It’s been a month since I landed in the USofA, and, well, to sum it up : Wow.
Not woooow!, or WOW, or Woah! Just Wow. The exclamation of being overwhelmed, tired, excited, surprised and a tad annoyed all at once.
It almost seems like an overload to your sensory system, just because there are so many things to figure out, to see and to eat (!). And, yes, there is a learning curve. And coming from someone who’s lived at her house for all of twenty odd years, staying alone, albeit with roomies, can be quite a bit of a challenge. But the dust storm will subside and pretty soon, I hope. Right now, there are a whole bunch of parties, orientation events, happy hours, company info sessions among classes and the assignments and this is the first time I’ve felt the need to keep a ‘To Do list’ lest I forget about things.
Yet, there’s that little nagging thread that reminds me of home and what it’s all been about. Diving into this is, just a whole ‘nother set of allthefeels. But, here I am now. So.
We briefly visited Center City and Old(e) City a week back. It seems like a place that is worth exploring again. The historical significance of lots of things is interesting. Plus, we went on a First Friday, which is basically every month where art is celebrated and Art Galleries open up to the public; and it was colourful, crowded event.
Then, there was a movie night. Honestly, I think the theatres back home were much better. Even if you count the fact that this is more expensive. But again, this opinion is based on one movie, at one particular cinema theatre here.
Penn has an ‘open campus’, so basically, at one point, the city just becomes campus area. I would’ve like something more of a university community, but this is interesting too. Architecturally, some of the buildings look really pretty and very Hogwarts-esque. I’m not very informed about these architecture styles, but I do think the word for these would be Victorian. And the two places I feel the most comfortable at would be the Grad Student Centre (free coffee and tea, yes, thank you!) and Van Pelt Library. This place is massive; and you can lounge about reading a novel or doing assignments. I find this such a beautiful place to just walk around and sit. It is close to perfection. Close.
P.S. Chipmunks are huge.
P.P.S. WordPress thinks I’m posting this from Adyar, Chennai. Aww!
We briefly visited Center City and Old(e) City a week back. It seems like a place that is worth exploring again.
Jumping Gene 