My first week in Barcelona has been incredibly rewarding on many different levels. On the very first day of my program, we had a scavenger hunt around certain areas of Barcelona. This was the perfect activity to help me realize how culturally rich the city of Barcelona actually is. Just the one street of Las Ramblas taught so much about the history of Barcelona. Eating lunch at La Boqueria, drinking water from the legendary Canaletes fountain and admiring the work of Joan Mir? are things I will always remember about this day. One of my favorite thing about being Spain is the difference in cultures. For example, observing the difference in the work/life balance is really eye opening. In America, there is a culture of working 40+ hours a week till you retire. In Spain, workers aren?t allowed to work more than 35 hours a week. They also are given an abundant amount of mandatory time off.
I have also learned so much about the European Economy and European business practices through the courses we are taking. In our course, we have covered everything from the History and creation of the European Union to how the 2008 Financial crisis has long lasting impacts on the entire European economy. It has been incredible interesting learning about how Europe handles their economy, mainly because it is very different from the way that the US handles theirs. From this course, I have also gathered a much broader understanding of how complex world economies can be. Through our company visits we have been able to witness first hand, the customs and practices of international business.
I am so excited to see what else this program has in store!
