Day 1 (AKA Early Arrival): I got to PhilaU a little bit before 3pm to check into Ronson Residence Hall (one of the freshman dorms during the school year and the dorm for orientation). There were about 20 Early Arrival students, so we had to wait for all of them to arrive before going into the city. So we played games to get to know each other. Some games included the ever-so-catchy "Big Booty", Signs, and Wa. (^^PhilaU students are quite creative! Haha)
Once it was time to go to the city we walked to this train station that took us into the city...not sure what the train was or called, but it was kinda similar to the Metro in DC but a bit nicer. Many of the students said it was one of the best ways to get into the city, which is good with my best friend going to U.Sciences (안녕 Bo!) and another friend going to Drexel. So I will be learning more about that soon. The train to the market took about 20 minutes (I think the Market is called the Reading Market). The market was really big! They literally had any and every kind of food! There is a good donut shop all the OLs (Orientation Leaders) really liked, but was unfortunately closed. We finished around 6pm when the market closed.
Then we started on a photo scavenger hunt! We went to various attractions in Philly and had to take the most creative photo with our group. We WON!!! Our best photo was at the "Love" water fountain/sculpture! Not going to give away what we did, for the other people who do Orientation! (Sorry!) Then we took a tour around the city. There were three choices: Benjamin Franklin Tour, Cheesesteak Tour, and a Haunted Philadelphia Tour. Since I am NOT a fan of anything scary, I did the Benjamin Franklin Tour, but because their weren't many people for that they made it a Historical Philly Tour that also included information about food and cheesesteaks, too.
We then finally got back around 10:30, I think, and around 11 something we got cookies from this place that delivers WARM cookies until 3am. (It was pretty awesome and they tasted AMAZING!) I also played Cards Against Humanities for the first time... BEST GAME EVER! It was so hilarious that I was in tears. I finally slept probably around 1am...I am still tired.
Day 2: The second day, or day one for anyone that wasn't Early Arrival, started off with Check-In at Kanbar. Everyone got name tags and also got their picture taken for their ID...I hate my ID. (Unfortunately, I think we have our ID for all the years we are there.) They had coffee and breakfast foods (muffins, croissants, etc.). Then the Welcome Session started, kind of talking about the day, school, etc. (The usual) Then we got broken into our Groups or Pods, to get familiar with other new students. There were about 3 groups of about 6 students, for each pod/group. There were about 6 pods, maybe more. Each group had a current student for their OL. We played games with this group. One of the games was funny; we had to write our names with our hips...awkward!!
Then we had two "Conference Sessions", where you got to learn about whatever you wanted. These were majority of the topics: Study Abroad, Career Services, Recreation, Greek Life, Community Service Opportunities, Academic Success, Philadelphia, Student Account Navigation, Honors Program, and Campus Traditions. So I went to Recreation and Study Abroad. Recreation was fun and I got to see more of the gym than I had before. The Study Abroad session was kind of the same things I had heard before, but a little more in depth. They have two really cool freshman study abroad programs. One goes to France during spring break and one goes to Italy, Germany, and the Mediterranean during the summer.
We then at lunch and following that went to a Session on being a Residential Student or Commuter Student. So I learned about the dorms, roommates, etc. They did a funny find your roommate game! It was interesting. After that we learned about the Health Services and Security. The non-Early Arrival students then went to Check-In at Ronson and get their room and key. I Quickly went to Rite Aid with my dad, because brilliant me forgot my comb. :( Later the night consisted of dinner (which was awesome...they had a Nacho Bar), Solo Circus (a cool circus act done by Michael DuBois), and "Kanbar at Night! Program" (food, dancing, board games, etc.). It was a lot of fun!
I got to talk with Anna, my roommate. I met other architecture students, including my orientation roommate and Kristi, who was extremely nice! :)
Day 3: This day was mainly filled with information about Financial Aid and getting our schedule!!!!!!!!! So, we didn't get to pick our classes. They were already in line and if you did well on the placement tests, you were placed into the upper classes. I may get a new schedule in July, once the AP scores are sent to PhilaU. But currently I am taking these classes first semester: Drawing 1, Studio 1, Sustainability and Eco. Innovations, Intro to Calc., Pathways (Freshman Seminar), and Debating US Issues. My Tuesdays and Thursdays seem to be my most busy days. Friday is an easy day, so that is good for me! :) I got home around 3pm and slept until about 6pm, because I was so tired!
Ugh, this blogging thing can get tiring. I am hoping to have more posts with picture (especially during the school year). I can't wait to start at PhilaU, this is a perfect fit for me! Go Rams!!!!