After meeting up in Milan, we flew to Fes, Morocco which is the spiritual center of this North African coutry. We ended up staying with a wonderful host family where we were able to practice our French and eat traditional Moroccan food.
The first day we visited the Old Medina, the only living UNESCO site in the world. The medina is a massive market dating back over 2000 years where you can find anything from pottery to spices, leather goods and even freshly caught fish.
The second day we visited the new city and the palace of the King. Unfortunately since it was Ramadan, all the cafes were closed. Only after 9pm was the city bustling with activity. Our first picture is of Smitha at a cafe where we drank traditional mint tea. The second is us in the medina.
We continued our journey to Tangier where we visited the Northern most tip of Africa at Cape Spartel (see Ariana's picture in front of the lighthouse). It is a beautiful place on the Mediterranean, only a ferry ride away from Spain.
After our four day adventure in Africa, we finally arrived at HEC Paris. HEC is actually in Jouy-en-Josas, a town near Versailles. We were surprised by our dorm rooms, which are spacious and even have a small balcony. However, without a fridge or microwave in our rooms, we've learned the ways of the restaurant, or sit down cafeteria, on HEC's campus.
The first week there was "Welcome Week" for all the international students. With events every night, the Europeans love to party. We had dinners, outings, trips to Paris and other social events to make everyone more at ease while classes were starting.
Unfortunately, classes did begin on September 21st. Here's what we're taking:
Strategie (like mgmt101)
Gestion Juridique de l'Entreprise (Corporate Law)
Gestion Juridique de l'Entreprise (Corporate Law)
Marketing International
Wine Marketing
Weekend Seminar in Teamwork
Doing Business in Europe Today
Regulating Risk in Europe
Emerging Countries and Capital Markets
French Grammar/French Oral Expression
French Language Class
The hard thing is that most of the courses are taught in English. However the Wharton exchange requires us to take 4/5 cus in French. Overall, classes have gotten better and we're getting used to taking our business classes in French, but it's still hard to figure out what's going on if you zone out.
Currently, we're sitting in our Bed and Breakfast in Sevilla, Spain. After a presentation last week for Strategie, we thought it would be nice to get away, relax and explore.
Hope everyone's semester is going well and feel free to contact us with questions about HEC, traveling in Europe or Penn!
Ariana and Smitha
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