“Hey man, how was Paris?” I’ve been asked this question dozens of times since arriving back home, and I still have no idea how to describe it. It was an overwhelmingly positive experience that honestly shocked me at many times. I didn’t expect to enjoy living in a quiet village as much as I did. I didn’t think HEC would satisfy my hankering for adventure nearly as much as it did. I expected a quiet semester full of studying and research, but I got an intense semester marked by new sports, getting stranded places and discovering absurd aspects of French culture.

Last month, Stern was generous enough to pay for me attend a business conference in Helsinki, Finland. I was one of just 50 students (out of 1500 attendees) offered a discounted ticket, so I was pretty excited to go. I immediately went to book the plane and conference tickets, as well as accommodation. Of course, not everything went exactly as planned…

It’s getting really nice. That is, the strange feeling of living at a true campus school. I still miss the impossibly tall buildings of the city, but I’m developing a soft spot for playing sports by the lake and doing homework under a tree. We moved from the B1 period to B2 (classes at HEC last half the semester, or six weeks), meaning I’m now taking five new classes. The rugby season is getting into full swing. I finally pulled the trigger on a discounted NFL Gamepass subscription so I could keep up with NFL games easier. Things are getting pretty serious.

When I think about my two years so far at Stern, a few key memories come to mind. The first is my magical first week, meeting a few of my best friends and going through Stern Orientation. The second is my freshman summer in New York (my first experience working full time). The biggest, though, is my decision to embark on a full year abroad in 2015.