My first week as a Dragon

Hello, my name is Anna and I’m a sophomore Marketing major at Drexel University. I’m originally from Hungary, but I study and live in Monaco. I came to Philly as an exchange student for the Fall quarter.

I arrived to Philadelphia a week ago, after 14 hours’ worth of flights with two suitcases and zero energy left. Here the time was 4 pm, but back home it was 10 pm already. That was something I had to get used to over time. My Dragon Buddy came to pick me up at the airport and brought me to campus. She told me about the city, the sports teams, Go Eagles! and caught me up to speed on school. I decided to move to UCross for the quarter since it’s right in front of LeBow (where I have most of my classes).

Throughout the week, as I was settling in, a few things occurred that I found unusual for someone who lived their whole life in Europe. The flags around the city were definitely the first, since back home we don’t have that many all around. The beautiful campus was another unique circumstance. In Europe, most universities don’t have campuses. I certainly find it a great thing for college students, since it makes us feel protected and gives us space to hang out. The Greek Row was also a new experience, which I’ve found myself walking onto on one of my “let’s get to know the campus” strolls. There are not many sororities or fraternities back home and definitely no streets filled with houses with huge Greek letters on them. I find them really cool. Lancaster walk was something I’ve often crossed during the week, discovering the little poster market, different organizations, the athletics center, and my chipmunks.

Outside of campus, though I didn’t have too much time on my hands, I went to buy some home décor at Walmart which I have to admit was another unique experience. The store was huge, and there was nothing I couldn’t find. I’ve seen some superstores before, but I’m pretty sure this was the most monumental of all.

All the people I’ve met welcomed me with kindness and curiosity and that’s something I certainly adore about the States. I’ve visited before and even back then, everyone I’ve met was warm and helpful.

My flatmates and I are good friends and they try their best to help me make the most out of my time here. They took me to a Flyers game during the week and I really enjoyed it. After seeing how important sports are and the many people who support their favorite athletes and teams, I decided to support my fellow Dragons and went to the Drexel – Temple hockey game during the weekend. I really enjoyed it, was very intense.

All in all, my first week was full of unique and exciting experiences and I can’t wait to see what the next weeks and months will bring. I’m happy to be a Drexel Dragon, even if it’s for a short time and I’m sure I’m going to have the best time here.