As we entered April, I noticed a lot of changes around my sit spot, the garden in my host family. During my dinners with them, the host mom would always tell me which plant just newly blossomed recently as she takes great pride in the plants she grew herself and the gardening. She told me that a new flower whose name I forgot because she said it in French recently blossomed and has a smell similar to Jasmin. The grass on the steps in their garden are getting greener and greener day by day. They opened their swimming pool and changed water. The mistral is getting stronger and more frequent, which makes the apparent temperature colder after one week of summer-ish temperature at the beginning of the Month. My host family told me that there is a saying in the South of France that the warmth in April is very unstable and the coldness can make a comeback at anytime before May, and it’s only after May 15th that we can be sure be have warm weather.

Last month I talked about possibly doing a local engagement project of picking up waste on the beaches and calanques in Marseille. I think the France government has always been concerned about waste in the country. I know that the government of the grand Parisian area just banned excessive plastic flower decors on the facades of coffee shops out of the concern for excessive and unnecessary waste. A lot of coffee shops started doing this after covid realizing that beautiful decors in the shop front could stimulate consumption and boost revenue. The topic of climate change is always hotly debated on news programs and everywhere here in France, considering that France is one the most energy-conscious countries.