August 27th, 2010

Last weekend I went camping at Point Lookout State Park in Maryland and decided to research places to camp near the Philadelphia area.  I found an article written by a woman with her top five favorite campgrounds near Philly.  I think her definition of the word “near” is a little different than my own, but maybe some of the parks are worth the road trip. Out of her top five, I’ve only been to Shenandoah National Park and had a great time so I trust her judgment on the other sites.  Shenandoah is about a five hour drive from Philadelphia and the main draws (for me) are the hiking trails and beautiful views from the mountain tops.  I got up super early one morning to watch the sunrise and it was breathtaking.  Other recommended campgrounds near Philadelphia are Dingman’s Campground (2 hour drive), Pioneer Campground (3 hour drive), Promised Land State Park (2 hour drive), and Cape Henlopen State Park (1.5 hour drive).

One suggestion I have for you camp-goers is to think ahead and make reservations a couple weeks (or in some cases, a couple months in advance) before your trip.  My friends and I wanted to go camping at Assateague Island this summer but it turns out it is always fully booked even before the summer months begin.  Also, check the forecast before you head out, and plan accordingly!  When I went camping last weekend the temperature ended up being almost 110 degrees.  The beaches were packed and it was way too hot everywhere so we ended up bailing a day early because we couldn’t stand the heat.  Also, do some research on your campsites to see what activities are offered.  A lot of places have fishing, kayaking, canoeing, hiking, swimming, and more.  Find a place you can do what you like.

If you’re not a camper, you should obviously be able to find things to do closer than 1.5 to 5 hours away from the area.  Check out VisitPhilly.com for some ideas!

Tagged As: camping, Cape Henlopen State Park, Dingman's Campground, Philadelphia, Philly, Pioneer Campground, Promised Land State Park, Shenandoah National Park, Visit Philly
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June 29th, 2010

An advantage of going to school in the Philadelphia area is having an array of restaurants, museums, parks, or stores to visit whenever you wish.  An advantage of going to school at Chestnut Hill College is having opportunities to go on trips with classmates and teachers to restaurants or parks and having fun in a new environment while simultaneously learning or putting classroom lessons to practical use.  Before the end of the semester, my Spanish Conversation class took a trip to La Tierra Colombiana and practiced speaking Spanish with each other, our teacher, our shuttle driver, and the servers at the restaurant.  I thought it was a great way to get some practice talking in Spanish outside of our typical classroom setting, and the food was AMAZING.  I ordered the Arroz con Pollo and was tempted to order another plate of it to take back to my dorm to eat as leftovers.  (Explore their menu.) The prices at the restaurant are decent as well; my food was just $10.50 and I was more than satisfied with the quantity of food.  I unfortunately didn’t have room to try dessert though!  That just means I’ll have to go back sometime and refrain from filling up on bread and lunch or dinner before trying the flan, cheesecake, pound cake, bread pudding, or ice cream.  Maybe I’ll start with dessert next time… 

If you truly want to experience the Latin culture of Philly, La Tierra Colombiana also hosts Salsa dance nights (or Bachata/Merengue/Reggaeton/etc) on some nights in a club setting of the restaurant.  I’m not too into dancing, but I’m sure it would be a great experience for the experienced dancers or the newbies who are just looking to have a fun time.

¡Gracias CHC por todas las oportunidades de practicar mi Español, y gracias Profesora Rogers por la introducción a un restaurante magnífico!

Tagged As: class trip, Colombian food, Cuban food, La Tierra Colombiana, phila, Philadelphia, Restaurant, Spanish classes
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May 10th, 2010

One of the best things about CHC is the knowledge that people care about you.   Teachers are helpful, staff is friendly, and there are always a ton of events planned with the students’ interest in mind- whether it’s a fun trip to an ice skating rink or Broadway show, or an open lecture about nuclear warfare, there’s something for everyone.  However, as graduation looms ever nearer and the need to find work in this tough economy is upon some students, I think it’s safe to say that the Career Development center is one of CHC’s most important places right now.

As an underclassman I hadn’t paid too much attention to it before but looking around now, it’s quite apparent that the folks over in Career Development are constantly organizing activities or information sessions to help students prepare for life after graduation.  If you walk in the hallway of offices on the third floor in St. Joe’s (where Career Service is located, along with Student Activities and other offices), maybe take a second to check out the bulletin board next to the soda machines.  There are pamphlets and papers with tips on how to prepare or dress for job interviews, etc.  Besides that, the diligent people in Career Development send out emails to all students with announcements about upcoming Career Connections trips, job fairs, or information sessions about interview etiquette, resume building, or other work related necessities.

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Tagged As: Alumni, career connections, Career Development, Career Services, Crown Cork and Seal, job interviews, recycling, St. Joe's
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April 25th, 2010

Since I’m a Spanish Major here at CHC, I’ve obviously had my share of Spanish courses.  I took AP Spanish in high school but unfortunately didn’t get a high enough score on the test to count for any college credit.  I did however do well enough on the proficiency test to place into Spanish 103 my freshman year.  Besides Spanish 103 and 104, I’ve also taken Advanced Grammar and Composition, Advanced Grammar and Conversation, Hispanic Culture I & II, Masterpieces of Hispanic Literature I, II, and III and I have a few more literature courses yet to take.  I highly recommend any of these courses for anyone, not just Spanish majors but for anyone who wants to better their Spanish speaking and listening comprehension.

All of the teachers I’ve had have been super helpful and always try their best to fix your errors and are eager to lend a hand and slow down if you don’t quite understand what they’re saying.  My classes are taught almost completely in Spanish, and it really does make you learn the language so much better if you’re forced to refrain from speaking English.   As Doctora Rogers would say as you walk into her classroom: ¨¡Adios, Inglés!¨  My Conversation class is actually scheduled to go on a trip to a Colombian restaurant in a few weeks to practice speaking outside the classroom and experience authentic Colombian cuisine.

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Tagged As: Aida Beaupied, Carmen Rogers, Grammar and Composition, Grammar and Conversation, Hispanic Culture, Hispanic Literature, Spanish classes, Spanish Major
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April 7th, 2010

As it has been mentioned in several previous blog entries, two semesters of Physical Education are required to graduate here at CHC.  Last semester I took Tennis with Janice Kuklick and learned a lot about it that I didn’t know before.  I used to avoid watching tennis matches because I was so confused about what was happening, but I can now watch tennis on TV and understand what’s going on- like when they use words such as love, deuce, ad-in, ad-out, or when the score seems to jump around sporadically.  From taking the class with Janice, I also learned how to play a new sport I’d never even heard of! 
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Tagged As: badminton, Fairmount Park, Janice, PE, physical education, pickleball, tennis
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March 19th, 2010

Before driving back down to Maryland for spring break, my sister wanted to take advantage of being in the Philadelphia area by checking out South Street and going to a concert at the Theatre of the Living Arts to see Copeland on their last tour.   After she and our friend Mel picked me up from my Sugarloaf dorm, we decided we were craving pizza and began our search for a good pizza place.  After our GPS led us to two different non-existent places, we found Toto’s, which we quickly established to be THE BEST PIZZA PLACE EVER.  We ordered a cheese pizza pie and watched as someone behind the counter started making it and brought it to our table in just a matter of minutes.  After finishing our awesome meal we headed over to South Street to explore before getting in line for our concert.

Teaser picture below. This is how close we were.  : )

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Tagged As: Concert, Music, Philadelphia, Phileo Yogurt, Philly, South Street, Theatre of the Living Arts, Toto's Pizza
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February 21st, 2010

In addition to being Junior Class President, Christina Flouras juggles several other extracurricular activities.  Christina is an executive member of CHAT (Chestnut Hill Activities Team), and FADD (Fighting Against Destructive Decisions).  CHAT comes up with a lot of the fun things that happen at CHC including the popular Harry Potter based sport known as Quidditch.  FADD organizes the events that occur during CHC’s annual Alcohol Awareness Week in order to encourage staying away from making destructive decisions, as its name suggests.

Christina’s responsibilities as Class President include working alongside the Vice President (Ashley Pavone), helping organize Alcohol Awareness Week, planning and executing the Senior Dinner, and organizing our class preparations for Christmas Decorating Night.

Being a people person, Christina’s favorite thing about being la presidente is working with everyone else in SGA.  However, she does state that “It can be pretty busy and hectic at times”.  On top of managing all the previously mentioned activities, Christina also has learned to juggle getting her work done towards her Elementary Education Major and Spanish Minor.  But with the evident success of the Rotunda’s decoration for Carol Night, Alcohol Awareness Week, as well as CHAT’s numerous activities, I think it’s safe to say that the Junior Class is in good hands with Christina Flouras as our president.

Tagged As: CHAT, Christina Flouras, F.A.D.D., Junior, Junior Class President, SGA
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February 8th, 2010

Last weekend I enjoyed several things that occurred in the Philadelphia area.  On Saturday I went to the Philly Auto Show to drool over the Lamborghinis, but there was a celebrity car there that drew a crowd and lines to sit in the car.  A replica of Bumblebee from the Transformers movies was in one of the showrooms.  It even had the Autobots logo on its side and hubcaps, with the word TRANSFORMERS on the inside of where the car doors shut.  Another one of the more popular cars was the new Corvette Stingray Concept Car which looks really really awesome.

My favorite part of visiting the car show was visiting Ford’s section, because besides all their cool cars (the new Fiesta is adorable!) they had fun play-like areas set up for whatever reason.  There was a mini glockenspiel, a foosball table, and a computer where they welcomed customer feedback on a Twitter-like website.

There were also several sports celebrity appearances scheduled throughout the week including Placido Polanco, Vince Papale, Hugh Douglas, Charlie Manuel, Stewart Bradley, David Akers, Darryl Dawkins, and Eddie Alvarez.

The car show happens every year around the end of January and the beginning of February, running for about a week.  Adult tickets (ages 13 and up) are 10 dollars each and kids tickets (7 to 12 years old) are 6 dollars each. Check out the website for tickets. You can always get them at the door, but they cost 12 dollars on weekends as opposed to 10 dollars good for any day if you buy from the website.

The other things I enjoyed last weekend included a nice dusting of snow and seeing Harrison Ford’s new movie Extraordinary Measures with cheap movie tickets that I got using CHC’s “Fall In Love With Philly” ticketing program that Liz wrote a blog about before.  Movie passes for almost ten bucks cheaper than I’d get from buying at the theater?  Yes please!

Tagged As: Car show, CHC Ticketing Program, movies, Philadelphia, Philly Auto Show
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