Movie Night: Life of Pi

Welcome back Algonquin, I hope everyone enjoyed their break! Last night was the February Movie Night featuring Life of Pi. I have wanted to see this movie for a long time I just never had the money or time to see it in theatres. I was also really excited to watch this movie after it snatched the awards for cinematography, director, visual effects, original score, at the Academy Awards on Sunday.

Life of Pi tells an amazing story about a boy on a life boat with a tiger, but beyond that it discusses religion, faith and humanity. I really loved this movie! It was a roller coaster of emotions, I was laughing, crying, and on the edge of my seat the whole time.  It was a beautiful film that makes you think about life.

I’m so happy that I got to see this movie on the big screen and it was free! This is by far one of my favorite free events at Algonquin College. I get to see great movies like Argo (2012 best picture) and Life of Pi for free and the SAO lets the students pick the movie. Polls are run on the Facebook page to decide what movie will be played each month. Remember, movie night is on the last Monday of the month tentatively! I can’t wait to see what the March movie will be.

I had a great time last night and I’m looking forward to my first Poetry Slam tonight in the Observatory at 8pm. See you there!

- SAO blogger Sarah Raphael

Dominican Experience

 

On Wednesday night I was able to sit in on the last meeting for the AlternativeSpring Break – Dominican Experience before they leave on Saturday.

It was really funny to see everyone buzzing with excitement and nerves right before they leave. Some were packed while others were just starting to. The energy in the room was really fun. For some students this is their first trip south others this is their first time volunteering abroad. They did a really cool exercise where they discussed their feelings from when they first met in October to now right before they leave.  

It has been a long journey for many for this group with applications and meetings starting in October. They have met every week from October to now, sold chocolate for fundraising, and organized events. This is a group of dedicated students that have become friends because of this project. They have a mix of ages, backgrounds, and programs that may have not connected outside of this project.

I was really impressed with the amount of donations they received from the school family and friends. They packed six suitcases full of food, books, and other donations for the school they will be working at. It is really great to see the school and community come together to support these students.

This is trip will allow the students to work with an orphanage in the Dominican. They will be working with a program called Outreach360. They are a non-profit organization with headquarters in Glendale, Arizona. In 1994, they “adopted” the Hope of a Child Orphanage in Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic. The focus of the orphanage is on education – teaching English, literacy, and public health. During the school year, you will most likely be teaching in local grade schools. The full-time on-site staff build relationships with the community to ensure they are meeting the highest priority needs of the area.

The students will be taking journals so that they can blog all their experiences when they get back. Check out their blog to see what they have gone through so far.
algonquindominicanexperience.blogspot.ca/

I want to wish them the best of luck in their travels. Remember to have fun and be yourself. You have all worked hard selling chocolates, and organizing events like Rich Meal Poor Meal, now is the time to enjoy yourself and make some memories.  As someone being left behind I would like you to bring back lots of pictures, stories, and sunshine.  

- SAO blogger Sarah Raphael

Beer and Food Pairing

This event is a must for students, especially if you have ever thought about taking a wine or beer tasting course. I like to enjoy a beer every now and then but this event has changed the way I look at beer. I normally only think about pairing food with wine, but last night I realized that beer is just as versatile and tasty!

The night started with Kichesippi blonde beer and spring rolls for appetizers as you waited for your seats. I had tried this beer before so I was eased into the experience.

The pairings for the night were:

• Kichesippi: Natural Blonde – spring rolls
• Kichesippi: 1855 – barley soup and cream of broccoli soup
• Big Rig: Lon’s ESB – pulled pork with Rosti potato and red cabbage
• Beyond The Pale: Rye Guy – Jerk Chicken with jasmine rice and pineapple papaya salsa
• Beau’s: Lug Tread – Fish & Chips with tartar sauce and coleslaw
• Beyond The Pale: The Darkness – Chocolate Cakes pops with orange sorbet

Sarah enjoying the food.

The pairing that I enjoyed the most was the Rye Guy with jerk chicken. It was a great balance between the flavor of the beer and the spice of the chicken. The pairing that surprised me the most was The Darkness with the chocolate cake pops.

I love that all the breweries featured are located in the Ottawa area.  It showcases a side of the city that I have not experienced yet. There are a few breweries that host their own tours and tastings, and this was given out as a prize at the event! At the end of the night we were given a booklet to take home, detailing each pairing and tells you where the brewery is located. 

This was the first time I have been in the Restaurant International, and I was very impressed with the food that night. I will definitely be returning for dinner, and students even get a discount.

I had a great time and this is a perfect event for a few or even a group of friends. I enjoyed each beer and dish that was served, it was a awesome night! This is an event that I will definitely be doing again.

- SAO blogger Sarah Raphael

Movie Night: Argo

After reading all the amazing reviews and watching Argo win award, after award at the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild I finally had the chance to watch this film at Movie Night in the Student Commons building.

Even though I knew how the film ended it didn’t ruin the surprise, suspense, and thrill it created. The movie is set in 1979, where the American embassy in Iran was invaded by Iranian revolutionaries and several Americans are taken hostage. However, six manage to escape to the official residence of the Canadian Ambassador and the CIA is eventually ordered to get them out of the country. With few options, exfiltration expert Tony Mendez devises a daring plan: to create a phony Canadian film project, looking to shoot in Iran, and smuggle the Americans out as its production crew.

I loved this movie and I highly recommend that you watch it. I was on the edge of my seat through the whole thing. The movie was a great mix of history and action with a little hint of comedy. If you watch the movie make sure you stay through the credits. At the end they compare the footage and actors in the movie to the real footage and photos taken in 1979. I was so impressed with how close the actors looked to the real people and how accurately they recreated Iran.

I love going to the movies but with a student budget, I rarely get to see all the films I would like to in theatres. This is why Movie Night is a brilliant idea for all college students! It was a free event that let me have the movie theatre experience, but on my budget. It was so much fun to sit down and enjoy a movie that I have wanted to see in theatres since it came out.

There is a movie night on the last Monday of every month and I can’t wait to see what the February movie will be!

- SAO Blogger Sarah Raphael

Tubing

I find that one of the best ways to get through the winter is to get outside and make the most of it. After record low temperatures of last week and the snow and rain projected for this week I took the chance to be outdoors on Sunday and enjoy winter. I went to Edelweiss with a group of students for an afternoon of Tubing care of the SAO.

When I think of tubing, it’s childhood memories of sliding down a hill on a crazy carpet that come to mind. That is not what it’s like at Edelweiss. This was going tubing down the kind of hill that you dream about as a kid. It looked like they had transformed one of their older and shorter hills for tubing. There was a mix of difficulties for the runs. The lowest intensity is was on the left with the most intense and steepest on the right.

I started on the left and worked my way over. There are staff at the top of the hill to help you set up and give you a good push, (and if you choose, spin!) on your way down.  Going down the first hill I was fine. It was the second hill that had two drops in it that was my favorite. The interesting part was that this hill was just as fun as the others, but what made a run more exciting was the push and spin that you got on the way down.

I knew I would enjoy myself at this event, but I had no idea I would like it that much! The rush as you speed down a hill with little control of where you’re going is so fun it’s hard to describe.

The worst part of tubing at other hills, was always carrying your tube back up, but at Edelweiss they have a conveyer belt that you stand on and it pulls you up the hill. This takes away the worst part and allows you to really enjoy yourself!

This was a great way to make the most of winter weather. I highly recommend you get out there if you can!

          - SAO blogger Sarah Raphael 

Stroumboulopoulos at Algonquin College

SAO blogger Sarah, and event team member Nora, with George.

I have been a fan of George Stroumboulopoulos ever since I first watched him on Much Music. He is a Toronto native and studied radio broadcasting at Humber College. George has had a successful career in radio and television interviewing important political, musical and social leaders. I was very excited to hear his stories, and thoughts.

This was a true Q and A style event starting with a few questions from a public relations and a journalism student. Then the floor was opened for questions from the audience. I was surprised how much he shared. The conversation flowed from the way he dresses, to his broadcasting and interview practices, to his childhood and his last name.  Being a public relations student I found it really interesting to hear all of his stories.

Not only did I get to watch the show but I also got to sit in on the small meet and great before the show with select broadcasting, journalism, and public relations students.

Here are some of the things that I learned from George that night:

1. He does not believe in having a plan b or goals “I just go with the flow.”
2. His news comes from Twitter. He does not follow newspapers.
3.  Labeled 'Hasn’t Hit Me Yet' by Blue Rodeo as one of the great Canadian songs.
4. The art of interviewing is in the follow up question.
5.  That a life worth living is a life lived authentically.
6.  Radio is a beautiful fluid relationship. Unlike the harsh start and stop relationship of television.
7.  A lot of crazy things happen behind the scenes at Much Music.
8.  Enjoy your time as a girl because you will spend the majority of your life as a woman.
9. George is happy if at the end of the day he can say “on this day I didn’t waste my day, I got to connect with actual people.”
10.  He is just as nice and down to earth as I thought he would be.

Not only is he a great person to talk to, he could also be one of the nicest people on tv. He took a few extra questions from the audience and stayed late to talk and take photos with everyone that lined up.

I learned a lot about the broadcasting business and heard some amazing stories about his life. It was a great night and I learned things that I will never forget.

Thank you George Stroumboulopoulos!  

- Sarah Raphael SAO blogger

Culinary Workshop

Dear starving Algonquin students, what if I told you that for only five dollars you could make three meals, big enough for two? That is exactly what I did last night at the Culinary Workshop.


This workshop is a great opportunity for students to learn how to cook. If you have never tried to make food from scratch and most of your cooking involves something from a box or can, this is your chance to learn how to make nutritious, easy meals. 

I was really nervous when I walked into the room because I’m not the most talented cook, but I was excited to make some great food. Since I went by myself I was placed in a group. There is a maximum of four people per station making this workshop a fun group activity. I spoke to one group that used this event as an ice breaker for new house mates. For the insecure cooks out there like I was, there is a trained instructor and culinary students walking you through the recipe as you go. No one taking this workshop is a pro, some may have cooked before, but the instructors adjust to your level. The first thing we had to do was clean and prepare all our vegetables. I really liked that the instructor concentrated on showing us safe, quick ways to cut the vegetables. I had never had a professional walk me through anything like that and it's a skill that I will be practicing when I cook at home. Then we started cooking!

Overall I really enjoyed the night. I was cooking with students in different programs, and learning about different types of food from Italian to Indian and Mexican. I had never tried to make an Indian dish before so it was a fun experience. If you’re thinking about joining the culinary program this is a great way to see if you would like it or not.

When I got home I tried a little bit of each dish we made and they were all delicious. I put them in the freezer for a busy week when I don’t have time to cook. I can’t wait to sit down and eat everything I created. Definitely a great workshop for students looking to learn some new skills in the kitchen, save money, and eat great food!

OH! I forgot to mention that not only do you get to take the food you make home but you also get sent home with the recipes. So if you really like them you can make them again. This was a great event that needs to be part of your college experience if not for your stomach then for your wallet!

- SAO blogger Sarah Raphael