Stephanie Siu: The Summer Weather of October

     The month of October just flew by before I knew it. After going through the phase of settling in during the month of September, it was time to properly gear down for the school semester in France. October was full of projects and presentations, all of which were group projects.

     With the sudden rain storms and the evening chills, all the international students here, caught the inevitable cold/flu virus. Once the germ storm passed, the weather in Caen decided to be sunny, with highs of 18° C during the days. We were told by locals that this year’s weather has been quite unusual and is usually bitter cold by now. However, no one was complaining and students here took advantage of the sunny skies by heading to the nearest beaches after school.

     I was advised, before traveling to Caen, to expect cold and harsh wet weather. I was very surprised to experience the opposite. I actually had to have summer clothes sent to me, via FedEx, as I only packed warm sweaters and jeans! I’ve learned when living in a new environment, to expect the unexpected and so far, to just go with the flow of things. It was such peculiar weather and odd to see people here in just t-shirts and jeans out.  Some days the weather would reach 18° C mid-afternoon. It was beautiful out and definitely not a stay-at-home type of day.

     October was also the month all the international students were looking forward to because of the 2-week holidays. However, before any of us could even breakout the champagne to begin celebrating the holidays, there were the obstacles of mid-term exams to pass. During the holidays, 90% of all the non-European students made traveling plans to take in Europe as much as possible. All the other European students took the advantage to go back home to visit family and friends.  

     It was hard to believe that the 2-week break was the 50% mark of the semester.  It was great to see a little bit around Europe as most of the non-Europeans indulged as much European culture as they could. I felt very fortunate to be able to just go to a few neighboring countries and get a taste of their foods!  

     Now that I am back for the last part of the semester, I’m finding that all my courses have final papers and presentations all crammed in the last week of school, which is mid-December. All of my school mates are starting to feel the pinch and the stress of school. Oh, C’EST LA VIE!