Part of this is that Co-Op terms are 16 weeks long. There are 52 weeks in a year, 16*3 eats up 48 weeks, if there are 2 or 3 weeks for Christmas it simply isn't possible to have more than a week or so between the winter and spring/summer and between the spring/summer and fall terms. I feel like 12 weeks is a better length for an internship, but I believe that the University Co-Op rules require that it be at least 16 weeks.
I feel that a lot of the packing and moving stress which the author describes is self-inflicted. If one is moving every four months it makes sense to pay the extra money for a furnished place rather than criss-cross the continent moving one's furniture and cookware around. If one is going from Waterloo across the continent, then it makes sense to take only stuff which one will be able to take on the plane. It might make sense to have a storage locker in Waterloo to throw excess stuff in (books and other entertainment-related things come to mind). The author claims to have done 3 co-op terms in the US, I would hope that he had this down to a science by now. At least some checklists or something to streamline the process. And given the number of Waterloo grads at this point, I would hope that even freshman have moving checklists.
I feel that a lot of the packing and moving stress which the author describes is self-inflicted. If one is moving every four months it makes sense to pay the extra money for a furnished place rather than criss-cross the continent moving one's furniture and cookware around. If one is going from Waterloo across the continent, then it makes sense to take only stuff which one will be able to take on the plane. It might make sense to have a storage locker in Waterloo to throw excess stuff in (books and other entertainment-related things come to mind). The author claims to have done 3 co-op terms in the US, I would hope that he had this down to a science by now. At least some checklists or something to streamline the process. And given the number of Waterloo grads at this point, I would hope that even freshman have moving checklists.