This week was full of learning about Barcelona business, government, and beer! The tour of the port was incredible because it really exposed how much business goes on every single day. To realize that the thousands upon thousands of imported cars and shipping containers I saw doesn’t even put Barcelona in the Top 10 ports in the world blows my mind. Although it is not one of the most “productive” ports in the world, its efficiency by being next to the airport, connected railways, and (of course) boats allows for fast transportation of materials once it is imported. A pattern I’ve noticed across Spain is that they focus more on ethical practices compared to countries like China. Personally, as a business person, I would prioritize working with ports and other people whose values can be seen through their business practices. When we visited the Parliament, I admired how must the building and Parliament have stayed rooted in their history and used it to continue to grow as a nation. It was clear the differences in government and politics between Spain and the USA. They have a parliamentarian government compared to our democratic republic. To me, this seems like the people in Spain have less power since they are not able to directly vote for their President. Seeing the place where laws are voted on and passed made me realize how similar and different governments can be. Applying knowledge on not only the culture but also the laws and lawmaking process of other countries is extremely important for me to remember in my future business endeavors. We had a tour and beer tasting at Estrella Damm Factory. Estrella formed a special type of beer to cater to the Catalan region when it was opened. It made beer that had a higher alcohol percentage but more refreshing taste to reach their target market of drinkers in Barcelona. This visit was particularly interesting to be because I didn’t realize how many different flavors beer can have. My favorites were the lighter or fruiter ones since they did not taste as harsh in “beer flavor”. This visit taught me that you need to know your target market for any type of product or service.
