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.

My Thanksgiving was amazing! I flew to Memphis to visit my two closest friends, whom I haven’t seen since August. The three of us decided a week before Thanksgiving that we were going to cook Thanksgiving dinner. I have never cooked anything more complicated than microwave popcorn, and I think the same can be said for my 2 buddies. Hence, after a couple of days of planning the menu, we gave up and decided to order our turkey from a barbecue restaurant near my friend’s apartment. I think that decision saved us from food poisoning. Looking back, I really have no idea how we could have pulled off a full Thanksgiving dinner…
So, after we stuffed ourselves, we spent the rest of the day (and the week) watching football. It was so good to be with my friends over break. I’m trying to persuade them to come visit me in Philadelphia soon. Neither of them have visited the famous Philadelphia sights like Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell (both of which are free). I also can’t wait to take them to see Ben Franklin’s grave and the Constitution Center. Philadelphia is rich in history, which is great for history buffs (and teachers) like me.