First Day of Classes! :)

Hi everyone! Sorry I'm a little late in blogging, but it took me a while to find the time to write a post. I promise I'll write often!
Well, on Saturday, the four of us were extremely tired after that 5 hour plane ride to Philadelphia. So we just went to the hotel, rested for a bit, and left to eat dinner. After dinner, we had dessert (my favorite part of the day! haha) and then we explored the city a little more. Finally, we went back to the hotel for some sleep.
The next day, we met up with Ms. Kronenberg to have breakfast before walking to Penn to unpack and settle in our dorms. Once we got to the campus, Cynthia, Susan, and I received our PennCards and given our dorm room. I found out I was in the same dorm as Cynthia, E.F. Smith. She is on the second floor and I am on the fourth. Right when I realized that, I became terrified with just the thought of struggling to bring my bag up four floors. Luckily, Ms. Crespo was there to help me carry my things. When, I opened the door, I saw only one bed. This meant I was going to be living in a single. I was hoping to have a roommate to live with, but I'm starting to get used to living alone. One of the best parts of my room is the great view I have outside my window. (Hopefully, I'll have a picture posted tomorrow, since it's dark outside and I can't see a thing!) Anyways, after unpacking I met up with Ms. Kronenberg, Ms. Crespo, Cynthia, Susan and Cynthia's roommate, Michelle to look around in the shops before dinner. We went to Urban Outfitters and the Penn Bookstore to buy some souvenirs. Then, we went to the dorms and I was able to get my laptop connected to the Internet. At 5 pm, we went to dinner and then orientation in Meyerson Hall. Everyone was just told the rules around campus (attending all classes, room checks, etc.). After this, there was a meeting just for the Biomed students. We got to meet our teacher, Ms. Shuda and she told us a little about the class. She also mentioned something called a Journal Club. There are 13 different subjects, from breast cancer to neuroscience, and each club has a leaders. We will be meeting with our leader either at lunch or in the evenings twice a week. Hopefully I will get my first choice, Circadian rhythms. I'll be finding out tomorrow! After this there was a milk and cookies meet and greet and then a meeting with the RC (resident counselor). Most of the girls on my floor are from the east coast, but two are from around the world (the Netherlands and Puerto Rico).
Today was the first day of class. After getting ready, I had some breakfast with Cynthia and then we headed over to the Quad. Then, a counselor led us to our classroom. During the first hour of class, everyone (Ms. Shuda, the teacher assistants, Kamilah Ali and Grace Lee, the students) introduced themselves to the class. We went over the syllabus then we were given a 15 minute break. In the last hours of class, Ms. Shuda went over the first chapter in the book, Major Themes of Anatomy and Physiology. I decided to go over to the Penn Bookstore with four of my classmates (three were from Brazil!) to get colored pencils and scissors which were required for the class. After that, I couldn't find anyone to eat lunch with, so I just asked three girls if I could sit with them. It was great because I got to grab some sushi and find out more about each of them. The four of us went back to the classroom where we had a lecture about our lab. We were put into groups and I was in Lab Section C taught by Carsten Sanders and Breann Wolfe. My partner and I just learned how to use a pipet in this lab. Tomorrow we're supposed to collect DNA from our cheek cells. That should be interesting!
After class, I just went with Cynthia and Michelle to walk around the city and explore more and have some dinner. There was another orienation where my RC and one of the boys' RCs and the students on their floor played Two Lies and a Truth as sort of an icebreaker. Then, we walked around the city as a group where they showed us some stores and restaurants. During the tour, I got to talk with a girl in my class and later on she introduced me to some of her friends. So I was able to meet many different people today!
Overall, I enjoyed the Biomed class. Honestly, I was expecting a boring teacher to lecture for hours and hours, but I was pleasantly surprised. I'm looking forward to the next four weeks in this program and I will try to blog as much as I can to inform everyone.
-Courtney