Closing Blog

This semester has once again gone so fast, I cannot believe it is over. My junior year is on day away from being officially completed and I couldn't be more excited! As you have read, I will be studying abroad next semester and then I will be back on the Caldwell Campus for the last Spring semester of my undergraduate career, and also the last season that I will be competing on the Caldwell Softball Team. So many of my close friends are graduating and I know next year will not be the same without them. With the close of every year and every semester comes big changes. For me personally, these changes will hopefully be life changing. I am excited for what is to come in my life and the opportunities that will present themselves in the future.  I'm sure that I will not stop blogging, especially when I am over in Spain and then continuing on into my teaching career to learn about the new advances and gadgets in my field.  Thanks for following my blog!!

End of the semester

With the end of the semester just around the corner, there are many things to do and many dead lines to meet. Along with getting the last reports in on time and studying for finals, I am tying up the last loose ends for my trip to Spain. Once all my paper work is in, my next step is to take a trip to the Spanish Consulate in NYC to apply for my Visa. And the last thing to do is coordinate my flight to Spain with the rest of the college students from Minnesota that I will be studying with. After all that is done, I will be on my way to Spain on September 1st! I am so excited for this opportunity and cannot wait to leave. This will be an experience of a lifetime that I will never forget!

Regional Tournament 2012

The Caldwell Cougars have made the Regional tournament once again. Unfortunately, we did not do as well as we had hoped the previous weekend. Since we performed so well during the regular season, we have seeded 4th in the North East Region. Only 8 teams per region make this tournament and only 64 teams in the country are privileged enough to be playing this weekend. We are playing at Southern Connecticut State University. There are two brackets in the North East Region. The four teams in our region are Southern Connecticut, UMASS-Lowell, and Assumption College. The winner of this bracket goes on to play the winner of the other bracket the following weekend in a three-game series. We all hope that we can advance to the next round; the Super Regionals. GO COUGARS!

Softball Playoffs 2012

The regular season has come to a close. It was a short and quick one, but we got all of our games in. Our overall record was 37-12. We finished second in the CACC conference and ranked 5th in the Northeast Region. This is a great accomplishment for us especially with all the freshman on our team. They have really adapted and arose to the higher level of play. This upcoming weekend we are playing in the CACC conference tournament where we are ceded second. This is an advantage for us because we will be the Home team every game until we play the number one cede. Our goal this weekend is to win the Conference tournament. if we win we are automatically into the Regional Tournament the following weekend and we keep any other team in our conference from going too. However, our high ranking in the region as it is, will most likely carry us into the Regional Tournament even if we do not win this weekend. So from my stand point right now, I will have at least two more weeks of great softball before our season could come to an end. GO COUGARS!

Segovia, Spain

Today I have made my decision that I will b studying in Segovia Spain from September 2, 2012 until December 4th, 2012. I will live with a host family in Segovia. There are about 22 students from Bethel University and Concordia University going as well. I will take about three to four Spanish calsses along with an internship in a spanish speaking elementary school that will count for credits. When I arrive I will be immersed into an intense spanish review for the first week and a half before my classes begin. There are paid excursions I will be attending. They have four one day trips around Spain. There are also a few overnight trips. I will spend five days in Madrid and Sevilla. There is alos a four day trip to Barcelona. We have a nin day break in the middl of October, which is when I will go and visit one of my good friends who is living in Germany. I am so excited for this opportunity! One wekends I am free to travel around the country adn the other countries in Europe. The school also sets up a regular Spainsh speaking university students who is learning english with one of the students we are traveling with and we spend half the time speaking in English and half the time speaking in Spanish, where we correct eachothr grammatically and phonetically. This is a great opportunity to really master the language. I am so excited and cannot wait until I am on the plane to Spain!

Spain 2

I have been wanting to study abroad ever since I started college. Once I decided that my second major would be spanish, by goal was obviously Spain. I have been trying to go for the past two years, and now Caldwell finally has a couple of connections. I will not be going through Caldwell since they do not have s direct connection to a university in Spain, but both of these programs allow students from Caldwell to go through their program. The Segovia option is through  a school called Bethel. At this university, I would live with a host family and have an opportunity at an internship teaching english as a second language in an elementary school. The downside to this option is that in order to go with Bethel, I would have to sign an agreement and the agreement is a bit conservative and restrictive to say the least. My other option is in Grenada. Hre, I would live in a dorm with many other students from all over the world. One of my friends, Monica, who also attends Caldwell is in this program at this very moment. She is loving it and is traveling and seeing the country and learning the language. The plus to this option is that I know it is a good program and I will absolutely love it. My decison will come down to my preferance and where I feel more comfortable.

Studying Abroad in Spain

In the upcoming weeks, I will be deciding which program I will be involved in to study abroad in Spain for the upcoming Fall semester. I have two options that I can choose from. One is located in Segovia, Spain. This is about a 20 minute train ride from the capital, Madrid. With this program, I have the opportunity for an internship in an Elementary School teaching students English. I feel this would be a wonderful experience and opportunity. My other option is to study in Grenada, Spain. This is located on the southern part of the country, more towards the beach. With this program, I would live in a dorm style university with many foreign students. I would take my classes and be free to explore Europe on my own. Segovia is a little bit more strict and I would live in a house with a host family. Either way, I am incredibly excited to be living in Spain for about three months. I think this would be an amazing opportunity for me to really learn the language and culture from a first hand point of view. I am a Spanish major in college and this is something I have always wanted to do. I am a bit nervous to be living so far away and in such a different culture, but I know it is a once in a lifetime opportunity that I just cannot simply pass up. I will be making my decision by the end of March and will then begin the process of selecting my classes and booking my flights and what not. My family is extremely excited for me and completely supportive of my decision. I cannot wait for August!

Opening Day

It's hard to believe, but we start playing two weeks from tomorrow down in Kissimmee, Florida. This mild weather we have been having has really gotten us into the mood of playing. Usually, we step on the field for the first time when we arrive in sunny Florida; but not this year. We have been practicing outside and really getting a head start compared to previous years. I hope the weather stays warm, it will be an awesome season! The offseason has flown by and everyone, including myself is anxious to get out there and perform. We have high expectations for this season and we are all ready to see them come true. The seniors are just as excited as the freshman to step on the field, whether it will be the beginning of their first season, or the beginning of their last; we all have one goal: TO WIN! We will be playing 10 games in 5 days in Florida and then come back up to New Jersey for our home opener on March 17th. These last two weeks of preparation to stay healthy and in shape are crucial. Once the season starts, stamina from the prior preparation will be the only thing that will take us to the end.

2012 NFL World Champs!

So on Sunday February 5th, at approximately 6:30, the Super Bowl between the NY Giants and the NE Patriots began. As we all know, The Giants proved once again that they are the world champions and celebrated their victory in Indianapolis. This victory was a total team effort. From the passing of quarterback Eli Manning, to the running backs of Bradshaw and Jacobs, and the receivers of Nicks and Cruz, they were unstoppable. The players were full of energy and enthusiasm as well as the fans who were watching the game. I could not have been happier when Bradshaw entered the end zone with about a minute left to play. At that moment, I knew we had it. Once the clock ran out and the score was Giants- 21, Patriots-17, it was time to celebrate! Everyone was cheering; it was a moment I will never forget. Two days later, the Giants returned to NY for the parade in NYC where millions of people lined the streets to watch these heroes parade through the streets. The all receive NFL World Champion rings and each one of them wear theirs with pride. I can honestly say that I am happy to be a New Yorker and a huge Giants fan! I cannot wait to next season! This win is something that will stay with these players forever and will never be forgotten in the Big Apple.

2012 Cougars softball

I am a junior starting pitcher for the Caldwell College softball team. Our season begins with a trip to Florida during Spring break and our home opener is March 17th. From that point on we are playing to advance to the Regional tournament and then eventually to the College World Series. It is a long season in such a short time. We play double headers at least four times a week, sometimes even six days during a week! Being on a team strengthens your relationships between each other and they become your second family. This year, we have many new players and I along with the other upper classmen, are excited to see how they will produce and what they will bring to the table to help us win. I am very excited for this season and I believe that we will do very well. There is only about five weeks to prepare for the upcoming season, but I believe that if we train and prepare the way we should, we will have a very successful season. We all love the game of softball and we give our 100% every time we step on the field. GO COUGARS!!

So for all of us die hard Giants fans, this Sunday is what we have been waiting for all season! A rematch between Big Blue and the New England Patriots. A rematch from the 2007 Super Bowl which the Giants, coming into the playoffs off a wild card win, just as they did this year, defeated the Patriots. The Giants have to expect that New England will be coming out strong wanting revenge after Super Bowl XLI. With a few changes to the teams since then, it will be Brady and Manning going head to head once again. I have grown up in with a Giants love, watching the games every weekend with my entire family. This season I have not missed a game, and hope that the Giants can pull through once again for the National title of Super Bowl XLVI champs! The game starts Sunday at approximately 6:20, DON'T MISS IT AND GO GIANTS!