WW Around the World - Paris, France

Bonjour Wharton Women!

I write to you from HEC Paris, one of France’s most prestigious business schools. Don’t be fooled by “Paris” in the school title – HEC is actually in Jouy-en-Josas, a suburb of Paris (about 20 min by car, 1 hour by train). This was a little disappointing when I arrived, but it’s really easy to get to Paris. It’s also a huge change from my urban lifestyle in Philadelphia. There are many programs, and I am enrolled in the MS in Management track for the semester, along with over 100 international exchange students!

(Me in front of the main class building)

A few facts about HEC:
• HEC stands for “Hautes Etudes Commerciales” or “High Studies in Business”
• HEC was founded in 1881 by the Paris Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCIP)
• Campus is 130 hectares (approx. 320 acres)
• Campus is 25 kilometers from Paris (approx. 15 miles)
• There are 3,000 students total, 30% of which are international

As for classes, I just started on October 1st! Our semester was supposed to begin in September, but construction of main buildings on campus pushed back the start date. Wharton requires 4 out of my 5 courses to be taught in French! Because I’m not fluent (yet), this is definitely a challenge, but I’m up for it! The semester is split into two halves, called “bimestres.” The first bimestre I’m taking Marketing, Strategy, Fiscal Management, and French (about 14 hours/week) The second bimestre I’m taking the above courses plus International Marketing and Negotiations (a weekend seminar in English!) – this amounts to about 17 hours/week, but longer with the 2 weekends of the seminar. My Marketing and Strategy courses resemble MKTG 101 and MGMT 101 with case work, but the content is different, so I don’t necessarily feel like I’m taking the same classes over again. And I’m learning all the French vocabulary to go along with those topics!

There are many student dorm buildings all over campus. The typical living situation is two single bedrooms joined by a shower, with co-ed bathrooms in the hallway. Students here don’t have “roommates,” they have “shower-mates”! Pretty cute. I was lucky enough to be placed in a mini-apartment. There are 4 single bedrooms joined by a common “kitchen” (no utilities) and we share a shower and a bathroom (so we don’t have to use the co-ed bathroom down the hall). I have 3 female roommates, one is from New Zealand, and the other two are from Vancouver. I am close with a family in France that is lending us a microwave and a coffee machine for the semester!

I spent the week before classes started in Paris with my father to do some sight-seeing. We’ve both already been to France several times, so we planned some “out of the ordinary” events, like seeing Rigoletto (Italian Opera) at the Opera Bastille and touring the Catacombs of Paris:

(Inside the Opera Bastille)

(Yes, these are real skulls!)

This past weekend, my friends from high school who are studying in Spain came to visit. We visited the Chateau Versailles – currently there is a Jeff Koons exhibit (American modern artist) – and his pieces are featured in the historic rooms of the castle. The contrast is incredibly interesting (and funny). We also took a bike tour of Paris, which I have never done. It was a beautiful day for a bike ride!

(Jeff Koons exhibit in Versailles)

(Me and my roommate Kate on the bike tour)

(Classic picture in front of the Eiffel Tower)

In the coming months, I plan on visiting Barcelona, Amsterdam, London, Itlay, other places in France, and the French Alps (for skiing).

Regarding finance, all of Europe is feeling the financial crisis. This past week, France’s stock market, CAC-40, fell 9.04% in one day – the biggest drop since the creation of the CAC-40 in 1988! Moscow also hit a record drop of 19.1%. Crazy!! Despite the haphazard markets, the dollar is doing well against the euro right now! $1 USD = 1.36€ versus almost 1.60€ this past May.

A bientôt!
Erica