Fall 2010 Week 15

Week 15--by C. Sopa

Hi Readers,

            Hope the end of the semester is treating everyone well. Doesn’t vacation feel so close yet so far at the same time? Frustrating isn’t it? Just take it one day at a time and before you know it you’ll be back home and hopefully relaxing, or working to get ready for next semester if you’re like me. Trust me folks, the last thing you want to do is try and start vacation early and slack off before finals, that could definitely prove to be disastrous. If we just stay focused on finishing the semester strong then winter break will be here before we know it.

             This week started really well with an amazing cultural dinner held by the T.I.A.R.A.S of the iCONNic Concordia Chapter of Mu Sigma Upsilon Sorority, Inc. on Monday. It was a potluck affair so members of their organization made a dish to share. The variety of food was great. There was curry chicken, corn bread, empanadas, macaroni and cheese, rice pudding (which I never had before but was amazing!) and a whole lot more food. The dinner acted as a fundraiser for their organization, and I think it ended up being a huge success. After dinner was over they turned the radio up and opened the floor up for some dancing to help burn off all that food we just had. Overall it turned out to be a great break from studying.

            On Tuesday, the opened my EDCI 3000 class up to the public for The Young Poets performance. The Young Poets is a group of high school students led by their teacher and mentor Mrs. Lynn Frazier. Everyone needs an outlet, for some it’s singing, for me it’s dancing and for these students its poetry, and let me tell you they are good at what they do. The emotion and feeling that they bring to the stage is like nothing I ever experienced. These students have been through a lot in life and the fact that they can release their frustration, sadness, and anxieties is truly commendable. They hit a wide range of topics from drugs, to broken homes; even AIDS and they showed all of us just how strong today’s students are. We as future teachers really learned not only how to appreciate life but how to not judge our students based on the image they portray but the person they truly are.

            Now as some of you may know, the search for the new director of the Puerto Rican Latin American Cultural Center has been narrowed down to two finalists, however the final decision is yet to be made. Now even though a program director is something that is essential to the center we as students also recognize that we play a huge role in the dynamics of the center, which is why some of us have chosen to revive the Latino Organization Council. A few times a semester the leaders of all the Latino organizations here on campus such as the Latino Student Association, The Spanish Club, and various Greek organizations, just to name a few, gather together and discuss issues concerning PRLACC that we think need to be addressed. This Wednesday was the first meeting in almost two years and I think it proved to be a rather productive meeting. I’m sure that in the future we’ll be able to address some more serious issues concerning not only PRLACC, but the Latino student population as a whole and really make some great changes here on campus.

               On Thursday, we finished the week off the same way we began it with the METAS Holiday dinner. Even though it was predominantly a mentor and mentee affair we did have a few close METAS family friends attend help us celebrate the end of the semester and the upcoming holidays. The food once again was great! We had pernil (roast pork), pollo guisado (stewed chicken), arroz con habichuela (rice and beans), arroz blanco (white rice), maduros (sweet fried plantains), and flan (custard) for dessert. Even though the food was a tease for us because most of us won’t have food like this again until winter break begins it did give us mentors and mentees one last way to bond and remember the semester together.

            Well folks like I said earlier we’re almost at the end of the road. Next week is finals so in parting I want to wish you all, all the best on your exams and a happy holiday break.

           Next week’s post may be a bit unorthodox but it should prove to be entertaining nonetheless, so look out for that.

Be safe and good luck to you all!