This post is a culmination of going out to Philadelphia over the weekend of Friday April 14 – Saturday April 15. With so little time left in undergrad and uncertainty of where I’ll end up postgrad (NYC? Philly? Wisconsin? Connecticut?), there’s no time better than now to explore Philadelphia! Thank you to my shared monthly SEPTA pass and my close Mawrter friends for all the fun times (and all the ups and downs of college).F R I D A Y :

As usual, I went into the city for my internship at Center for Asian Health. I was pretty tired from staying up really late the night before to finish a Microbio assignment, but still down to do something that night. I returned back to Bryn Mawr with the intention of seeing my close friend Joy perform in the Spring Theater production of Particular Risk, but tickets sold out. I ate dinner in Erdman and accompanied my friend Han to Pho Street in Bryn Mawr town. I then took the 9:24pm train into the city with my friend Joy after she finished performing. We hit up Chinatown for late night snacks and dinner, part 2. First, taro rolled ice cream at ICE-NY in Chinatown Square, then Bubblefish for bubble tea, takoyaki, and eel over rice. It was very late by the time we finished eating. SEPTA was running late (as always), so Joy invited me to stay over her place in Fishtown. I love sleep overs, and it was nice to experience what it’s like to live in the city instead of commuting back to the suburbs. I would definitely live in Philly and couldn’t help thinking to myself, “this could be me in maybe 1-2 years!” We woke up early the next day because we had to return back to Bryn Mawr for dance rehearsal.

S A T U R D A Y :

Joy and I grabbed a quick breakfast to go at Yummy Yummy in Chinatown – rolled rice noodles with mixed sauce. We also grabbed a dan tat (egg custard tart) and a sweet rice flour ball at Zhong Gan Bakery also in Chinatown and ate them on the SEPTA train back to Bryn Mawr. When then split ways because Joy had to get a blood test and I was tasked with returning her overdue library books to Canaday Library. Joy and I then reunited for 4 straight hours of dance rehearsal. 1:30-3pm for African Ensemble and 3:00-5:40pm for Jazz Ensemble. The Spring Dance Concert is next weekend, so rehearsal schedules are a little crazy right now.

After dance, Joy had her closing performance of Particular Risk and I had plans with my roommates to go out to Philly. My roommate Friend scheduled a tattoo session for her birthday, and my other roommate May and I were going to watch. May and I took a later train into Philly because I had dance rehearsal and May had work. We were supposed to meet up with Friend and Leila for dinner, but Friend’s tattoo was running behind schedule, so May and I had a dinner date in Chinatown at Shanghai 1.

May and I treated ourselves to fatty pork belly and fish filet with tofu pudding. I highly recommend both dishes. After dinner, we walked all the way to South Street to the tattoo parlor. South Street is an interesting area of Philly. There are a lot of smoke shops, artsy fashion stores, gift shops, and restaurants and bars.

We finally arrived at the tattoo parlor around 9:00pm, and Friend was close to being done (after 4 hours!). She said it was quite painful but worth it because her tattoo signified smashing the patriarchy and stereotypical standards of feminine beauty (that’s so Bryn Mawr). Her tattoo is an image of Bread and Roses, a classic Bryn Mawr traditions song we sing during step sing. (When other classmates saw it later, they immediately recognized the reference, much to Friend’s delight.) I have seen a lot of Bryn Mawr students get tattoos and piercings over their time at Bryn Mawr. I believe this is quite typical behavior that other college students also participate in. I once considered getting a second ear piercing or maybe a small tattoo, but I don’t think I’m ready just yet.

Friend was really tired after her tattoo was done. The four of us took an Uber home to Bryn Mawr. I used my $15 off my first ride on Uber. Using Uber is a big transitional life step for me. I am used to taking public transportation exclusively. Even when I did take Uber, someone else would be in charge of ordering it and I would just pay them back. I shouldn’t get too used to that lifestyle just yet because who knows how much I’ll be making 1-3 years out of college…

And now it’s Sunday. That means homework day (and more dance rehearsal)! Until next weekend…