Episode 9--Halloween at Graduate Student Center

Hi everyone ! I have been through a really tough week, but there were things that would certainly light you up, for example, the upcoming Halloween celebration!
This was the first time that I celebrated Halloween in the United States. Back in my home country, people usually do not go out their way to decorate and literally wear costumes to celebrate Halloween although many young people know that it is coming pretty soon. Therefore, I wanted to make my first time meaningful.

When I was browsing over the website, I noticed that Graduate Student Center will be holding a Halloween event where participants could enjoy pizzas, drinks, play games, use decors to decorate pumpkins, wear costumes and watch horrible movies. These things can really entice new comers like me to come and enjoy what it has to offer. So there I went. It was, like it said to be...AWESOME!

When I got there, the third floor of Graduate Student Center has already filled with merriment. We grabbed some food and entered a room to play a Halloween game called "hot potato". The rules are along the lines of a game that I used to play when I was little back in China, so that was not hard to get it. Unfortunately, I was the first person out of the game by the first round. > < (sad) However, as I went out to explore a bit, I found the right place to really sit down and enjoy the happiness that Halloween brought along, which is decorating the pumpkin!

My "masterpiece" took about 20 minutes to complete. I chose to draw two different facial expressions on each side of the pumpkin, an economical way to have difference faces. (It bugs me to see the other side being left blank.) I was so pumped up when I was drawing on the pumpkin, and using various stickers to spruce it up.

This is one side of the pumpkin. 

I am displaying what is going on on the other side of the pumpkin. 

Now I am trotting it out on the top of my fridge so that my roommate could see and jealous of me!! (hahahah~ I am joking) 

After finishing decorating it, my friends and I were so into taking pictures of these little cute "guys" ! I had a great time there. Thanks to Graduate Student Center for holding this great event, and thanks to the pumpkin that did raise my spirits! 

Finally, family photo! 

Have a nice weekend, and make sure you have your Halloween celebration mapped out! 

Episode 8--Untitle

I couldn't think of any words to describe what I did this week because there were so many things needed to be taken care of and I felt like I was under great pressure. Some personal issues came along and kind of made this week harder to go through than it usually was. However, back in my home country, there is a famous saying that seems appropriate to capture my status right now, which translated in English could be " I am a roach that cannot be beaten dead." ( I am not sure if it sounds weird or inappropriate in the US context. ). But I am sure that things will begin to turn around and I am trying to get these negative emotions out of my system. 

Good news is my older cousin and aunt are already in Philadelphia. We had a dinner at Sankee, which was a prefect timing for my older, me and my younger cousin to get together and had some catching up. As an international student, having family members here for you would be the best way to cheer you up and get over your homesickness. 

Episode 7--On-campus Housing

For those of you who want to live on campus, you cannot miss this episode.
Sansom Place is home for graduate students who choose to live on campus. It is consisted of two buildings--Sansom Place East and Sansom Place West. I am currently living at Sansom East, so I am able to fill you in some information about how's life here.

 There are three words to describe my experience living at Sansom Place: convenient, safe and fun.  Convenience and safety are always the top priorities when it comes to thinking about where to settle down. In this sense, Sansom Place has a lot going for it because of its favorable location and good security system. Located on Chestnut Street, it is only a 3 minutes walk to Penn bookstore, 5 minutes to Penn GSE and Pottruck Fitness Center, 10 minutes to Van Pelt Library ( which is the largest library at Penn). If you have classes in the morning, you can sleep in till 30 minutes prior to your class schedule. (If you are able to get shower and breakfast done in 20 minutes). It is also close to convenient store like CVS, and a grocery market. Therefore, its prime location has attracted many residents who value convenience most.

What Sansom Place provides also makes life easier. There is one laundry room down the sub-basement, which is free; many study rooms and lounges are on the ground floor; package room is only situated on the 2nd floor in Sansom East, meaning that residents in Sansom West have to come to Sansom East and pick up their packages. Trash chute is located on even number floor. So it takes a little going down or up for students living on odd number floor. The monthly rent includes cable, internet, utilities. Basically, residents only have to pay the amount that corresponds to their apartment type, no extra fees added.

Secondly, the security system equipped in two buildings should  be given credits for. There are front desks and security guard working 24 hours, and for each building, there is an entrance where residents should both swipe their Penn Card and enter their unique 4-digit code to get access to the inside. Without Penn Card and 4-digit code, one cannot enter the main building. (The 4- digit code  is created by students online and it is recommended never revealing their unique code to someone else.) For anyone that is from outside of Sansom Place, they must sign in and present their ID at the front desk. (I am not sure if they need to be accompanied by a Sansom Place resident; but from what I experienced, the answer is Yes.) Same rule for overnight visitors. If you have families or friends visiting you and they will be staying for a longer time, Hilton Hotel Inn and Sheraton University are just outside of Sansom Place.

Lastly, I think living here is kind of fun because there are many activities for students to be engaged and get to know each, and most of them are free. I've have participated in a tour to Philadelphia Arts Museum, and went to a welcome BBQ for all new residents. For me, most of my classmates are living in Sansom Place, therefore, it would be easier for us to get together, meet for group project and socialize.

There is one topic that I can't avoid when talking about on-campus housing, which is the cost!! As you know, most of the housing offered on-campus would be relatively higher than those off-campus. It's true. Choosing here has lots of advantages, but in the meantime, it is kind of expensive. However, it depends on how you value the importance. If, for example, you'd prefer low cost than convenience, than it's okay to find a place a bit farther from Penn campus.

I hope this blog will give you a general sense of what Sansom Place is like, and help you make the best housing choice. If you are interested in Sansom Place, you can use this link http://cms.business-services.upenn.edu/residential-services/housing-options/sansom-place.html  to further your search. Or go to Penn Residential Services to find out more about on-campus and off-campus information. http://www.upenn.edu/services/residential.php

Good luck ! See ya~

Episode 6--Practical Learning

The assignments of this week is not that hefty. I only have one summary to be revised, which I already did; and one journal entry for my ICC course, which is completed based on my experience and observations from my service-learning project; and the other is data analysis for my Educational Linguistics.

I specially want to say something about the second one. For the journal entry that we have to do every week, I think it is a great way to hone my observational skills and make connections to the theories and practical work. As someone who goes straight to grad school after college, having such opportunity would be instrumental in formulating my thoughts, and I am so glad that Penn has this requirement for some courses. Before going to the class, I only knew that students in our program are required to do an internship for 166 hours, which is  an important component to complete our degree. But for the service-learning project that I am doing for the first semester, it actually took me by surprise. I did not expect that I would be doing something so interesting and practical.

Therefore, if you want some practical experiences for the program that you are going to study, Penn GSE is a good choice. And so far, I am really enjoying my life here and what Penn has to offer.

Episode 5--Serivce Learning Project and Happy Birthday!

Today is my birthday! It was the first time that I celebrated my birthday in the US. For a starter, I did my Service Learning Project in Penn Treaty school. It is required for my ICC class because most of the things that we are doing is based on what you have experienced in the site. I am tutoring 6th and 7th grade students. ( I might just call them "kids") I had no idea what American middle school looks like except for the TV shows, but it was an eye-opener to see how things were different here. Honestly, kids were rowdy sometimes, however, they were really nice and friendly. Their responses and questions made me feel that I was welcomed. Since it was the first day, what we did was introduction and team-building. I can't wait to get my tutoring started next week and get to know them. They are adorable.

Another exciting thing was that my birthday fell on the same day. I am not big on birthday, but having pleasant food really does the tricks. My roommate, who is so sweet and good at cooking, made me noodles and egg, which was deemed as a traditional gesture to send best regards. I am so glad to have this lovely lady as my roommate, making my life at Penn full of delicious food.

For the evening, my friend invited me to Franklin Fountain, a famous ice-cream shop in town, which is on the first and market street. We had a great time tasting different flavors of the ice-creams. But green tea rules as always. ( I am an green tea lover.) We ordered one sundae and two scoops for a cup.

Happy Birthday to myself! I wish that my life could be just as sweet as the ice-creams. And may all you guys a happy weekend! 

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!