Week 3: Seminar, Camp Nou + Flamenco!

Week 3 of the Barcelona Dream Careers program was packed with activities and events of all kinds. It was no doubt our busiest and most exciting week yet!

To start the week Dream Careers CEO Eric Lochtefeld paid a visit to the beautiful city of Barcelona and delivered an emotional presentation at our weekly seminar. Eric recounted the highs and lows of his life and his determination to create a program that would allow young people to pursue their dreams. This idea developed into his company Dream Careers, which has let thousands of young people follow their own dreams.

Our sponsored event for Week 3 was a combination of attractions: first the Barcelona Dream careers crew visited the famous FC Barcelona football stadium. The Barcelona football club was founded in 1899 and is one of the most successful and richest soccer clubs in the world. The club’s current home stadium was completed in 1957 and is the largest stadium in Europe. Our group enjoyed a comprehensive guided tour of the stadium and other facilities such as the locker rooms, press box, and museum.

Afterwards the group headed to Plaza Espanya to spend some time in Las Arenas, one of Barcelona’s old bullrings that has been converted into a shopping mall! Here are Alexa Van Sickle and Samantha Blank enjoying a fish pedicure.

Finally our Dream Careers crew headed to Poble Espanyol, an open-air museum that features typical architecture from 15 different regions of Spain. The complex was originally built for the 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition. Here our group enjoyed a great dinner while watching a traditional Flamenco dance performance. The show lasted about an hour and was an excellent way to start Sant Joan, the longest night of the year!

Our staff member Collin has continued to organize unsponsored sporting events on campus throughout the week. Pretty soon we will have some Barcelona Dreamers playing for Barcelona!

And lastly a special shout out to Danielle Peterson, who turned 21 on June 24^th!

Week 2: Work, Winery, + Montserrat!

The second week of the Dream Careers Barcelona Summer Program has finished up and we have added some amazing memories to our summer here! All of our participants have settled into their internships and are beginning to work on professional-level projects in all different kinds of industries and media. To take a break from all the hard work, the Barcelona Dreamers enjoyed a trip to Catalonia's wine making region followed by a trip to the summit of Montserrat, a 4,000ft. mountain located about one hour outside of the city.


The Torres winery is located in Vilafranca de Penedes, a beautiful region of Catalonia that is home to many acclaimed wineries big and small. The Torres family first founded their business in 1870 and it has survived for over fourteen decades through various periods of social, economic, and political turmoil in Spain. Its wines have been recognized and awarded by various organizations and institutions from all over the world.

The Barcelona Dream Careers crew was treated to an all-inclusive guided tour of the winery and vineyards, followed by a tasting! During the visit the group's very knowledgable guide provided information regarding the wine-making process and the different types of grapes and fermentation processes that produce each of the Torres wines. The visit ended with a glass or two of complimentary wine!

Afterwards, our group enjoyed a Spanish lunch of bread, salad, and paella. For such a large group the dish was served in enormous, traditional cooking pans for everyone to enjoy.

The last part of the sponsored Saturday event was a trip to the top of Montserrat, a unique, jagged-shaped mountain that is a popular religious and tourist destination. Among the many attractions atop the mountain are the famous Benedictine monastery, art museum, basilica, holy grotto, and a large restaurant. Barcelona Dreamers enjoyed views all the way to the Mediterranean Sea and discovered the perfect places to flash their Dreamers poses!

On Sunday Meritxell, Collin, and Tom led a group of Dreamers into Barcelona's trendiest neighborhood- El Born- for a quick orientation of the area and to discover some of the cafes, shops, and plazas that the neighborhood has to offer. Luckily, everyone was able to catch an unexpected demonstration by some of Catalonia's famous Castellers (human tower builders) in Plaza Sant Jaume. These performers construct towers 4, 5, or 6 levels high and they must be climbed by a small child who raises his or her hand to signal the completion of the structure. After the walking tour, the group headed to the Picasso Museum which is free on Sunday afternoons and is also located in El Born.

Lastly. throughout the week our staff member Collin has been organizing sporting events on campus. During Week 2 we had our first Barcelona Dreamers soccer match, but there will be many more to come!

And finally a special shout-out to Greg Lochtefeld's daughter Isabella who turned 8 on June 3rd! Since Greg wasn't able to share the moment with her in San Francisco, he planned a special surprise here in Barcelona. Not only was Isabella able to be with her family in Spain for such an exciting time but all of the Dream Careers program staff and participants were there to make the occasion extra special.

Week 3's recap will be coming shortly!

Bienvenidos!

Welcome to the Barcelona Dream Careers Summer 2012 Official Blog!

Our summer is off to a fast start and we have already made some amazing memories during our short time in the city. 

Our 64 participants were welcomed at the airport on Saturday, June 2nd, and by the beginning of that week all members of our program had safely arrived in the capital city of Catalonia. After settling into our rooms at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, participants were greeted with a welcome dinner during which the staff introduced themselves and everyone was given a chance to talk about his or her hometown, university, and where he or she will be interning while here for the summer. Over the next few days, the staff provided information about the history, geography, and culture of the city as well as a seminar focusing on the cultural differences between American and Spanish workplaces.

A few excursions into the heart of Barcelona helped everyone to orient themselves in this city of nearly 2 million people and prepared our Dreamers to find their offices during their first day of work! This summer our Dream Careers participants will be working at some of the most competitive and successful firms and cultural institutions in Barcelona. Fashion, marketing, art, international business, and accounting are just some of the sectors that our interns will be learning about as they gain first-hand, real-world experience.

After a smooth first week of work, the Barcelona Dream Careers crew enjoyed a guided bus tour of the city as part of our first sponsored weekend event. Information about the city was provided by all three of this summer's staff members, Meritxell, Collin, and Tom. Sights along the tour included Antoni Gaudi's famous cathedral Sagrada Familia, the most famous shopping street in Barcelona Passeig de Gracia, both of Barcelona's retired bullfighting rings, Plaza Espanya, and the 1992 Olympic stadiums perched atop Montjuic. The tour culminated with a visit to the 17^th century fort that sits at the very top of the mountain and overlooks Barcelona’s impressive natural harbor.

The next day staff members Tom and Collin led an excursion to one of Barcelona’s most renowned attractions, Parc Guell. This amazing landscaped park was designed by Antoni Gaudi and was constructed between 1900 and 1914. It is regarded as one of the most beautiful and important works of Modernist architecture and is a great place to snap pictures of the panoramic view the park offers over all of Barcelona. Participants enjoyed some snacks at the café tucked into the hillside and the jewelry selection from local vendors. This was the first of many unsponsored trips into the city that staff will organize to introduce our Dreamers to as many unique cultural attractions as possible.

 After our visit to the park, Meritxell met participants at a local sports bar to introduce them to just how exciting Spanish football (soccer) culture can be! This summer’s Dream Careers program is lucky to be in Spain during the 2012 Eurocup Tournament, in which Spain’s national soccer team will compete with other countries around Europe to win the prized cup. Dreamer Natalia Mora won a betting pool organized by Meritxell for the first match Spain vs. Italy. Her 1-1 bet won her a free order of nachos!

We are very excited to have such an amazing group in Barcelona this summer! Week one has already been full of exciting and memorable events and there are plenty more to come. Barcelona comes alive during the summer months!

Lastly, a special shout out to our two participants who have celebrated birthdays while here:

Joseph Krause turned 23 on June 7th!

 Brittany Sudlow turned 21 on June 11^th!

For a visual recap of the first week of the Barcelona program, check out our first weekly video that records all of the events we have had so far!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pt7ESVijCI&feature=youtube_gdata_player