As Canadians panicked around them Bermudian students took Hurricane Juan in their stride in Halifax on Sunday evening.

And with about half the city still without power, it was announced on Tuesday evening that all the schools and universities in the town were closed until next Monday - including Mount St. Vincent, St. Mary's and Dalhousie Universities, all of whom boast significant Bermudian populations.

"It was just like home, everybody was running around and taking pictures," said Dalhousie graduate student Calvin Thomas of the storm. "Just another hurricane for us."

But for the Canadians it was a different story, said Dalhousie student Bryan Haworth.

"They had never seen anything like this."

"Everybody here was so unbelievably excited, they went crazy, it was a new thing for them," added Dalhousie first year student Emily Leitch. Most of the students in her Dalhousie residence, Howe Hall, were from further inland, she said, and had never seen anything like the spectacle produced by the hurricane down at the water's edge.

"We all walked down there," she said. "Just about everybody from Dal went down. They took a photo, it was on CBC News."

With the storm peaking at 1 a.m., people were still walking the streets near sunrise, she said. "For us - it made us feel like we were at home. It was a good thing, because we knew what to do."

In fact, Bermudian students became gurus of hurricane lore and information for the frazzled Canadians. However, even the Bermudians were taken aback by some of the damage the category one storm caused in the maritime city.

"There are four trees in a row laying down on top of houses, just ripped out of the sidewalk, outside my building," said Mr. Thomas. "The trees were not used to it."

"The damage was actually pretty bad," agreed Ms Leitch. "It was surprising. There were trees uprooted, fallen onto houses. At St. Mary's University classes were cancelled right away - the buildings are taller and the top floors were flooded, residences had to be evacuated."

Mr. Haworth said the building in which he lives on Quinpool Road above the House of Dogs pet store was shaking in the wind. However, despite not getting his power back until Wednesday afternoon, he added: "It wasn't too bad."

Buses were running the afternoon after the storm, said Mr. Thomas, and although the south end of the city is still without power and half the streetlights are not working, the company which has the monopoly on Nova Scotia's power - Enron - had sent in people from New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Maine to help get the city back up and running.

So what will the students do until classes resume next week? Most of the Canadian students are returning home, said the Bermudians.

However, that was not possible for most Bermudian students. Although some were staying in Halifax, others took advantage of the unexpected hiatus from classes. "We're hopefully going camping," said Ms Leitch. "Road trip!"