Category: Drexel in Philadelphia: Inbound Exchange

An Italian in Philly: the challenges of being an exchange student

I’m writing this article as I’m sitting on the bus, admiring once again the skyline of Philadelphia, that will take me to New York for the second time this month. It’s probably not the most usual time to write about the challenges of being an exchange student, yet a part of me feels a bit ...

Culture Shocks: Germany to Philadelphia II

Continuing from my last blog post here, I will be mentioning a few more culture shocks I have had since moving from Germany to Philadelphia. More Expensive: The cost of living is relatively expensive, at least when compared to Germany, and probably Europe in general. The cost of goods and services, from anything between grocery ...

Phillies for the World Series

The first half of this week primarily consisted of attending my classes during the day and spending time with my parents in Center City at night. Tuesday night we went out to Cleavers, a cheesesteak place in Center City on 18th and Chestnut. There I got ordered myself “The Cleaver” — a cheesesteak with one ...

Halloween in the US

This week marked the beginning of the second half of the Fall quarter here at Drexel. Looking back, my first two months here in the US have really flown by. With six weeks of classes under my belt I think it’s safe to say that I have, or at least really should have, a decent ...

An Italian in Philly: best and worst foods

I don’t think I’ll shock anyone by saying that, as an Italian born and raised in Italy, food is a very sensitive and important topic for me. In this post I’ll list my top three best and worst foods I’ve tried so far in the United States. I’ve only been here for two months so ...

Culture Shocks: Germany to Philadelphia

In my second month of being in Philadelphia, and by extension the US, I have had certain novel experiences that in some cases were interesting, while in others came as a shock to me. I have outlined some of these culture shocks which I have experienced since moving to the US from Germany. More Vibrant ...

An Italian in Philly: 10 Cultural Shocks – Part 2

To continue where we left with my last article here are five more cultural shocks that I’ve experienced as an Italian living in Philly. #5 Cost of living This point might not exactly fall into the cultural shock category, but it surely was shocking for me. The cost of living in the USA, especially in ...

What to Do and See in Philly

Philadelphia is Pennsylvania’s largest city and its collection of museums and historical artifacts, and sites boast of its richness of art, culture, and history. There is, surely, a lot to do in Philly, and here I would like to mention just a few of them. Visit Old City, “America’s most historic neighborhood” and in addition ...

Irish Parents Weekend

This week my parents arrived in Philly from Ireland for a week-long visit. Having lived in King of Prussia themselves for a year about two decades ago they were eager to see what has changed. Their first night here on Wednesday I took them to experience the culinary excellence that is Shake Shack. The crinkled ...

An Italian in Philly: 10 Cultural Shocks – Part 1

Week 5 has just come to an end, which means I am basically mid-way through my exchange time abroad. Despite still having many places to see and things to do I’ve already confronted many aspects of the American culture that shocked me, so here’s a short list. #10 Customer Service One of the first culture ...