Saturday, July 5, 2014

Sixteen at Princeton

Our regular mission of college tours and informational sessions were back on track after yesterday's Independence Day celebration. We had our usual meet-up in the hotel lobby this morning to walk to the train station together, when Mr. Hillyer told us that Princeton's tours weren't going to be open this weekend because of the holiday break. Sadly, there would be no tour or info session, but the campus was still open for visitation and we decided to go explore the university anyway. 
Grabbing a go-to breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts in the train station, we boarded the SEPTA towards Princeton. The SEPTA was slightly different than the Amtrak we had been taking the past few days, but it was nothing that we couldn't adapt to. For instance, each one of us were given four tickets for the four stops that we had to make while going to Princeton, and coming back. Instead of just having one ticket for the full ride like the Amtrak, our tickets had to be checked for each train that rode on. When we reached the stop for the train, we took the "dinky" towards our destination. The "dinky" is basically a small train that only goes two miles straight to Princeton University. I imagined it to look like one of the cable cars in San Francisco but it was bigger than I thought it would be. Personally, I think that one of the highlights of our trip so far is going on public transportation that is different than the ones in California. I've been able to experience so many types of public transportation in the East Coast these past few days and there is always room to learn more about it.  

Walking into Princeton was like walking into a fantasy world. Seriously. There were castles on campus and the most incredible buildings formed the beautiful school. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought that we arrived at a tourist attraction rather than the prestigious Ivy League University that it is. 
Princeton's Campus
I was more than happy that I was able to spend my 16th birthday in the East Coast while touring the wonderful campus of Princeton. Although I am still a bit disappointed that we were not able to take part of the informational session, I intend to research more about the school in my free time since it has definitely caught my interest. After our spectacular tour of the school, we decided to explore the cute town that was located right outside of the university. There were so many different stores and shops available, but we ended up going to Princeton Pi for pizza, The Bent Spoon for ice cream, and rested at a small plaza nearby. A band was also performing at the plaza and that sparked some inspiration within our cohort members to start our own band. Since most of us plays a musical instrument (including Mr. Hillyer), it sounds like real possibility. 
Fountain with Chinese horoscopes at Princeton
The day did not end there, however, since we were able to have a splendid dinner at Bobby's Burger Palace where the food was inspired by the famous Chef Bobby Flay. The burger and milkshake was the best way to conclude the night.

Princeton marked our last day of exploring colleges and touring the city for tomorrow would be move-in day in the dorms at Penn! The moment that we have all been waiting for is soon to arrive and the hectic week of running around is ending. Although our first week in the East Coast was one of the most busiest times of my life, it was also the most entertaining and wonderful events that has ever occurred to me. I look forward to the many amazing possibilities, amazing people, and amazing experiences that we will soon come across at the University of Pennsylvania. 
The cohort at the Princeton Stadium

1 comment:

  1. Sometimes the hectic and busy times are the ones we remember the most. Happy birthday Donna :)

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