ExchangeReport

RamonLlullUniversity,ESADEBusinessSchool(Spring2018)

LeePuiYing,KoeyBBA(FINA&OM)

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PartI:MonthlyActivityLog……………………………………………………………….3

PartII:GeneralExchangeInformation……………………………………………...5

PartIII:ItemsToBring………………………………………………………………………7

PartIVUsefulLinksandContacts………………………………………………………8

CONTENTS

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Part I: Monthly Activity Log

January

IarrivedBarcelonaon5thJanuary.Thefirsttwoweeksweremainlyorientationactivitiessuchassecuritytalks

andwalkingtours.IgottoknowalotofexchangestudentsthroughtheFacebookgroupandtheorientation

week.YoucanalsojoinaSpanishintensivecourseifyouwanttolearnsomeusefulphrasesfordailylife.The

last two weeks were used for intensive courses (like winter semester in UST). I took a course called

“ImplementingStrategy:Processesand Indicators”because Iwantedtotake lesscourse inregularsemester

whilesomestudentswouldusethesetwoweekstotravel.IdidalotofsightseeinginBarcelonasuchasPark

Güell,Montjuic, La Sagrada Familia and Tibidabo. I also went to watch a football match at Nou Camp (FC

BarcelonaVSEspañyol).ThematchwasamazingandIgottoseeMessionLIVE!

February

TheregularsemesterstartedinFebruary.Exchangestudentswereonlyallowedtotakethecore(easier)course

inESADEbecausemostoftheadvancedcoursesweretaughtinSpanish.Itook“SupplyChainManagement”,

“Project Management”, “Managing Services”. They were transferred as elective credits for my Operations

Management’smajorrequirement.Theworkloadwasmuchlowerandveryeasytogetapass.Apartfromthese

courses, I also took “Never TooManyMovie: Spanish and Catalan Society Through Cinema” and “Arts and

CultureinSpainandCatalonia:2000yearsofbeauty”.Ilearntalotoflocalcultureandactivitiesfromthesetwo

classesandtheprofessorwassuperfriendly.IwenttoNice,Franceduringoneoftheweekends.Itwaslocated

veryclosetoBarcelonaandthebeachwasverybeautiful.

March

March was a traveling month! I got three weeks off with just very few assignments. I went to Morocco,

Amsterdam,Prague,Budapest,ViennaandBratislavawithotherexchangestudents.Themostunforgettable

tripwasMorocco,whereIjoinedalocaltourtotheSaharaDesert.Thatwasmyfirsttimeridingonacameland

livedinatentinsidethedesert.BecarefulthatMarchwasstillcoldinEasternEurope.Therefore,rememberto

bringmoreclothesifyoutravelinMarch.IgotsickduringmytripbecauseIdidnotbringenoughclothes.

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April

Aprilwasabusymonth.Ihadmanypresentationsandexaminationsduringthismonth.InESADE,alargeportion

ofgradingwerebasedongroupprojectsandgrouppresentations.Therefore,Ihadtoattendalotofmeetingat

school.TheexamsweremucheasierthanUSTandnormallytookplaceinthelastlesson(aroundone-hourlong).

IspentthewholeAprilenjoyingthesuninBarcelonaandworkingwithassignments.TheweatherinAprilwas

optimal.PeoplewerecelebratingSaint-Jordi’sday(CatalanValentine’sDay)inmid-April.Youwouldseelotsof

peoplecarryingflowersandbooksaroundonthatday.

May

Itwasnearlytheendofsemester.IjusthaveafewclassesleftatthebeginningofMay.Everyonewasleavingat

thattimeexceptthosewhotookcourses insummersemester.BeforecomingbacktoHongKong, Iwentto

BerlinandLondon.

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Part II: General Exchange Information

VisaProcedures

The visa application was easy and straightforward. But there were quite a lot of documents required. For

example,housingletter,acceptanceletter,bankingstatement,returnfighttickets,hardcopiesforEVERYPAGE

fromyourpassport…Asweonlygoforonesemester,applyingshort-termstudentvisawouldbeenough.Iwould

recommendyouapplyforitatleastonemonthbeforeyouleaveanddoremembertobookyourappointment

inadvance.

http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Consulados/HONGKONG/en/InformacionParaExtranjeros/Documents/Visa%20

PDF/Student%20Visa.pdf

OrientationActivities

Orientationbeganon8thJanuary,includingseveralsecuritytalksbytheschool,ice-breakingactivitiesorganized

by an international student committee in ESADE and free walking tour. It was a good way to meet other

exchangestudents.

InternationalServices&Activities

ThereisaninternationalstudentorganizationcalledCIEEandtheyorganizedactivitiesregularly.Makesureto

keeptrackontheFacebookgroupifyouwanttojointhem.

Accommodations

YoucaneitherliveinthecampusinSanCugatorliveinthecity.Irentedanapartmentwiththeotherexchange

studentfromUSTinthecitycentercalledBalmes166.Itwascosted800eurosamonth(allelectricityandwater

billsincluded,alsoacleaningladywouldcleanmyhouseonceaweek).Thisapartmentwaspriceybutitwas

locatedjust5minutesawayfromProvencastation,wherethetrain(FGC)wouldgetmedirectlytotheSant

Cugatstationwithoutanytransfer.Besides,theareaIlivedinwasverysafeandconvenient.EvenwhenIwent

backatnightIwouldnotfeelinsecure.Someofmyfriendsdidliveonthecampus.Butittookaround45minutes

forthemtogettothecitycenter.Iwouldrecommendyoutoliveinthecitycenterbecauseitisclosertothe

airportandeasiertohangoutwithyourfriends.

Therearemanytravelagenciesonline,forexample,“spotahome”and“uniplace”.Thelinkbelowisthehousing

websitethatIused.(http://www.barcelona-student-housing.com/index.html)

CoursesRegistration

Thereweretwostagesinthecourseregistrationprocess.ThefirstonetookplaceinNovember,whereyouhad

toallocatepointstothecoursesthatyouwantedtotake.Itwasnotinfirst-come-first-servebasis.Justsubmitted

theformbeforethedeadlinewouldbefine.Thesecondstagewastheadd-dropperiodwhereyouwouldadd,

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swapordropanycourses.However,theadd-dropperiodendedbeforethesemesterstartedandmostofthe

coursesrequired80%attendancesomakesureyouplanahead.Ifyouhaveanyquestions,feelfreetoemailthe

exchangecoordinator.Theywillreplyquickly.

TeachingandAssignmentMethods

ESADEfocusesalotongroupwork.Forbusinesscourses,morethan50%ofthegradeisbasedongroupproject.

UnlikeUST,onecourseis3-hourlonginESADEandwith15minutesbreakinbetween.Itisgoodforexchange

studentsbecausewecanhavemoreday-offs.

SportsandRecreationFacilities

Thereisagymincampusandthefeeisnotexpensive.Butifyouarenotlivinginthecampus,Iwouldrecommend

thegyminthecitycenterliketheonecalledEurofitness.

FinanceandBanking(includingcurrency/expenses)

Ididn’topenabankaccountinSpain.IhaveactivatedinternationalbankingoptionintheATMinHongKong

beforeIcame.Therefore,IcouldwithdrawmoneyattheATMinBarcelona.Also,mostofmylivingexpenses

werepaidbycard.ItwillbemoreconvenienttohaveaSpanishaccountbutitisnotamust.

SocialClubs&NetworkingOpportunities

LikeImentionedbefore,CIEEistheonlyinternationalstudentorganizationinESADE.Sometimestherewillbe

someone-dayhikingtriporganizedbyagroupofexchangestudent.TheywillannounceitontheFacebookpage.

Health&Safety

Ingeneral,Barcelonawasasafecountry.Butremembertotakecareofyourbelongingsinthecrowdedareas

suchasmetro,clubs,restaurants...PickpocketingisverycommoninBarcelona.Afewfriendsofminehavegot

theirphones/laptops/walletsstolen.Donotbringtoomuchmoneyandpassportwhenyougoout.Ididnotvisit

thedoctorsduringmyexchange.Duringorientation, theadvisorswill tell you thedetailsof findingEnglish-

speakingdoctors.

Food

OneofthemainfoodinBarcelonaistomatobread.IreallyloveitbecauseIamabread-loveranditisrelatively

cheap.Ifyoueatoutattherestaurant,itcostsaround15-20euros(forasetmenu).Inormallycookedathome

tosavemoney.TherewereseveralAsiansupermarketsinCatalunyawhereyoucanbuyinstantnoodles,rice

andmuchotherAsianfood.Besides,thepaellaandSangriawereverynice.

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Transportation

The transportation system inBarcelona isefficient.Youcanget to theairporteasilyby taking themetroor

Aerobus(onlytakesyou40minutesfromPlazaCatalunyatotheairport).MetroransovernighteverySaturday.

Evenifyoubackhomelateduringweekdays,youcantakethenightbuseswhichconnectthewholecity.Ibought

oneT-Jovefor3monthsandonefor1month.ESADEislocatedatzone2soyouneedtobuya2zonesticket.It

costs140eurosfora3-monthticketbutyoucantakeasmanymetroandbusasyoucan.

FGCwebsite:https://www.fgc.cat/

Climate

TheweatherinBarcelonaisveryniceinAprilandMay.Evenduringwinter,itisnotthatcoldcomparedtoother

Europeancountries.ItseldomsnowsbutIdidseeitonceduringmyexchange.

Communication

ItwillbebetterifyoulearnsomebasicSpanishbeforegoingtoBarcelona.TheyspeakbothCatalanandSpanish

butnotallofthemknowEnglish.Bereadytousegoogletranslateandbodylanguageallthetime.

I bought the mobile data plan in Hong Kong (HKD 300 for 12GB, available across all European countries)

However, I could not have local call. Some of my friends used themobile service providers there such as

Vodafone(around15eurospermonth)

Cautionarymeasure

Pick-pocketingisamajorprobleminBarcelona.Aslongasyouareawareofallyourbelongingsallthetime,you

willbefine.Moreover,makesureyougoclubbingwithyourfriendsandfigureoutthetransporttobackhome

beforegoingout.

Part III: Items To Bring

• HKIDandPassport(andcopies)

• HousingLetter(andcopy)

• AcceptanceLetter(andcopy)

• Winterclothes

• Cash

• Laptop

• Smallsuitcaseorbackpackfortravelling

• Medicine

• Camera

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Part IV Useful Links and Contacts

1. Visaapplication:

http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Consulados/HONGKONG/en/InformacionParaExtranjeros/Documents/

Visa%20PDF/Student%20Visa.pdf

2. Housing:

http://www.barcelona-student-housing.com/index.html

3. Transportation:

https://www.fgc.cat/

4. Travel:

https://flights.ryanair.com/en-gb/(airlinethatItookthemostduringmyexchange)