Student Travels

Tokyo, Japan!!!!!!!

2010-02-25T18:08:00.000-08:00

Hey all, sorry I’ve been a little busy over here in Taiwan. Teachers are layin’ on the work! Anyways I was in Tokyo 2 weeks ago here are some of my pictures.

Here is a picture from my hotel room window. (23rd Floor)

Confucius temple!

One morning Shaina and I woke up at 3:30am and went to the Tokyo Tsukiji fish market. We watched the Japanese fishermen bring the seafood straight off the boat at 4:30am. We then went across the street and got the freshest sushi ever. I’ve never eaten sushi at 5:30am! It was amazing. Here are some pics

Unagi! (eel)

Fish!

Tuna!!! Look it took 3 guys to slice this Tuna apart.

Sushi across the street from the Tsukiji market.

Temples Etc.

XIMEN!!!!

2010-01-25T19:04:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I went to Ximen (in Taipei city) with Shaina and Ocean. We walked around, got some street food, and went and shot airsoft guns at an arcade. Here are some pictures.

Longest line ever : Cold Stone creamery… hahha

$5 smile.

Sugar coated Mochi balls

Lotto street woman

Sugar coated Tomatoes

Street food!

Airsoft Gun range

Straight west coastin!

Taipei update.

2010-01-14T05:39:00.000-08:00

So I started all my classes in Taiwan and I like my professors. The teaching style here is a lot less flexible than I’m used to, so I'll have to adjust. I’ll definitely be very very busy this semester. At the moment I’m writing two individual business plans and all I see is tons of work heading my way. Anyways… Today after class I went and got some beef noodles and then took some shots of the street corner. Hope you enjoy.

First week in Taipei, Taiwan!!!!!

2010-01-12T18:43:00.000-08:00

So I’ve been in Taipei for a week now and I love it. Everyone is so helpful and nice. Things are much more accessible here than in Barcelona because there are so many convenience stores throughout the city. The dorms are really nice too. I have my own room and a balcony with a city view. School is only a block away and so far classes are going great. I’m still adjusting to the food and I want to try everything possible, except stinky tofu … I don’t know if I’m ready for that yet.

Here are some pictures from my first week in Taipei. Ramirez took me all over the city so I’m getting acquainted really fast. These pictures are from the National Palace Museum and the Taipei Night Market.

National Palace Museum

In this picture a kid just happens to be doing a karate kick in the background.. hahaha

Here is a pic of me doing a “Cesar” pose.

Me and Duty

Duty and Shaina

Here are some pictures from the Taipei Night Market

Knock off Vans… hahaha

Loretta enjoying her chicken.

Sketchy tattoo place

Sugar coated strawberries!!!!

Sherry lovin her strawberries!

Scooter City!!!

This is probably the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.

Taiwanese bakery…mmmmmmmm

JMGEM Last Euro Trip to PARIS!!!!!!

2010-01-10T06:29:00.000-08:00

So once again I am catching up with my blog. Here are some pics from the JMGEM Paris trip before Christmas break. I tried to get a bit artsy with my shots so most of them are in black and white.

Here are some of the JMGEM students having a little dance in front of the Eiffel

Me and Cash

Ramirez and Cherry

Here is a typical French street musician

Juan and Shaina

David and Duty

Mike and David

Parisian street artists

Jessie, Judy, Isa, Ocean, and Raleigh up close and personal.

Juan…. Don’t ask.

Jessie and Jess

Shaina and Duty jumping in front of the Eiffel Tower

French café

Juan and Ocean havin some fun.

It’s not mine, but I wish it was.

Layover in Zurich

2010-01-08T17:55:00.000-08:00

On our way back to Barcelona from Cairo we had a layover in Zurich. Here is a picture of Shaina and I having a drink in Zurich.

ps sorry for the delayed posts.

My Trip to Egypt!!!!!

2010-01-08T17:38:00.000-08:00

This is us on a camel ride in Cairo.

Nile River at night.

This is the restaurant we went to on the Nile.

Here's the Egyptian belly dancer at the Restaurant.

Pyramids at GIZA!

Egyptian man counting his money$$$!

Downtown Cairo sunset. Look closely and you can see the pyramids in the bottom right corner.

We went to the first mosque in Africa and they made Shaina wear a smock because shes blonde... hahaha!

More mosque.

Cesar and Lea outside the mosque

JMGEM Field Trip to Torres

2009-12-05T08:34:00.000-08:00

The second JMGEM trip was a tour of the Torres Vineyard. Torres is the largest wine producer in Spain. The vineyard was enormous. In my opinion Torres was completely different from Napa Valley and Sonoma vinyards. This place was a wine Disneyland. We started off in a movie theatre for a video on the Torres family history. Then we went to a smell room and then we went on a tram ride around the vineyard. On a side note, my mom was visiting last weekend so I brought her along.

JMGEM Field trip to La Fageda

2009-12-04T07:42:00.000-08:00

Last week we had two JMGEM trips. The first one was to the dairy company La Fageda. They aid the local community by employing the mentally disabled and providing some with housing. Currently 90% of mentally disabled are unemployed in Spain. La Fageda’s main products are yogurt and milk.

On our tour we saw tons of cows. They were huge.

Here’s our class on the tour.

Cow.

Calf.

Me, Ramirez, and Juan

Jessie and Ocean

Florence, Italy!!!

2009-11-27T08:59:00.000-08:00

Florence was beautiful, but nothing compared to Barcelona. It was probably half the size of San Francisco. This was my first trip to Italy and I expected to see many Italians, but Florence is full of tourists and barely any Italians. Here are some pictures to give you a quick idea of my trip.

Ponte Vecchio at night time

More Ponte Vecchio

While in Florence I met up with some USF undergrad students on their study abroad. Here is Stephanie and Lainy.

Dublin, Ireland!!!

2009-11-27T08:47:00.000-08:00

Hey people! Sorry I’ve taken a blog break, but I’m back now… Ive been doing a lot of traveling lately. From Dublin on one weekend to Florence the next, have kept me pretty busy. Dublin reminded me of my prep school days in Boston. Just like it, except the people were way nicer. It seemed like everyone gets out of their way to make your life easier. Here are some pics from Dublin.

This is Peters Pub & Snug. It was right across the street from my hotel. When I went inside I asked the bartender what the “snug” was, he replied by saying, “Snug as a bug in a rug.” This is where I tried my first official Guinness. I thought it was nothing special, but for some reason it’s a popular favorite in Ireland.

Look at this Irish Coffee!

Here is Allison in the park

Some pictures of Grafton Street.

My weekend trip to Mallorca!

2009-10-28T07:46:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went to my friend Juan’s house in Mallorca. In case you’re not sure where Mallorca is, it’s a small island in the Mediterranean off the coast of Spain. It was absolutely gorgeous. Definitely a hidden gem.

I took these shots directly from Juan’s balcony. Look at this view!!!

This is the living room at Juan’s

Pics of downtown Palma

On Saturday, Juan took us to his Mom’s boyfriends house and they made us a home-made beef paella. (not seafood because Jess is allergic to shrimp) here are some pictures from the feast!
This picture shows the paella cooking outside on the monster-sized platter. Notice they havn’t put the rice in yet.

Final Product!

Here are some more pictures from my mallorca trip

This is our rental car . . . a Ford Fiesta. Haha

This is me at a castle in Mallorca

Apartment Pics!

2009-10-27T11:33:00.000-07:00

It has been a little difficult to keep up with the blog since I have no internet. As I promised, here are some pics of my apartment.

This is what the building looks like from the outside. You can see my apartment’s balcony on the first floor.

Here’s the living room

Here is a pic of my bedroom.

TARRAGONA!!!!!

2009-10-08T15:45:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went on a day trip to Tarragona. It was a nice quiet town only an hour away by train. We went to the beach and took a nice stroll through town, then got a coffee right by the sand. Here are some pictures.

We found some kittens on the beach

Here is Shaina and Jessica cruisin’ the streets.

First week of October

2009-10-02T06:08:00.000-07:00

So its the beginning of October and I am beginning to feel the fall weather. Thank god its less humid now. Anyways, I moved into my new apartment this week. Its located by Parc Guel away from the hussle and bustle of downtown barcelona. Dont worry ill take some pictures and post them this weekend. I got great roommates all from my program. There's 5 of us total. Me, Mike, David, Tammy, and Darla. Its really nice having two taiwanese in the house. Everynight i ask probably a million questions about asia.

Yesterday was my first meeting with my consulting project. Me and my group met with a nanotechnology company, Endor, that specialize in regenerative medicine. I am so excited for my project! The meeting yesterday made me feel that our project could really impact this company and that our work would provide useful information. Nanotech is a really complex industry, but there is so much to learn.

I saw some Spanish Guitar!!!!

2009-09-28T08:58:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to my first classical guitar performance with Mike and my French friend Bastian. Manuel Gonzalez was truly an international guitar master. He was born in Barcelona and famous for his skill in Spanish guitar. He played with such grace and was so smooth in his technique. Definitely one of the best performances I have ever seen. Most of his concerts are in the large classical music halls, like the Palau de Musica, but for some reason last nights performance was in a small church in the gothic district. This to me was better because the concert was so intimate. He was right in front of me. After the concert I shook his hand and he was nice enough to take a picture with us. Mike also got a nice video clip of one of his songs.

This is what the church looked like inside:

Here’s a video clip in case you’re curious. Video taken by Mike Galvez

Lemme give you a little update

2009-09-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys. Ive been sick with the flu so my posts have been lagging, but I can assure you all that I’ll keep the posts coming.

Anyways let me update you all on my life. So school has been going great. Classes still interesting and I really like the cases we read. Also, I’m really excited to present my business idea in class tomorrow.

A week ago, my Spanish friend Jose from the program took me to my first ever Barcelona soccer game against Atletico Madrid. It was so incredible I don’t know how to describe it. The stadium was enormous, definitely the biggest I’ve ever seen, and it was packed with 85,000 people. And to top it off, we had great seats. They were so close I felt like I was on the field with Henry, Messi, Ibra, and the whole posse. When I first walked out to my seat it hit me and I had to sit back for a second. It was a moment I won’t ever forget. I didn’t really have time to take pictures because I was so into the game. The final score was 5-2 win for Barcelona and the goals were spectacular.

So, after a month in Barcelona I’m still wandering the streets looking for cool new spots to hang out. Recently I found this plaza outside Catalunya Square. Here are some pics:

Last week after class, Mike, Max, and I went to a park. Here’s a picture of me and my Spanish friend Max.

Last Tuesday the Vice Provost of USF, Gerardo Marin, came to visit the USF students in the JMGEM program. We all met for coffee in the afternoon before class and discussed the program and how much we all love Barcelona. Here are some pictures:

2009-09-15T07:26:00.000-07:00

In case you’re all wondering, here’s a picture of the outside of my school in Barcelona and a picture of some of my classmates studying.

This is the library right next to my dormitory. They also have a nice little café. On a side note…. First library I’ve been to that serves beer on tap.

Saturday I decided to go on a solo mission and hike to the highest point in Barcelona. I saw this church on the peak of a mountain past Sarria, and made my way towards it. So I grabbed my skateboard and started my journey. On my way there, I passed by this cemetery that was nothing like I’ve seen before. The graves were stacked in rows like file cabinets. Crazy huh?

I kept walking higher and higher till I made it to this café where I could finally get some water. Then I continued upward.

Here is the church at the top of the mountain. It definitely looked more beautiful up close. There was so much detail in the architecture and the view of the city was priceless. After almost 2 hours of walking uphill… the Skate downhill was only 15 minutes!!!!

Festa Nacional de Catalunya!!!

2009-09-11T11:34:00.000-07:00

So I just finished my first week of classes, and I have already learned a bunch. I love how there’s no textbook only a few cases to read every night and classes are all discussion based. Also I'm learning from a European perspective. In all my classes we talk about the EU all the time, which is surprisingly a new topic for me in class. Sadly, I didn’t even know that there were 27 countries in the EU or that the flag had 12 stars, and that Spain had a civil war in 1936 that then put them into isolation. All in all I’m excited to learn from a different point of view. Today is 9/11, the national holiday of Catalonia; we didn’t have any class so I cruised to the park with my friend Allison and rented a boat for 6 euros.

Later I ran into a southern blues / jazz ensemble that put on a great swing street performance over by the Picasso museum next to Las Ramblas. They were really good! Especially the guy on trumpet!

Orientation / Walking Tour of Barcelona

2009-09-07T16:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had orientation. We all took the metro to Catalunya Square for a city tour. Here is a picture of our whole program gathering around before we began our Barcelona walking tour.

Here are some of the girls in Catalunya Square. From left to right (Jessica, Jessie, Allison)

While on the tour, we passed by the famous Gaudi house. There was also a special house next to Gaudi’s but I forgot its significance and name. See if you can guess which ones Gaudi’s. (It’s pretty obvious) haha

My favorite part of the tour was when we passed the Palau de la Musica. This is the first large-scale classical music venue in Barcelona. I have to see a classical guitar performance while I’m here. I only got a shot of the outside, but the inside is breathtakingly amazing. If you look closely you can see the small ticket windows inside the pillars. I thought they looked like small pizza ovens. Too bad aren’t used anymore.

After we passed the Palau de la Musica, we stumbled upon a “fire celebration”/ Riot in the streets of central Barcelona … I was a bit confused on what was going on and the tour guide wasn’t very clear, so I just took a few shots of some kids and caught up with the tour.

Towards the end of the tour we passed by the square where they do all the soccer celebrations and on the corner there was this small bar called Obama. I had to take a picture….

On a side note… here is a pic in my dorm room with some girls in my program. Left to right (me, Jessie, Allison, Jessica)

Gaudi's wishes

2009-09-04T15:10:00.000-07:00

After a needed sleep-in, I woke up and decided to go to the market again. I took the metro over to La Boqueria with Mike and Sami from my program, and got a strawberry banana fruit juice and a baguette sandwich.

After the market we decided to walk along Las Ramblas and let our food settle. We saw many tourist stands, street performers, and fruit carts. Overall it was a great time.

I saw the biggest McDonalds I've ever seen on Las Ramblas. It was 5 stories high!!!!

After Las Ramblas I headed back to the dorms, regrouped and walked to Parc Guell to see some Gaudi architecture. It was about a 20 minute walk from the dorms.

Parc Guell had an amazing view and was flooded with talented spanish guitarists. We walked around, but since it was Friday it was way too crowded.

After we walked around for a bit, we decided to hike to the top of Parc Guell for the spectacular view. Here it is:

Another ol Day in Barce

2009-09-03T03:11:00.000-07:00

So this morning I woke up to jetlagged Allison knocking on my door at 9 am complaining about her AC not working. She said get up and lets go to downtown to the market and grab some fresh juice. So we proceeded to the Lesseps metro stop just a few blocks away. Here is Allison checking into the metro station.

This inside the metro where you wait for the train.

After one or two metro stops we arrived to Liceu on the L3 metro line. Right when you exit the metro you will see La Boqueria (huuggee open market) on your left hand side. According to my travel guide, It's actually the largest market in Europe. I was surprised how big and organized this market was. Its the San Francisco Embarcadero farmers market on steroids. Different goods are separated into different sections. For example they have the seafood, fruit, meat, and baked goods all in their own quarters.

This is inside La Boqueria. I got a nice pineapple coconut fresh drink for 2 Euro. I cant wait to go back and try some fresh fruits.

just a little side note on this last picture... This little piggie went to the market... This little piggie didnt go home......

Back in Barcelona!

2009-09-01T17:05:00.000-07:00

Overall, Amsterdam was amazing. The dutch people were very nice and I loved all the bikes that swarmed the streets. It just is too crazy and I feel that 4 days was plenty. While in Amsterdam, I saw a great Rembrant exhibit at the Rijks Museum, live music, walked all over, rented a bike for a few days, and even saw the torture museum. Amserdam has a lot to offer ... maybe too much

HUUUGGGEE bike parking lot

2009-08-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

Its insane how many bikes there are in Amsterdam. This is how they store them ...

Best Irish Breakfast ever!!! in Amsterdam

2009-08-30T20:00:00.000-07:00

Barcelona from my friend Semra's balcony

2009-08-30T19:58:00.000-07:00

Amsterdam

2009-08-29T00:06:00.000-07:00

Just woke up in Amsterdam in my hostel (hotel Annmarie). I am sharing a room with 4 german skaters from Bavaria. Last night i bought tickets for the canal bus tour, so i will be sight seeing all day on the canals. I will post pics up tonight.

Day 1

2009-08-27T22:38:00.000-07:00

I arrived to LA airport on Aug 26 in the afternoon. I was unfortunately assigned a middle seat on my flight from LA to London. Luckily, when I got on my flight the window passenger was a no show, so I got some extra space. Day 1 first impressions of Barcelona: this place is beautiful and hot/ humid!!! My hostel for the first night was amazing. I met 3 french, 1 german, and an australian. We drank jin and talked about sports till 2am. They loved David Beckham and said he was the best futbol player in all of Europe. (i def disagreed) They also really liked "catch" asked me if "catch" was a big sport in US. I was really confused with what they were talking and after a few minutes of broken english/ spanish / what i knew in french, I realized they were talking about WWE fake wrestling. All in all day one was amazing. Today i woke up super early from my jetlag, but no worries, I'm off to amsterdam!