Exchange at Penn Life is busy, but remember to make time for experience

Minh Hang, one of the Exchange at Penn Correspondents, shares her experience at Penn during the Fall 2024 semester. Follow along with the group of correspondents on our blog and look out for their images on the @pennabroad Instagram feed.

In September, I already knew my October would be crazily busy, especially during the first 2 weeks. My midterms were coming, I would also have some standardized tests to study, and some essays or applications to finish that my mentor had urged me repeatedly. I knew I would be more motivated if I could reward myself if I reached my goals (or even when I was not). And I understood myself so well that if I didn’t book in advance, I would have no constraint and no motivation to even go and probably spend my spare time lying in bed. So I took out my phone, chatted with my suitemate. Not long after, we booked our trip to Washington D.C.

Maybe because we booked so soon in advance, the train price was surprisingly cheap, and I didn't expect the train station to be so near our campus too. The trip came right after I finished all my exams, so I felt much better. But as I am not a morning person, I fell asleep once I was seated on the train. My friend almost had to wake me up when we were about to reach Union Station (and that station reminded us of the airport too).

It seemed like all the famous places in Washington D.C. were centered near each other. We were walking around the Capitol Hill, past the Supreme Court and Congress. The city has many museums, and I had the impression that all the museums there were located in the same streets. I still remembered the Smithsinian museums series, especially the Museum of Natural History. We did some research about places to visit in Washington D.C., and that one appeared in almost every list. But when we arrived, the museum was actually a bit underwhelming (I expected to see the real traces of ancient time, but they mostly exhibited the figures). It was already lunch time, and so randomly, I discovered on Google Map that Gordon Ramsay restaurant was nearby. We were so curious about the food, and luckily, to our expectation, the lunch was perfect.

Later, we spent time wandering on the hills of Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and then stood in front of the White House. The guards put all the barriers around the White House, and as usual many people were gathering so we couldn’t get closer. We were walking around to find some good views and took some pictures. It was the middle of the afternoon, and after walking a lot, we knew it was time for some ice cream or gelato.

After visiting all the places in our list, we were enjoying our gelato while deciding where to go next. We realized Georgetown University is also in Washington. And all of the sudden, we ordered an Uber to go there. I felt that Georgetown was on the hill since we had to walk up and down around their campus. Coincidently, a football game was happening when we arrived. We didn’t get into the stadium, but we stood on the small hill next to the stadium, with the view down. I even felt funny that the first football game I watched in the US was not at Penn, but at Georgetown instead.

I fell asleep again on the train back to Philly, after a whole day long with a lot of walking. I was glad I booked the trip with my friend. We truly had a memorable time together.