End of the First Week

Hey peepz,

it seems like time's getting a bit more loose for me... that's why i can start blogging more often. Anyway, today's blog will not really be talking about the first week of class but more about the surrounding environment of UPENN.

You guys probably already know about the class situation (i.e. Wharton is really competitive... trust me, SMU is really not as competitive, although its getting near) Now let me just show you a picture of my Econs classroom. Its a little better than the Spanish classroom but not much better off...

Econs Classroom (Fisher-Bennet Hall)

All right... next up, let me just show you some pictures of the school:

Campus Green

(yes! they also have a campus green... people play games and stuff on the green)

i wonder whether we copied their name... hmmm... trust me, there are lots of stuff in SMU that looks like those in UPENN... i really wonder...

one of the frat houses... they all have greek names

You guys might want to find out more about frat(ernity) houses... all i've HEARD about them so far is that people organize parties (sometimes closed door ones) and they just get wasted and eventually get laid... i've got no personal experience in this but i heard that this is what they called American culture... Of course, there are fraternities that organize meetings and just hang out... i guess its just some that are like that... but anyway, personally, i'm not into this...

one of the high rises (dormitories)

I thinks its like the PGP of NUS... basically i've been to my friend's room and take a look... its actually ok... a little smaller than my room just that the building is newer than mine... however, its really more expensive than mine... compared to mine, a similar type of room will cost about US$4200+ per sem while mine costs US$2600+. hmmm... not worth it i think...

Next up is due to "popular" request... however, i'm sure you guys would be interested in this... UPENN's climbing wall! The thing is that i don't think they have panels... no panels at all... so maybe cannot change... but really, it looks nice... its 4 storeys high and the top of the building is a glass ceiling so you can see the sky... makes it feel like really wall... anyway, it has protruding parts on every route... i've seen beginners climb it... for rainbow routes, it seems easy... maybe i should go try it out...

the wall from the bottom

the wall from the top

the top part of the wall

told you about the ceilings

rockclimber trying to climb

one more look from the bottom...

all right... just to share with you guys, i've decided to sign up for 3 outdoor activities this semester at UPENN. They are (in chronological order):

1) Deleware Canoe Trip (29th September, 8am - 5pm, US$75)

2) Appalachian Trail Day Hike (27th October, 930am - 6pm, US$30)

3) Lehigh Bike Trip (3rd November, 9am - 5pm, US$80)

All of the above are non-member prices, comes with rental and shuttles to & fro UPENN. Seriously, outdoor activites here are damn expensive man... but the outdoor products here are really damn cheap! haha... *recalls my scoop at Northface outlet shop*

Speaking about outlet shops, i'll be visiting franklin mills tomorrow. Its one of the outlet shops at Philadelphia. I'll try to buy stuff from there. But if you guys need to buy anything, please visit www.ems.com. There is a shop below my accomodation. I can help you guys buy... but weight might be a problem...

All right, last but not least, here's my lunch today... I named it "conquering the seas and the continents". May named my ramen (see previous post) as "Swimming Turkey"... hahah... okies, that's it folks!

conquering the seas and the continents (US$1.75)

(contains eggs, prawns, turkey ham and rice)

Chao Amigos!