study break

So the students enrolled in the pre-program were divided up into various groups. Several groups, including mine, had their pre-program courses last week (Oct. 18-22). Others only started this week (Oct.25-28). I’m really glad that mine were last week because that means this week I have had another “break” before starting the MBA! Although I have hardly taken a break…

Monday morning I was up early to join other 50 or so non-EU students at the police station to take our fingerprints for the NIE immigration card. Having the NIE number (although we still have to wait another month to get the actual card) means I could start shopping for my iPhone! I really want an iPhone! For the last 5 years in Europe, I’ve had a simple, pay as you go phone. I decided it was time to upgrade. While I’ve handed over all my data to get the long-awaited Apple merchandise, I still have to wait a week for them to switch my number and get my hands on my new iPhone! Here’s to hoping it goes smoothly…

On Monday I also attended an event at the Casa Arabe where I’m taking bi-weekly Arabic lessons. This event, called “The Tunisian Solar Plan,” was part of the Casa Arabe’s Forum on Economic Events with the Arab world. It was really interesting and motivating. As I listened to the Director of the Tunisian Society of Energy and Gas (STEG) present to potential Spanish investors, I was thinking, yes, this is what I want my transition into the private sector to be – I need to work on issues that are important to me and that stimulate me intellectually. Corporate social responsibility regarding the environment and the increasingly popular green movement are issues that businesses can no longer ignore. A man in the audience from the Spanish bank Santander asked the Tunisian businessman when they would know the outcome of the latest round of bids… probably to know if one of his clients would be getting the job, for example, of building a photovoltaic plant, and thus, his bank would be doing the financing. It’s all about money in the end, but isn’t it great that the money is trying to promote renewable energies?! I learned that between Italy and Tunisia there are underground cables that cross the Mediterranean to supply Europe with Tunisian energy. Fascinating. Tunisia wants to become a leading Arab exporter of renewable energies to Europe… I could go on and on with the interesting facts and numbers I wrote down, ask me if your interested.

On a related note, Wednesday I got my electricity bill from Iberdrola. In each bill, they include a little display of where “my” energy comes from and of how much carbon dioxide they emit. Apparently, in 2009, in the whole “Spanish Electric System” 27.9% of energy produced was from renewable energies. Seems like a rather larger percentage! In the same period (I think, I don’t quite fully understand the little info sheet yet), Iberdrola’s mix of energy included 12.5% renewables. When I have more time, or hopefully for one of my classes, I will be able to look into this further and have more accurate comments and reflections….

I spent the rest of the week going over some of the material we went over in the pre-program. Unfortunately for my studying, but fortunate for my social life, I had three visitors arrive Thursday from Italy, so I’ve been busy with them seeing the city all weekend. Updates on that Monday before school starts!

I’m a little nervous! I’m taking a break from my visitors Monday to catch up reading everything the school has posted online this weekend about our first week. I kind of wish we had all of the information sooner than 5 days before the program starts, but I will manage!

Landing Days, Dems Abroad, and travel

So much has happened since the last time I blogged! I feel like that's going to be the case during most of this MBA experience!

First of all, last Tuesday I attended one of the Landing Days session the Student Office puts on. Useful information was given on cell phone contracts, bank accounts, apartment hunting, and immigration. Since I had already found my studio apartment, I could fill out the immigration form right then and there requesting my NIE. One thing I really like about all these initial orientation activities is that they combine students from all of IE's exchange and master programs so I've been able to meet people also in other programs. 

Later that night, I went to my first Democrats Abroad meeting in Spain. I was previously a member in the Piedmont/Liguria/Valle d'Aosta chapter in Italy, so I decided to check out the Madrid chapter. I like Dems Abroad for a variety of reasons. First of all, the meetings are great for networking. Case in point, I met an IE professor! Second, because while I might not always follow party lines, I enjoy the philosophical discussions and the international nature of the events put on by the organization. At this September meeting, for example, Francisco Fonseca, Director of the European Commission in Spain, gave a speech on the future of EU-US relations post-Lisbon Treaty. 

The rest of the week I dedicated to making my new little apartment home. That means, of course, a trip to the urban sprawl that is IKEA. I'm still researching what internet contract to sign up with once I get my NIE. I think I want something with a little more umph than the company the school promotes - StudentsPhone, offers. 

I spent the weekend in Valencia with my boyfriend. Thank God for low-cost airfare! He can fly from Italy to meet me in Madrid, and many other Spanish towns for next to nothing. Unfortunately, the Joaquin Sabina concert we bought tickets to was cancelled, and it rained a lot. So not a lot of beach time nor Spanish music, but we did get to meet up with one of my boyfriend's childhood friends and so we enjoyed a local's take on the city... and a lot of paella and tapas!

off to Madrid!

I'm finally off to Madrid today! I have a round trip ticket from Torino, I'll come back to Italy at the end of the month. The goal of these three weeks will be first and foremost to find an apartment, whether its my own or just a room. Other stuff I'll be dealing with in the next few days will be a cell phone contract, making sure all's good with my Caja Madrid account, and starting the NIE immigration documents.

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the materials put on the IE Blackboard site in the last few weeks, and anxious about the apartment search. How many people should I live with? IE students or other young professionals/students found online? Alone? But now that I'm actually about to take off, it feels better just to be almost in Madrid... These choices are much better made crawling the streets than scraping away my peripheral vision looking at online classifieds on idealista.com day in and out. 

Hopefully my next post will be about my new home!

first bureaucratic hurtle overcome! i have my visa!

Yesterday I picked up my passport with no problems from the Spanish Consulate in Chicago! First bureaucratic hurtle has been surpassed. I'm a little anxious about the immigration permit process once I arrive in Spain, just because it was such a nightmare in Italy... but it seems like IE has everything very organized with the local authorities. There's just going to be a little problem I should have foreseen - my Caja Madrid account (and therefore my Sallie Mae loan) will be blocked until I get my NIE (número de identificación de extranjeros - foreigner id number) number, which sounds like it will take about a month. So I'm going to have to raise some last minute cash to cover first month expenses, like a deposit on an apartment. All these little preparations are just part of the fun and learning process of moving to yet another new country!