During my first two weeks at the University of California, Berkeley, I experienced some unexpected, and sometimes embarrassing situations. Allow me to share some with you.
But first, let me give advice to other foreign students who plan to study in the United States. Check the weather before coming！I was very sure that California was sunny all year around so I left all my jackets and sweaters in Paris. It was a big mistake！It rained almost every day during the first week in Berkeley.
I have to say that I quickly forgot these unlucky events. Life in Berkeley is very pleasant and everything is so easy compared to Paris. For example, in only 24 hours I bought a mobile phone and rent a flat. What's more, almost all the shops are open on Sunday.
The first thing that surprised me is that students may come late to class. They freely enter and leave the classroom many times during class. In France, students respect the teacher's lesson, so they are never late and they leave the classroom only at the end of the class.
The local people in California are in general very nice, open and active. However, I am not totally used to their habits yet. Indeed, I shook the hand of one of my classmates whom I had met the day before and he told me "I think we already met!"
I live a great experience at present, and I would just encourage any student to become a member in a program at UC, Berkeley.
