I have started to settle in to UPenn and have been enjoying my experience so far. On arriving to Penn, I was in awe as to how beautiful the campus is. It is everything and more than I imagined it would be. Straight away, there was a huge buzz and excitement around the whole campus as new students (freshman’s) started moving in to. It had finally sunk into me that I am studying abroad in a country that I had never visited before.

Before I arrived, I had forgotten to bring an important document (DS-2019) which caused me a small problem and preventable stress. Also, as I had been living at home during my time at Queen Mary, I was unaware of the fact that I had to provide everything for myself, from a pillow to a kettle. This resulted in me running around looking for necessities. Its fair to say I slept like baby on my first day!

My second day is when I started to meet other exchange students and learn more about the university and campus. As I explored more of the campus, the more beautiful it became. The weather in Pennsylvania has been amazing (averaging 30 degrees Celsius) and being on the 16^th floor, the view from my window has been great. I have met all 3 of my roommates, and they have all been great and very welcoming. I have found everyone here to be very kind and excited to meet other people (especially Brits).

Fresher’s week is referred to as new student orientation (NSO) and it is jam-packed with many events, from visits to Walmart to frat parties. There were many events to meet other exchange students from all around the world and make friends. It was a great experience full of fun and new experiences. I met many people who were lovely and friendly, and I am pleased to say I have already made some great friends!

One of the tasks I had been looking forward to for months was visiting Walmart! I had heard about and have had to research about it during my A-Levels, so when I went with my roommates, I was very excited. Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed, Tesco is much better!

It has been two weeks since I came to Penn and my classes have started. I have already been given three homework sets (that count towards my final grade) and have midterms starting from next week (15^th Sept). One of the main differences I have noticed regarding teaching methods is that at Penn, there is a much shorter adjustment period and many midterms and quizzes throughout the term. You are constantly tested to make sure you are on track, whereas in Queen Mary, you get a mid-term during half term and before Christmas. Class and lecture sizes are smaller, and there is a lot of student-teacher interaction. Many courses consider student participation as a component of grades, which is not as daunting as sounds. It has been challenging to change the way I work, but I’m hopeful this will help me with my revision method for when I go back to Queen Mary.

I have started to explore Philadelphia and have visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art (where Rocky was filmed) and the city centre. I am planning to explore Philadelphia more when I get the time and am hoping to go to New York for a weekend soon. Philadelphia has been a pleasant surprise and I am very excited to continue with my experience at Penn!