The Globetrotting Geek

Wednesday/Thursday – Day 57/58

September 24, 2012

Much of Wednesday was taken up by the trip home. I arrived in New York City at 8:15AM, the exact same time my booked bus was leaving for Philly. This meant I had to hang around for another while in order to find another bus to catch. At 9:15 I managed to find a seat and took the ride home, arriving back at 30th and JFK, Philadelphia at about 11:20. My homework for algorithms was due, given my extension, at 12PM, and I was cutting it close! I caught the SEPTA (south-eastern Pennsylvania transit authority) subway  and made it to the office, sweating and puffed out, with all my luggage at 11:53. Just made it.

After that I ran quickly to the office of my physics professor to try and catch up on the lecture and work that I had missed as a result of Rosh Hashana! Though he didn’t have time for me then, he arranged to meet with me late in the afternoon. Following that I raced back to my dorm to drop my stuff off, had a quick lunch at the Hillel and then headed off to my Ruby on Rails class.

After that I headed over to DRL (David-Rittenhouse Labs), a maze of a building, with difficult to navigate corridors and poor design in order to meet with the physics professor. Unfortunately, though he knew the subject material back to front, he was not so adept at communicating it and understanding my individual issues. I endeavored from then on to find alternative help for when I become stuck.

By the time I returned to my room that evening, I was feeling pretty drained yet there was still more to come!

Tonight was the first proper PGC (Penn Glee Club) rehearsal that I could attend and, boy was it wonderful. First order of business was to collect a large stack of sheet music to learn and following that I was forced to sight-sing my way through a good number of the pieces. However, the result was pleasing and I came away from rehearsal wishing it had gone longer.

Thursday was a bit of a struggle as I attempted to understand my more difficult lectures after having missed a good few sessions of each. Other than that, nothing blog-worthy occurred till the Penn Singers rehearsal in the evening. The rehearsal was a bit of a shock, very little playing around, we went straight into the work, learning ‘What You Want’ from Legally Blonde. The song contained my only lines in the show and as a result I was quite embarrassed when going through it, I struggled a little with the timing of my part.

After rehearsal I headed back to shower and work till I received an SMS notifying me that Steph of PGC would be baking cookies for the next hour and hosting ‘newmen’. I saw this as an opportunity to get one of my newman interviews done. As part of the newman process, it is required that every newman spends at least twenty minutes interviewing every ‘oldman’ from the PGC in order to become well integrated into the club. The includes filling out an interview form, answering some specific questions. However, when I got to Steph’s that evening, it was far to full for an interview and I ended up just chilling with everyone there.

Back to the room, and my planned early night dissolved under the stress of work. So much for that.

College – Tuesday – Day 40

August 31, 2012

I woke up early and packed my bags, this was the big day. College. Downstairs where a taxi was already waiting for me, I waved goodbye to the doorman and headed to Penn Station. Arriving at 7:40AM for my 8:15AM Bolt Bus to Philly. The Bolt Bus ride was uneventful (though only cost me $12) and I was soon again on solid ground in my next city.

I hailed down a taxi and caught a ride with all my bags to Rodin House, my dorm for the next few months. I checked-in and received my key and temporary building pass and took the ‘elevator’ to the ninth floor where my room was. The building was largely silent and void of other individuals, as Rodin is solely for ‘upperclassmen’ (no first years) and they were yet to move in. I unpacked my small amount of stuff, picking a desk and bed next to a window for plenty of natural light. I then raced off to the Office of International Programs to see if there was room left on the bus trip to Target and Ikea to pick up needed supplies.

When it was clear to me that I wasn’t going to be able to get on the bus and that Target and Ikea were a cab drive away I decided to go shopping on campus for the real essentials. I went to the bookshop and purchased a set of sheets and a pillow and then went to the ‘Franklin Building’ and picked up my PennCard, my UPenn ID. I then walked back to my dorm via Locust Walk, the main walkway around which the entire campus is centered.

I settled back down to my room for a few more hours (watched an episode of Breaking Bad) and then headed out to meet with other exchange students for dinner. One of the UPenn students showing us round decided it might be wise to try a Philly Cheesesteak and so we caught the SEPTA (South-Eastern Philadelphia Transit Authority) subway to a well-known place. There I purchased a vegan Philly Cheesesteak and a Dr. Pepper Soda. The Cheesesteak I couldn’t bear, far too oily, however I thoroughly enjoyed my soda.

After that I retired to my room to reflect on the day and prepare for an early start the next.