Class started up again on August 29th and P basically hit the ground running. Though coursework has slowed down a bit this semester, recruiting season has started in full force. Every afternoon or evening 2-4 companies present on campus to an amphitheatre full of eager almost-graduates, "coffee chats" have started with recruiting executives, and cover letters are being written and re-written. There is a whole new batch of students and partners on campus now, who have started their first semester in September. For the first few weeks of the month, I helped with the new partner orientation and activities, like showing them around the market, and introducing our clubs. There is also a batch of students and partners that have come on exchange from Singapore and it's been fun to connect with the partners that I met there in this completely different sleepy little town.
Fall in Fontainebleau has been surprisingly beautiful so far - sunny and warm with the odd cloudy day. This time around it seems much easier now that things are familiar and I can find the grocery store, the pharmacy, the post office, the alterationist. I even know which stores are open on mondays (probably because i can count them on one hand). We have settled back into a routine here that includes some studying, but mostly interview prep for P, and prenatal aquagym classes, yoga, thesis stuff, and cooking for me! We are definitely not taking advantage of the chateau parties so much this time around, which I am noticing is a common story among the other P4s as well. The mood has shifted from work hard, play hard, to oh crap, now I have to find a job! Students are researching companies, practicing cases, doing mock interviews - anything they can to feel on top of their game.
Last week we took a mini road trip to Reims, about a 2-hour drive away in the Champagne region to get a taste of another small french town, and to learn about French champagne!! We toured the Pommery champagne estate, which houses 8 million bottles of champagne in underground caves that were orginally a Roman quarry! Naturally, the tour ended with a tasting, which P enjoyed very much (two glasses for him!).
P is heading to London this week with the Real Estate club, in order to do some networking with companies there, while I am getting ready to pick up my best friend L, who will be visiting from Vancouver on friday! I am very excited to be spending a week with her in France!!
Baby E continues to do well.. just growing and moving constantly. Here is a picture we took today. I am 2 days shy of the 31-week mark. For those of you counting, that means that I am just about to start my EIGHTH MONTH! eeks!! I reached a point where barely any of my clothes fit anymore, and so this week I bit the bullet and went in to Paris with my (also pregnant!!) friend C and hit up H&M for some cheap maternity duds. With only two months (and a bit) to go, I refuse to spend money on pregnancy clothes, but with literally no pants that fit, I was at the end of my rope! I was able to find some fantastic pieces (jeans included!) that will hopefully last the rest of the way! It feels great to look normal in clothes again and not have to be constantly checking to see if my belly band has ridden up or wearing flip flops everywhere because my shoes are too tight! I'm actually hoping that the weather will cool down soon, because my fall wardrobe of long cozy sweaters will be just perfect!
The baby is the size of a squash now, and will probably hit "pumpkin" just in time for Halloween. Now that it has all of it's senses ready to go, I've been trying to get P to talk to my belly more! This usually starts with a: "Baby.. I am your father" in a Darth Vader voice, and ends with a dialogue in some random accent: Sergei the Russian, a hunter from the Australian outback, a old German woman... P is very good at accents. HOWEVER the point of talking to the belly is so that the baby will recognize his voice and so I have given up. The baby probably thinks I live with a bunch of wierdos. In other news, our apartment is big and wonderful and has plenty of extra rooms so come and visit if you can!!!
