1/5/11 "The Family"

I got sick on the bus riding out to Punto Blanco, a family owned sock company. I think I drank too much tap water. Punto Blanco was a really cool visit, we were guided by a professor and IQS who had worked at Punto Blanco for a few years as an operations manager. He took us through the entire factory laying out the steps needed to make socks. The more interesting part of the tour came when we talked about the market P.B. is currently in.

Since their heyday in the 70's-80's, P.B.'s market share has dwindled from 15% to now around 5%. The reason for this is because many sock companies in Spain have moved production to China were the labor is much cheaper. He said that for other companies this was the best strategy because for every pair of socks they made in Spain it would cost E1.20, if they shipped it from China it would cost E.30. Punto Blanco is in bad shape, they have lost most of their market in normal socks and have resorted to offering high-end socks for niche markets. They are also looking to expand into underwear, but the outlook seems bleak.

Punto Blanco is making 0 profit. They are not making money nor are they losing it. Their primary goal is not money, but to keep jobs for their current workers. They are only willing to cut jobs and outsource if it means keeping to business afloat so that they can employ people. Business students are shocked and appalled, but they don't understand the family ideals.

1/4/11 "Espana"

We had our second day at IQS today, taught by an economics professor at the university. In a number of words he outlined the crisis that Spain is currently in. Spain's market dropped by 17% in the previous year, the 4th lowest in the world for 2010. This is contrasted by Asian and South American markets who had vastly outperformed European markets, the highest, mongolia. Saw a market increase of over 170%. This shows the increased investment in marginal economies.

The reason that the Spanish economy is doing so poorly is because it is based mostly in Construction and Tourism. Both of those took a major hit with the recent recession. People are unwilling to spend money on trips if their economic future is uncertain and credit is no longer easily available. Past credit terms made building projects possible which in normal circumstance would have simply been turned down.

We the went to visit the bank la caixa, learned about the causes of the sub prime crisis and ways in which the European Union, Spanish government, and the bank itself are dealing with the recession.

1/3/11 Play "Siestas are the Bomb"

After school we went to City Hall around 1:00pm for a guided tour. The building was built in the middle ages. You take a left and go up a black marble staircase entitled "The Black Stairs." A mural on the stairs depicts the personas of the cities around Barcelona who are presenting their most popular products for the woman. Next we went into a reception hall which is open to all citizens of Barcelona for weddings. Next we went into the room with the parliament of barcelona meets. They meet once a week on friday, their are around 30 members with the mayor and his various chairs. It is open to the public. The last room "The Hall of Chronicles" is a collection of paintings on the walls by Josep Maria Sert. They tell the tale of Flor's quest for the orient and how it got really F'd up. Haha.

After that we walked around, saw the town square. I Tried to order a hamburger-like dish from this spanish chain of restaurants, it didn't go to hot. It got a sub with bacon and cheese, but it actually tasted great. Every turn there is something wonderful to see. I have heard many cities tout the fact that they are vibrant and full of life. Barcelona is the first city to truly lay claim to the title.

I had Hake(a fish) for dinner and got drunk with the RA's. We had a beer, they thought we were drunk, it was pretty funny.

I'm started to get used to the spanish life style, siestas are the bomb.

1/3/11 School "In Hoc Signo Vinces"

Song for the day: Alohamora- Pogo

We had our first day at IQS which is the university that we will be taking all of our seminars at. It was founded around 1905 and IQS stands for Instituto Químico de Sarrià (Chemistry Institute of Sarria) Sarria was a town before it was incorporated into the city of Barcelona. It was a short but beautiful walk to the jesuit university, it's been fifty degrees all week.

In our first class we learned about the history of IQS from the vice president and how they came up with this exchange program. He then went on to outline a little bit of Spanish history, how they have been a part of the European Union, and how they have dealt with the economic crisis.T

The European Union has increased from the initially 15 countries to a total of 25 in 2004 and are looking to expand to 28 by adding Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey. This would affect Spain most directly in its labor market. Spain has historically had the lowest wage rates of any country in the Eurpoean Union, if Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey join the EU they will make Spanish's advantage shrink because they have lower wages. If these three countries join the EU it will also mean the center of the EU will shift from France towards Germany. This will make it more difficult for Spain to ship goods to more distant parts of the UE.

In 1992-1993 there was an economic crisis due to the gulf war, unemployment skyrocketed to 24% but has since annual dropped to its lowest rate of 8% in 2007. With the new economic constriction unemployment has since reached 20%, which is the highest compared to countries withing the European Union. Spain is part of a disrepute group of countries going by the name of P.I.G.S. (Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain) Spain's credit was reduced which means that it's interest rates are higher.

For Spain it is very hard to regulate many things in the economy because they do not have an important fiscal tool, the ability to apply policies to money. Because many independent countries use the Euro it is impossible for one country to mess with it. What Spain does with its currency in terms of devaluation or the like affects everyone within the EU.

Unlike America which has state fiscal policies and then federal policies, the European Union just has state policies. There is no Internal Revenue Services to coordinate umbrella policies. Because there is no "Federal" power, countries who are well off such as Germany, Norway, and France are less likely to be willing to help the PIGS.

Another interesting thing about the Spanish economy is that when you get a job you are given a contract. For example, if you work for a company for 12 years and are then fired, the company is obligated by law you pay you for 45 days worth of pay for every year that you worked. In this case someone would be given 45x12= 450 days worth of pay, almost 1.5 years worth of pay. Because of this companies are less likely to fire people, but because they have such massive costs associated with firing people, they are more willing to simply reduce the hours of everyone. Also, companies are less likely to fire workers if they have worked there a long time, but their productivity has severely diminished. This goes along with the trend that Spain has had minimal productivity increases over the past decade. If there is not increase in productivity a country cannot flourish. Many companies have begun using short-term contracts where, after a year, they can evaluate their hire and either dismiss or offer a longer-term contract.

Pictures Pt. 1

La Rambla

A pedestrian walkway flanked on each side by roads. It has everything, shops that sell barcelona gear, flowers, food, and even birds. It runs for about a mile and you will find people gathered in pockets around entertainers.

Pictures of what the roads and walk ways look like. Everyone drives a moped or small car, my mind is blown. Cars always have the right of way.

The Port/Marina has cruise ships on the right, the left are the fishing ships and yachts and in the center they have a shopping district.

1/2/11 "Pat Down"

Song of the day: September- Earth, Wind & Fire

January 2nd, 2011

Time stands still

I think its 2:35am but I can't really tell with the time changes, I was able to work through three movies on the flight... unfortunately with plenty of time to spare.

The first movie I watch was called "Never Let Me Go", based on a book by the same name and it was absolutely remarkable, easily one of my favorite movies. But unfortunately it is not the kind of movie you want to watch with a group of strangers, I haven't cried so hard since "The Little Princess."

The next movie I watched was "The Social Network" which was alright but I had read too many poor reviews to give me a purely unbiased view of the film. I don't really like Facebook, so I didn't really like the movie.

The third film was Scott Pilgrim vs. The World which was pretty funny and a nice way to close out our trek. But we weren't exactly finished, we got to the Frankfurt airport around 5:30am(?) and had to go through customs which means two things: Another sweet stamp for my passport and , another security check point. This time I did not make it out so easily, it just so happened that in the fluster of the moment I forgot to take off my belt, and remove my keys, and my phone, and my water bottle. It was like 6:00am and I was not on my A-game. Apparently its a big deal if you try to move a water bottle from an airplane to an airport. Needless to say they spared no expense in making sure I was not packing heat and I lost my water bottle in the process.

We get on the plane from Frankfurt to Barcelona, Espana at nearly 7:00am and due to ice on the wings we are not allowed to leave until 7:50am, If I were going to die on this trip it would have been then, but luckily I survived to watch the sun rise over Germany, promising to come back some day.

There is a lovely German couple sitting next to me, and I want to show off my sweet German language skills. The extent of which are "Hallo" (Hello) "Ich haise Steven" (My name is Steven). But I simply could not muster the courage, I regret it to this second and have resolved to learn basic introductory phrases in numerous languages in case I am met with the same opportunity.

All said and done we got to our hotel around 11, but our rooms wouldn't be ready until 2 pm so we had some time to kill. Barcelona is truly a beautiful city and I can already tell I am going to want to come back again. We had Tappas for a late lunch, it was amazing we had tomato, potato, hamburger, chicken, and mussels. I tried mussels for the first time today and they were actually really great, I'm so excited for the see food. After lunch we wanted to do a little moseying around, but because it is Sunday most, if not all, of the shops are closed. We just walked around town, they have these street performers who wear all kinds of costumes, tin people, aliens, trees, and even a trojan painted in FC Barcelona colors. The buildings are old and beautiful and even though we didn't look too in depth I am really excited for what's to come.

Now we're just hanging out in our room, I'll post some pictures later on, but this post has gone on long enough.

P.S. Don't get me started, the exchange rate sucks.

1/1/11 "Time Zones Suck"

Song of the day: Transatlanticism- Modest Mouse

Woke up at 6:30am and we were out the door by 7:30am. We all met in front of the Security center at Rockhurst, except for one student who overslept and had to meet us at the airport. With everyone accounted for we left for Chicago on an uneventful flight. We got into Chicago around 12:30 and I think I had my first Chicago deep dish pizza, but it was from a pizzeria in the airport so I don't really think that counts.

We then left at 2:35 for our 8 hour flight to Frankfurt. In spite of the fact that I sat in the middle of the middle section, section e (abc dEf ghi)and I had a coffee which kept me up the entire flight. This actually worked out great because I worked on common spanish phrases, wrote in my journal, worked at "The Right Stuff" and even had the time to listen to a lone soldier's tales of the front line and his experience coming home for the holidays.

In all honesty I feel as though I were robbed a day of my life, I spent my entire January 1st, 2011 on planes or in airports- times zones suck.