This is a list of “tips” I created for interns, students…that either are coming soon or are already staying in Spain. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!

• Don’t get panicked if you get kissed by everyone, sorry but WE LOVE KISSING and we assure you will end up liking it too.
• If someone touches you too much, just enjoy the moment! Spanish love all around!
• Don’t be afraid if someone shouts in the street. It’s not shouting it is just speaking.
• Don’t get surprised if suddenly you see someone calling for someone who is just in the other corner of the street. They are just greeting.
• Don’t get shocked if the waiter says heyyy! when you enter a bar, it sincerely means GOOD MORNING LADY / GENTLEMEN (but it’s shorter).
• However, if a workman does the same thing don’t get too excited… He didn’t mean that.
• Don’t think you will ever meet a TORERO in the street, sorry that’s not the costume they use to go out with.
• If you ever see a MARIACHI group singing, allow me to assure you that they are not Spanish, they are Mexican!
• And no: we don’t have paella and sangria for lunch everyday (we normally have a rest on Sunday):P.
• When we are seducing someone there are no guitar sounds behind!
• We are sorry to tell you that our lives are not like TELENOVELAS.
• We are not used to drinking tea; we drink tons of coffee instead.
• If you see someone having dinner at 5 pm in summer, they are not having   dinner, it’s a late lunch J
• I’m Spanish and I don’t know how to dance flamenco…
• Spanish food is not equal as tapas.
• We are not lazy we are just easy going.
• Please don’t wear shocks and sandals, they will never match!
• Don’t try to look for Penelope Cruz or Antonio Banderas in a night club, they will never show up.

By writing this article I did not mean to hurt anyone’s feelings. I just wanted to let people know in a funny way that stereotypes are not always true and one should not judge a person only by where she/he comes from.

“A pattern of stereotypes is not neutral. It is not merely a way of substituting order for the great blooming, buzzing confusion of reality. It is not merely a short cut. It is all these things and something more. It is the guarantee of our self-respect; it is the project upon the world of our own sense of our own value, our own position and our own rights. The stereotypes are therefore, highly charged with the feelings that are attached to them.  They are the fortress of our tradition, and behind its defenses we can continue to feel ourselves safe in the position we occupy’’.

-Walter Lippmann

Alba Luna

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The day I was told I would be the Vice President of Exchange in Madrid of the world’s most important student association, I could not believe it. I did not even know where to start… Everything seemed like its own world. Sincerely I did not feel qualified. Nevertheless, little by little, and thanks to the cooperation and help from my colleagues, I started fitting in this great AIESEC puzzle.

My department started shaping up with the arrival of Krzysztof, a Polish student who came to do an internship in Madrid. One of the main aims of our association, if not the most important one, is precisely to promote the exchange of students all over the world.

This was only the first step to start walking. I just needed a push. Right now, I am actually in that race looking for both personal and professional development. Some day I will make it. This might sound pretentious, or even impossible, but believe me: AIESEC is able to provide with the necessary tools to achieve it.

Values as important as team work, leadership and cooperation are the characteristics that I may now say I am incorporating into my daily life. During the past few months I have realized that the interaction and communication with people in different professional scopes brings just the necessary material, say, the shoes one needs to start a race. The best thing about all this is that I still have not reached the end of the race. AIESEC is a continuous learning, always enriching, experience.

“A good team is like making white sauce, if everything does not turn in the same direction, it simply does not work out well”

Alba Luna.

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A colleague from AIESEC in Venezuela just joined the External Relations department of AIESEC in Madrid. Diego Rivero, Communications and External Relations member conducted an interview where he commented on his reasons for coming to Madrid and working with us.

Why did you join AIESEC?

I joined to share with people who want to share, experiment personal growth and develop their team skilss. I am very interested in the idea of developing leadership. Also because of the possibility to share with people from many countries and different ways of seeing life.

What made you come to España?

Spain was attractive to me since I was little: its culture, its music, its diversity, all made me come to this country looking for  professional and academic opportunities (I will be studying a masters in the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid). I am most interested in the Spanish development of renewable energies.

What do you wish to bring to AIESEC Madrid?

I would like to bring some wit and analysis capacity to contribute to achieving the best results in the goals we set for ourselves.

What do you like?

I like swimming, ping-pong. I like cooking, reggae music, nature, and a good conversation.

Welcome Hilario! We hope we will be able to contribute to his growth as much as he pretends to contribute to ours.

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Wharton Global Alumni Forum

Three of the major executives from the technology sector in Spain and two important entrepreneurs of the growing and disparate African continent, moderated by Alberto Durán, founder and CEO of Mundivox Communications, based at Rio de Janeiro, met during the second day of the Wharton Global Alumni Forum in Madrid, with a panel entitled: “Technology and Innovation: ¿Panacea or Fallacy?

According to María Garaña, President of Microsoft Ibérica, today the debate about technology and innovation should be focused on the practical application of technology for companies, and how it is helping to increase productivity and competitiveness. “The one who invests the most money on technology is not the most efficient, the one who uses it to be most productive is”, she said. “On occasions, it is enough to take advantage from the tools one already disposes of. Actually, it is about carrying out a deep analysis about the possibilities one has of being more productive, and productivity can be achieved through producing more or reducing costs”. However, she continued, “technology is a source of savings for businesses. One must abandon the technological message, the most technical terms, and make of computer systems relevant tools for companies and for people”.

The panel discussion also included Eric Kacou, managing director of OTF Group, a strategy and competitiveness firm based in Rwanda, and Eva Muraya, co-founder and CEO of the Nairobi firm Color Creations Group. They both exemplify this entrepreneurial startup taking place in Africa, and they both exposed the particular situation of their countries. “There are many, and increasing, success stories which can be shown of African entrepreneurs”, Muraya said.

In brief, “if there is something positive which can be drawn from this economic crisis is the ability to ponder, to re-discuss the foundations of things. Innovation is no longer considered an expense for many companies, but rather a necessary lever for productivity”, concluded the President of Microsoft España.

Source: wharton.universia.net

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Start Up Congress Group Dinamics

Some of the representatives of AIESEC in Madrid have been able to participate in the event which took place in Valladolid from July 21st to 25th.In this Congress, our members were able to learn about different issues, such as strategic planning and tactics follow-up, and leadership.

Conferences bring a great deal of information both at the organization’s level and at a personal level where it is clear that much of the newly-acquired knowledge will remain for the rest of our lives.

Great moments of the conferences are the dynamics between different departments working together, and the participation of Alumni. Said participation allowed members to understand that the knowledge acquired in AIESEC will be put into place in the labor market once our members start working in big companies.

The most important point of the conferences, though, is that members enjoyed learning and it was clear that all attendants were having fun.

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