Thanksgiving Week In Barcelona

Hey everyone,
Cannot believe I am writing this, and have less than 3 weeks less untill arrive back in Los Angeles. Surreal, with both negative and positive emotions. I am actually up early than ever in Barcelona, as I am trying to work on my final International Business project before I leave for Italia. As for my week/weekend in Barcelona, it was filled with both some academics, and a lot of time spending with friends and enjoying the company of the many amazing/cool people I have met abroad.
I spent the beginning of my week recovering from my long weekend in Paris, and began really preparing for one of my biggest assignments all quarter for my Comparitive Economics course. The project was on Corporate Social Responsibility, exploring its positive and negative consequences and implications. I was extremely impressed with the way the project turned out, and was told by several of my classmates that they enjoyed my presentation. However, this instructor is extremely critical and foreign, and I was unsure whether or not he enjoyed it after his comments. However, after class, he commented on my thorough research and told me that I did a great job, so that was a nice Thanksgiving gift.
Believe it or not, I have not been homesick once since leaving on the first of September. Thursday was definately weird, but I did not feel homesick at all. Of course I missed my family, but my roommates and I made the most of this once in a lifetime Thanksgiving in Barcelona, and decided to cook an eloborate meal at Aribau, which is the name of our flat. The roommates and I went to Corte Ingles, which is the one and only department store in Barcelona, which has everything, including a full service grocery store. We purchased a turkey, and goods in order to prepare stuffing and mashed potatos. Our meal, although our cooking space was limited, turned out fantastic, and was awesome to sit around our kitchen table and reminice about the last several months. I will have to say, I will seriously miss living with such a great group of guys, and always having the BEST TIME EVER.
The rest of the weekend was pretty mellow, except for Thursday night. After our Thanksgiving meal, we went to the most exclusive nightclub in Barcelona, on the house. One of my friends, has been on a few dates with the owners son, so we were able to sit VIP and drink for free at Sutton nightclub, which is unreal. I will definately share some stories with those interested. Friday, Jim, Clark, and I, showed a visitor many of the touristic spots around Barcelona, and then decided to take the night to relax, and went to our first movie in Barcelona, James Bond: Quantam of Solace. It was SO nice to be able to sit in a movie theater with popcorn and soda, and just relax. I cannot even tell you. This trip has been a trip of a lifetime, but the LEAST bit relaxing. Not complaining at all though.
Saturday, a few of the roommates and I went on a pub crawl, which was great because we were able to visit many of the historic bars around the city, and party with many people. I did not get out of hand, as we were meeting Jim's parents in the city, which was awesome. I will definately show you some pictures of the pub crawl, as my name was Pablo and you MUST see my outfit. Very funny. That night we went to a very unusual restaurant, which is based from the country Senegal, which is in Africa (Akon's hometown). This was very cool, and the atmosphere was unreal. So cool to explore local spots, when they are nice to you(not always.)
The weeks go by faster and faster, and the days seem to be 2 hours long. I need to focus on my China Project, in which I must talk to a group of 45 students as if they are potential investors in the Chinese economy, and give them a full picture of why/why not to invest, and which are the emerging and profitable markets/opportunities. Academically, I have been exposed to many different learning/educational tactics, which has been one of the highlights of my experience. Although much easier and less workload than Cal Poly, the perspectives from International professors has been unique, and I will forever remember some of the information and knowledge I have been exposed to.
Its already Tuesday, and I leave Thursday for Italia. I will be gone for a total of 6 days, which is my longest trip. I was supposed to end my Italy trip with one night in Venice, but they are experiencing one of the biggest floods in history (Check it out on the Internet,) so i think I am going to have to alter my trip. I will provide a long update upon my return. Untill then, have an awesome week/weekend and you are all in my thoughts. I hope each and everyone of you had an awesome Thanksgiving. See you in a couple of weeks(hopefully.)
-B