Friday 24 January 2014

Day 15: First Philomathean Society Meeting

What went well? 
  1. Had some pretty deep & meaningful conversations with people at the Philo meeting. Also enjoyed the novelty of the experience as a whole.
  2. Got a really nice lunch from the Magic Carpet food truck
  3. The check-out guy at Fresh Grocer let me through even though I didn't see the sign that said 10 items or less :P
  4. The pull-top came off my can, and my can opener failed, but a guy at my dorm helped me to stab a hole into the can with a knife.
What did I learn?
  • The lifetime prevalence of mental illness in the US is close of 50%. i.e. almost half of people in the US will experience some kind of DMS diagnosis in their lifetime. This finding has led to criticisms of the validity of the DMS's diagnostic criteria.
  • So, I can't apply to be a member of the Philomathean Society after all, since I'm only here for a semester. At least I can still attend most of their events though :)
  • And the Philos are actually a thriving organisation. There were about 35 attendees at their meeting tonight, on a Friday night.
  • The Philo meeting was a bit bizarre. That is the only word I can describe it with. Bizarre. It was simultaneously ceremonial and chaotic, intellectual and flamboyant. They are all very friendly, interesting and engaged people though.
The Philo library. Was in here for their weekly tea with a professor event.
The Philo meeting room. A bit like a courtroom? 
Ordaining people.
The lecture on "Violence is the Answer" happened at about 11pm, presented by a Senior at Penn. People were still engaged at that point! I was impressed.
Grocery shop. This stuff totalled about $48. Probably a bit expensive, but that's the price you pay for whole foods (aka real food) + convenience.
I know this looks highly unappetising, but it actually tasted pretty good :P Quinoa, beans, capsicum, mushroom, onion, garlic, cumin.

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