I have an apartment!

I arrived at The Philadelphia Center on Sunday afternoon. There are 48 students on the program and we are currently staying in a hotel, four people to a room. Yesterday we went on a four-hour walking tour of the city. When we set out, it was 19 degrees Fahrenheit; as the day went on it became somewhat less frigid but the temperature stayed below freezing. In the evening, we were all given a list of houses and apartments where TPC students have lived in the past, and the housing search began. Choosing people with whom to live for a semester after having known them for only 1-2 days seemed very daunting to me, but it has worked out. I have four new housemates whom I like very much, and after pounding the pavement all day (we visited five different places all over the city, and did it all on foot, half the time in pouring rain), we have a place to live! We will move in at the end of the week.

I also have classes now. One is "Urban Political and Social Systems, Issues and Practices" and the other is "Exploring Relationships in Fiction and Film: Sex, Gender and Sexuality." I'm excited about both of these. Now I get to start looking for an internship! Details on that to come. And hopefully once I am settled in to my apartment I will have time to write longer posts that are actually about the city and not just about what I am doing!

Flash mobs, pierogi, and "Soundsuits" (Day 2)

Today my cousins took me on a tour of Center City, as they call downtown here. Among other places, I got to see various performing arts centers including the Kimmel Center, home of the Philadelphia Orchestra, where I'm sure I will often find myself in the coming months. One thing I find very interesting about Philadelphia is the juxtaposition of old, ornate, historic buildings like City Hall with tall, glassy, modern structures--very different architectural styles coexisting in the heart of the city. To give you the idea, here are the results of my walking around Philadelphia with my camera in front of my face (the mark of a tourist):

Just as in Portland, downtown is populated with pigeons and sparrows. The only difference between the urban birds here and back home is that Philly's are completely fearless.

Had I been devoid of conscience, I could have stepped on this sparrow.

We cut through a mall to get somewhere, and right there in Macy's was an enormous pipe organ. My cousins say they use it, too. Good.

Those are more pipes in the top enclave.

And while we were in Macy's there was a gospel flash mob. It was apparently publicity for the movie "Joyful Noise." I filmed a bit of it, but, being far behind most of my age peers in tech savvy, can't figure out how to persuade Blogger to let me upload it. Perhaps another time.

After we left the flash mob, we went to Reading Terminal Market, a big public market housed in what used to be a train shed. That was where we got lunch. I had pierogi--delicious, doughy little Polish dumplings I had never encountered before. The last picture I took before my camera battery died gives you an idea how crowded the market is. My cousins say it's much more crowded on weekdays.

Then we went to a gallery called the Fabric Workshop where we saw the strange and wonderful "Soundsuits" of Nick Cave.

We went into a room and there were a bunch of these standing around on neutrally posed mannequins. They were a little eerie at first, but fascinating and beautiful. They were made to be worn by dancers, and we did get to see a video of the suits in motion, which was pretty cool.

In other news, Frankie the dog is very expressive. When he worries his squeaky toy, he squeaks along with it. As soon as I took out my camera to capture the moment, he stopped. But I am determined to get a video of it eventually! Also, I was playing a bit of Beethoven on the piano today, and when I reached a particularly poignant suspension, he threw back his head and howled. It reminded me of my old piano teacher's dog who used to make mournful Wookiee noises when I played pieces in minor keys. I hope Frankie was indeed reacting to the music. I will leave you with this rather whimsical quote from Erik Satie, which is one of my favorite things a composer has ever said: "We cannot doubt that animals both love and practice music. That is evident. But it seems their musical system differs from ours. It is another school... We are not familiar with their didactic works. Perhaps they don't have any."

Oh, and I start at The Philadelphia Center tomorrow!

And here I am!

If you are reading this blog, you probably know me and have at least a rough idea what I am doing in Philadelphia. But, to explain briefly:

Many Whitman students do one semester of off-campus study in their junior year. Most of these go to other countries, but some choose domestic programs. I am spending my spring semester on a program called The Philadelphia Center (see tpc.edu for more details than I'm about to give you). The program is internship-based and helps students find internships in pretty much any field you can think of. The internship hunting begins after arrival in Philadelphia, so I do not yet know where I will be spending the semester. Students also take classes at the Center one day a week. Housing is "independent city living"--one spends one's first week in Philadelphia finding roommates (other kids on the program) and then a place to live.

So--ready, set, go! The program starts on Sunday, but I am in Philadelphia now, staying with very kind cousins. My cousin Margie and her son Brian picked me up at the airport and we drove through Center City on our way home. And, though it was dark, I discovered that Philadelphia is beautiful. There are so many places I want to visit, so many concerts I want to attend, so much I want to learn! (The first thing I learned was how to say "Schuylkill River." I almost have it.)

So, I'm tired, and I'm gushing. Future blog posts will be more interesting, hopefully. I will be able to talk about where I'm working, experiences of living in the big city, concerts, potentially controversial matters, etc. Perhaps I will periodically subject you to poetry I like (but nothing by me; don't worry!), or art. Anyway, for all I've already seen of Scenic Philadelphia, all I've photographed so far is this adorable dog belonging to my cousin Mary and her husband Dennis. So here is Frankie.