A great semester!

Well, folks, this is my last post of the school year! I've had a great time getting to know all of you! Thanks to many of you for coming out and letting me show you around campus.

This summer, I will be taking summer classes at Penn during the first summer session. I know it's going to be stressful, but I'm really looking forward to it. One of the classes that I'm taking is in the sociology department. All of the classes that I've taken so far have been in GSE, so it will be good to try something different!

During the second have of the summer, I will be visiting my family in Jordan. I haven't been home since December, so it will be good to see my old friends, catch up with my brothers, and eat good Arabic food!

Thanks again to all of you, and I hope to see many of you at GSE in the fall!

Best wishes,
Maher

Take me out to the ball game!

Ok, this may sound strange to some people, but I'm not into sports. I don't know the Cardinals from the Lakers. When people talk football, I nod my head and pretend like I know what they're talking about. I guess the jig is up now. Everyone, I know nothing about sports...

So, seeing as I like to try new things, I decided to go to a Philadelphia Phillies game this past Friday. For those of you who know as much about sports as I do, the Phillies are a baseball team. Yes, all of you that know sports can roll your eyes now. You have my permission (not that you asked!).

Anyway, GAPSA (the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly) was selling tickets to the game for 25 bucks. Basically, for that price you got to enjoy all you can eat hamburgers, soda, beer, and ice cream at the rooftop of Citizen's Bank Park. I brought my friend, Leslie, who probably knows less about baseball than I do. In fact, when someone hit a homerun, she yelled, "TOUCHDOWN!" Because this outburst was accompanied by an amusing dance, I didn't tell her she was confusing her sports. I was having too much fun watching her "shaking it like a polaroid picture," as she put it.

In the end, I had a great time! I can't say I knew what was going on, but it was fun to cheer, laugh, and experience something new!

Finally Done! Well, sort of…

Before you graduate in Education Leadership at GSE, you have to write a Master’s thesis on a topic of interest to you. My paper is basically a literature review on the topic of teacher recruitment and retention. I worked really hard and long on this paper, so I’m happy to say that I submitted it to my advisor, Dr. Lytle, on Tuesday. It’s a weight off my shoulders to finally have finished it, but I still have to meet with Dr. Lytle to talk about it next week. Although having to make changes is not something I’m looking forward to, getting Dr. Lytle’s comments and suggestions will ultimately make my paper better, which is something that I am looking forward to. I consider myself lucky to have someone so well-respected and knowledgeable give me his feedback. That’s something I really like about GSE. Most students work closely with their advisors and other faculty. For me, this part of my education is priceless.

FYI, GSE is hosting an open house for accepted Master’s students this Monday (April 7). I look forward to meeting those of you that attend. Please contact me if you have any questions about this event or general questions about GSE.

Guess who is coming to Penn!

My regular blog-readers will remember that I was super-excited because Bill Clinton was coming to Penn! Unfortunately, I didn't get tickets... To make a long story short, you had to be at the ticket window early in the morning, and my alarm failed to go off. I'm suing my cell phone company for having a defective alarm clock! Needless to say, I was extremely disappointed, and I was even more disappointed when I talked to people that were able to get tickets and go. Apparently, the man can still put on a great show!

So... Here I am the other day, sulking over having to miss Bill speak, when I get the greatest news EVER! Stephen Colbert (of the Colbert Report) is coming to Penn soon! Now, I found out too late to get tickets, but a friend of mine has the hook up at the Annenberg Center, and we might be able to work at the show (and get to see the performance)! I'm not getting too excited yet, seeing as I was horribly disappointed about missing Bill, but... I'm holding out hope!

Also, rumor is that Barak will be coming to speak sometime soon also! Pennsylania has its primary elections in mid-April, so he and Hillary will both probably be coming soon! I can't wait! Even though I'm not a Hillary supporter, it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see her speak.

Spring Break in Philadelphia

Well its been a great relaxing week. Spring break for most people at GSE is just ending, while Teacher Ed students are just starting theirs. I decided to stay away from sunny Florida and avoid the gorgoous beaches of Cancun, after all who needs all that when you have Philadelphia! ok , ok, I like my job but honesty is a better policy. I had some major papers due this week, in addition to my masters thesis, so a few buddies of mine decided to come over to Pennsylvania instead. It was a great way to explore the city with old friends and get some work done at the same time. Multi-tasking, Penn tends to do that to a person. Also, if any of you are familiar with the show Mad Money, I actually managed to make it as part of the audiance for the third anniversary show. Now that was pretty enjoyable. I am planning not to let this get to my head, but persuing a career in showbiz is still on the table!

I feel like I've been away from school for way too long! but then again, this break was much needed for most of us. We have some really exciting events coming up this month, and we are really looking forward to seeing all of you. I have set up some AIM chat sessions with prospective studetns and I am always enjoy talking to anyone whose interested in GSE, so drop me a line and I will surely arrange for something. All the best to all! This me signing off...Good luck!

I couldn’t be more excited! On Friday, I read in Penn’s student newspaper, The Daily Pennsylvanian, that Bill Clinton is coming to speak at Irvine Auditorium, which is on Penn’s campus. Tickets are FREE with a student ID, and are available for pickup tomorrow morning at 10:00 am. I will probably try to get there early to ensure I get a ticket! Tickets to these types of events tend to run out fast!

Even though I am a huge Bill Clinton fan, and I’m looking forward to hearing him talk, I don’t think he’s going to convince me to vote for Hillary Clinton in the Pennsylvania primary! I have been watching the democratic debates religiously on CNN, and so far, it looks like I will be voting for Obama. His speeches and rallies are so inspiring, and let’s face it, there isn’t much of a difference between him and Hilary when it comes to policy issues. I have to agree with one of the reporters I heard yesterday on the news – at this point in the game, issues of personality really start to matter!

The only thing I have left to do is register to vote, which I plan to do in the next few days. When I lived in Boston, my vote in the general election didn’t matter much, since obviously, Massachusetts is a HUGELY democratic state. Now, living in Pennsylvania, my vote actually matters! I’m really looking forward to getting into the election this year. GO OBAMA!

Movies in Philadelphia
Recently, I’ve really been getting into independent movies. I mean, I love a good Hollywood blockbuster every now and then, but sometimes I want to see something a little different and unpredictable. Luckily, Philadelphia is home to a great “indie” type movie theatre called The Ritz. You should check out their website!
http://www.ritztheaters.com/
They have 3 different locations, so they always have a variety of movies to choose from! For instance, they are currently showing 12 different movies! A couple of weeks ago I saw “The Orphanage,” a Spanish horror movie about a woman who returns to her childhood home, which is an orphanage for handicap children. Her young son starts talking to ghosts, and well, risking sounding like a huge wimp, it scared the hell out of me!
I’m really looking forward to seeing a movie currently showing called Caramel. It’s a film about a group of Lebanese women living in Beirut. I have spent a lot of time in Beirut, and Arabic-language movies on the big screen are fairly hard to come by in the U.S., so I’m really excited! It will also be fun to watch this movie with my American friends, and in turn, expose them to a little bit of Middle Eastern culture!

Restaurant Week

Last week was restaurant week in Philadelphia. Twice a year, the nicest restaurants in Philadelphia offer three course dinners for just $35!
http://www.centercityphila.org/restaurantweek/default.aspx
If you reserve early, you can get into places that would normally offer these same three courses for around $100! A friend and I went to newer restaurant called 707. You can check it out at the link below!
http://www.707restaurant.com/
If you’re wondering about the name, it refers to the restaurant’s address, 707 Chestnut Street. The décor was minimalist, with chocolate-brown seating and modern fixtures. For my first course, I had chicken liver mousse with toasted bread, garnished with a pear salad. It was good, but my friend’s first course of tomato risotto with brie and shrimp was remarkable! I decided to stick to something a little “safer” for my second course. I ordered roasted chicken with endive and horseradish, served with a mix of vegetables. Who knew a chicken breast could taste so good!? My friend is from Texas, and hence, a huge fan of beef, so she got the beef short rib with red wine sauce, served with polenta and root vegetables. It was so tender! Again, I think I liked her choice better! For dessert, we both had a chocolate hazelnut torte. It was so sweet and delicious. The waitress was incredibly friendly, and she patiently answered all of my friend’s weird questions about goat cheese and truffles! I was really impressed with the service. I will definitely go back to 707!
For the next restaurant week, I plan to make early reservations at a place called Brasserie Perrier. Check out the menu! But I should warn you, your mouth start watering uncontrollably!
http://www.brasserieperrier.com/
Seared Potato and Goat Cheese Terrine, Eggplant and Roasted Pepper Caviar, Micro Arugula, Balsamic Syrup? Did you see that one!? I might not be able to hold out until the next restaurant week. In fact, I might have to go there tonight!
I seriously cannot wait for this coming September, which is when Philadelphia has its next restaurant week!

Open House

Spring semester is a hectic time for everyone. Whether it's trying to stick to New Year’s resolutions that we are bound to break, working on your master's research papers, or waiting on your pending university applications. At GSE, things are no different. We have been spending a great deal of time preparing for so many events for this semester! Tesol is hosting a virtual open house this Tuesday on line for those of you too far away to attend our on campus open houses. In addition to that, preparations for all sorts of different on campus functions have been underway and we look forward to seeing all of you. Classes are in their second week and already I can feel the steam they are picking up. For a Masters student in Educational Leadership, days seem to be flying by as we approach the April deadline. all the best to all of you and hope to see you around soon. From Philadelphia, tom Brokav of Penn, Dan rather of GSE, this is Maher Zamel signing off.As a note: please feel free to email me for an AIM chat session to talk about things that might be on your minds!

Back to School

Well the semester seems to be heading off to a good start! The weather is great, students are excited, and the courses are all fresh of the roaster! I've been told my many Philadelphians that it usually gets to be much colder than it is already at now, so much for global warming I guess. As I mentioned in previous posts the start of the semester usually includes numerous activities for students, many of which are for free. Well Friday night was a little special for many in of our psych majors as HBO debut its new show in-Treatment at Houston Hall two weeks before it’s broadcasted nationally. The show is 30 minutes long, takes place at a psychiatrists office, and is very interesting is all that I would say. It was a wonderful event with plenty of free food, drinks, and most importantly an edge over many non Penn students that have wait two more weeks before watching it! Yes I have to admit it feels good to be able to brag about events like this to friends of mine back home. As for GSE, we are having plenty of events this semester for our prospective students that will take place starting end of January and all the way until end of April. We do look forward to seeing all of you and wish you a wonderful year. All the best from Philadelphia. Your GSE newscaster/entertainment/ and fellow students, Signing off.