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Home for the Holidays!!

Hi everyone!!

Happy New Year!! The end of the fall semester (and 2018!) went by so quickly!! I cannot believe that classes for the spring semester begin three weeks from today!!

Finals for this past semester went well, even though I had exams for three of my classes in addition to final papers, and a final performance for my Basic Acting class. I was able to finish the semester strong, and now I am at home spending time with family and friends!!

My siblings and I after Mass on Christmas Eve!!

I went shopping a few times in the week before Christmas to get presents for my family. On Christmas Eve, my family went to Mass, and then had dinner at my friend’s house, which has been a tradition since we were younger!! My family spent Christmas morning opening presents, and then my grandmother, aunt, and godfather came over for Chinese food, which we have every year!!

My friend Caroline and I celebrating New Year’s!!

I ended up going over a friend’s house to celebrate New Year’s Eve!! It was fun to see some of my friends from home as we celebrated the New Year!! While I enjoy relaxing at home and spending the holidays with my family and friends, I am also excited to start next semester!!

Thanks for reading!!

Rebecca McSweeney

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Fall Break, First Rehearsals, Family Weekend, and a Fiftieth Birthday Party!

Hi everyone!!

I cannot believe that October is almost over!! I went home for all of Fall Break, which was really relaxing, and I also spent some time getting ahead on work!! Here are some highlights of my life since my last post:

Going home for all of fall break was so relaxing, and since I had all of my midterm exams the week before, I was able to spend more time getting ahead of the reading. My friend Kristen also got to come home for the first weekend, so we were able to hang out and get food!! It was great to get the chance to hangout with her for the first time since we left for the year!!

A photo I took of Kristen while waiting for our food!!

The week I got back to campus, I was called for my first rehearsals for the Theatre Department production of “Little Women: the Musical”! I am excited to be in the Ensemble for this show, which goes up around the beginning of February, and is the first Theatre Department musical at Holy Cross!!

The weekend after Fall Break, I actually went home again for my aunt’s fiftieth birthday party!! We had it at a local restaurant, so we had a lot of delicious food, and I got to see a lot of my extended family, which was really nice!!

The cake from my aunt’s 50th Birthday Party!!

This weekend was Family Weekend at Holy Cross, and my roommate’s mother came up and took us both out to dinner!! We went to Via Italian Table here in Worcester, and I ordered the chicken parmesan and chocolate torta, which were both delicious!! October was pretty successful overall!!

My roommate Anna and I before dinner on Saturday!!

Thanks for reading!!

Rebecca McSweeney
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Top Four Activities from Winter Break

Hi everyone! I hope that the start of 2018 has been amazing for you all! I just got back to campus today, and I cannot believe that classes for my second semester start on Tuesday!! I really enjoyed my winter break; here are some of the things I did during my weeks at home since Christmas:

  • Hanging out with friends: One of my favorite parts about being home is seeing my friends who go to different schools. I celebrated New Year’s Eve at one of my friend’s houses, and I participated in a Yankee swap with friends later that week. Both were a lot of fun, and I’m glad I got the chance to catch up with my friends from home.   
Celebrating New Year’s Eve with my friend Maria!!
  • Going out to eat: I made sure to visit plenty of restaurants before heading back to school. My family got Chinese food last night from a restaurant called Mr. Chef’s, and I also went to Panera Bread, IHOP, and the Chateau with family and friends.

    Blueberry pancakes from IHOP!!
  • Going to the movies: On New Year’s Day, my dad took my siblings and I to see Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which was a great way to spend time with them before my siblings went back to school! I also saw Pitch Perfect 3 with two of my friends last week; the trailer for Pitch Perfect 3 is linked below:
  • Spending time with my dogs: I miss my two dogs, Izzy and Roxie, whenever I am at school. My mom sends me pictures of them often, but I loved having the chance to play with them while I was home!

    My dogs, Roxie and Izzy!!

While I had an amazing break, I am so excited for the spring semester!!

Thanks for reading!!

Rebecca McSweeney

 

 
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Fall Break Part 2: “Fuenteovejuna” Rehearsals!!

Hi everyone!

I hope this week has been going well for you all! My last post was about the weekend I spent at home over Fall Break, so today I’m going to talk about the rest of the week: rehearsals for Fuenteovejuna! 

Rehearsals started on Tuesday that week; it was refreshing to just focus on the show, without worrying about the other responsibilities I usually have during the week!

The poster for our production!

We spent time working on dances and singing through all of the songs in the show. Faculty from the Spanish department also came and helped people with pronunciation. When I was not in the scene they rehearsed, I typically just worked on homework.

Here’s what our set looked like as of October 13!

Our rehearsals typically went from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and then on Tuesday and Wednesday we watched movies around 7:00 p.m. We watched ¡Ay, Carmela! and Pan’s Labyrinth, since they take place around the same time as the Spanish Civil War- when our show is set.

By the end of the week, we finished blocking the show!! We worked really hard, and I’m glad I got to spend time with other members of the cast. We ate a lot of meals together in Kimball during our breaks for lunch and dinner!

Me and my friend Liza hanging out last Friday!!

On Saturday, a bunch of us went to a coffee shop in Worcester called Birchtree Bread Company; it was nice to get off campus for a bit and to bond more as a cast!

The almond croissant and hot chocolate I got at Birchtree!

I cannot believe we will be performing this show for an audience in two weeks!! I am so excited for people to see it!!

Thanks for reading!!

Rebecca McSweeney
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Fall Break Part 1: Stoughton, MA

Hi everyone!

I hope you all had a great week! Fall Break for Holy Cross is almost over, and it will definitely be different returning to having classes again! Since I was so busy over Fall Break, I decided to first let you know about the first half of my break and what I did when I was home.

A photo I took with my mom when we went out for ice cream!!

I was so excited to see my two dogs, Izzy and Roxie, since I missed having them around! I spent plenty of time snuggling with them this past weekend!

A photo I took of my dog, Izzy!

I spent a lot of time this weekend eating; my family got Chinese food on Friday night, and chicken parmesan on Monday night before I went back to school!

Pizza from Town Spa!!

On Saturday night, I went to Town Spa Pizza, a local restaurant in my hometown, with some friends who were also home. It was nice to catch up with them, and the pizza was delicious! I also took my younger brother out to lunch on Sunday; it was nice to spend time with him too!

Saturday, my family went to Mass at my parish back home. On the way home, I spotted a rainbow outside, which is the second rainbow I have seen since I moved to Holy Cross!!

The rainbow I saw at home last Saturday!

My family went shopping a lot this weekend since it rained back home. I bought some more fall/winter clothes to bring back to school. I had a fantastic weekend at home, which made me really excited for having rehearsals the rest of the week, which I will describe in my next post!

Thanks for reading!
Rebecca McSweeney