Random Skype Night With Some Spanish Guy

So I'm sitting in my flat Friday night, having just cooked a nice Colombian dinner, arroz con camarones y maduros. I'm supposed to be studying accounting, but instead I am reading Antonio's blog.

All of a sudden someone adds me on Skype. His name is Rafa. Okay, probably some IESE student, I think. And then he sends me a message in Spanish. I couldn't read it, so I ignore it. And then he calls me. He only speaks Spanish!! We have a video conference. We talk about jobs, where we've been, a lot of things. I was so embarrassed I couldn't speak Spanish well. Omigosh, I was horrible. I find out he is 40 years old. I guessed his age exactly. Actually, 40 years old is just the perfect age for me. ;-)

Well it turns out he asked me out. He gave me his number and his email and asked me out for a coffee. He told me to call him whenever I am ready, and we will speak totally in Spanish. WOW! A random Spanish guy finds me and asks me out! He is very handsome yes, as I see from our video chat, but I also saw he had a wedding ring on. I asked if he was married and he said he was divorced hace un año. He sends me a picture. At least I'll have some evidence for the police if he abducts me, eh? I didn't tell him anything about me at all & I probably won't call him.

But how weird! ... what a soap opera that is going on in Barca... Better get back to studying Accounting...

Group A8 Dinner and BOW

Yesterday I took Alvaro's moto virginity. He said he never had a moto while living in Madrid and then he got one here, so, naturally, I was the first girl he had on it. He picked me up at IESE and we rode to our second year team facilitator Martin's house for tapas. He was Argentinean. He had tango playing when we arrived and even had empanadas. They were great.

So funny thing. We all had to bring some food to the party. I brought grapes. Typical American thing, right? Fast, easy, healthy, a safe choice. Everybody likes grapes. Oh and we did a case that day involving Reisling wine, so I decided to bring some of that. Alvaro was laughing at me and the grapes, and I wondered why. It wasn't until I arrived that Martin told me I might as well be seducing everyone here. Apparently it's some Spanish or Latin custom that when you bring grapes and especially wine it is seduction food and you should plan to spend the night... WHAAAAT? I mean QUE?

Had a great time talking with Felipe about Brazilian carnival and how there is all this random kissing going on. Like you turn around and kiss a Brazilian guy, and then another, and another until 50 guys later.... and I said "Ahh yes. Reminds me of Freshman year." Ha. Ha. Ha. No te preocupes, es una broma.

Felipe was so sweet, he kept getting me drinks. I didn't have to do anything, just sit there. I love that guy. And I love how Alvaro takes me around on his moto, like he is happy to do it. I got a little drunk last night and managed to say that he was manly and has big muscles. Oy....

So after some more drinking, we head to the BOW. It was at Bocayma. Had some more drinks and a great conversation with David about Southern dancing, yellow pants, and the differences between European and American dating. How in America, it takes forever for a man to declare exclusivity and how it is so much easier in Europe.

Went home around 230h on Alvaro's moto. It was the nicest ride. I didn't even have to hold on. But I did go "WOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" alot in the streets...

Random Thoughts

So I was thinking as I was on Avenida Diagonal around 21:00h looking up at the empty La Caixa building.... "Why aren't there ANY PEOPLE in a Spanish investment bank at 9PM???" Wow. This just may be Heaven.

And I was thinking the other day as Felipe sent out to the group some excel files for the Marketing case, and then both our Accounting cases, hell ALL the cases.... "Man, people who speak Portuguese are amazing." They are some of the most intelligent people I've ever met. And handsome. Some of them are even super intelligent AND super handsome. Wow. Mindboggling.

And now some random quotes.

"Have you ever sneezed in your helmet?"
-Stefan

"Beer is good for the brain. It helps to make it grow healthy and strong."
-Antonio


Decision Analysis Professor:
"And so with this option, there is a 70% chance the director will finish the movie on time and you gain a profit of $100MM. If the director is late, you will have an expected profit of $30MM. And if you hire the mafia to make sure the director makes it on time, at these prices, you will have an expected profit of...."


Scene: Spanish class. We are supposed to provide 2 true comments and 1 false, and try to distinguish which is the latter.

David Binns:
"1) Hace 11 años, salto del avion. (11 yrs ago, I jumped from a plane)
2) Hace 4 años, era un piloto. (4 years ago, I was a pilot)
3) El año pasado, la policía me arresté... Cual es falso?" (Last year I was arrested by the police)

[silence]

Yang: Wait a minute..... You were a cop???


So. We're all from Barcelona.

How Sarcastic Can I Get?

So I was reading Antonio's blog (now that it's no longer in Portuguese) and I have decided to log my time in Barcelona for this entry as he writes... how sarcastic can I get? (No really, it is a very good blog, this is simply an act of admiration and not sarcasm) So here is a day in the life of Anna en Espana...

Hehehe here goes.

I awoke at 7:20h to the sound of my radio despertador. There is some lady talking very fast in Spanish, and I decide it is too early to be thinking. Last night I stayed up until 2:30h doing case studies. As I did the last 2 nights in a row. In the kitchen I run into my flatmate Guillermo. He is making coffee.

"Woah there. You are moving way too fast. It is too early to be moving around so fast," I say. He starts cracking up. I try to speak to him in Spanish but it comes out all slurry.

15 minutes later I hop on his moto and we drive to school. He always says we look like a couple because we bought the same helmet. I didn't have a choice.. they didn't have it in red.

We get to IESE and depart for our respective groups. I am in group A8; he is in the Spanish group C8. Today I am the case leader for the Marketing case. I've prepared a little outline which I distributed around 1:30h last night. "I'm ready for the class!" I think. WRONG!

The teacher is insane. He has no logical path or structure to the class. He moves from one topic to another and you have to have the quick reaction time of a floor trader. Participation credit is 60% so I must try to dominate the class! Just kidding. But the hazard in this is that he often quickly dismisses your comment if it is not what he wants to hear, rejecting it with a big loud "NO!" So I end up raising my hand all day and he never calls on me. I whisper to Marco that he hates me because he never calls on me. How could he not notice me, I am front and center in a bright shirt, and I have my hand raised very high, and I'm hot. Marco raises his hand and in an instant he is called on. The teacher acknowledges his comment positively.

So I'm still raising my hand. Even though the topic moves around all over the place I still have something to say. But he never calls on me. So I start loudly snapping my fingers. And I'm slouching a little bit, bored of pretending to care. Finally he asks a question and looks at me for a split second and I think, this is my chance! I have to speak up because he never notices me! So the second he looks at me, and begins to point at me to begin, I start talking loudly. And then he points at me and screams "NO!" before I could even speak!

Turns out he didn't like that I spoke out of turn. But I noticed that when other people did that he let them speak. I say "DAMN!" really loud and out of reflex. Everyone is laughing because they know how long I've had my hand up, especially Marco.

God. I was so glad when that class was over. The next class was Analysis of Business Decisions hosted by our section leader, a strict German. He expects you to be prompt, no drinking or eating in class, no laptops, nobody leaves class. The first day I met him, like many others, I thought he was a monster. Now I was so glad to see him. I was glad to see him because although he may seem tough, he is very fair and just. He actually listens and considers what I say. He actually calls on me. Because of that I want to do well and be prepared for him. He noticed I wasn't speaking much in class today when I normally do (that Marketing guy just took the wind out of me!) and he called on me for my opinion! He actually seemed to care, and he noticed that I was quiet today, so he called on me. I know others may think he called on me to see if I actually did the case, but I didn't feel that way. I felt... valued and respected. I almost wrote an email to him after class saying that I really appreciated his equitable teaching style. But I didn't.

Today after lunch we had a Spanish test. I bombed that. Didn't have time to study. I hope they don't hold me back a level. Although I wish they did because I feel I could learn a lot by retaking that class again, I simply did not have time with all the case work we have to do to stay an extra 2 hours at school. I cannot wait until I get my own moto, and I won't have to depend on other people to ride with...

So I came home, tried to take a nap, but I kept getting these phone calls! Hehehe. No I liked it. I couldn't sleep anyway. Had too much Accounting....

Firsts

Well I just found out from BOTH of my flatmates that I was their first passenger on their motos... which is to say I took their moto virginity... which probably explains why my Purity Test score is so low...

Risk Taking

I came to Barcelona and IESE with plans to start my own business. Then as I struggled in a new culture and country, I thought I wanted to go into Industry and take a break from Banking. Then, after the banking sessions started, I felt a strange pull to what was comfortable.

The fact of the matter is, I like being in a bank. It feels like home. It is what I´ve wanted to do for so long. I actually get excited about discounted cash flows. But really what is it that I want to DO with my life??? You know careers and dating are alot alike. If you were dating someone for so long, you might be scared to leave him for someone else because you are scared of taking risks. BUT on the other hand it might be that you are with the person you are meant to be with all along.... As the saying goes "If it ain´t broke, don´t fix it."

But on the other hand they say that what you really want to do can stem from what you wanted to do when you were 5 years old. When I was 5 I wanted to be an Emergency Room doctor. Hmm.... this Healthcare industry might have something there.

So I was dabbling with the prospect of going into the Healthcare/Pharmaceutical industry. I want to have a set schedule. I want to have a social life. I want to get out of the spreadsheets and into lunching with clients. And if I go into Pharma, most likely I will be lunching with doctors ;-) Just joking. But the thing with Pharma is that I´d be taking a big risk. Most of the banks hire from summer internships. I will be interning with a Pharmaceutical company. The things I worry about are these: 1) Will the job be boring, AKA too slow for me? It is said that everyone who gets out of banking get so bored easily with the pace of regular industry 2) Is it really my dream job? What IS my dream job? 3) What the %$/&% would I do??? I don´t want to sell medical supplies. Is there anything else out there?

I think another indication of what you are supposed to be comes from what others think of you. For instance I constantly have people asking me how to manage their finances, or their children´s finances, or you get the point. And I say to them "I´m an Investment Banker. I raise money for corporations. I put stocks and bonds in the market. But wait.... if you put 25% in this large cap index and 40% in the Russell 2000, mitigating this risk with some treasuries and money market funds..." yeah you get the idea.

So after some freaking out, I came up with this conclusion: I believe that ultimately, I am a banker through and through. I look impeccable in a suit. I like meeting clients. I am an advisor. I know the financial markets, so that you don´t have to. I will manage your money, and look damn good doing it. So this summer, I will "break up from my boyfriend Investment Banking" per se and fool around with the Pharmaceutical Industry. If I like it and feel it is for me, I will look for a full time job in that Industry. Most likely will be in Houston, Barcelona or Switzerland (lots of hospitals). If I don´t like it, I will fall back on my extensive finance experience and work for a bank somewhere. Most likely in Asset Management or Equity Research and most likely in Spain or the US. Because I speak English & Castillian and I don´t want to live in the UK. And the thing about Finance is that math is the same in all languages!

Opus Dei

There is a lot of mystery surrounding Opus Dei. Luckily for me I have not read the Da Vinci code, and I don´t have an opinion one way or another surrounding the topic. What I do know is that I feel glad that our school is an initiative of Opus Dei. In fact, the Universidad de Navarra was created by the originator of Opus Dei himself which I find is quite amazing. As a Catholic, I find some comfort in this, but it is also a bit to get used to.

Coming from America, we have an obsessive compulsion of dividing church and state. (And school..) It is definitely different to see crucifixes in every classroom, even though I always have one above my bed. And I find that the classes here are a lot stricter than in the US (well, I DID come from New Orleans), and are from what I´ve seen, similar to those "Catholic school" stereotypes.... barring that infamous Britney Spears video....

I went to mass yesterday, and I felt inspired. All in all I find our school incorporates a deeper meaning in developing business leaders, and I feel that involving this religious aspect helps in having students recognize the importance of developing society and being less selfishly profitminded, at least, as a trickle down method from the professors. The goal of any business leader should be to improve society first and foremost. Although I don´t consider myself especially religious, this I do agree on.

To be in Investment Banking, or not to be in Investment Banking? That is the Question.

There was a voluntary Investment Banking seminar in the auditorium. When I came in, I sat down in the front row, and I was looking straight at one of the speakers in the panel. I knew that look. Only investment bankers have that demeanor: extremely elegant with a touch of arrogance… a tired look from working all night…. but if you look into his eyes, it’s like staring into the eyes of a shark.

I was used to this look; I worked with it for the last 2 years. It was funny, but when I came into the seminar, and sat across from this guy, I felt strangely comfortable, but at the same time I felt this incredible hatred for this profession, because it stole 2 years of my life, and my soul.

I felt like the main character in Monkey Business: a guy who returned to banking after his MBA because he was mindlessly trapped in the recruiting process of Banking. You see, Bankers trap you early: right when you arrive, so that you have no other options. They say that a high percentage of Bankers who say they will never come back ultimately do. I felt that I could be one of those people. I felt weak.

The character in Monkey Business, his name was Troob. He wrote that Investment Bankers love to trap fresh unsuspecting souls from MBA programs, the weakest ones. They trap them with their promises of glamorous traveling jobs with lots of client interaction and money. The Bankers know that those who have already done Banking never want to return. But they also know that after Banking, a person has become defeated from years of being beaten down, and are therefore easily persuaded to return…

That is my problem. I came to business school to get as far away from Banking as possible. I wanted to get into Industry. Most probably the Healthcare industry. Possibly hospital administration. I wanted to actually have a work life balance. I wanted to have time for family, friends and salsa, and hopefully my own family someday. But then the Bankers arrived and I got confused. Did I want to go back to a bank? Banking, Trading & finance are the only things I know. I could do Wealth Management or Equity Research, I thought. Not as many hours, maybe only 12-14 a day. I am financially savy. I am comfortable with the markets. But if I wanted to do that, or any line of banking career, I had to act now. And that meant work work work and competition competition competition. There was no time to think about new careers. That was the Bankers’ plan. Industry was for slackers. But I came to business school to take a chance. Why was I afraid?

It is like you are in a dream, and you see yourself doing something really stupid, that you know is bad for you, but you can’t stop yourself. You watch yourself do it. I have already committed myself to attending the rest of the Investment Banking sessions, and most likely applying for an internship at a bank. But it feels like I am that person in the dream...

Now what should I do?