Holiday happenings in Philadelphia

Good afternoon. I'm in a much better state of mind this week since (most of) my finals are done.  I'm not yet ready to post the "I'm finished with finals!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Facebook status, but I'll get there eventually.  Tonight is the holiday party for the Higher Ed department, so I'm excited for that.  I'm also really happy that the place is 3 blocks from my apartment...when I was walking to work this morning, it seemed that there was some sort of "wintery mix" on the horizon.  

In honor of the winter/holiday season, I decided to post some links to events going on in the Philadelphia area.  

Ice skating at Penn's Landing
Philadelphia's version of ice skating at Rockefeller Center.  They convert a large parking lot at Penn's Landing into an ice skating rink.  Penn's Landing is right on the waterfront with gorgeous views of the city.  It'll be chilly, so bring your gloves, scarves, and earmuffs.

http://www.delawareriverwaterfront.com/places/blue-cross-riverrink

The Christmas Village in Philadelphia
From what I've heard and can tell from their website, this is set up like a traditional German Christmas market.  It takes place at Love Park (where the famous "LOVE" statue is, on 15th and Arch Streets in Center City).  Vendors from all over the world come to sell food, beverages, and crafts, and they also have live music and performances on some nights.

http://www.visitphilly.com/shopping/philadelphia/christmas-village-in-philadelphia/

Holiday lights!
Regardless of which (if any) winter holiday you celebrate, viewing holiday lights is sure to bring cheer to even the Grinchiest of Grinches (I just made that up).  Here is a link to the top places to view holiday lights both in and around Philadelphia.  

http://www.visitphilly.com/articles/philadelphia/top-holiday-lights-attractions-in-philadelphia/

Fireworks on New Year's Eve
Speaking of viewing brightly colored things, here is a list of the top places to watch fireworks on New Year's Eve!
http://www.visitphilly.com/articles/philadelphia/where-to-watch-new-years-fireworks/

Mummers Parade
The Mummers Parade is an annual tradition that takes place in Philadelphia on New Year's Day.  Since I don't know much about it, I copied and pasted some text from their website.  It sounds like a lot of fun:  An annual tradition, the Mummers Parade features 10,000 men and women dressed in colorfully lavish costumes as they twirl, sashay, pirouette and strut up one of the city’s main streets. An unforgettably wild ritual, the parade and subsequent performances are all family-friendly and fun for everyone.

http://www.visitphilly.com/events/philadelphia/the-mummers-parade/

A note about dining/going out in Philadelphia on New Year's Eve:
If you're planning to spend New Year's Eve in the city and this is your first time doing so (like me), I wanted to share some advice I got from friends who have lived here for a while.  

They recommended figuring out what you and your family/friends want to do ahead of time, and then buy tickets/make reservations ASAP.  Many of the fancier restaurants will have "prix fixe" menus on New Year's Eve, which means that they charge a flat rate of about $50-$75 and you can choose from a selection of entrees.  There are some places that don't do this, but regardless of where you choose to eat, everywhere will be crowded so it's best to book in advance.  In terms of places to go out after dinner, most bars and clubs will charge a cover fee, so my friends have recommended doing research ahead of time and finding a place to commit to.  

Hope this helps!  I'll write more over break :)

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

Finals are here!  Needless to say, I'm less than thrilled that I have to write about 40 pages in the next ten days.  However, the fact that winter break is SO CLOSE is what is getting me through all of this.  Oh, and coffee.  Lots of caffeine.  I have to start my paper-writing really early and make a schedule for myself because I can't handle all-nighters or marathon writing sessions.  It's also tough because this is the season for holiday parties and celebrations, so I'm trying to finish my work somewhat early so I can actually participate in some of those things!  Grad school is definitely a lot tougher than undergrad in terms of having free time.  It might also be that the Higher Ed program is only 1 year, so we have 5 classes and then work 20 hours per week.  It saves a lot of money, but it's an intense year!  At this point I'm really ready to start working full-time, but I'm trying not to let my grades slip.  Next semester's course load will be a little bit easier though.  So now to power through the next 10 days!  Here are some cute pictures that I'm using to motivate myself:

Will anyone be in the Chicago area on Tuesday, 12/10 or NYC area Thursday, 12/12?!?

Hello everyone!  Hope you are enjoying the start of the holiday season (if I were on my iPhone right now I would add the snowman and snowflake emojis).  I wanted to share some information about two very exciting events that we have coming up next week for prospective students!

The Dean of GSE, Andy Porter, our Vice Dean, Alexis Wolson, and our new Director of Admissions, Natalie Herring will be traveling next week, so we are planning to have Holiday Reception/Meet the Dean events in both Chicago and NYC.  It will be a great opportunity to meet leaders from GSE, find out more about our degrees and programs, network, and enjoy some delicious food.  As a graduate student, I know that winter break is a popular time to work on applications, so this is the perfect time to celebrate the holidays and fall in love with Penn GSE =)  You can register/RSVP for these events by visiting our events page:  http://www.gse.upenn.edu/admissions_financial/events#off_campus

Here are the details for each event:

Chicago
Tuesday, December 10th, 6-8PM
Gleacher Center at the University of Chicago
450 North Cityfront Plaza Drive
Room 420 (South Lounge)

New York City
Thursday, December 12th, 6-8PM
Grand Hyatt New York
Park Avenue at Grand Central
Uris Room

I've been working on planning these events and I definitely recommend going.  I'm putting together the catering menus right now and getting hungry just thinking about it!