Sunday was our first truly free day to enjoy Barcelona. Sydney and I slept in and got our day started by traveling on the metro to La Ramblas. We met with Matt for lunch at a gorgeous rooftop. The rooftop had views of the mountains, the beach AND the city! We got to take it all in at once. After lunch we explored the area and admired the old architecture. We did some shopping and bought a hairdryer with a European plug because I kept breaking the adapters. I always overpower my adapters in Europe with my hair tools so this will be a great investment! That evening Sydney and I went up to the rooftop at our hotel and to our surprise there was a language exchange going on. In Barcelona there is a group for people who are from other countries to meet friends and  help with language and cultural development. We joined the event and spoke with a local real estate investor, a man in finance from Ireland and an artist from New Orleans who has been in Barcelona for 15 years. It was so neat to see people from all ages, genders and backgrounds interacting and share their love of cultural immersion. That was one of my highlights of the trip for sure as it was a surprise and I love meeting new people!

I started the day by watching the sun rise over the beautiful beach of Barcelona. It was a moment I wanted to capture however I looked in my purse to realize my phone was stolen. Unfortunately the pickpocket rumors are true! I did not let it ruin the day however. We hiked up to Park Guell and enjoyed the beautiful park and the company. It has been so nice getting to know these girls and guys on the trip, I know they will be new friends! Sydney helped me with my phone situation and took me to get a flip phone. We decompressed with a shopping trip and continued to explore the culture of the city. We ate dinner at a tapas restaurant where we enjoyed greek salad, stuffed eggplant, bravas and vino tinto. We met a local businessman and discussed local and international issues and cultural differences, very interesting! He spoke 6 languages and moved here from Morocco 16 years ago. I am excited for a good night rest and to start fresh tomorrow!

Today was our first logistics company visit. We took the metro to a logistics park where we got very, very lost trying to find the building! A couple students put their Spanish to the test asking nearby workers where to go. Once we found the building, they were so welcoming and happy to see us. I was excited to learn about Estoko as it is a start up logistics company. Estoko offers a warehousing as a service cloud solution. This gives their clients access to a sophisticated logistics artificial intelligence platform. The platform connects businesses with storage, fulfillment and distribution to independent warehouses with excess space. The company is working with over 300 integrated warehouses in Spain.  Estoko is part of the Logistics 4.0 movement. Logistics 4.0 is the shift of the economy to digitalisation. The use of technology simplifies the complex supply chain management issues. Digitalisation of the processes creates visibility across the value chain and improves performance. The logistics 4.0 approach optimizes supply chain operations with the integration of new technology. Many companies are looking to the future with logistics 4.0 and Estoko has an advantage as it has already developed the software and artifical intelligence necessary to operate. Estoko currently operates in Spain but is looking to become a larger global presence. The company is in an “incubator” which is where start up companies use the office space for their operations. In the incubator next to them was a 3D printing company. We got to tour the 3D printing space and learn the process that goes into the production of products. They were working on prosthetics, sunglasses, remotes and more. I thought the production of prosthetics was interesting and will make prosthetics accessible to more than just the few who can afford it.

After the tour we had lunch at Can Cullertes where we got to experience traditional Catalan food. The Catalan chicken was delicious, it was cooked with plums and different spices. After lunch we toured the famous Mercat and got to see the many different vendors ranging from fruit to oysters. I bought flavored olive oil and salts. I love to cook so I am excited to use the oil and salt to enhance my recipes! After the Mercat we had a guided tour of the Sagrada Familia. I have seen it from the outside before but never got to go inside. The inside was absolutely breathtaking! The reflection of the light from the stained glass was stunning. Different colors radiated throughout and you could tell the artistry and detail that went into the construction of the building.

We woke up with our packed bags ready for the home stretch of the trip(literally). We ate breakfast in the lobby and headed for our private bus that was taking us to the airport where we came to find our plane out of Barcelona was delayed. We sat in the airport and waited until we were able to board the plane for Atlanta where we will have a connecting flight to Charleston. I relaxed in the Delta Sky Club while I waited for my late flight to Charleston and can finally arrive back home where I can share the countless memories I have made with everyone.

We woke up early in Valencia to say farewell to this beautiful city as we headed to the train station at 8am to catch a train to Madrid. We arrived at the train station to find our train was delayed 20 minutes which will come to be a problem later. The train arrives and I catch up on some reading summaries for my professors. We arrive in Madrid(behind schedule) which led to us in a rush  looking for our gate to Barcelona to catch the next train. We narrowly make it on, a close call but it was exhilarating.  I continue on the summaries until we arrive in Barcelona where we took a taxi to our hotel and got ready for our class session on the summary of the trip. It was a great trip for my first international experience. I am glad I got to go with professors I knew and have had classes with before and build a stronger relationship with them outside of the classroom. They had prepared me with the knowledge to be able to engage in the visits and ask relevant questions to the real world application of the material I had learned previously.I am thankful for my classmates and how well we all got along and worked together. It had some bumps in the road as some of my fellow classmates shared however I was happy to experience these obstacles and turn them into challenges I have never seen before. After our class we got ready for Cent Onze, a farewell dinner with everyone where we laughed and shared one last meal before we left in the morning. I went to bed and was ready for our flight back to Charleston in the morning.

Today we had the opportunity to go to the Port of Valencia. The Port tours and presentations are so enlightening and I learned a lot about port operations. The port of Valencia is an international, public port and the most important port in Spain due to its proximity to Madrid, Barcelona and access to railways, roads and water.  The Port Authority of Valencia trades under the name Valencia Port and is the public body responsible for managing three state owned public ports; Sagunto, Valencia and Gandia. The port is home to major shipping companies like Cosco, MSC and Grimaldi. Valencia’s central location and access to the advanced railway systems and water give it an advantage as a port. The port had its roots all the way back in 1763 when it was just one arm. The major evolution came in the 1950s-80s when big container ships grew in popularity there. Now the port has grown to multiple terminals and docks. MSC is currently looking to further expand to the new terminal being built. The port has a lot of traffic every day as 12-14 container ships come in on average per day. 45% of the overall container traffic comes from Middle and far East Asia, 12% comes from North America, 13% from Central and South America and 12% from the Black and Mediterranean sea. I guess the reason the large majority is coming from the Middle and far East is because that is where many companies manufacture their products. The port developed the Port Community System” which is an electronic trading platform used to simplify operational tasks and documents. The Port Community System is now used by 925 companies. I was astonished by the size of the port, it was massive! There were thousands of containers we saw on our drive around the port. Our guide took us to two different look out spots where we had a view of the entire port. We were able to watch a container ship leave the port with exports. It was neat to compare the Port of Barcelona and Port of Valencia. I believe the Port of Valencia utilizes more LEAN tools and has a more streamlined and efficient operational system. It is evident that Valencia is the preferred port of Spain as it is ranked the #1 Spanish container port, the 4th in Europe and 27th in the world. I enjoyed this visit and learning about the past, present and future for the Port of Valencia.

Today we started our day with fresh orange juice and a croissant at Hotel Olympia Universidades before we started our journey back to Barcelona. One of the highlights of my trip was the fresh orange (naranja!!)  juice every morning. We got to the train station early and I was able to get some work done. I got to reflect on the train ride on the trip as a whole and I could not have asked for better scenery to look at. The train takes us through rural Spanish countryside. It was so beautiful to see the rolling hills, farms and mountains. It was refreshing to see so much land after spending 13 days in metropolitan cities. It is so interesting hearing all the different languages being spoken on the train. While in Spain I met people from all over the world, every continent but Antartica actually!  I love meeting new people, especially from different countries and from all different cultural backgrounds. As an International business major it is so important to have strong cross-cultural communication. Exposure and experience with different cultures is the best way to develop this skill. I gained so much academically on the trip but also personally. The visits gave us first hand experience learning about global logistics and supply chain issues. I am leaving the trip with a better understanding of the ports, logistics and LEAN. Personally, I gained better patience and flexibility. With my phone being stolen the first night I had to learn to roll with the punches and just let things go. Typically, I would have been freaking out about a solution but I decided to just relax and work with what I had. I am so thankful for my classmates that were on the trip. We started as strangers but now they feel like family and are my new friends for life.  Dr. Gonzalez and Dr. Gourdin kept us laughing and made sure everyone was taken care of, we could not of done it without them! I am ready to get home and apply the knowledge I gained through this experience and I am sure it will benefit me greatly in my future career in the international business world.

July 18, 2023 – Day 13

Today we traveled from Valencia to Barcelona. The train ride went much smoother this time around. I was able to reflect on a lot of the things I learned on this trip both academically and personally. Starting with academics; the companies we visited gave great insight on different aspects of logistics such as transportation, warehousing, lean, six sigma, port operations, and sustainability. Seeing these classroom concepts in real life have given me such a better understanding for Supply Chain and logistics. Personally I feel that I have gained so much knowledge about the Spanish culture. A lot of this comes from the food we’ve been eating but also interacting with the people in everyday life. Another skill I have enhanced are problem so living skills. This came through not speaking any Spanish and having to improvise with the language barrier while trying to communicate and while using public transport. Overall I am beyond thankful for the opportunity to have competed this study abroad trip.

Today is our last day in Spain. We spent the morning traveling across Madrid to get from Valencia to Barcelona. My classmates and I had to sprint to our 2nd train to make it in time but we did it and made it back safe and sound. This trip is the first trip where I’ve ridden trains. The views were gorgeous and the ride reels quite smooth. Once we arrived at the hotel, we put up our things and headed to the classroom to talk about the trip and upcoming assignment due dates. Everyone got to voice their thoughts, comments, and concerns. We then have 2 hours of free time to prepare for dinner. Our last group dinner was absolutely perfect. Not only was the food amazing but so was the company and environment. I am sad this trip has come to an end but I am so grateful for all the supply chain experience I’ve gained throughout this time. I am also grateful for my new study abroad family. We all got along great, and stayed together the duration of the trip. I am looking forward to seeing them around campus and potentially doing another study abroad in the near future.

The logistics of Day 12 were absolutely amazing. We had our visit to a logistics warehouse in the morning with lunch following right after then free time. For breakfast, I ate toast and fruit in the hotel lobby. We then loaded up in Taxis an headed to Raminatrans. Once we arrived, we were greeted by security to show identification and put on yellow safety vests. We then met our guide who has been working with the company for several years. Once we entered the warehouse, it became so important to remain cautious of your surroundings. Fork lifts were coming left and right at high speeds with heavy objects. It was quite interesting seeing how the factory organizes and stores product by category. The mopeds, washers, and tvs were on one side of the building while the fruit, juices, foods, etc are held on another side. All products go through the same process of being lifted, weighed, and loaded into the truck. One interesting thing I learned during the visit was that in Spain, only 42 tons worth of cargo maximum is allowed per truck container. America allows way heavier loads than that to be transported at a time. It makes me wonder how that effect their overall delivery efficiency and speed. Another interesting thing I learned about was the three levels of customer clearance. There’s green=cleared, yellow=flagged, and red=flagged; open container and check that the merchandise inside corresponds with the packing list. After the visit, our tour guide gave us his business card and backpacks. We then headed to lunch and then had free time. I used my free time to explore l’oceongraphic (a local aquarium) in Valencia. It was nice comparing the aquariums in the US to the one in Spain. I had an amazing experience with the staff and animals. After the aquarium, I went shopping and grabbed dinner with some class mates. Day 12 has been my favorite thus far.