Starting week two of our five-week trip we have already been exposed to so much. Through talking to locals we have discovered that Spain and Barcelona specifically have deep divides that separate the country in itself. The region of Catalunya has made quite the effort to push away from Spain and become their own country as short as three years ago. I personally did not realize that Spain has as much discrimination as I have noticed. I have met many locals that are bilingual and will illustrate in some sense that people of minority races and are a gender minority are scared to go out at night because of the threat of violence toward them. In that, it does not restrict any type of person from doing what they want because we have seen a little bit of every type of culture and type of person all over Barcelona. It was just brought to my attention that, that type of discrimination is prominent and violent. Barcelona does seem to push social rights as in, displaying posters around the city about the LGTIBCN community as well as posters and signs about protecting the environment and animals. I have also seen a square in Barcelona that an individual could go to, to voice their opinions to the public. It is a very interesting concept considering it was a government building that was promoting the freedom of speech. I do think that Catalunya may be a bit more socially progressive than some other cities in Barcelona because of their attempt to secede from the rest of Spain. In class, I had the opportunity with a group to present a slideshow about the history of Spain. We focused heavily on the Spanish Civil War and then targeted the Catalunya region specifically to share with our classmates. It has been wonderful to dive headfirst into the culture with an open mind to see how a different part of the world operates. When learning about culture my definition of culture has changed drastically. Culture is not just the customs and activities that a country adopts but it is how a person interacts with their environment, people, and how they view the world. In terms of business in Barcelona I have noticed that there are not very many large business buildings, as we have in the states, but rather thousands of small business networks that allow the city to function. Spain has had a very interesting uprise to the economic, political state that they are currently at. Spain itself is not able to function and sustain so they reach out to other countries through trade agreements, treaties, and political bonds. They really seem to push the idea that if Spain is dependent on other countries it will in turn make them stronger than if they try to succeed on their own. In being dependent on the surrounding countries they communicate to the people that their social agenda to protect the people will be enhanced as they can obtain resources and a solid political standing between countries. In theory, this dependency for success can be beneficial but it is very foreign to me as an American. I have always been raised to be an independent man, so the collective social groupings and openness of their society are very fascinating to be a part of.
Center for International Business Studies Blog