Time for PENN and Paper

Today was the PENN cohorts moving day into the campus dorms.  My room happens to be a single, as do many others.  For a single room, the size is massive with plenty of space.  The room has everything in it but a bathroom, although it does have a sink with plenty of shelves for space.  The only things that I do not like about the room is the freezing temperature.  It is so cold in here to the point where my phone is wet after an hour of lying out.  I need to strategically plan where to put any valuable electronics so they can avoid getting wet.  This is the perfect room for getting quality study time away from all the noise of neighbors.

With that being said, there is a wide variety of different people from all around the world.  I've met people from Turkey, India, France, China, Guam, and South Korea.  Everyone speaks English flawlessly and seems to be very friendly.  There is even another Michael who is directly across from me who also lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Everyone here seems to have a good sense of knowledge and ability in their subject, which isn't surprising and lays the road for some good intellectual conversations.  I do not think that there will be any problems with behavior with this group.

In addition to the dorms, we also had the opportunity to meet out Residence Councilors and the directors of the program.  We had an informative rules and guidelines presentation in the evening in a Chemistry lecture hall.  I figured that the front row would fill up in a heartbeat so naturally I grabbed a seat right in the middle of the front row.  To my surprise I was the only one in the entire row.  In fact, the next row of people was three rows back.  I wanted to avoid having a bad first impression with the directors, that is why I was in the front.  I was shocked when I saw everyone trying the get as close to the back as possible.  Oh well, I know that Don Gosney will at least appreciate the attempt at making a good first impression.

At the presentation, there was an extensive breakdown of the vast number of rules.  There were in fact so many rules that it took an hour and a half to go through the basics.  One rule that I wasn't very fond of was the requirement to travel in groups. I was looking forward to going into the library alone for some quiet study time by myself.  I hope that I won't have to beg people to go to the library with me.  Tomorrow our classes and the college experience begins.