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It feels like I just arrived and now it will soon be over for some of us.
I am one of forty candidates that belong to the last generation of the official “One Year MBA”. Now, ESADE has changed the MBA program so that once you have started your first semester and you are all settled in and familiar with the school, you decide if you would like to do the 12, 15 or 18 month MBA. In many ways this new system is better, because it gives you time to evaluate your situation and decide how much time you want, need and can – spend doing your MBA. I wouldn’t change the length of my MBA, it has been a great experience and I have learned more than I expected in these past 9 months.
I am actually looking forward to going back to work.
The following week will be a great opportunity to start looking for a job. The Winter Career Week is from January 22nd to the 26th and companies such as: LVMH, L’Oreal, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestle, Johnson and Johnson, Roche Pharma and many others will come on campus and present to ESADE students their company as well as their job opportunities.
Can’t wait!

We all know that living in Barcelona is great and for many of us, geographic location was one of the most important selection criteria for choosing ESADE. But this weekend, after 8 months of being here, I really understood the meaning of living in Barcelona.

Over the summer we enjoyed Barcelona’s beaches, Sitges to the south and the beautiful Costa Brava to the north.

“Sol, arena y mar” that was our summer and it couldn’t get better.

But surprisingly it does get better. In the winter, we snowboard and ski without having to go too far away.

This weekend we drove up to Andorra. In less than 3 hours I was all geared up and ready to hit the snowy slopes. We stayed at Soldeu which is right in front of the ski station of Granvalira and for 42 euros I got my ski pass for the day.

The views were amazing, it wasn’t crowded and the snow was great.

On the way back we drove into France and stopped by at Perpignan for my favorite-cheese, bread and wine! N.B. I wasn’t driving!

I was very upset when summer ended, but now I found that winter is Barcelona is as much or even more enjoyable than the summer.

You have to love Barcelona.

The ESADE Gastrofest is a festival where students of different nationalities get together and cook their country’s traditional dishes, make drinks and decorate a stand for the rest of us to enjoy. This year more than 25 different nationalities applied to participate, no wonder there was so much food, now the only question was, where to start?

I arrived at 8pm SHARP! Ready to be one of the first ones in and try all the international food.

I started with Venezuela where I had a mini arepa with chicken and then moved to Guatemala. They had very good food but, as a Mexican, I think it’s very similar to Mexican food…and how could I ever say its as good as Mexican?.

I then wondered off to Japan where my good friend Masa, his wife Yuco and Shin were preparing sushi rolls and tofu, mmm fresh sushi and great sake. The next stand was Brazil where I got some sort of rice and beans but I was not sure what exactly it was. If someone could help me out I would love to hear what exactly it was that I ate! I kept walking and then I found Mexico!! I rushed over to try those delicious tacos de mole con pollo, guacamole con totopos and great Palomas – a typical Mexican drink made from tequila and for lack of a better mixer, lemon Fanta. What can I say? Delicious food and obviously my favourite!

While I was still enjoying my last taco, Russia called my attention. Apparently, in this country you combine shots of vodka with food! I passed on the offer but my fiancé was happy to try out this combination and said it tasted great. I guess the vodka enhances the flavour, who knows… I am not a shot fan, I’d rather have some Sangria that my Spanish friends Javi and Alfonso made for their Spain stand.

I went over to a very popular table, India – I had some Palek Panner and a very spicy drink/soup but there was not much left when I got there, I guess this was the students pick and I agree, Indian food is up there with Mexican food. After India, I was done. I could not eat anymore but I do regret skipping Switzerland, Germany, US, UK and Canada.

Ok. So it was time to reach a decision… My top 3: Mexico, Middle East and India Judges’ Final Decision: Best Food: Japan Best Decoration: Mexico Best Drink: Peru Students Vote Best Food: India.

Finally, I was ready to go home and digest the whole world in my stomach!

Bring on the next ESADE Gastrofest!

What’s going on with the Euro vs the Dollar?!

I think most of the students that live in Europe and have US dollars are very concerned about the recent exchange rate of the Euro vs the Dollar. The Euro has been trading as high as $1.50, the strongest since August 2008. I started investigating the opinion of some of the European and US officials and like us, they are also very concerned. Recently, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called the move a “disaster” for the economy while Timothy Geithner, US Treasury Secretary, commented “…it is very important for the US to have a strong Dollar”.

So why are they so concerned?

Well, mainly because as the Euro strengthens it makes the exports more expensive to overseas buyers, hurting the region’s competitiveness. This, plus the excessive volatility affect the economic recovery of the Eurozone which in turn can impact most economies around the world due to the globalized system in which we live. The US has no real incentive to have a stronger Dollar in the short term considering the weakness of the economy and so Geithner’s comments would appear to just be directed to investors in dollar-denominated assets, such as China.

What’s next?

The European economy is still too weak and so it would seem likely that we will continue to see low interest rates for a while and, combined with significant government expenditure and the ECB providing liquidity to banks through various programs to get credit flowing again. It is difficult to see a significant weakening of the Euro soon. However, many economists believe that a recovery in the US is likely to happen before the Eurozone.

So we should watch out for a rise in interest rates first in the US lifting the dollar and helping out us, students, holding dollars. Hopefully now, its just a matter of time…