Between May 8th and 15th, ESIC MBM students from all over Spain had a Business Tour in the city of Amsterdam, an experience that we will never forget.
DAY 1
The experience began on Monday the 9th, since on the 8th we arrived late and some tired and were unable to take advantage of anything. We started the Monday´s morning at the Amsterdam Business School, getting to know the school facilities by all the students, and with an introduction to the activities that we would carry out that week.
The first class was really interesting, dealing with the historical and current economic models of China, and all the evolution that the country has followed to reach these models, an activity that we complemented after a break for lunch, with a visit to ABN AMOR Bank, with three presentations that continued in line with what was explained that morning, focusing on the latest economic trends in the Asian country. In the afternoon the students we went to visit the city and get to know each other, concluding the day with dinner at a Chinese restaurant in the city center, continuing with the Asian theme.
Many of us, from this first day, begin to change our vision of Chinese society, often accompanied by prejudices and assumptions that, until they are explained to us in a deeper way, we do not understand, or we may even judge them.
DAY 2
Tuesday was an impressive day, since, apart from continuing with a masterclass on Chinese society, this time more focused on cultural and social factors, we complemented it with a Chinese class, a language that almost none of us had studied in our lives. The class was not only interesting, but the teacher made it enjoyable and fun, getting us to learn the basics of the language, while we laughed and practiced with each other, all in a very entertaining way.
The afternoon of the second day was quite a cultural afternoon, beginning with a visit at 2:30 to the Rijksmuseum, a museum in which we were able to move freely, accompanied by an audio guide, and we were able to enjoy works of all kinds, not only paintings, but also sculptures, models, and even classic objects like millenary swords.
We were personally struck by one of Vincent van Gogh’s works, which was a sketch, not a finished painting, and can be seen in the image on the right.
To continue with the more «cultural» day, some of the students decided to take a tour of the areas near the museum, a quite artistic neighborhood with a deeply rooted and deep culture, and we tried some of the country’s typical foods in some quite cozy places and restaurants.
DAY 3
On Wednesday, we had a class, and it was about making China’s Thought Patterns, Open Door Policy, and Economic Development known. It was taught by a Chinese teacher.
Before lunch we had to take a covid-19 antigen test, in order to take a guided tour of the Huawei company in the afternoon.
During the visit, they gave us a general presentation about the company and its plans for the future, and we were able to ask different questions. We then had the opportunity to hear from Mr. Sedat Gultekin, who shared with us some of his personal experiences within the company. To finish, they showed us two technological showrooms where they showed us all their projects.
At the end of the visit, the bus did not take us to the hotel. There was a lot of traffic because Ajax was playing. Many of us went to watch the game from outside, as the hotel was just a few meters from the stadium. It was a night of celebration because Ajax were league champions. We all ended up wet from the rain but had a great time anyway.
DAY 4
On Thursday, like every day, we had class in the morning, in which we were able to learn about Sourcing from / Market entry in China Do’s and don’t’s in China, but that’s not all, we finished with our Chinese classes, it was a lot of fun, We sang a song in Chinese, who was going to tell us this at the beginning of the trip.
At the end of classes as usual, we were able to eat at the university and rest a bit at the hotel, and then in the afternoon do another activity. This activity was a boat ride through the city of canals, Amsterdam. In it we saw many of the corners that we had not yet been able to visit, in addition, while we were on the boat we were able to have a drink, it was undoubtedly an unforgettable experience. When the tour ended, we were able to continue sightseeing and visit all the corners of Amsterdam. In short, this day was very touristy.
DAY 5
Friday was the last day at the Amsterdam Business School. That day the class did not increase as such, but they prepared a Kahoot for us with questions about what we had learned throughout all the sessions we had had. It was a sad day, we said goodbye to Brechtine, who had accompanied us throughout the week, and had helped us in everything.
They gave us the food in bags since we didn’t eat in the university cafeteria that day, and each one went on their own to take advantage of the last few hours that we were going to be able to visit the city center.
Being the last day, we decided to get together in a bar where Brechtine had obtained us discounts, and we stayed there for a while. Once the dinner was over, we went to the bars for a while, but we returned home soon since the next day he spent the whole day traveling and we had to recharge.
DAY 6
We left the hotel at 10:15, so we woke up calmly and went downstairs for breakfast at the hotel restaurant for the last time. Once the time had come, we headed for the train station to catch the plane on time, which left at 2 in the afternoon. The departure was a bit bumpy, between broken suitcases, and some who left the hotel late, some arrived a little fair to the plane (with 63 people it was impossible for everything to go well).
Once at the airport we took the opportunity to say goodbye to all the colleagues who were leaving on another flight, and we prepared to board. The last farewell took place at the airport where we were arriving, where each campus headed for the city from which it had left.
We would like to remind you that this trip has been a great experience, that it has allowed us to meet great colleagues and professionals, and to enjoy an incredible week in a great city like Amsterdam.