Let the Classes Begin!

Today was the first official day of class. I woke up at 6:30 today so I could get an early start. I cleaned up, got my supplies, and headed to breakfast with Brian, Abheek (today I learned that his last name is Basu), and Fred. We also walked down with one of our other floormates, Richard Dong. We skipped the small-talk though and just discussed what we liked about Penn so far. One of our other floormates, Onur Soybir, joined us midway through breakfast. I met him last night and we got to know each other better today. Our group of six ate a quick breakfast and then returned to the quad so we could be escorted to class.

Thankfully the walk to class is fairly easy to remember. Once we leave the quad, all we have to do is make a left and keep heading down a straight road until we reach the end of the “home area”, which is the area that summer students are confined to. Once we reach that border, we just make another left and eventually we reach the David Rittenhouse Labs. This is where all of our classes will convene, starting at 9:00 every weekday morning. Our group entered the building together and we were introduced to our professor by the RC’s. Bill Burner is our professor and I can already tell I am going to enjoy his class. Bill has been teaching physics, at both the high school level and college level, for over forty years. Every day, Bill lectures us on the topic of the day for about an hour to an hour and a half and then we will break up into our lab groups to perform experiments based on the lecture. Following these experiments is lunch. We take a break for an hour and then come back. I believe that we will normally have another lecture followed by another lab, or we will have a guest lecturer. I am still a little fuzzy on how the class operates on a day-to-day basis though because we were not given any kind of syllabus. However, I’m pretty sure I’ll catch on quickly because Bill seems like the kind of professor that would prefer a class to be easily understood.

Today I performed two experiments. We were put into groups of four. My groupmates are Sarah Hale, Greg Dadourian, and Ana Carolina-Miranda. I wasn’t able to get to know them very well because we had to work quickly, but I’m sure we will come to know each other well soon enough. Our first experiment involved mechanics, which basically consists of movement. We only dealt with time, distance, velocity, and acceleration today. We were not testing what made these principles work, but we were told to observe them in action using a motion sensor and computer graphing. We would have to move a certain distance in a certain amount of time according to the plot of the graph or the instructions we were given on how to make the graph. It was not as simple as it sounds. The distance that we were confined to was only three meters and we had to do most of these experiments within ten seconds. We had to use precision and accuracy to perform the tasks that we were given and it was quite a challenge, much to everyone’s surprise. The second set of labs involved lenses and light (optics, as Bill called this section). We had to do a series of experiments involving refraction of light, distances between real images and virtual images, and focus magnified images through a lens onto a screen. I had never done optics in my previous physics class, so this was all new territory for me. Nonetheless, it was fascinating and fun. Our class concluded with the optics experiment at 4:00.

We returned to the dorms and unloaded our things for the day. After class, we are basically free to do whatever we want to do. We can hang out with friends, do assignments, play sports, etc. Thankfully, the only homework my class is going to have consists of answering surveys and questions about the day’s lab online. This will give me time to explore the Penn campus, Philadelphia, go on day trips, and participate in any of the other exciting activities the staff has planned. There is never a dull moment here at Penn, and I plan to take advantage of as many opportunities as I can.

The evening was very calm, but still enjoyable. We took a campus tour after some icebreakers and we learned where exactly our boundaries are on campus. Following that, we hung out in groups for the rest of the night. I met a few more people including Julia’s roommate, Noor, and a friend of Fred’s and Abheek’s from their biomed class, Alison Liu. We had a lot of fun just getting to know each other and we even found a rec room on the fourth floor. We played music, shot some pool, and even played some board games. Like I said, there is never a dull moment at Penn.

It is only my second day and I already love it here. My class is exciting, the people are friendly, and the sense of community that you can find here at Penn all make for a really positive experience. I hope to have many more days like today.

Fiat Lux

Today was especially exciting as it was the first day of class for us in the Experimental Physics Academy. We walked over to the David Rittenhouse Labs as a group at 9:00 for our morning lecture. Once there, our professor, Bill Berner, showed us to our room and told us a little bit about what to expect. It was very clear that he knows what he is talking about, but also that he is the kind of teacher who listens to his students as much as possible and is absolutely willing to answer any questions we may have. He taught high school for 25 years before he joined the UPenn faculty and is in many ways the perfect person to teach the course (complete with the unkempt white hair and beard). We also met Mary Pandya and some of the assistant teachers there to help understand the lesson. The simultaneous casual atmosphere and sophisticated material made the first day of class both unique and enjoyable.

We covered some material that was review of simple mechanics because there are a good number of students who have never taken physics before, but we were able to cover about a months worth of curriculum in just over an hour. And afterwards we got to play around with the motion censors wile learning more about the nature of motion.

After that, Bill Berner covered some topics relating to light, lenses, mirrors and optics that was all new to me and very exiting. He talked about parabolic mirrors in practical use, such as cosmetic mirrors and rear-view mirrors on cars. He also discussed why objects appear closer when viewed from the bottom of a pool. During his lecture, he used physical demonstrations with lasers, mirrors and tennis balls with pupils drawn on them (to represent the eyes of the viewer) to help us understand what he was teaching us. These and the occasional joke slipped in made his lecture very engaging. What I liked most about his speaking though, was how much he stressed that sciences are not separate from each other or the outside world and how often he tried to highlight those connections for us.

We took break for lunch, where Alex, Brian and I discussed the appeal of American schools with a student from Istanbul, Turkey and after that, it was to the lab where we spent the rest of the day hands-on experimenting with light, lenses, focal points, and refractions. The equipment available to us, even on the first day made lab work more exciting than it has ever been for me. We had a huge lens set up where we could experiment with standing close to it and seeing people across the hall enlarged or standing back further than the focal point to see their image flipped on its head. We also had some high-powered lamps set up at the very end of the hall in order to experiment with "infinite" light sources. We spent three hours in the lab, all of it fully entertained collecting data that proved what we had learned in our earlier lecture. Because, as Bill Berner says, "just because the old man in the front of the class said it, doesn't make it true".

Once our classes ended, our day was nowhere near over. We still had ultimate Frisbee to play (say hello to the MVP on the wining team), dinner to eat and a campus to tour, all three of which involved meeting more new and interesting people than I would have ever thought imaginable. The campus tour felt more like a stroll around the city. We passed clothing stores and movie theaters and angry taxi drivers. For some, it may have seemed a little overwhelming, but I found it to be thrilling and very enriching.

After the tour, we had some time to relax, and get some of our course work done. I took the opportunity to familiarize myself with our programs website where we will be posting the mandatory surveys about our labs. One great thing about our class is that there are no grades or credits so the motivation for completing work is purely based in investigation and comprehension. Likewise, the system for completing assignments is more oriented towards helping everyone understand the material than giving individuals credit (hence the online surveys viewed by question not student).

At 10:00 we had a pizza party and played some pool, ping-pong and card games in the dorm''s lounge. It was a good way to unwind at the end of our first day and I got to know some of the people on my floor much better because of it. I can't believe this is only my second day in the program. I have already learned so much.

Moved In and Ready to Go!

Moving day has finally arrived! I was excited to start my day this morning because I knew that later I would be meeting my new community, my new peers, and my soon-to-be close friends. Needless to say, I could not wait to check out of the hotel, which we would later do around 11:30. But before that, we had our last group breakfast with Mr. Miranda at Cosi. I ordered my very first squagel (square bagel)…it’s not as exciting as it sounds…but it was good! After breakfast we headed back to the hotel to finish re-packing and then we made our way to the Freshman Quadrangle after checkout.

We walked down to the quad and checked in fairly quickly. I’m glad we arrived early because as it got later there was a flood of new students, many more than were there when we first arrived. At check-in, we were given our ID’s, maps, important guidelines and regulations, and our keys to the dorm buildings and our individual rooms. I reached my room, room 302 in the NY Alumni building. I hadn’t even thought to ask if Brian and I had been given the same room, so when we reached the third floor and stopped at the same door we had a pretty good laugh. We began unpacking in our surprisingly spacious dorm immediately. For some reason I get a feeling of satisfaction when I unpack something completely and settle into a certain space. I definitely felt that way when I finished unloading my suitcase today. I’ve personalized my desk, my wardrobe is filled with my clothes and other miscellaneous items, and my bed is made. It nice to feel like this dorm is a familiar place that I can return to at the end of the day and reflect or work.

After we unpacked (and had a rather frustrating bout with the school’s wifi) we met back with Mr. Miranda and Julia for lunch. Today we experienced our first real philly cheesesteaks. Thanks to our tour guide from yesterday I was able to order like a local. When you order a philly cheesesteak in Philadelphia all you’re supposed to ask for is the kind of cheese and say whether or not you want onions. For example, today I ordered as follows: “I’d like an American with,” (“American” being the cheese and “with” meaning I wanted onions). It is certainly interesting. After lunch we took the subway and trolley back to campus.

We were to be led to the dining hall at 5:00 and then attend an orientation. We got back to campus around 4:00 so we had some down time. Brian and I decided to try logging into the wifi again…to no avail… We wound up wasting the entire hour trying to connect, but only getting frustrated. Brian and I headed down to the quad to wait for our group and we decided to socialize with a couple of our peers who are also on our floor. We introduced ourselves to Fred Kwon and Abeek (who’s last name I have unfortunately forgotten for the moment). Fred is from Alabama, but was born in Korea and has his citizenship in Canada. Abeek is from London, attends a single-sex school, and participates in a lot of sports at school, one of which is squash. Both of them are enrolled in Penn’s Biomed Program. We ate dinner together and got to know more about each other. The four of us have become fast friends and I look forward to spending more time with them in the next month.

The rest of the night was essentially spent in orientation and having a floor meeting. In orientation they went over basic expectations and rules, as well as places and people we could go to for assistance with anything. We also met to go over floor rules and expectations later in our floor meeting. I really like Carlos, our RC (resident counselor). He seems pretty laid back but expressed a lot of concern about our safety and was thorough in making sure we understood the rules. We also introduced ourselves to the rest of our floormates in the meeting. There are thirteen of us total (including Carlos) so we are considering calling ourselves the Baker’s Dozen, but I think the culinary class already claimed that name. We’re still thinking. I look forward to getting to know the rest of the people on my floor.

It is only my first day as an official student at Penn and I am already loving it. My dorm is great, I’m meeting new people, and I cannot wait to start my class tomorrow morning. I know it is going to be a great month.

Independance Day

We started off the day this morning at the reasonable hour of 9:30 with a freshly baked squagel (square bagel) from Cosi. It was both tasty and fun to order: "I'll have a toasted squagel with cream cheese". After breakfast, we packed up our stuff, checked out, and walked up the block to the UPenn campus.

We received our Penn cards, keys, information, and a free T-shirt and then it was up to our dorms to un-pack. The first thing I noticed about my room was that it was air-conditioned (thank goodness). Once I knew that, nothing else mattered, it was good enough for me. Still, we have a pretty nice set up. The rooms are definitely large enough for two, there's plenty of storage space, and our windows overlook the beautiful quad area.

After we were all unpacked and settled in, the ILCers set out via SEPTA to the center of the city for lunch. We decided it was time to try a famous Philly Cheesesteak so we popped into the fist Cheesesteak shop we saw and, after waiting in a long line our tourists, sat down. While we waited we got to look over the counter and see the sandwiches being prepared. One got the feeling the guys who were making them had been doing it for a while, they had a system down. It was kind of amazing. With its nationwide reputation, I was expecting the Philly Cheesesteak to be at least a little but over-rated, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that they truly truly earn their fame. The bread was soft and fluffy, the cheese melted to perfection and the meat and onions were very flavorful. It was really very delicious. I look forward to eating more (of course we have to determine the best in the city for ourselves).

When we returned to campus, we said farewell to Mr. Miranda for the night and returned to our dorms. I met my roommate. She is quite remarkable. her name is Noor and she is from Indiana (specifically, "the cornfields," she says) but goes to boarding school in India. Her descriptions of the natural beauty there made me jealous. She also told me that there are monkeys everywhere that will steal your stuff and pull your hair if you're not careful. Our first conversation was probably one of the most interesting ones I've ever had. And she told me I was lucky to live in the Bay Area! I am so excited to hear more from her and get to know about her experiences as the month unfolds. I feel very lucky to have such a friendly and interesting roommate.

In reality, it's not luck at all. Almost every person I have met here has been extremely nice and interested in getting to know one another. The people me and my roommate sat with at dinner were from Manhattan, New York here for the creative non-fiction writing class. The two of them were friends who went to the same high school and they were a very entertaining duo. I met a New Zealander at orientation named Juao "like the sound a light-saber makes," he told me. It's a completely energizing environment to be in meeting so many people from all over the world who are all interested in learning all that they can both from the classes and from one another.

After orientation, we split up to have meetings with our individual floors. I met our floors RA, a gradeschool teacher from LA who is very sweet but will clearly stand for no shenanigans, We sat out on the grass with the fireflies and the fireworks, went over the rules, and got to know each other a little bit. There is a girl from Texas who plays French horn, a girl form Germany who wants to be a dentist, a girl who was born in Michigan but lives in Jordan and the list goes on! Getting to know these girls is going to be quite the experience.

After our meeting, we signed in with the office (as we will be doing every night), ate some milk and cookies and then it was off to bed to get a good nights sleep for tomorrow's classes. I couldn't be more excited. This is going to be incredible.

Philadelphia: The City of First's

Today was our first day completely dedicated to tourism. We met in the lobby at about 10:00 AM to go to breakfast. The four of us walked to a small diner about ten minutes away from our hotel. While we ate we discussed our plans for the day. We decided to take a bus tour and see the sights of central Philadelphia. Because this city is so large, we had to take a trolley from the campus and then connect to the subway to reach our destination. I had never given much thought to how big this sprawling city actually is, but our experiences with public transportation today made me realize it. From breakfast, we immediately headed for the trolley system.

The trolley system is basically Penn’s personal subway. There are several stops around campus where you can board a trolley and they connect to a few different subway terminals. The trolley is all underground, and frankly a little creepy. You walk down a few flights of stairs and you walk onto a dimly lit platform, which was actually smaller than one of the hallways at my high school and littered with a comparable amount of trash as well. The trolley is aptly named though, because it looks almost exactly like other public trams on the outside. It is similar to the cable cars of San Francisco. On the inside, however, it’s like a bus. You pay at the front when you enter, the seating is very similar, and you pull a cord hanging overhead to request a stop. It was interesting to see the product of several ideas of public transportation coming together into one convenient way to get around. Despite the system’s small flaws, this is another plus one for Penn in my book because accessing bustling center city Philly is cheap and easy.

After our first bout with public transportation, which lasted about twenty minutes, we were thrust into what felt like a completely different city from where we had been before. The buildings surrounding us were gigantic, there were a lot more people than I was used to seeing around the other areas of Philly, and things were a lot more fast-paced. The sun was especially bright because the light was being reflected off of all the windows in the buildings. I was very sorry I still hadn’t bought a pair of sunglasses. We walked around to get our bearings on what was around us. We stumbled upon the Ben Franklin Bridge, which looked like a blue version of the Bay Bridge back home, as well as caught a glimpse of the waterfront area. We quickly moved on to go find where the tour busses congregated. Once we found the stop, we bought our tickets and waited for the next bus so we could get some seats on the upper deck. The tour was very thorough with the locations it took us to. We drove all around center city Philly and saw at least twenty different landmarks, ranging from the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art that Sylvester Stallone ran up in Rocky to the Pennsylvania State Penitentiary, where Al Capone served his time in prison. Our tour guide, Chris, did an excellent job with the history of Philadelphia. He had a wealth of knowledge about the city and was even able to infuse some of his own personal stories in with the history. His comments were very witty and his guidance was captivating. There were often times when I wouldn’t stop to take a picture because I was listening to what he had to say about a particular landmark. It was a nice tradeoff though. I thoroughly enjoyed our tour today and learned a lot about my temporary home as well.

After we disembarked from the bus, we walked to an Italian restaurant that we had passed on the way to the bus stop earlier that day. We enjoyed some excellent food (I had pesto penne pasta) and discussed what our favorite sights on the tour were. I particularly enjoyed the Chinatown portion of the tour, especially seeing the humongous arch that was a given to the US by China (which can be seen below). That arch does not have a single screw, nut, or bolt on it. It was actually assembled by sliding the wood pieces together like a puzzle. I found it fascinating that something so large, ornate, and beautiful could be put together in such a way and still be stable.

After lunch we agreed to take the scenic route back to the subway. We took a very long detour through the historical living spaces of center city Philly. We watched horse-drawn carriages pull families along the stone paved road and got to see some apartment buildings that were very old. Again, the architecture in this area was mainly composed of red brick buildings with an occasional stone built home or church. We also passed the graveyard where Ben Franklin is actually buried. We had learned earlier that people leave pennies on his tomb because he coined (no pun intended) the phrase “a penny saved is a penny earned.” This very long walk was our first extensive encounter with the humidity of the east coast. The heat had not been too much of a problem until today, but it was noticeably muggy on our walk, even though the weather forecast in the hotel lobby said there would be thunderstorms today.

After our walk, we returned to the subway tunnels. It was actually relieving to be down there because it was slightly cooler underground and there were big fans bolted to some of the columns. We returned to the hotel for a couple of hours so we could shower and get a quick rest before leaving for dinner. After I cleaned up and got settled back in, I downloaded a program called Dropbox that was sent to us by one of the administrators of our program. This is how we will be given some reading that will help us with the guest lecturers that have been picked to speak for the program. At first glance it is a series of articles, but I have not had a chance to look at them yet because it took a very long time just to download them over the hotel wifi. At about 8:00 we left the hotel to go to dinner.

We ate at a more up-scale Italian restaurant very close to our hotel. It was actually right next to the Penn Student Store. We enjoyed a lovely dinner in the nearly empty restaurant. Our host and waiter were both from Italy and had very thick Italian accents. It was fun to talk with them, mostly because they had nothing but wonderful things to say about California. After another great meal, we returned to our hotel for the night.

Tomorrow we will finally be moving in to Penn! I am very anxious to see if they will honor our (mine and Brian’s) requests to be roommates. I cannot wait to start my program Tuesday and I look forward to a hopefully painless check-in tomorrow. Until then, I’m signing off.

Real life Red Coats!

The Ben Franklin Bridge

Betsy Ross' house, with an American flag outside. Interesting...

The aforementioned arch from China

The second biggest Hard Rock Cafe guitar in the world.

Philadelphia City Hall

The Philadelphia Museum of Art (aka the Rocky steps).

It's all too Phun to make Puns about Philly

Today was our day to go out and tour Philadelphia to go get to know the city that we’ll be spending the next month in. We all enjoyed sleeping in a little bit, but we still did a lot during the day. We met downstairs in the hotel’s lobby and walked a few blocks looking for a restaurant. We unanimously agreed to eat breakfast at a classic American diner that looked straight out of the 50’s. I enjoyed the abundance of shiny chrome surfaces reflecting the slightly overcast morning light. I ordered an omelet with hash browns on the side, and within a couple of minutes I was savoring the delicious mix of eggs and potatoes in my mouth. After breakfast, we decided in lieu of a taxi to try out Philadelphia’s subway system. We found a subway station only a block or so away from the restaurant, and after some brief confusion on how to pay our fare and which train line to ride, we rode the subway downtown. The subway station that we exited our train at was located close to the restaurant we ate at last night. Although we already had our hearts set on a double-decker bus tour like the one we had in Washington, D.C. we decided to walk around the downtown area first. We took in a nice view of the Ben Franklin Bridge and Alex, Julia and Mr. Miranda enjoyed some frozen yogurt.

Our stroll downtown with the Franklin Bridge in the background

Soon, we walked over to the starting point for the tourist buses, and although there was one that still had room on the first floor, we decided to wait for the next bus so that we could ride on top. Our wait was definitely worth it because we got to enjoy great views of Philadelphia as well as the company of our tour guide. Our tour guide was great because he knew tons about Philadelphia, but also had a great sense of humor and was therefore very entertaining. Though there were literally dozens of cool things to see, I enjoyed seeing city hall again, as well as all of the places that Ben Franklin was involved with. We saw the firehouse Franklin founded the place where he allegedly discovered electricity, where the constitutional convention was held, and the university he founded-the University of Pennsylvania-. I’m looking forward to visiting the Franklin Institute which is a hands-on museum that set the bar for similar museums. One last fun thing that we saw on our tour was the Philadelphia Museum of Art which is famous for the shot in Rocky where Rocky runs up the steps.

Philadelphia City Hall

ROCKY!

One area we lacked foresight in was forgetting to bring enough water with us on the bus. I brought one small bottle, and in the intense heat, it was gone in about 10 minutes. Therefore, as soon as we got off the bus, we headed straight to the nearest restaurant and ordered a round of ice water and soda. Our waiter was friendly, and we realized it was getting near lunchtime, so we decided to try out the restaurant’s lunch. I had an excellent dish of pasta with pesto sauce on it.

The cold soda in front of me took precedence over everything else at the time

Julia behind Art School gates

We decided to head back to the hotel for a little break from the heat and humidity. The air-conditioned room and soft bed were a little too comfortable, and soon I fell asleep for a couple of hours. Once I woke up, I was disoriented because I never nap during the day, so I thought it was already the 4^th of July and that we needed to move in in a few hours. Alex got me back on track, and I soon adjusted to the fact that it was 7 P.M. not 7 A.M. Soon enough, we decided to head out for dinner. Even coming from the San Francisco Bay Area, I was impressed at the variety and density of restaurants in the area. Because Mr. Miranda had been letting us choose where to eat for the last couple of days, and knowing that he’s into food, we pushed him to decide where we should eat. He picked an Italian place that was only a few blocks away from our hotel. We were awarded for our faith in his restaurant choosing abilities, because the restaurant was excellent. While I was busy enjoying some bread and olive oil, I forgot that I had had pasta only a few hours earlier, and I ordered the cappellini pasta.

Exploring the City

This morning was a very relaxing one (mostly because we got to sleep in until 10:00). On our walk to a nearby restaurant I was surprised at how hot and humid the weather continued to be despite forecasts of possible thunderstorms (which were fortunately inaccurate).

After a lovely omelet, we familiarized ourselves with the public transportation that is available in Philly. Although at first rather confused, we got the hang of the SEPTA/trolley system by the end of the day. It's quite convenient and although the heat makes the low-cellinged stations slightly uncomfortable and the trains suffer from the same unsanitary and crowded conditions as nearly every city's public transportation, it is not much worse than BART or AC transit. The important thing is that it got the job done and we were at the heart of the city soon enough.

Once there, we took another open-top bus tour. This one, I have to say, was far more entertaining than the one we took on Friday. The tour guide was a real person (as opposed to the CD recording that played for us in D.C.) and he was very enthusiastic. On our tour we went past the US Mint (were coins and medals of honor are produced), Betsy Ross' house, Love Park, Logan circle, the Liberty Bell, countless museums, and Chinatown. Although we did not get off at any of the sites to look at them a little more closely, many of the museums and landmarks we passed are on the UPenn calender as optional outings so I am looking forward to taking advantage of that as much as possible.

Our tour guide told us an overwhelming number of interesting facts about the city from its founding as a colony to the last time their baseball game won the world series. One of the most interesting facts to me, personally was that more people walk and bike to work in Philadelphia than any other city in the United States.

Another particularly appealing aspect of Philly is its the amazing amount of public art and murals that are scattered around the city. According to our guide, there is an ordinance in place that requires a certain percentage of the budget of every city project to be dedicated exclusively to the arts. This results in a number of interesting statues and beautiful paintings that more than make up for the trash and graffiti that builds up on some of the main streets. They give Philly a very unique vibe.

After our tour, we set out on foot to explore for ourselves a little. We walked around Old City and saw the site where Benjamin Franklin's house once stood. We also walked past a street from colonial times that holds the record for longest continually inhabited street in the US. We ran into a couple historical re-enactment actors dressed in colonial clothing, some of them in the traditional red-coat uniform of British soldiers. It was entertaining to say the least.

Once we had gotten out fill of Philly and chowed down on some delicious Italian food, we took the trolley back to our hotel (but not before buying some UPenn garb at the bookstore). Today, because of the few extra hours of sleep this morning, instead of napping, I used the few hours of spare time we had before dinner to check out the treadmills in the fitness room and look over some of the reading material we were given for our first week of Penn. I was planning on simply skimming a few articles, but I found it very interesting and ended up reading all the way through a coupe of them. I learned a lot about light waves and vision and the parts that I didn't understand just got me more excited to learn more about it. I genuinely think I am going to have as much fun in the labs and classrooms than I will exploring the city, which is extremely exciting.