My name is Andrea Rodés and I took part in a Travelwork programme in 2000, during the summer months. At that time I was studying Business Administration and Management at ESADE but I really liked art, so I had decided that when I graduated I would dedicate myself to cultural management. I asked Eva to find me an internship in an art gallery in London to familiarise myself with the sector and see if I was really interested in art. And so it was. I ended up in a gallery in central London, very close to Piccadilly Street, and right in front of Christies. It was a very interesting experience, not only to understand the art business, but to better understand British society, especially British high society!
Five years later I returned to London to study Art History at one of the best art universities in Europe, the Courtauld Institute of ART, and although it took me three years to be accepted, I am sure that my work experience at the gallery was a factor in my favour. Working at the art gallery has not only served me academically and professionally, it also inspired me to write my first book project (I ended up being a journalist), based on my experiences as an intern around the world. The book has not yet been published, but the draft was very much liked by my future editor (Destino). In 2007 I went to live in China as a correspondent for the newspaper Público, and in 2008 I published Por China con Palillos (Destino), a collection of travel and gastronomy chronicles to better understand Chinese society. In 2012, after my return to Barcelona from China, I published my first novel, Lluny de Pequín (Editorial Columna), the story of a half-Catalan, half-Chinese girl who is sent by her company to work in China.
A stay in Beijing will help you lose your prejudices against your country of origin and help you discover a fascinating country. The truth is that if I were 10 years younger now, I wouldn't think twice, I would ask Travel Work to send me to China!