Graduate Student Center and its many activities

The Graduate Student Center is the “hang out” spot for graduate and professional students.   Its exact location is: 3615 Locust Walk.  I got to say that we are very lucky here at Penn.  A lot of Universities don’t give their graduate students their own space.  Our little building is what I call the “little building that could”.  It’s small, cozy, offers free coffee/tea, sells quick snacks, and is a monster at organizing events for graduate students. 

Just yesterday we had “Grad Fest” where all of the graduate student organizations set tables and recruited new members.  Food and a free t-shirt were provided.  The center is organizing another event that a lot of my classmates will attend tomorrow.  It also offers different workshops for Graduate Assistant tasks like: paper reading and correcting. But I want to focus on the Moshulu party from last week!

The Moshulu Restaurant is basically a “ship-restaurant”.  The party was at the deck of the ship.  There was a DJ, drinks and an incredible panorama of the city.  We got there around 10:30pm and left a little before 12.  Here are some pictures of the boat. 

Philly Cheese Steak anyone?

One of the things that I always do whenever I am anywhere is to try the local food.  Anywhere and everywhere I go I taste the “regional drink, dish dessert” etc.  This is exactly why (after 4 years) I gave up being a vegetarian.  But that’s a whole another story…

Philly has been no exception to my rule!  As soon as I got here I began to converse with local random people (completely not awkward) in order to find out what, in their opinion, was Philly’s dish and of course where to get it.  99.9% of the people that I talked to answered: Philly cheese steak as the dish that best represents them and Jim’s Steaks as the best place to get it.  So off I went!  Jim’s steaks is located at 400 South Street Philadelphia and without any detours I soon found myself part of a line of about 20-30 people that were also waiting their turn to order a Philly cheese steak. 

( Photo belongs to : visitphilly.com)

I ordered a traditional Philly cheese steak with an ice tea.  It was one of the best sandwiches (better known as hoagies here in Philly) that I have ever tasted.  It was completely worth the chase.  :D

First Week

The first week of school is officially over and my one year here at Upenn has officially begun! I am excited and nervous to begin a new school year. My strategy for this semester will be to always try to keep ahead of my work. I will TRY (keyword) to have things ready at least a day or two before they are officially due and if I ever have free time i will try to read ahead in some of my classes. I know that I normally get sick around late November and early December so I will try to do some readings that are due around that time block. Let's see how this plan goes! (Always hope for the best)

Professors
Before even stepping foot on campus I began to make contact with GSE professors. Upenn was one of my top choices for graduate schools but the emails between different professors and myself definitely placed it as the top choice. Through their emails, professors encouraged me to pursue my interests, recommended books, advised me on my GSE application and even helped me apply to an upcoming education conference. I am a very shy person and to know that my professors are approachable and nurturing is very important for me and for my success as a student here at GSE and later as a professional.

Shyness
This is a huge issue for me but everyday is another chance that I get at improving myself on it. I was thinking of taking a public speaking course while at Upenn but my program is just a year long and I really want to explore as many education courses as possible. I have refrained from taking a much needed public speaking course but I will definitely keep working on public speaking on an individual basis. If there is something that I need to say in class I will always speak my mind but as I speak my hands literally shake and I feel my body becoming heavier ( as if I were about to faint). It's something that I just can't control (yet). But the only way to deal with it and to one day overcome this problem of mine is to actually do it. Let's see how this goes!

My Cohort
There are about 23 students in the International Educational Development Program. We all have different backgrounds and have lived and worked in different places around the world. Ages, interests and professional ambitions vary. Nonetheless, everyone seems friendly and eager to learn. I already have a running buddy and at least one study buddy for three of my classes!

Classes
I do not have a set schedule yet. The readings will soon pile up and in order to keep up with my semester/school year strategy I have to at least know what classes I'll be taking for the semester in order to be able to read the assigned books... No worries! It's early in the semester and hopefully I'll have a set schedule by Tuesday or Wednesday of this week.

Orientation for Colored Students
Until now, I had never in my life teared up in any conference. It is impossible to describe how for four hours Lois MacNamara and other speakers in the conference kept me at the edge of my seat. The general schedule included: research presentations by professors, a faculty panel, a student panel and then a reception. It all went as planned.

But beyond their standard presentations the professors, faculty and students hosting the event inspired and moved us all to want to do more in our field and for others. I will not give details about this but I can already say that this orientation and what it awoke in me will be one of the best memories that I will have of Upenn.

Get to the city!
It is easy to shelter oneself in books and other school assignments but Philadelphia has many things to offer and since I'm just going to be here for a year: I've already started to explore it. The architecture of its central library, the art museum and Franklin Institute ( just to name a few) are attractions by themselves. Everything is practically within walking distance. “Hot Spots” that I've gone to here in Philly are: Reading Terminal ( in doors market), Chinatown, Betsy Ross' house and Independence Hall ( all in one afternoon).

One thing that I have not done but will definitely do before I leave Philadelphia is to go up the Rocky steps. The Rocky steps are the steps that Rocky Balboa from Sylvester Stallone's Rocky movie climbed during his intensive training. At the beginning of the steps stands a statue of Rocky Balboa. The steps lead up to the East Entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.