Thursday, July 9, 2015

I Made It!

I woke up this morning with my air conditioner on full blast. I forgot to set it at a lower temperature before I slept, so I ended up freezing. I looked outside, and of course, it rained the night before. I honestly love the rain, but I can't stand it here in Philly. It always rains at random times, but it never gets any colder. It just feels just as sticky and humid as when it didn't rain. Anyways, I went out for breakfast at around 8:15 AM again, and I was able to meet with Audrey, one of the girls from my class. I actually made it to class 5 minutes before it started, and I think I'm finally knowing my way around. 

I sat down in the seat towards the front, and I always love looking around the classroom before class actually starts. The professors usually lay out a bunch of contraptions on a table, and they use it for demonstrations during the class, and they always look amusing. We learned about charged objects, by letting us observe how static works with the use of tape. This then eased us into the next topic of circuits and electricity. I never really enjoyed this part of physics, because I never truly understood it. Bill, my professor, actually broke it down and I learned a lot more from his lecture, even though I didn't understand a few parts of it.

The aftermath of lecture
After his part of the lecture, we had a short 10 minute break, so I just ended up staying in my seat. When our break was over, James Aguirres, our guest speaker gave a presentation about the first billion years of our galaxy. He talked about the timeline of our galaxy thus far, and he also talked about how scientists have been doing this with the use of a radio telescope. I even learned that the development of our galaxy wasn't a continuous process, but rather, there was a period where everything was completely dark, even after the Big Bang. I definitely learn something new everyday in this class, and there has never been a dull moment. 

Mr. Aguirres ended his lecture at around 12:30 PM, and we were later dismissed for lunch at around 12:40 PM. I ended up buying food at a food truck near by, and I definitely made the right choice. I was surprised at how delicious their food was, and how cheap they sold it for. That was definitely one of the best lunches I've had since this program had begun.

Anyways, after lunch, I went back to class at 1:30 PM, and Bill had given us instructions on how to properly and safely create a closed circuit for our lab. For this experiment, it became confusing quickly, and I could not follow what we were doing. I had only worked with circuits on small bread boards, but I have never tried it with long wires, and an actual power source. This was when I knew that the class had definitely moved on from the beginner level, but this wasn't a problem because I love a challenge. 

Circuits in progress
I was surprised that my group had finished the lab earlier than others, so I made it back to my dorm by 4:30 PM. I thought that today was the day that I was finally going to have free time to just take a nap, but I was definitely wrong. My busy schedule continued with one of my floor mates asking me to go shopping with her. I couldn't refuse, so we ended up walking around the area, but at least I found a souvenir for my mom. Afterwards, I ran into Joanne, Chiamaka, Jun, and Elexis, and they had invited me to go rock climbing inside of the gym. I actually was exhausted at this time, but I wanted to try it out, and I knew it was fun, so I went anyways. I walked with my friend that I went shopping with, and she decided to tag along as well. 

Rock climbing 
I made it to the top!
When we got to the gym, I was impressed at how many facilities they had, because they had around three floors in total. I found Joanne and the others getting ready to climb, because they had arrived before me, so I got signed up and was mentally preparing myself to climb this enormous wall. My first order of business was to get some shoes, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to find my size because my feet are extremely small. Surprisingly, they had the perfect size for me, and next thing I know, I was already climbing up the wall. Halfway up, I could feel my arms wearing out, and I experienced, first hand, the effect of gravity at this very moment. However, I couldn't give up because my friends were cheering me on, and I eventually made it to the top! Apparently, I was even the first one that made it to the top out of our group. I was definitely proud of this accomplishment.

With the girls
Afterwards, I took a nice shower in the gym, but it started to pour outside when I finished. I even received a flash flood warning, which meant that we were stuck in the gym until the rain subsided. It didn't take as long as I expected, so we all walked around to look for a place to grab a quick bite before heading back to the dorms. I was checked in by 9:30 PM, and it was still early, so Joanne came over to my room until around 11 PM because we found out that our rooms were incredibly close to each other. I was definitely exhausted today, but that's not a surprise. I just know that I am definitely going to be sore in the morning. 



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