The Philly Feel

This morning, I met up with everyone at El Cerrito High, the chilly winds hitting my body and I felt as if my hands were becoming numb. It was 2 AM and everyone was still feeling drowsy. I was surprised when I saw Don step out of his car wearing his signature look: shorts and floral shirt, and didn't seem bothered at all by the cold. He had set up a table full of the loaner items and files we needed, and he had also brought the Twizzlers bowl I was craving.

We all had huge smiles despite being awake in the early hours of the morning.

We got to work right away, Don gave me the loaner items I needed and weighed our bags quickly. The next forty minutes were spent listening to Don's warnings and reminders, most of them were things he'd gone over several times. After this, we all gathered around to take several photos while holding the Brown banners he provided us. The shuttle came a short while later, and I was head to toe full of adrenaline and excitement as we arrived to the Oakland airport.

The Philadelphia airport was a lot more humid than I expected.

Our cohort had two flights to catch as we arrived at the airport, the first one being the flight from Oakland to Phoenix at 6 AM. The second flight we had was a connecting flight from Phoenix to Philadelphia. By the time we were at the second terminal gate, most of us were starting to feel the effects of sleep deprivation. I was entertained by seeing Zunarah struggle staying awake as we waited for our flight. When we finally arrived, I was glad to be relieved of sitting for five hours straight.

When we finished renting a car and checking in to our hotel, we all found ourselves absolutely starving. The five of us discussed where we would eat and ended up choosing Axel's Pizza, which was right across the street from the hotel. I was excited to finally stuff myself to the brim with the delicious food, but when I finally received it, I realized their food portions were incredibly huge. I was already feeling bloated after eating only half of my meal, and ended up having to take the rest with me to the hotel. 

I had a blast at Axel's Pizza and can't wait to eat more of their food soon

In the end, we all had an enjoyable time bonding as a team. I'm looking forward to go to the UPenn tour, Eastern State Penitentiary, and Observation Deck tomorrow!