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