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 pound of chopped ribeye, fried onions and cheese whiz which I barely finished. I tried root beer here for the first time and, unlike Gatorade, I loved it.
Wednesday morning I said goodbye to my parents after an amazing breakfast at Sabrina’s Café on the corner 34th and Powelton. Myself and my father ordered the chicken and waffles. Two things I never thought could be combined yet never knew that they absolutely should! Especially when maple syrup is added to the mix. Christmas will be the next time I see my folks so I made sure they got themselves some nice Drexel gear before they departed for home.
I am only now becoming relatively proficient at reeling off Philly’s streets names and numbers. Whenever I nail it without pausing to think I feel like a proper American. Over my year here I must take better advantage than I have been of how accessible all the major cities along the east coast are to me. Cities like New York, Boston, Baltimore and DC are just a few hours away by train.
Thursday night after class I took the Amtrak to DC to visit my girlfriend at the University of Maryland. Fortunately I don’t have class on Fridays which gives me ample time for a weekend away every now and again. All day Friday we toured around DC. We strolled around the National Mall taking in all the spectacular sights. From the Capital Building to the Washington Monument, the White House to the Lincoln memorial. I really love DC. It’s a truly unique city. It was so surreal to see so many politically and culturally significant buildings in person. We even got to see President Joe Biden take off in his helicopter from the White House lawn, albeit from a distance.
Saturday I went to go see my first American college football game between the University of Maryland Terps and the Northwestern University Wildcats. It was thoroughly enjoyable and fanfare was really cool to see. Thankfully it finished 31-24 to Maryland making it their sixth win thus giving the possibility of playing in a Bowl game. Although I’ve had it explained to me the college football playoff system still makes no sense to me.
Once again it was another great week for the Phillies. Throughout the week they went head to head with the San Diego Padres in the National League Championship Series and clinched a spot in the World Series in game five on Sunday. I watched as Bryce Harper hit a two-run home run to book the Phillies a spot in the World Series against the Houston Astros for the first time since 2009. The Phillies go into it as underdogs but I’m hoping for the electric atmosphere at Citizens Bank Park to carry them. GO PHILS!!!
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