Amsterdam

Amsterdam was another of those places I have already visited but just went along because my friends were going. My friend Dani who I met here in Barcelona is actually from Amsterdam. All her grandparents, aunts, and uncles live in Amsterdam so we had a place to stay. It was very nice of her family to take us into her home. They were such wonderful hosts, they took us to the nicest meals and sightseeing via cars.  The best part of staying in her family’s home were the home cooked meals! On Friday, Dani’s grandma cooked us a typical Dutch lunch. Dutch lunch consists of a lot of break and cold cuts. They also drink tea with every meal which I find pretty nice since I love tea.

Since Dani was there mostly to see her family and I have already toured Amsterdam before, we only went to the most important places like the Van Gogh museum, Anne Frank house, and the flower market. At night I went to the Red Light District which was actually my first time going there since my last trip to Amsterdam was with my family, they did not allow me to go there. The red light district really upset me. It was like entering a puppy store with girls begging you to sleep with them for money. I could not believe that it is legal to do such a thing. Some of the girls were very pretty and could have done something else with their lives.

Flowers at the Flower Market

The highlight of my trip was going to Dani’s aunts boat house on one of the largest canals in Amsterdam. It was such a cool boat house on the most spectacular canal with farms surrounding on the other side of the water. This was the part of Amsterdam a tourist never sees. I saw some windmills and real Dutch families hanging out by the canal.

I  learned the culture in Amsterdam and how people live there which made this trip different from the rest of my extremely touristic visits.

Windmill

Add a comment March 24, 2009

Multimedia Report on Residencia Onix

My experience in Barcelona would not have been the same if it weren’t for my living conditions in Residencia Onix. Located in L’Example right by Arc de Triumph lays this wonderful residencia with the nicest staff, friends, and bedrooms. Each room is equipped with a bathroom, large closets, kitchen, bed, and desk. The building itself has a rooftop pool, gym, laundry room, TV room, study room, and 24-hour concierge.

Living in this residencia has led me to meet the nicest of friends. We all grew closer because we live under the same room. All together there are 500 students living here from all over the world. CEA has 30 students living here and of course we stick together. We have dinner parties every week where we each cook a dish and eat it all together. There are also multiple parties on every night. Everyone’s doors are always open to allow you to come in and just have a good time.

Besides going from room to room, we also have a rooftop pool, which almost nobody in Barcelona has. This rooftop pool allows the residents to get closer as well. We all just lay out in the sun, have some drinks up there, and listen to music. 

When I first found out about my rooming assignment and that it was in a Resedencia which would be considered a dormitory in America, I was very upset. I decided to give this place the benefit of the doubt and check it out before complaining to CEA. So, I arrived in Barcelona and was freaked out about the dimensions of my new apartment I would be sharing with one other roommate. At least in my home institution, we go home some weekends and have a sort of escapism from this cubicle.

The first week, I was hating this small dorm. I was crying to my mother that she must find me another rooming assignment. Then as weeks went by, Resedencia Onix grew on me. I met the most outstanding friends where everyone’s doors were always open for you. I felt more at home then ever. There is never a dull moment in Onix which I find to be an important aspect when you are so far away from home. Living with 500 other students is much better then being put in an apartment building with old people or locals in Spain where you can’t make as much noise and feel like you’re a college student. I have friends who were put in apartments and they live with their 3 roomates and  no one else in their building is young. At least with Onix you are destined to make a lot of friends which makes it easier to meet people.

Other major pluses with Resedencia Onix is the 24 hour security staff, gym, TV room, and other cool hang out spots to connect with these new friends.

The only cons with Onix is the location which is not even too horrible. Its located in Eixample Dreta where camus is 20 minutes away (which is far for someone like me from Miami who does not walk much) and there are absolutely no restaurants around Onix.

Overall though, my experience in Onix made my stay here in Barcelona beyond what it would have been if I lived in a private apartment with 2 or 3 friends and no social circle around me. Living here has helped me adjust to life in Spain because I am never lonely and never have a chance to miss anyone or anything back at home!

1 comment March 24, 2009

Viral Marketing

word of mouth= effectivness of viral marketing

The whole point of viral marketing is to pass along a message. Passing this message could be by word of mouth, emails, and a lot of more new techniques that are used today due to our growing mass market. Viral marketing is a form of free advertising because it is all based on passing something along. This something could be about a new product, movie, etc. I believe viral marketing is a great way to gain recognition of a product you are introducing to the world because the whole point of it is for the words to come out of someone you know very well. For example, I would trust my friend over the ad campaign on a television screen in telling me about a product because obviously they have my trust if they are my friend. Another reason why viral marketing is effective is because it could be spread faster and more effectively.

Here are some examples of viral marketing campaigns that have been very successful in launching a product: (http://danzarrella.com/examples-of-viral-marketing-campaigns.html)

-Hotmail: When Hotmail launched, much of its early success was due to the virality of the sigline that it attached to every outgoing email inviting the recipient to join. One of the earliest examples of viral marketing on the internet.

-One Red Paperclip: This was a blog where the author started with a single red paperclip and traded his way up to a house, documenting his steps along the way.

-The Simpsons Movie: Simpsonize yourself was a website that viewers could create themselves into a character from the movie.

-Dove: The Dove evolution campaign.

All the examples above are good examples of viral marketing because they each sent a message which grabbed a viewers attention in a different way then the traditional ways of advertising like in newspapers and television. For example, the Dove evolution campaign touched my heart when I watched it because it made me feel that Dove as a product is being true in the word by showing me that the girl in the ad is made up to be better then she is. As a common observer of the Dove campaign, one would give Dove their trust.

A bad example of viral marketing is with Sony’s “all I want for Christmas is a PSP” because they were very secretive about making a blog that was really the company’s form of viral marketing. The marketing firm in charge of Sony made this blog and updated it frequently pretending to be a young boy who wanted a PSP for chrismas. Whether it become a success or not, viral marketing is very effective and has boosted products up with likability and trust in the product.

1 comment March 24, 2009