly for shopping (tax free) and/or skiing. The town itself is not so big and surrounded by mountains, so that’s nice. Andorra is a very small Principality (not a country!) between Spain and France with about 70,000 habitants.

JPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6733056.post-46488325686705374622007-02-05T14:57:00.000-05:002008-12-09T03:27:35.651-05:00

Praha (in Czech)...beautiful and colorful city which for some reason looks better on a cloudy day. Luckily for us, it was cloudy most of the time; and this might be why most traveling books recommend to go to Prague during the fall or winter. It's as if the lack of light gives greater weight to the colors and architectures not to mention that feel of the communist era (not that I would remember).

JPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6733056.post-9270016353223930202007-02-01T06:10:00.000-05:002008-12-09T03:27:35.803-05:00

Just in case you didn't recognize her, this is Soonu Kochar, ex-ambassador of India to The Netherlands, then Argentina, and later France. But I'm sure you already knew that. I hear the questions coming...She was my Geopolitics teacher. Great course, I would definitely recommend it...very insightful class, and it generated quite interesting debates allowing you to hear different perspectives from

JPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6733056.post-70414710561867008862007-01-28T23:09:00.000-05:002008-12-09T03:27:35.952-05:00

I have now been officially baptized in Spain! Just got back from my first FC Barcelona game...Great match, with 90 000 people and 4 goals in total (2 of which were penalty shots). I was expecting tappas and wine during half-time, but to my surprise they actually had hot-dogs and beer!I managed to tape the penalty kick taken by Ronaldinho, nothing great but still better than nothing (the camera

JPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6733056.post-13318305462275783472007-01-23T10:57:00.000-05:002007-01-23T12:03:09.502-05:00

One initiative following another, I decided to practice my Spanish by reading the local newspaper. After a full day of reading and surprisingly understanding quite a bit considering the beginner that I am, I decided to put to use the learned words next morning in my Spanish class. Surprise surprise...I picked up Catalan! The reason I even understood some of the Catalan words is not because my

JPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6733056.post-32514199136018716862007-01-21T16:53:00.000-05:002008-12-09T03:27:36.079-05:00

Ahhh Valencia...wow!A few students from the ESADE MBA exchange program and myself decided to put all academic responsibilities on the side and go for a little 3-4 hours road trip to Valencia. We were initially going to be 12 but we lost 2 soldiers Friday night (if you know what I mean) as they couldn't make it for the Saturday morning meeting point. So we rented 3 Opel cars from pepecar with

JPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6733056.post-73646280402395069152007-01-18T19:51:00.000-05:002007-01-21T16:52:47.140-05:00

I barely had time to leave the country and already 2 things happen:1- Montreal Canadiens can't win a game (except for the last one)!!!2- The weather goes ballistic!!!I must admit, week-days have been much busier than anticipated with the classes and school work. But at least the week-end looks very promising; we rented 3 cars and will be heading towards Valencia for 2 days. Apparently it's a

JPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6733056.post-86951323778784108682007-01-15T23:27:00.000-05:002008-12-09T03:27:36.275-05:00

Today (Monday) I had my first presentation, and I think my team kicked ass! It was definitely the best one...then again, I might be biased...but you can ask my teammates!On Saturday I went to visit one of the main touristic attractions in Barcelona, it's the big church under construction since 1882 called Sagrada Familia (the Holy Family). It is definitely one of the most impressive

JPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6733056.post-86367108990153887292007-01-08T09:14:00.000-05:002007-01-13T07:10:15.905-05:00

Hola!Sorry for not writing earlier, it has been a very busy week with school and finding an apartment...I arrived the 4th and met with my friends from Montreal who actually left yesterday. We pretty much visited the whole city for the past few days. Also with my heavy school schedule and my search for an apartment I barely had time to reply to emails or update this blog.Friday (yesterday) I

JPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6733056.post-23119141694827327922007-01-03T15:14:00.000-05:002007-01-03T15:15:55.847-05:00

Hi everyone,Just thought I'd create this blog to keep family and friends updated with news, pictures, and perhaps videos (if you're lucky). And saving me the trouble of writing emails... ;-)I guess this could also be useful to anyone out there considering an MBA at ESADE and living in Barcelona. So I'll try to keep it informal as well.So now, assuming I don't get lazy, you'll have something to

JPnoreply@blogger.com