Last week I went to my first ever NBA game, a 'must do' in America. We went to see the Philadelphia 76rs vs the Texas, San Antonio Spurs. We arrived at Wachovia court, the stadium, and it did not look very impressive from the outside. However, it held a whole experience within. The court itself is breathtaking and made the TV games come alive; huge monitors on top, 360 angle view of the crowd, we were impressed already but then the Philly team was called on to the court, which was a whole show by itself. First the singing of the national anthem by a high school choir and then lights and flashes all around the court in a dazzling display, while the names of the players got called out and their pictures shown on the gargantuan screen. 

Following the tip off, the game started slowly, but in the end picked up pace. The speaker was greatly biased, screaming the names of the Philly players that scored, while almost whispering the names of the other team’s players. Of course there were the cheerleaders, the fans who attempted the half-court shot to win some money, the Mascot (which is a crazy bunny, very much like the movie “Donnie Darko” just more athletic) and the unhealthy food, which we happily gobbled up. Unfortunately, being students, our budget was limited, and 23 dollars got us the cheapest tickets; so high up that you needed a telescope to view the players. But as we enjoyed so many things besides the game, it was still a lot of fun. I am invited next week to the Miami Heat vs Atlanta Falcons with MUCH better seats. So I’ll keep you posted.

The 76’rs won by more than 100 points, which triggered a big advertisement that our ticket from the game  would grant us a free Big Mac. I happily went the next day to claim mine just to get some nasty heartburn. I can swear they are making these differently here!

The conferences and speakers that line up at Wharton are amazing, in the course of one week, just to mention a few, we had the ex president of Mexico, Donald Trump Jr, Tommy Hilfiger and Ted Schlein (partner at a very famous venture capital fund who invested in Google, EA and almost all other tech companies you are obsessive about, before you even knew them). This adds so much to the academic experience, enriching it with inspiring stories by the actual people. A truly impressive feature for a business school.

Jonathan Friedman is a Master student at RSM, doing the Finance and Investments programme. He is currently in Philadelphia, studying at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, as part of an exchange programme.  

In my first column, I might have sounded a bit gloomy about the USA. It may have been the combination of all the hurdles of starting in a new place together with the feeling of foreignness. But, things have changed. It is great being here and I’ll try to give you a small taste of Wharton’s student life:
Campus Activities – what they have here dwarfs everything we have at Erasmus. Erasmus Magazine should have a look at the school’s news paper, 'The Daily Pennsylvanian', which is distributed daily around campus; it is student run and has about a million dollars in annual revenue. Besides that there are clubs and associations for everyone – Jewish, Muslim and Christian faiths, Gays and Lesbians, Jewish Gays and Lesbians, a club to reconcile inter-faith disputes, Athletes against Homophobia, a club for almost every country, every sport, and every course subject on the planet plus other eclectics such as clubs for aviation, comedy, women’s rugby and what not. A large fair was organized to showcase them all, and being mesmerized by the variety, I signed up for too many. (I am still getting e-mails from the Korean association).
Going out – Besides the local equivalent of Concordia (called 'Smokey’s') I got invited to a few fraternity parties. These are exactly what you see in the movies, just more mild. The big red cups, beer kegs, upstairs rooms where people go to “hook up” and one even featured an outdoor Jacuzzi. Besides, there are always different parties at private apartments around campus or down town.
Classes – I am no longer with 350 people in a room listening to a lecture! My biggest class has less than fifty people in it, which is really good – more interaction with the professor who actually remembers your name, group discussions where you hear other student’s thoughts and a much more personal feeling of interaction. On the flip side, the professor might cold call on you to answer a question; this requires you to follow the class at all times and to prepare upfront so no more two-week-before-exam cramming. There is even a program in place which lets you go and get a free lunch with your professor and up to two or three classmates, in order to get to know each other better. All in all, the campus is just packed with everything a student can dream of. At least, everything I dreamt university would be when I was in high school. Welcome to the dream!

Jonathan Friedman is a Master student at RSM, doing the Finance and Investments programme. He is currently in Philadelphia, studying at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, as part of an exchange programme.