ALASTAIR + LALEINIA

You have no idea how good it feels to be back. We've been longing for this time; we even listened to Michael Buble "Home" dozens of times! We flew from London, and that was a nightmare. We woke up so early to get to the airport and we were supposed to get back by 11, but there was a problem with our airplane and we had to switch planes. It took almost 3 hours extra, but we eventually made it. We were greeted by my parents; they arrived a day or two earlier. It's been nice to get back into the swing of things. Alastair has a stress-free year. He already has a job offer, so no interviews, and he only has class from Monday-Wednesday. So we get longer weekends and way more family time! We took advantage of the weather and spent our time at the beach. Alastair would go for runs while Emre and I rode next to him on my new bike (I love it!) and we would finish off with a swim in the sea. Our favorite place to go is Castelldefels. There were fewer waves and it was very ...

So far so good here in Barcelona! First off it is hard to believe that it is finally here after so many years of waiting and debating. One month in, I'm so glad that we decided to leave our comforts, paycheck, home, etc to come to Spain. School has been fun, I've got a great team and the courses and workload are challenging. The campus is great and I'm really enjoying my classes and professors. All is well with school. One thing to note is that the evening right before I started school, Emre bit my lip! He bit it hard, hard enough to draw blood and make it look like I had a cold sore for the first day of classes. Thanks Emre. Ah well, I decided to laugh it off, but it sucked! Outside of school, here are some of my Barcelona highlights so far: Bunkers del Carmen One of the first place we went when we arrived in Barcelona. I won't go into the history of the place but safe to say the views of the city are great. We took a bus almost all the way to the t...

Laleinia and I cannot believe how blessed we are. After interviewing last week in New York City, we found out that we were accepted to IESE in Barcelona, Spain! Not only do we feel that the school is the best fit for me, it also happens to be one of the best business schools in the world! In fact, the Economist currently ranks IESE at #5 in their list of top MBA programs. Also, I will be able to earn a bilingual MBA! But wait, it gets better. I have been accepted into the Young Talent Program, which means that I have been pre-admitted to the program that starts in 2016. I will work for the next two years before going off to Spain. This means that we can earn some money and get immigration sorted out before we leave. I was a little worried about leaving the US for an MBA program while still a permanent resident, since immigration is so tedious. But this way, I will get my citizenship before heading off to school! Of course, Laleinia is very happy about it all. It is so ...