Happy Guy Fawkes Day!
Who is Guy Fawkes, you ask? Well I’ll tell you! It’s just a bit of an historical event with a pervasive message. Guy Fawkes is associated with the gunpowder plot to blow up parliament back in 1605 in order to restore Catholicism in England. However he was caught before the plan could take effect. The UK now celebrates the failed plot and burn effigies of Guy Fawkes on November 5th. I hope that was slightly educational and gave some insight into western culture. For a modern interpretation of Guy Fawkes watch the movie V for Vendetta released in 2006.
Sincerely,
Sara
Here are some suggestions for scary horror flicks to watch this weekend for Halloween:
SAW 3D
Paranormal Activity 2
My Soul To Take
Case 39
Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D
Let Me In
The Last Exorcism
The Town
Enjoy your weekend of mischief!
Sincerely,
Sara
Hope you all are having a good first couple weeks of the quarter! This month will have a fun field trip to the Pumpkin Patch. Two weeks from now on the 22nd of October we will go look at all the pumpkins on display! Traditionally people buy pumpkins and carve funny or scary faces on them. The pumpkins are hollowed out and a candle is placed inside so it would glow orange at night. These are called Jack-O-Lanterns.
Another Halloween custom regarding pumpkins is cooking the seeds in different seasonings, sweet or savory, then munching on them as a snack. Oven-bake them or saute them in a frying pan and they will make a delicious bite to eat. It makes a good appetizer for any Halloween party and you can look up many recipes online!
Friday the 29th of October AOI College of Languages is throwing a Faculty and Student Halloween Party!! The staff will be dressed up in Halloween Costumes! You don’t want to miss it! Find a funky costume and come party at AOI with your teachers and friends.
Sincerely,
Sara
How is everyone doing on their almost last week of school?? It’s Friday and time to study up or relax before next week. Next Tuesday the 21st is the last day of classes before the quarter break. Two or so weeks of not cramming, not studying, and out having fun! Go out and take in the still hot California sun! I know it’s tempting but make sure not to extend your vacation past October 6th when classes start-up again. 🙂
Check out these places over your relaxing break:
San Diego
San Francisco
Newport Beach
The Block at Orange
From necessities to frivolous buys, you can find anything fun and cheap at the Orange Coast College Swap Meet. It is a big deal with tons of vendors selling goods for a great price. You can haggle and land an awesome bargain on clothes, household things, perfume, and other such trinkets. The Swap Meet is held on the OCC Campus in the Adams Parking lot. Bring your friends along and have a fun time shopping at the OCC Swap Meet every weekend! There are refreshments and snacks sold as well such as fresh fruits and a variety of lemonades. You’ll never run out of new things to see and buy!
Sincerely,
Sara
Photograph by David Eppstein
The University of California, Irvine is right next to AOI College of Languages and the benefits are obvious. UCI campus has a beautiful park and many places to sit under one of the large trees that offer a relaxing shade. Today, I went on a breezy campus tour with the junior summer students. We lightly toured the campus and rested under a huge tree in the middle of Aldrich Park. Even the children enjoyed the beauty of the University’s grand campus. After the park we went on over to the UCI Bookstore which had an abundance of books and electronics as well as stationary of different colors and designs. Any students needs, personal or educational, can be fulfilled at the UCI Bookstore with many food and drink shops nearby as well.
It is easy to take for granted the beautiful city of Irvine. It is important to remember however how lucky we are to be in such a safe yet versatile environment to learn English in. Close enough to all the fun city scenes of the nearby Los Angeles or San Diego, while still having a quiet and friendly place to study and relax with classmates. We are truly in a perfect learning environment that nurtures the hopes and dreams of every student. With this in mind, I hope you all have the time of your lives over summer vacation~
Sincerely,
Sara
The quarter break is coming up on July 28! Good luck on your last week and a half of classes and make sure to have lots of fun before coming back to attend Summer Session I, which starts August 18.
With 3 weeks of summer nearing, hopefully you have an idea of what to do in the beautiful Southern California! If not, I have some info on what’s going on during summer break.
First off as you all should know from browsing through the July Newsletter I posted in the Newsletter page, the Orange County Fair is going on until the 15th of August. The OC Fair is a huge event with a bunch of fun stuff to do.
There are also many low key yet entertaining places to go such as the mall. I can point out several large malls around here. South Coast Plaza, Main Place Mall, Spectrum, Bella Terra, The Block, and The District are all located in or near Irvine and locals frequent these malls for shopping and food.
Of course you can’t forget the Beaches that roll along the coast so close to AOI campus like Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, and Laguna to name a few. To get into the SoCal summer mood just listen to “California Gurls” by Katy Perry! Join the fun~
Sincerely,
Sara
It’s the end of the week already!
The weather has been heating up to blistering degrees. It’s the perfect time to go to the beach or the pool to cool down with your friends and get that nice summer tan. Put on plenty of sun block so you don’t end up getting burned! Head down to Newport Beach with its white sandy beaches or to Huntington Beach for the bustling beach city atmosphere. Enjoy your weekend~
Sincerely,
Sara
Orange County Fair: July 16th – August 15th 2010
Hope you all had an enjoyable weekend of fireworks and fun! It’s the middle of the week and everyone should be concentrating on classes and studying, right? Well you have one more week of hard learning before this month’s field trip! Be patient, next Friday will come soon enough. 🙂
Come to the front office to sign up for the field trip to the infamous OC Fair. The earlier the better! You wouldn’t want to miss this trip, it is sure to be an exciting experience with your peers and teachers. The OC Fair has so much going on you won’t know where to start and once you’re into it, you won’t want to leave. The field trip will be on Friday the 16th of July~
I went to the OC Fair last year and enjoyed it so much, I don’t want anyone to miss out on the fun! My favorite was the Skylift which afforded me a view of the entire fair below my feet! It was exhilarating but make sure to bring a jacket if you’re going at night. Remember to sign up early if you want to go!
Sincerely,
Sara
