First Week

I just finished my first week of ESSEC classes! Yes, it’s only Tuesday and I only have 2 days of classes. It’s common for students here to stack their classes (3 hours, 2 classes a day) so they don’t have to make the 1.5 hour commute out to Cergy from Paris every day. I am loving my Luxury Distribution and Luxury Retail class, both taught by the same professor who happens to be an ex-CEO of Armani. It’s going to take all my willpower not to go broke from shopping after spending 6 hours each week talking about luxury brands.

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When I first got to Paris, I thought I’d be gaining 10 pounds from eating croissants and steak frites all the time. It didn’t help that MC and I decided to substitute hot chocolate/dessert at LaDuree and pomme frites for dinner yesterday. LaDuree, considered the quintessential French macaroon brand, has dark chocolate macaroons worth salivating for. However, I have reason to believe that I won’t be seeing my scale tip anytime soon. One, we live on the 5^th floor of a walkup (6 flights of stairs since 1^st floor in Paris is actually the 2^nd floor in the US). You should have seen me lugging up one of my piece of my luggage. I literally took one step at a time. Two, we walk and take the metro everywhere. Three, ESSEC’s cafeteria gives mini-people sized portions of food. Take the soup for example. Yesterday, I decided to have soup for lunch so I grabbed a large bowl, which equivalent to the small size at Kellogg. I passed the bowl to the server who filled it with one ladle of steaming tomato soup. He holds it out to me, but I just stare at the bowl, hoping for a second ladle or even a half ladle since the bowl wasn’t full. When the server waived it at me again, I realize that that was all I was going to get. I know some of you consider me to be a mini-person, but my appetite has been conditioned to normal people portions in the U.S.

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MC and I couldn’t be better matched as roommates as we’re both intent on making the most of our time here. Our goal is to do something fun every single day. Sunday – Notre Dame. Monday - dessert/dinner at LaDuree. Tuesday – Kellogg dinner Party. Unfortunately, I’ll be out of town this weekend, attending my sister’s wedding in Taiwan. A bientot Paris! I’ll be back soon!

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La Duree