Por Colombia Ojala Pueda Ir...

Perhaps the newest talent to come from Cartegena, Colombia... if you want to escape for a minute from your responsibilities, take a trip through Colombia. This video has a light, carefree feel to it and might just bring a smile to your face.

Jerau - El Viajero

Wandering Around Switzerland: Zurich, Zug, Lausanne & Geneva

Two weekends ago, Xavi came down to visit me and Sam in Zurich and Cham. Cham was boring so we went to Zurich to see how Sam was doing.

Zurich.

We ended up going to a nice, minimalist wine bar for dinner, then down to Longstrasse to wander around a bit. But we couldn't find any decent bars and Portuguese Miguel called, so we met him and some others at a bar in a docked ship by the lake. After that they went clubbing and we hung out in a dark, chill-type bar for some mojitos and quasi-martinis (just ask Sam what they tasted like: salty "something")
Zug:



The next weekend, I headed up to Lausanne for Swiss National Day. We had a BBQ, beer and fireworks. Could have sworn I was in the US. I guess I missed my national day this year, and I got to replay it Swiss-American style. The conversation went a little like this:

Me: Yeah, my apartment's on the lake.
Xavier: Your apartment's not on the lake! Mine is!
Me: Okay, it's by the lake.
Richard: You know, you could be in Real Estate.
Me: I could say, my apartment is so great, it's right under the sky.
Richard: Which guy?

That's when I fall out of my chair...

[For the non-native English speakers, say "the sky" really fast until it starts to sound like something else].

Actually, Xavier's apartment really is on the lake:


Next day headed up to Geneva:

Huge... chess... pieces...

Private Banking buildings on the lake in Geneva. Sounds like the perfect life.

That night, there was a festival going on. (When is there NOT a festival going on in Switzerland in the summer?) Later we watched a short salsa performance then headed out to the docks for more fireworks.

After a while, I left to freshen up, and upon going back to meet the group, I was strangely lured by some familiar vallenato music. It seriously pulled at my heartstrings. I just could not avoid it. I followed the music to the Colombian stand where I was welcomed by a big yellow, blue and red Colombian flag and super friendly people, which was a refreshing break from Switzerland. Also finally speaking Spanish again was a refreshing break from not understanding any German or French. And the music was amazing I couldn't help but dance: Juanes, Carlos Vives, cumbia, and of course, lots of salsa. I met a Colombian guy, and his family, and we ended up doing aguardiente AKA "firewater" shots together. And as the sound of Juanes -Gotas de Agua Dulce- filled the air, I couldn't imagine why I ever left Colombia. The people, the fashion, the culture, the food, and especially the dancing... It honestly felt perfect for me.

After a while, the fireworks were over, so I met up again with my friends who were looking for a beer. We ended up going back to the Colombian place, where the music, the people and the drinks were pretty good.
We spent the night dancing, drinking aguardiente, and eating some delicious Patacones.

It turns out that night was my 26th birthday. I couldn't have been happier spending it with great friends, Colombian salsa, cumbia, vallenato and aguardiente. One of the happiest moments of the night was when I was dancing a cumbia song with one of the Colombians I met that night. Colombian dancing just makes me feel so free. And I felt free that night.

Speaking of free, when I came back to Zug I had decided to write off that little investment of the heart I was holding onto. Although I really thought he was special, that our connection was so innate, sometimes you have to cut your losses and move on. Especially when he forgets your birthday.

Happy Birthday Barack Obama

I almost forgot... and how could I forget? The man's birthday is one day after mine.

The Famous Obama Celebrity Ad

I urge the Barack Obama campaign not to stoop to this level.

A Day In the Life

I've said alot of generalities about my life in Switzerland. Today I'm going to recreate a typical day.

A Day In the Life - The Beatles

Woke up at 7AM, chugged 2 cups of coffee. Tried to make the 730AM train, but missed it. Went back to my apartment to drink another coffee. Caught the 745AM train.

754AM. First one in the office. Put some headphones on and concentrated on building a model. I don't think I ever learned how to create a model in Investment Banking, one of those ridiculously complex ones that drown you in a sea of numbers. Was trying to do that now.

9AM. Meeting with a Vice President to go over some securities laws & legal issues. One of my projects is to get in touch with lawyers to devise a compliance system to make sure my company handles different countries' securities laws in a correct, timely matter. I always loved law, and this was a pretty neat project. Though, I felt overwhelmed at first with all the new legal jargon and rules. Will have to spend a weekend sorting this out.

10AM. Met with the bosses for my mid-internship review. Praised for my work ethic and commitment self-development in the industry. Haven't thought about if I'd get an offer at the end of the summer, because I don't like to wish for something I don't yet have and get disappointed. I haven't really shown anyone my true self yet, I've just been professional and quiet. No matter what, all I do know is that I like what I do here, I like the types of transactions we do and our philosophy behind them. In the end, I asked if I could do more modeling work, because I always wanted to be one those excel whizzes who can calculate anything anytime and bundle it up in neat spreadsheets (ahem, like SOMEONE I know in team A8!).

1PM. Info lunch. One of the associates taught excel skills that I already knew.

130PM. Couldn't dock my laptop back on the station. The big screen was blank. Called our "computer nerd." He said he couldn't be up for another 20 minutes. My heart went faint. A full 20 minutes without working!!! It would have been a nightmare in an investment bank. I would have had to use a spare computer, or someone else's. I guess old habits die hard. This is Europe. You won't get in trouble for not working 20 minutes. I felt... strange at this idea.

Used the 20 mins to get a birthday present for a friend.

3PM. Conference call on a private equity deal. Was too scared to speak any Spanish, and no one else was fluent (not that I'm fluent). We spoke in English.

6PM. Finalized a presentation for a very neat company I will present to the Managing Directors. I love doing presentations. I have a subtle minimalist quality to my work. I don't like pictures. I like charts and graphs to be very professional and outlined in hard lines, none of these bubble formats. My writing uses a bit of an indirect style which is hard for most executives to pick up on. I have to work on that. My one-liner catch phrases that sum up the slide sometimes push the envelope on slang and sound a bit like trader talk.

7PM. Headphones on. Back to work on that model.

9PM. Leave the office with a Wall Street Journal Europe to read on the train.

*****

***MESSAGE TO OBAMA***

I don't usually have dreams when I sleep, but not long ago I had a vivid one with a clear message. It seemed too strong to ignore, and of a different character than the "white noise" dreams of nothing I usually have.

Basically I was given the clear message that Obama is going to face alot of negative press soon, as if he hasn't already, and that the key to getting through this successfully is to form a strong alliance with Bill Clinton.

I don't know how he is perceived in the States, but hearing all my news from Europe, I am not entirely sure that Obama has succeeded in uniting the Democrats, especially supporters of Hillary.

And as people seem to be focusing on Obama's lack of experience, they seem to have forgotten the old image of John McCain as a crazy war monger with a short temper who has ran for President before but didn't even win the party's nomination. Usually a candidate who has ran and lost in an election before is embroidened with a scarlet "L". Where has that image gone now?

I think a Republican said it best when he stated that this race is not Obama's to lose, it is his to win. With Americans scared of the "risk" of being different (a risk I have struggled with my entire life in America as well) that Obama poses and his seemingly unAmerican - but distinguished - roots, I think it's clear that Obama can't confront all the demons alone. Maybe he needs Bill Clinton's help.

Some Things on My Mind

[Tilting head slightly to the left with a contemplating gaze a la JD from SCRUBS]

As I rode the train back to Cham after spending a 13 hour day at work (I was there all day doing a model of a South American mining firm, but secretly wishing I were doing a model from a South American mining firm... just joking) I came across some interesting articles in the Wall Street Journal Europe.

First, Ingrid Betancourt, recently freed from FARC captivity in Colombia, eyes challenging current President Uribe for the Presidency in the future. She attacks Uribe for using military guidance to control the FARC (who are considered terrorists in US and Europe) rather than negotiation. While I do understand and somewhat agree with Betancourt's position (because military hasn't been working until recently, and I am not a big fan of military strategies like the US uses), first I believe this "negotiation" strategy is highly risky and naive, and secondly I do understand why Uribe chooses to use the military. Alvaro Uribe is one of the people I look up to and admire, and hope to meet one day. He is trying to pass legislation to keep him president for a 3rd term. And although it was Uribe and the Colombian military that freed Betancourt, she does have a right to her opinion. I just hope she provides necessary balance to Uribe's highly Washington-like administration, working to free the other captives, instead of trying to shake Uribe off the podium... because Colombia, and the rest of the world, is lucky to have him up there.

Next, news of BBVA taking this opportunity of US bank failure to expand in the South, particularly Alabama through Texas, using leverage from their acquisition of Compass. Smart move BBVA. Not only am I a big fan of contrarian investing, but I am also a fan of Spanish banks who don't like lots of off balance sheet leverage ;-). And since visiting their trading floor in Madrid, I've always had a special place for in my heart for Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria. Whatever happens, I see something good in store...

My First Taste of Switzerland

The first 2 weeks of living in Switzerland seemed much longer to me. Partly because there had been just so much going on. Got settled into corporate housing:

Yes, that is a currency trading chart up on my laptop, and a Portuguese rooster on my nightstand.

During my first week on the job, the EuroCup Quarter & Semi Finals were taking place, with Spain beating Italy and then later Russia. Work was intense, just trying to figure out everything, trying not to make a mistake, and trying to learn as much about the complicated industry of Metals & Mining as I could.

The first weekend in Switzerland, I went with my boss to Luzern, where they were having a Swiss Yodeling Festival. I actually went to the KKL to hear people yodel on stage.... drank lots of beer, took a look around:





Summary: Basically a very Germanic beerfest. With yodeling. And horns.

The next day Spain won the European Championship finals against Germany. I don't know why, because I generally hate sports, that I get so caught up in soccer despite of myself. It happened during the World Cup, and now the EuroCup. Nevertheless, enhorabuena España!

Summary: WOOHOO!

The next week at work got me starting on some new deals, and transactions scare me, especially private equity, because there is so much unknown. It's like a case in class, but luckily it is a Finance case so I have some clue of what's going on. But seeing your completed transaction in a Press Release or in the WSJ is really why I got into Investment Banking.

On Friday, it was US Independence Day, the financial markets were closed, but we had to work anyway. :-) The Caliente festival was starting in Zurich, an all weekend madhouse Latin Party with salsa, merengue, cumbia, samba, forro, reggaeton, all that stuff I just can't get enough of. Felt like I was in Heaven. Basically it was like a Latin MultiCulti, with each country setting up a booth with flags, music, drinks and food from their country. But most of them were a little mixed up, some serving Paella and Sangria, but with a Mexican flag bearing & playing Samba music, or with a Portuguese stand playing salsa (what does Portugal have to do with South American music??). I think the funniest one was the Mexican stand with Indian food.

I think my favorite stand was the only Colombian stand in the pack. They had the most authentic salsa & cumbia music. And I spent the day eating Colombian empanadas, taking aguadiente shots and listening to salsa music, occassionally dancing a few songs when someone knew how to dance (and almost all Colombians do!)

Nevertheless, it was a HUGE party encompassing a whole quarter of Zurich with Latin music, caipirinhas and spicy food. Heaven.

Cumbia!


Upon entering Helvetiaplatz, first thing I see:


Brazilians know what this is:



View at night from a friend's apartment. Reminded me of Bourbon Street in New Orleans at Mardi Gras. WOOOOO!

Summary: Caliente!