Interesting week.

This week will probably be one of the most action packed during my stay in Barcelona. And this time I don't just mean the amount of school work.

The week is kicked off tomorrow on Wednesday, when various events take place. 23rd of April is dia del Sant Jordi (aka Day of St. George) that happens to be the preferred saint of Catalonia and therefore celebrated here.

On top of this old tradition, a smart entrepreneur running a book shop 100 something years ago, developed another reason for celebration: dia del libro y la rosa (day of the book & rose). The tradition is that men buy roses to women and women books to men. On the modern days of emancipation and equality, the trend has turned so that both sexes receive books, but women get a rose as well. I've heard that Barcelona and specially the area of Las Ramblas will be crammed with stands selling roses and books and with people wondering around enjoying the nice spring weather and festive atmosphere. Needless to say, that the prices of both books and roses, especially on the stand, will go up for tomorrow. One of the most popular books for tomorrow is probably the latest novel of Carlos Ruiz Zafon, which was published last week in Spain with a print of 1 million copies!¡ He's previous book "Shadow of the wind" has been one of the biggest international bestsellers coming from Spain in recent years. To those unfamiliar with the book, it takes place in post-war Barcelona which of course adds a little extra to the one's reading the book here. Like me;D

On top of St. Jordi, books and roses there is a epic battle between FC Barcelona and Manchester United, who ironically comes from a country where St. George also has special meaning. First of two semifinal games for this seasons Champions League will be played on Camp Nou tomorrow night. Although Barca hasn't been at its best lately, we are still hoping to win Tevez & Co. I actually tried to get tickets to the games, even though the prices were 70 euros and up. After standing in the line with Bojan, we got info that the socios of Barca have reserved almost all of the tickets and the ticket booth for public would not be opened unless a greater amount of tickets come available. I think this is quite improbable as the socios can still keep on buying through internet. So, if one socio with season ticket gives up his place, most probably it will quickly bought by another socio who's without season ticket. This kind of two-tear system with socios leaves the general public into a weak position and it's quite improbable that random Barca fan from Finland would be able to cop a ticket. Well, it was well worth the try and I still get to enjoy the game in a bar with friends.

After we are pass Wednesday and the invasion of Manchester fans in the city start to be over, it is time for the motorheads to enter the city. F1 race of Barcelona will be held on Sunday and probably Thursday onwards the city will start receiving formula fans from different places. Although the circuit is further away from the city than in Montreal, I believe there will be a certain level of action also in the center. Best and biggest parties will of course be on Sunday after the GP, but I am quite sure that we won't pay 100+ euros to get to stand in some posh club and maybe see a climpse of Kimi and friends. Not being keen on formulas myself, I still expect the city to be bit more lively (even though there's nothing to complain with the current amount of action...) during the weekend.

Ok, but before getting balls deep into different spare time activities, I still have some school work to be finished, so I'll get back to you later!

Torstain säätiedote.

Aamulla tuli vettä kaatamalla, jopa suomalaisittain suurissa määrin. Kastuin iloisesti jo pelkällä kahden minuutin kävelyllä kotiovelta pysäkille. Tänään tietty oli CEMSin kielikokeiden suullinen osio ja kun sateenvarjoa ei ollut niin sai kaveri kuivatella itseään Mr. Beanin tavoin vessan puhaltimen ääressä.

Paluu ESADEn nurkilta kotiinpäin tapahtui kuuden aikoihin. Siinä vaiheessa säärintamassa oli tapahtunut mielenkiintoisia muutoksia ja koulun kulmilla sekä Diagonalin pohjoispäässä aurinko pilkisteli jo mukavasti pilvien välistä. Puolivälissä matkaa alkoi ukkostamaan ja satamaan... rakeita! Niitä tulla ripsotteli sitten seuraavat viisi minuuttia. Sen jälkeen saatiin vielä vähän vettä. Eihän se koskaan kivaa ole, mutta varmaan ihan vaan hyvästä kuivuudesta kärsivälle Katalonian maalle.

Salilta kotiin palatessa aurinko sitten paistoikin, mutta laski sitten puoli tuntia sen jälkeen tuonne vuorien taa.

Mutta tosiaan, jos joskus tammikuussa ehdin jo hehkuttelemaan kevätkelien hienoutta, niin ei siitä kyllä ole päästy vielä paljonkaan eteenpäin, ehkä otettu jopa takapakkia. Ehkäpä niitä kesähelteitä aletaan nyt huhtikuun jälkimmäisellä puoliskolla näkemään. Huomenna olisi vielä kielikokeiden kirjallinen osio, katsotaan mitä säiden herra tällä kertaa keksii...

Brief in English: Today it was raining in the morning and I had a CEMS language exam. On the way back from school it a was still raining, only this time it was a hailstorm. I still got language exams tomorrow, maybe after that it is time for sun. And life;D

Posting & publishing.

If I had to be sorry for the radio silence of a week and half last time, I do not know what to say now. Apparently this tends to happen everytime with my blogs when going gets rough and my calendar starts to fill up. I just do not take the time to post. Anyway, I am still in Barcelona, alive and kicking.

Last month has truly been action packed. Since the last posting, I spent few days in Lausanne, Switzerland as a participant of Deloitte's Student Business Forum. A weekend full of interesting program such as case competition, 5 star accommodation, skiing and bunch of great international people! The experience was amazing and I can just recommend those who are able to apply next year.

After returning from the land of cheese, chocolates and watches, I started my easter break. Hanna came over for a week and also my parents visited the city around the holiday times. Although the weather has been better and worse during the past week, we had great time doing the usual touristy stuff and eating out well, that is one of the best side of my Barcelona:D

After the guest left at the end of March, I've been superbusy with school work. My first exams were already in the beginning of April and the rest of the month has been and will be full of presentation, deadlines and exams before the grande finale in the beginning of May when our business project is due. I believe to post some more detailed stuff on the school sometime soon, as it is the main reason why I ended up here this spring.

Besides school and visits, I've been enjoying the usual Barcelona-life in form of football and gym, parties and dining out. We have also been travelling around with other exchange students. Last weekend we went to Figueras to see the amazing Dalí museum as well as the old town of Girona. Yesterday we took a regional train from Barcelona to Sant Sadurni d'Ainoa and got to see Freixenet premises in this capital of cava. As I got my camera back in March, you also can see what's been up! So, click on the Flickr link and go see what sketches I have from Spain so far.

To be honest (and humble, of course), I am a publishing photographer nowadays! This photo of mine from Toronto got chosen by the editorial team of Schmap.com travel guide and is nowadays available here as one of the photos from Flatiron building in St. Lawrence Market Area in T-dot.

I will have a month or so of Barcelona still left, so I'll take the time and continue reflecting on my experiences here before it is over. However, the time for that is later as now I am of to see Be Kind, rewind by Jack Black and Mos Def. Have a good start of the week!