In France, you’re either a julettiste or aoûtien, meaning you take your annual summer vacation in July or August, although many get more than four weeks off (and some get less), so there’s room for a few crossovers as well. I don’t know what the word for someone who takes their summer vacation during both months is…chancheux? (lucky?) – or if there is a word for those of us who go on break in September is, but that’s where I fall.

However, it’s impossible if you live in France not to get swept up in the “I gotta get out of town” feeling, as places shutter up and Parisians race toward train stations and airports, with the sounds of luggage being wheeled over the uneven sidewalks, or families packing up their kids, and cars, and hitting the autoroute.

While others think the French vacation is extremely generous, it’s a right the French fought for in 1936. Before that, most working-class people had never had time off, although now it’s something that’s taken for granted in France. So if you want the same thing, follow their example and hit the streets where you live.

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