Catalunya no es España

I'm in Barcelona since Wednesday. I came here (finally) to visit my younger brother Gabriel, 21, and spend sometime with him. I kind of moved out from home when he became a teenager, so we never actually had the opportunity to enjoy a easy chat, a deep conversation, or simply party together. A week in Barcelona is not enough, but it's a good start.

Besides that, it's my first time in Spain (yes, I have never been here before, except a few hours in Madrid last year) and of course, first time in Cataluña.

Barcelona is very cosmopolitan, it's not that simple to find Catalanes, where there are people (mostly young) from all around the country, Europe and other continents. I find it fascinating though, the warm weather, the beautiful old streets, the beach and the bike system!!

In the other hand, we can find loads of illegal workers (my brother knows a few hundreds ;-)), which brings conflicts and hostilities with the locals. Barcelona is not the place to learn Spanish. Go somewhere else. As any other touristic city in the world, it's not easy to find what is typical, unique and authentic. Most of town is made for fools unfortunately.

Impressions, impressions... this place deserves more time to be understood. What is the real flavor of this town?

I'll keep searching.. I still don't have a ticket out of here, not sure when I leave... so let's enjoy it :D

Spanish Inspiration...

Between John Milton (see previous post) and Dee Hock (wait for next post), I got a small paid assignment in Denmark: join a group of 10 young Spanish guys and girls, for 2 days, awarded for their brilliant ideas for the future of Extremadura, the province in Spain they came from. This was part of their inspirational tour in Denmark, where they visited organizations and enjoyed a nice experience. Initially I thought my role was to be translator and helper for their trip, but soon I realized that the organizers wanted someone still young, with knowledge about innovation and creativity, capable of sharing stories, to inspire the youngsters in an informal atmosphere. I think it was a very innovative idea and I had a great time! I joined them to Christiania, Legoland, besides having nice conversations about the Kaospilots, Education today and in the future, and what young people want.

Muchas gracias!!

One evening in Madrid

Last Sunday I flew from Denmark to Brazil. Due to the itinerary of the flight, IBERIA offered me a paid overnight in Madrid, including hotel and breakfast. Not bad! As I have never been to Spain before, a good opportunity to enjoy one evening there. I searched and increadibly found three old friends, all from AIESEC, currently living there! And we all managed to meet that night - the curiosity is that they didn't know each other yet...

Kristine was from AIESEC in Aarhus last year, we became good friends and she left to Mexico and then Madrid. Ania is from Poland and we were both trainees in Amsterdam last year. We travelled together once and she had just arrived in Spain to work for a consulting firm. Lucas is a Brazilian alumnus, we spent new-years once together and he was working in London until one week ago!

After arrival in Brazil, a very easy week, relaxed, some preparations and getting ready for the next 3-4 weeks of busy work in the Northeast. I'm so much looking forward for that!

Tomorrow I'm joining my first real Brazilian-Gaúcho churrasco (barbacue) in two years... yaaaammy...