What do I want to work on?

Another week, many new learnings.

La Mercè Festival occurred in September and was first created to honor the Virgin of Grace. There were a number of exhibitions, music, fairs, and the most interesting of all was the Castel. The Castel is a human tower built literally from people standing on top of each other’s shoulders, and the most impressive part is how a small kid usually climbs all the way to the top, raises their hand amidst all the cheering and clapping, and slide down from the people like it’s no big deal. I cannot imagine what they pressure must feel like, the height, the fear, the adrenaline rush, the sense of accomplishment all fused in one. Maybe fear didn’t feel the same when you’re young or maybe with enough practice we learn to function effectively even under our own fears.

People that know me know how competitive of a person I am, and a type of competition you get to do as a MBA student is case competition. It started with 2 slide decks and a large excel file to figure out where the carbon emissions are coming from from a grocer. I learned about the difference of Scope 1, 2, and 3 carbon emissions. At a high level - Scope 1 is the emission coming from direct emissions from owned or controlled sources (ie. grocery stores, warehouses, etc.), Scope 2 is the indirect emission generated by the use of electricity, heating and cooling, and Scope 3 is the emission coming from upstream (supplier) and downstream (customer). The focus of this case was around Scope 3 emissions and we had to come up with findings, insights, and recommendations within 3.5 hours. Team Rubiks Cubez (pictured) managed to crush the presentation with our power poses right before and win home a bottle of Cava (Spanish sparkling wine) each and 6 month mentorship with someone from the company. I enjoyed the process but am still not fully convinced that’s something I’d want to do.

On the food end - this week was packed with some goodness.

More fun food during the weekend was a section (~70 people) potluck where people had to bring food representing their country/region. What would come to mind when you think Taiwanese cuisine? Would it be three cup chicken? Beef soup? Sticky rice? Popcorn chicken? Well, I didn’t bring anything of that and just brought the bread to make sandwiches for the pulled pork someone else brought.

Had Syrian food (not pictured) for the first time and of course had to visit the 4.9 star gelato place nearby. It was the first vegan gelato I’ve had in Barcelona but definitely did not let anyone down.

This weekend I also had the pleasure to try some homemade Amatriciana pasta for the first time. I should’ve asked what was in it, but I was too hungry and it smelled too good :P From Wikipedia I learned that Amatriciana is a pasta sauce made with cured pork cheek, pecorino romano cheese, and tomatoes.

On my way home on Sunday, I bumped into another person in the program having brunch. Our conversation of course started with how we were each feeling about the program, how we were adjusting to the pace, how we were finding new friends, and of course the big question of what we wanted to do afterwards. She asked me what I wanted to work on, and that was a different question all together from what my goals are. Being introspective helped her realize what her core values are, and let her to an easier decision on how she prioritizes her time. And with this I decided that it was time again to find a therapist after the sub par experience when I first tried in the US. Not only do I want to grow in my knowledge and skills from a business perspective, I’m also hoping to know myself better.

Until next week :)