I applied to the IBUS 3033W class to fulfill my study abroad requirement not sure if I would be fortunate enough to make it into the class. When I found out I got in and would be able to visit Spain again, I was elated! Although I had traveled to Spain four short years prior, I was looking forward to learning more about Spain and its culture, including after starting our B-term class. My Global Intelligence was greatly impacted and expanding from this experience, including with worldview, self-awareness, empathy, and cultural curiosity.

Worldview: From Minneapolis to Madrid to Barcelona

I was so excited for the trip to Spain, especially because I felt comfortable with my basic Spanish language capabilities and I was excited to be able to understand and speak the language a bit. While in Madrid, I felt that I was able to hold my own and speaking English at restaurants or while shopping was also not a big deal if I was unsure of what to say in Spanish. A huge change for me was going from Madrid to Barcelona with Catalan being more prominent in Barcelona. Getting used to a new environment along with a new language was a challenge for me. From ordering in restaurants to listening to the announcements on the metro, listening to people speak in Catalan was quite an adjustment and made it seem like we were almost in a different country altogether.

Self-awareness: I am an American tourist who wish they knew more Spanish

In Madrid especially, I felt that I was able to say most of what I wanted to in Spanish, but there were definitely several times where I felt that I was doing it all wrong and I wish that I was able to do a better job. Trying to speak Spanish, even when I knew I was probably saying something incorrectly was a reality check that I really did not know as much as I thought I did. My confidence also shifted when we got to Barcelona and more people spoke Catalan. This reality check was also a great reminder that outside of the U.S., it is uncommon to speak only one language.

Empathy: I am able to sympathize with non-native English speakers

Also in line with learning more trying to expand my knowledge of another culture and language, I understand how hard it is to try to speak mine. I tried to be understanding of speakers we had at site visits. I felt really bad for the main speaker at Tetuan Valley for feeling nervous about his presentation to us, because I have been nervous while giving presentations in Spanish to my classmates before.

Cultural curiosity: What I am able to take away from this trip

I went into the trip armed with my experiences in Spain from when I was in high school, my ability to speak basic Spanish, and what I had learned about Spanish culture and some of the companies we would visit from this class before we left. I was not completely prepared to learn more and expand on my experiences from before and pick up on cultural dimensions that we had learned about in class to analyze the world and culture around me. I am proud of myself that I was willing to try new Spanish foods and take day trips trying new things, including hiking in Segovia. I want to continue to travel so I can learn more about cultural differences so I can have a better view of both myself and the world. This class and trip to Spain have both been a great start and source of lessons for me to continue to be a student of the world and of different cultures.

One of my favorite sightseeing activities I did during the trip was going to the Royal Palace in Madrid. I would recommend seeing this amazing treasure to next year’s students because it was truly a highlight of my time in Madrid!

The Royal Palace has been a highlight of Madrid for centuries

The Royal Palace of Madrid is the official residence of the Spanish Royal family, as it has been for centuries, but today it is only used for ceremonies. The Palace boasts over 3,000 rooms and was built in 1755 after being inspired by the Louvre in Paris. The Palace was a short 10-15 minute scenic walk from our site visit at Tetuan Valley. Waking to the Palace was a treat in itself, especially on a nice day, because you also walk through a park and past a beautiful cathedral, the Santa María la Real de La Almudena, which could also be worth a visit. There were also musicians playing outside of the Almudena Cathedral, which only added to the magical atmosphere outside of the Palace.

Instagramable views outside and inside the Palace

I spent a fair amount of time was spent taking photos and enjoying the outside of the Palace. Some of the novelty for me was the fact that I would never see a building like this in Minnesota! You truly need a minute (or two) standing outside taking it all in and getting some great pictures to send to your parents or update your social media.

Walking through the Palace is fascinating in its own regard. The design and grandeur of the inside of the Palace will take your breath away. The intricacies of the ceilings and velour-like walls are details that would not be seen in newer buildings back home. There are also several amazing paintings that will make you feel as if you are at the Prado Museum or the Reina Sofia. My descriptions of how beautiful the Palace is and my photos truly do not do it justice!

Advice for your trip to the Royal Palace

• Use your student ID card to get a ticket!
  • It was only 7 euros to get into the Palace, which included taking the basic tour and spending time out front.
• Take pictures when you are able and know when you are unable to, or be prepared to be told by the guards!
• Be prepared to spend at least 2-3 hours at the Palace. There is plenty to look at outside and taking the basic walking tour through the Palace, but there is even more if you choose to pay more to look at the kitchen and other rooms.

The Royal Palace of Madrid is a great place to spend an afternoon

The Palace is a spectacular and relatively inexpensive site visit if you are interested in taking good pictures, architecture, Spanish history, or just looking to enjoy your time out and about in Madrid. I really enjoyed my visit to the Royal Palace of Madrid and I would highly recommend visiting it to anyone who is visiting Spain!

Looking back on my time in Spain, it was full of site seeing, site visits, having fun, and culture shock. I had many experiences that were different from the U.S. during my time in Spain. After the trip, I have been able to better reflect on these learning experiences by looking back on what we learned in class from Geert Hofstede and Erin Meyer and seeing how these experiences are defined and make sense with cultural differences.

Tetuan Valley is trying to break through uncertainty avoidance

As shown with Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, Spain ranks highest towards uncertainty avoidance. I noticed this cultural dimension at several of our site visits where many of the speakers who were from Spain had been with their respective company for several years, especially Eva Blanco at HP. This is quite different from the US, where it is becoming more common to jump from job to job. Trying to break the uncertainty avoidance mold of Spaniards is Tetuan Valley, which was one of my favorite and most engaging of the site visits.

Tetuan Valley is a nonprofit that is working to help entrepreneurs in Spain through support and a start-up school six week program. While the applications to the programs have increased over the past 10 years, I was surprised that there are not thousands of applicants to be a part of the start-up school and that there are no plans to expand the program at this time. This would be a wildly successful program in the U.S. because our culture celebrates entrepreneurs and is less risk adverse.

HP Barcelona and Quadpack site visit presentations showed a more hierarchical and high power distance culture

Both Erin Meyer’s dimension of leading and Hoftstede’s dimension of power distance were displayed during our presentations at HP Barcelona and Quadpack, which both featured two speakers at the presentation. At HP Barcelona, Eva Blanco dominated talking during the presentation while Emili Serra almost seemed annoyed at times that he was unable to contribute more to the presentation. Then at Quadpack, David Ackley was there for only three months and talked the most about the company while his counterpart, who had been at Quadpack for over a year, hardly said anything and only added to the presentation when she was asked a question by David or us. In both of these cases the younger speaker was being polite by letting their more senior counterpart lead the presentation even if they could have contributed more because of the more hierarchical and higher power distance relationship in the workplace.

Collectivism is everywhere, but I unexpectedly found it to be a major part of Flamenco

Before our trip, it was well known that Spain is a collectivist culture from tapas to how decisions are made. During one of my cultural visits with my group at a Flamenco show, I was surprised to analyze how the performance also showed the collectivist culture in Spain. From the Flamenco performance, I learned that the music is just as important as the dancing and they complement each other. There was even a section where the dancers were performing together while the two singers and guitar player were making music in background.

Hofstede and Meyer’s dimensions are helpful in understanding cultural differences

Learning about Hofstede and Meyer’s dimensions before the trip and being able to reflect on my experiences has helped me better process my time in Spain. While there are many cultural differences between the U.S. and Spain, I am glad I have been able to experience them and learn from these experiences on the trip.

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The Theatre Flamenco Barcelona City Hall is located in the city center near Plaça de Catalunya and Las Ramblas in Barcelona. Theatre City Hall is a 19th century remodeled theater that offers amazing performances from dancers, guitar players, percussionists, and singers. According to TripAdvisor, Theatre City Hall offers one of the best flamenco shows in Barcelona. Flamenco is one of Spain’s traditional dances that originated in southern Spain in Andalucia.

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Seating in Theatre Flamenco Barcelona City Hall – Theatre Flamenco Barcelona City Hall

How to experience flamenco at Theatre City Hall

There are many ticket options varying in price based on your desired experience for the hour-long show. The Theatre City Hall offers VIP areas, dinner, and drinks with different levels of tickets. The most student-friendly option for tickets is Ticket C, which costs €18 for seating near the back of the theatre and includes a free drink. Buying tickets online is most convenient and guarantees the show of your choice. You can attend a show Tuesday, May 28 through Friday, May 31 at 6:00 pm, 7:30 pm, and 9:30 pm. Shows are selling out due to the popularity of them, so make sure to book your flamenco show at the Theatre City Hall soon!

How to visit Theatre City Hall

The Theatre Flamenco Barcelona City Hall (Rambla de Catalunya, 2, 08007 Barcelona, Spain) is a short walk from our hotel, HCC Montblanc (Hotel HCC Montblanc, Via Laietana, 61, 08003 Barcelona, Spain). The approximately seven minute walk from the HCC Montblanc makes going to a flamenco show at the Theatre City Hall more affordable and a great evening activity in Barcelona.

A must-see performance and venue

Visiting the Theatre City Hall to attend a flamenco show is a must-do while in Barcelona! From its impressive over 100-year old theater to the dazzling flamenco show with music and dance, I highly recommend that you look into heading to the Theatre City Hall during our time in Barcelona!

JohnRyan is a marketing and technology company that specializes in providing total store messaging and digital signage for retail banks. JohnRyan works on managing the largest bank signage network in the United States and Europe, supporting networks of 70-3,000 branches. Besides Madrid and Minneapolis, JohnRyan has offices in Silicon Valley, California and London, England. JohnRyan is a privately-held company that currently has around 200 employees worldwide.

JohnRyan has been an industry leader for over 35 years with its products and technology

JohnRyan’s products include Quick Messenger, Automated Content Execution, Network Topology, and Media Player capabilities to help its customers. Quick Messenger is JohnRyan’s main product to help banks customize the messaging displayed on digital signs. The Quick Messenger System allows tailoring of messages to project on select screens or areas within a bank. JohnRyan provides services in customer messaging, digital communications programming, content creation and promotion, network operations, and help with marketing.

JohnRyan’s huge partnership with Madrid-based BBVA

In 2011, JohnRyan began working as Madrid-based BBVA’s digital signage partner. BBVA has over 3,000 bank retail branches in Spain and Portugal. JohnRyan worked to improve BBVA’s digital signage at the time and produced signs with localized-messages in five languages with information about news, entertainment, weather, and real estate throughout Spain and Portugal.

Adapting to how consumers are changing banking and using retail banks

JohnRyan works to make a visit to the bank more personal and enjoyable through communication with digital signage. This can also help communicate valuable messages that customers would otherwise not receive. JohnRyan also has done research that suggests that customers recall more messages in branches with digital technology. As more bank customers turn to online and mobile banking, including using online-only banks with no physical bank locations like Aspiration that are disrupting the retail banking model, it appears that JohnRyan may have to expand its services to serve these online platforms to continue to serve its customers.

Site visit questions to learn more about JohnRyan

• Will JohnRyan expand its services to helping banks with social media or banking apps?
• Does JohnRyan want to expand further in Europe and/or are there other regions of the world with opportunities for expansion?
• How have banks’ tastes evolved over the years with digital messaging and how has JohnRyan adapted?
• Have bank clients increased or decreased dramatically after the global recessions during the last 10 years?
• How does JohnRyan measure the impact of its digital messaging?

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Back to the polls for in hopes for a majority government

Spaniards are having a general election for the third time in four years on April 28th. The next election was supposed to take place sometime in 2020. The current Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, called this election after his Socialist Party’s 2019 budget failed in the Spainish Congress in February. Prime Minister Sánchez is currently leading a minority government, with the Socialist Party having 84 out of the 350 Congress seats. Prime Minister Sánchez is running on his government’s achievements, including job creation and environmental and social issues. The Socialist Party also says that if any of the three conservative groups get power, more budget cuts will return.

Polarization of the Spanish political parties divides Spain’s people and government

This election comes among more polarization, political fragmentation, and during the Spanish Supreme Court’s trial of Catalan separatist leaders. In a recent poll from Spain’s public research institute, CIS, a total of 41.6% of 16,000 people interviewed stated that they had not completely made up their mind yet as to who they will vote for. Prime Minister Sánchez’s Socialist Party is up against the far-right Vox, the center of right Popular Party and Citizens Party, and the left Podemos Party. In another poll by CIS, it predicts that the Socialist Party (the Prime Minister’s party), will win the election with 123 to 138 of the seats in Congress. This will not be enough to have a majority (176) for the Socialist Party. The Popular Party is expected to win between 66 to 76 seats, followed by the Citizens Party with 42 to 51 seats, then Unidas Podemos (United Left party and Podemos) and En Comú Podem (the Catalan formation of Podemos with other parties), and finally Vox with 29 to 37 seats.

Illegal campaigning through WhatsApp, Twitter, and more

In Spain since 1985, advertising political messages is prohibited from the time that elections are called until the official start of the campaign race, which in this case was April 12th. The law also bans publishing opinion polls a few days before voters go to vote and campaigning the day before voting, as voters are allowed a “day of reflection”. The loophole for this 1985 law is the use of social media like Twitter, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Facebook, where anonymous accounts can post messages that are spread quickly.

Culture and the 2019 Spanish General Elections

Culture may explain the vicious political arguments and attacks between the Socialist Party, Popular Party, Citizens Party, Podemos, and Vox. Spain tends to be more of a confrontational culture, which sees disagreement and debate as good for people. Spanish voters will have the last say if all of this divisiveness is good when they vote on April 28th.  

I would love to visit Park Güell while we are in Barcelona! Park Güell is so beautiful and Antoni Gaudí was one of the architects that helped design it.