At Cabrini College, the Spanish department holds “Meriendas” on the last Tuesday of every month. The Meriendas took place on Feb. 24 and a number of students and Spanish professors attended.
A Merienda is a gathering of friends with in the Cabrini community. Organized by Dr. Halpern, professor of romance languages, and Dr. Uliano, associate professor of romance languages, there was Spanish hot chocolate and churros served.
The hot chocolate and churros are a Spanish tradition. The Spanish serve hot cocoa with churros in the morning because they do not drink coffee. The chocolate has caffeine in it to get through the day.
Meriendas is a very informal gathering. There was music, food and many laughs. Father Michael Bielecki said, “People can come together and practice Spanish in a fun way.” He loves when there are gatherings with different groups of people.
This is also a wonderful way for the students to practice their conservation skills. The students come for extra credit and meet other students that are in different Spanish classes.
During this Meriendas, the students told stories about different cards that they were given from Halpern. Many students from the Spanish Honor Society joined this Meriendas.
Freshman (needs major) Michelle McDermott said, “Meriendas is a great gathering of friends within the Cabrini community.”
Mallory Beach, (needs year and major) said, “It’s an opportunity to practice Spanish out of the class and get extra credit.”
This opportunity is open to all Spanish levels. It is a circle of friends and everyone is involved. Bielecki, Uliano, Halpern, and Dr. Rademacher, assistant professor of religion, were involved, along with a number of different level Spanish students.
Uliano said, “I love Meriendas day. They provide students with an opportunity to interact with professors in an informal setting and practice Spanish.”
Uliano and Halpern were very involved and want to help each student that attend the gatherings.
Rizwan Ishmail, senior Spanish and secondary education major, said, “This is a great way to practice Spanish. It is like a break and you get Spanish food. I enjoy socializing with classmates and teachers outside the classroom and its extra credit.”
Meriendas is a day that people gather together and practice Spanish outside of the classroom.
