Episode 4--The Great Gatsby Party

I had a good time last night at The Great Gatsby Party, which was sponsored by GAPSA ( Graduate and Professional Student Assembly). The party was on a boat called Moshulo right on the Delaware River. It was the first time that I've ever gone to a party on a boat, and it was my first party ever since I got to Penn. I didn't know that Philly has such beautiful night view until I got there.

The boat is a pretty fancy restaurant, and GAPSA reserved it and kind of converted to a party house from 10: pm to 2:00 am on that day. There were hundreds of people on board, from all Penn graduate schools. It is one of the best ways to circulate and make some friends that are outside of your cohort or your department in a rather casual way. But some people go to a party with other intentions, and I am not going to make comments here. I believe you know that better than me.

The theme " The Great Gatsby" probably speaks about itself, meaning that everyone attendees should dress up like people in 20's, just like the attires of that movie. It was a pleasure to see how girls put on their bling-bling dresses and flashy head wears.

Honestly, I am not a party animal. I just love to get spruced up and take lots of photos of myself. ( Yeah, I am a little narcissistic. Haha).

But something about the dance floor kind of made me uncomfortable. I really enjoyed dancing, actually. However, I'd rather be a wallflower leaning against the edge than jump into the crowd and had a crazy night. It was too crowded.
Everyone was like pushing against each other, and there was not enough room to really dance to the fullest. So for that, I passed. But if there was some space, I'd love to get down on the dance floor.

Overall, the party was great. My friend told me that Penn has the most social events and activities among the Ivy League. So anyone enjoys socializing or partying, then Penn has another reason for you consider. But anyway, party was just a momentary pastime. When you're over with the hangover, plunge into studying !

The party started right here!! Pretty cool, right?

The car is a hot spot for picture-taking. 

Fantastic night view from the boat! It is worth checking out if you have not done so. 

My "narcissistic" self photo. Hope you don't mind. >_ <

Captain Danwen is ready on board! 

Hope everyone enjoys reading this! Have a wonderful weekend! 

Episode 3--Service Learning Project for Intercultural Communications

I am taking the basic course called " A Repertoire Approach to Intercultural Communication", which offers a hands-on introduction to the field of ICC. I didn't know how interesting and practical the course was until I took the first class, where our professor and internship advisor spent lots of time introducing Service Learning Project (SLPs) that we will be doing throughout this semester. There are several SLP sites that are offered, and each student should choose one site to work in order to write journals, reflections, and a final research paper. SLP is kind of like a volunteer work, which you don't get paid and you have to pay your transportation fees and other fees. I chose AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program,  where I would facilitate tutorials at a local high school classroom in the area of writing, math, science, etc. I won't be able to include more information until I attend my training session this Saturday. But I am sure that this project will definitely expand my horizon and hone my skills on observational and analytical abilities. I'm looking forward to it! For any of you who is interested in ICC program, I hope that this post, or later posts will help you get a better sense of what ICC does.  Have a good weekend!

Episode 2 --Discovering Chinatown

There is something I cannot shake off by being a Chinese girl. For example, I thought that I had a pretty   good appetite to explore food from different countries. But it turned out that only those traditionally cooked Chinese plates can really comfort my stomach. Given the fact that my roommate and I cook in our dorm, we don't usually dine out very often. But once a week, we'd go check out some of the recommended Chinese restaurants in town. So far, I have tasted four Chinese restaurants and two food trucks on campus. As a tradition, this Saturday, which was pretty chilly, we set out to have a food hunt at Chinatown.  

This is the restaurant we tried out. My roommate said, "This is exactly what it tastes like in China." Give some credits for this Lan Zhou Drawn Noodle! 

This is noodle that I ordered. In it, there are shrimps, sirloin, spinach and of course the delicious broth and chewy noodles. 

I figure someone looking at this is already mouthwatering !! Haha~  

And Chinese calligraphy under the table.  What an authentic Chinese vibe! 

This restaurant is by far the most authentic Chinese noodle place in town, comparing with other restaurants or food trucks that I have tried. If you are a sucker for noodles or Chinese food like me, you should definitely go and try it out yourself. I probably will be going there a couple of more times to test out some other items. 

There are some clarifications I'd like to make about Chinatown in philadelphia or in other states of the US. Because I have been to New York Chinatown ( probably the largest one in US) , San Francisco Chinatown and Philadelphia Chinatown, the conclusion is if you take it as what you are going to see in China, then you are wrong! Some of the second-tier cities in China look way better than the view you get from there, let alone the big cities like Beijing or Shanghai. Chinatown is  like a miniature of a tiny bit of China ( I didn't mean to criticize or despise,  I just want to clarify some people's prejudgement. ) not the whole package. I grew up in Shanghai; I define myself as a city girl. And if you would like to see the truth image of China, take a trip over there. You will find a huge difference between what is across the Pacific and what it looks like here. I can vouch for that. However, the food tastes similar. It is the best medicine for some people who can easily get homesick. 

Finally, wish you all have a wonderful weekend and get prepared for the incoming week! 

Pilot--Danwen's Life at Penn

Good evening, everyone! You are tuning into Danwen's Life at Penn, where you are going to hear a lot about Penn GSE, including classes, activities, and social events. This program runs on a weekly basis; however, it will probably have some added episodes after three to four days. So please check it out for an update frequently so that you won't have to miss anything exciting! Also, please remember its presenter, Danwen Guo, or Davina, if you have a hard time pronouncing her name.

Okay, Let's kick it off!


Episode 1

Four years ago, when I was traveling with my parents to the US, we made a brief stay at Philadelphia. We did not tour around much due to the packed travel schedule, except for the Independence Hall and Liberty Bell.  Not having given the chance to explore the whole city, I had a pretty vague memory.

Then years went by, I am currently enrolled in Intercultural Communications at Penn GSE, and I got the chance to study and live in Philadelphia for two years. What an incredible journey to embark on!

There are things that you would not dream of doing until it became a part of your life. It never occurred to me that I would come to Penn, to Philadelphia one day in the future while I was standing on the ground taking pictures of the Independence Hall four years ago.  It still seemed magical to me, as I leaned against the window at night looking over the surrounding buildings.  Life is unpredictable, and this is exactly what I love about it.

Three weeks of classes have past. Wow! Looks like my graduate study will be completed much faster than I thought.  I am taking three courses for this semester. The quantity will not strike you; but the quality will. The contents that hide behind each course are tremendous. Besides the hefty amount of readings that each course is assigned, there is going to be project learning, papers for two of my courses.  As a result, it is not going to be as easy as what it appears to be. Hopefully, I will try to navigate through and make my grad life interesting and meaningful.

Stay tuned!

Intercultural Communications Mixer !! Chatting with all first-year and second-year ICC students!

Yesterday's Mixer was a lot of fun. All ICC students gathered together for free pizza, drink and chats!!! Hoping that we will have such activity more often. It was a good way to establish bonding and make friends~ I'm so glad to be a part of the family!