PEACHES DE LA PAZ

I can't believe it's Holiday Season already! I was so excited to go home this weekend. I haven't been home since September and it was nice to see my family and eat home-cooked food again. Thanksgiving was celebrated at my cousin's in North Jersey. My family was ecstatic when I told them that I'm studying abroad next semester. I'm just sad that I won't be seeing anyone I know for the next six months.

Thanksgiving with my cousins

These past two weeks I've been busy writing term papers and keeping up with classes. There's only about a week and a half of actual classes left and finals start soon! The end of the semester is almost here, but I'm sure a lot will still be happening on campus.

Open House was November 15! About 600 people came and it was a great success! I helped with the Pavos giving tours to prospective students and their families. It was a rainy day but we kept our spirits up with big umbrellas and renditions of peacock dances. Students still have the chance to visit our campus if they missed Open House. They can also set up personal visits and actually sit in a class with one of our Pavos if they like. Just contact Admissions!

Group Pavo picture

Old Pavo E-Board + New E-Board with Cheryl our awesome advisor

Later on that same day the first basketball games of the season started for SPC. President Cornacchia and other professors came to support the Peacocks and then later on for the Peahens. I'm excited that basketball season has started because SPC students come together to see the games and it's exciting to watch. I hope we have a good season this year.

At the Basketball Game

Last weekend my friend Jonathan took me to the Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. I'm sure many of you have seen the museum from the movie Night at the Museum starring Ben Stiller. The last time I was at the Museum of Natural History was holiday season with my family last year. The museum is so big that after two visits, there's still so much to see. I'm not sure what my favorite part of the exhibition was-probably seeing all of the artifacts like hominids and neanderthals that I'm learning in my evolution class. It was like watching my Evolution class come alive. I actually knew some of the facts about them too. It was also really nice to see the city getting ready for Christmas. I just hate that the weather is getting so cold. I hope it's a little warmer in Malta.

Jonathan and I in front of the Museum-Teddy Roosevelt's head got a little cut off

In front of an Easter Island statue replica-the kids were crazy about this one!

So this past weekend I had a very relaxing time with my family and friends. I had the chance to attend my Tito Gardie and Tita Joseline's (Uncle and Aunt's) 25th Anniversary Wedding. They renewed their vows after 25 years and I was so happy for them. During the wedding my Dad was one of the sponsors and put the cord around the couple-the cord symbolizes their everlasting love and unity through marriage and the Church.

Later on the reception was at the Hilton hotel. I got to see a lot of the second cousins I never get the chance to see anymore. They all got a lot bigger than when I last saw them. As with all Filipino weddings there was a great deal of line dancing and fun. I learned how to do the Chili Cha Cha and the Todo Todo. Needless to say, I love weddings and witnessing 25 years of marriage is a joy for me.

My family with the happy bride and groom

At the reception in front of the Christmas decorations

Dancing with my Dad at the reception

Last night my friends and I got together to have a second Thanksgiving with each other. We all brought left overs from home and finished them together. It was nice to actually see everyone-I haven't seen some of them since last May right before I left for Washington, D.C.

At the Dinner Table-I made half of these pilgrim hats!

Now it's back to school-I'll be going on a retreat this weekend called Koinonia. I'm really nervous/excited. It'll be the first time I'm leading on this retreat. I hope it goes well. The next time I blog will probably during finals....I better start studying....

Posted by Peaches De la Paz at 7:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My roommate, Jolie, Jacob, and I carved our own pumpkins!

So the last time I updated was right before mid-terms. Right now there are 6 weeks left in the semester and I'm busy with post-mid term papers. But besides that, I did really well on my mid-terms. All of my work and stress paid off, so now I'm just focused on keeping those grades up.

Politically, I'd like to congratulate President-elect Barack Obama. I was so excited to have voted in my first presidential election! This is truly a historical moment in our counry's history and I'm glad that our generation got to be a part of it.

So....GOOD NEWS

I got accepted into the ISEP Study Abroad Program. I will be studying next semester at the UNIVERSITY OF MALTA!

I'm so excited. I've been waiting nervously this whole semester to see whether or not I got accepted. But I'm happy to report that everything is official and I will be leaving in January.

For those of you who are not familiar with Malta-it's an island 60 miles south of Sicily, right smack in the middle of the Mediterranean. I chose that place because it's close to Italy and they had a great History program taught in English. I really can't describe how excited I am right now, but stay tuned because I will be blogging from Malta next semester and I hope to share some pictures as well.

Here's a map of Malta:

I really can't thank my professors and advisors for helping me throughout the study abroad process. They have been supportive of me and my wish to study abroad and they've been all very great.

OPEN HOUSE is this Saturday, November 15! I will be there along with some of my fellow bloggers, giving tours and I hope to see some new faces on the SPC campus!

Besides all the good news, I have been very busy.

Mid-October the Honors Program hosted a walking tour of Jersey City. It was directed by none other than Dr. Chew's husband. He's a teacher at Fordham University but knows a great deal about Jersey City and its rich history. Unfortunately the weather wasn't cooperating, but we still had time to walk around. The first place we visited was the cemetery right by the SPC campus. It was an interesting place to walk around. I had never been there before and I didn't feel like I was in an urban environment while we were there. It was interesting observing the place and Dr. Fischer knew so much!

Some of the girls inside the cemetery

The Asian American Student Union has been attending/hosting many events.
On Oct. 19 we went to Central Park in NYC to do the Breast Cancer Walk. The club itself raised around $400. We walked the entire 5 miles-I was sooo tired after but I felt very accomplished. I know some women who have been affected by Breast Cancer and this was a day to walk in solidarity for their cause.

Here are some pictures from the Breast Cancer Walk:

2 more miles to go....

Resting after the walk

On November 1, AASU went to NYU to support our candidate for Mr. Philippines. Sixteen colleges around the metropolitan area with Filipino clubs participated for the "mangeant." The contest included a talent portion, costume portion, and the top 3 finalists had a round of Question & Answer. Our own Mark Velasquez, Class of 2011 represented Saint Peter's College. I was part of his talent as the "love interest" in his spoken word. I was so nervous for him! Mark didn't make the top 3 but we were proud of him anyway. Mr. PI was so much fun, it's just a great time to meet other Filipinos from other colleges and root for SPC.

Mark with the SPC sign

So I'm excited to announce the new Pavo E-Board for the upcoming year (2009). Nicole Onello, a sophomore, will be taking my place as Communications Chair of the Pavos. I'm happy for her and sure that she will do amazingly. To celebrate, we had a transition dinner with the old and new E-Board members. Good luck to them!

All of us!

You'll definitely be seeing our faces this Saturday at Open House!

On Oct. 25 the History Club went out and visited the city together for the first time. We were able to see the Tenement Museum in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It's absolutely fascinating! I didn't know what to expect but I wish we had more time to see more of it. We took a tour around a house constructed in the late 19th century and we witnessed the conditions that people, mainly immigrants, lived in and how they worked. I'm sure that the History Club wil host another event similar to this trip.

The History Club in front of the Tenement Museum

On October 29 I went to my first major hockey game ever! I got free tickets to see the New Jersey Devils play the Toronto Maple Leafs, compliments of Admissions. It was SO much fun. I appreciate hockey all the more now. The Prudential Center, where the Devils play, is in Newark and very easy to get to from SPC. I can't imagine being able to do this at any other college. The Devils lost, but it was such a good game! The Maple Leafs scored during overtime and the Devils put up a good fight. It was also a lot of fun because the game happened two days before Halloween and many spectators came in costume. It was interesting to see everyone dress up, I really wish I did.

I can say that I've definitely become a Devils hockey fan and I hope that I get the chance to see more hockey games.

YEAH DEVILS! Our seats were amazing!

Scoreboard

DEVILS FANS!

Halloween is always a fun time around the New York Metropolitan area. A couple of my friends and I went to the Village in Manhattan to see the biggest Halloween parade of the country. I've been going for the past two years and the Village is always packed! The most creative and crazy costumes can be seen. This year I dressed up as Princess Peach from the video game Mario & Bros. Thank goodness the weather was beautiful that night. We all had an intersting night!

My friend Mariya and I

Why so serious? The best Joker costume of the night!

Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett

That same weekend the Chorale had two performances on Nov. 2. We sang for the Alumni Memorial Mass as well as the Sons of Italy Induction in McIntyre Lounge. We sang two of our Italian songs in honor of new organization on campus.

Some members of the chorale with Kevin

This past weekend was the First Annual Presidential Ball. Dr. Cornacchia, the president of our college, was inducted last year. We held Presidential Ball for him last year and the Student Senate decided to make it a yearly event. It was held at Puccini's Restaurant right down the street and it was definitely a good time for both students, faculty, and administrators. The President himself was seen on the dance floor. I'm sure all of the students had a lot of fun eating and dancing.

Juniors: Maria, Alisha, Rezma, and I before we left

At Puccini's with my girlfriends!

Me and Dr. Cornacchia

Me and my date, Jonathan

So right now I'm getting ready for Open House this Saturday. I'm still busy retreat-planning, writing papers, studying-all of that academic college stuff. Thanksgiving is in two weeks and I'm excited to go back home to see my family. They're all really excited that I'll be studying abroad next semester in Malta. I know I'll miss them too and everyone on campus but I'm so ready to visit Europe and have the time of my life!

I hope to update again soon! I really can't believe the semester will be over in 6 weeks!

Posted by Peaches De la Paz at 4:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)