Getting My Ducks in a Row...

Ni Hao!

Okay not much has happened in Barcelona since my last post except that homework is picking up and I'm finally being held responsible for some level of productivity. We're on the marketing portion of our business plan for Entrepreneurship. My group is developing a self-sustaining cycling studio with stationary bikes that turn exercisers' kinetic energy into electricity to run the studio. The technology actually exists (in China), though I'm not sure to what extent the bikes have been commercialized. It's a fun idea, though, and I think it could actually take off as a franchise opportunity. In Spaniard Economy, Demographics, Politics, and Society, we're researching topics for our group projects. My group has decided on the economic, political and cultural impact of Spain's aging population. So far so good. I hope we have enough for the 30-pager we have to turn in later in the Spring. In International Marketing we're doing case study analyses of L'Oréal, Marks & Spencer, Russian Standard and Starbucks. L'Oréal was due this past week. I'm trying to knock out the others before China, though I think I'll only get to the Russian Standard. Finally, we're going on a field trip to the Barcelona Port next week in my Logistics Management class. We had a guest speaker last class that really changed my mind about what I dismissed as a boring topic. The communication, coordination and detailed planning required to make sure thousands of ships get in and out of the port without any back-ups is a pretty big deal and a part of a very macro-economic trade process. I'm looking into it.

But all that stuff is boring. I'm really just waiting until this coming Friday for the main event: my spring break with my Fordham Global Business Honors Program (GBHP) classmates (and best friends) in BEIJING, CHINA. They've been keeping me in the loop on all the prep, and I will be flying through Germany to meet them there on Saturday, March 13. Then we have a jam-packed week of sightseeing as well as international and local company visits and lectures before I return to Barcelona the following Saturday, a total of 28 hours of flying in 9 days. I. CANNOT. WAIT.

Been shopping a little bit to prepare as I hear the Chinese use significantly less toilet paper (if any) and lack a few specific hygiene products that we Americans require. I also bought a heavy all-weather coat to combat the cold, windy and potentially snowy weather that accuweather.com anticipates. (Notice the change in weather resource.) I'm also studying up on the culture and language via SurvivalPhrases.com's podcast on iTunes. I hear stuff is pretty cheap over there, though I don't plan to shop much since I'm not very likely to find things in my size. Either way, I plan to take advantage of a currency that finally agrees with me if only in the way of food. I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to figure out what to eat, so I hope the pictures are accurate. At the very least, I'm always equipped with peanut butter for the days that we have to buy our lunches, though I don't plan to "cop out" often. We have a lot of group dinners plan, the first of which features traditional roast duck - hence, the title link. If Anthony Bourdain likes it, then I must at least try it. He's the man.

We've also got a trips to the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, Drum Tower, Old Hutong and Houhai lake area and a closing banquet with a traditional Chinese show, plus free time on to explore on our own. China will be my fourth continent in three years. Not too shabby.

Finally, I've worked out the rest of my traveling while abroad to include Bilbao, San Sebastian, Palma Mallorca, Madrid, Toledo and Segovia. Then I'll be wrapping it up here and heading to NYC for the summer. Where did the time go? How can this adventure be halfway over? As Karen and Richard keep telling me, we've only just begun!

Don't know how much access I'll have to the Internet and/or the World Wide Web, so be on the lookout for pictures and updates from China but don't think the worst if I disappear for the week.

Xie xie for reading my blog and hui tou jian.

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