At 7:15 pm on Saturday, December 3, I arrived at the Paskong Pinoy Christmas Party that was put on by AFIA (Andrews Filipino International Association) and the MLS (Medical Laboratory Sciences) club. I saw the set-up, which included some wrapping paper on the walls, the Filipino flag, and a booth for their merchandise. Both clubs had several activities to offer: karaoke, a station for making mini gingerbread houses, a photobooth, as well as ping-pong, foosball, and pool.
When asked about what students should anticipate at the event Sara Hamstra (sophomore, medical laboratory science), who helped to organize the event, exclaimed “Look forward to lumpia!We have lots of gingerbread houses, karaoke, and you also have the chance to throw eggs at officers.”
As people continued to trickle in, the atmosphere changed into a lively, high spirited environment. People filled the seats to make gingerbread houses while the room filled with iconic renditions of the “High School Musical” soundtrack, along with “Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber. The sound of people singing filled the room with a vivacious Christmas spirit.
Morgan Williams, (junior, social work), said that the event was “all the vibes, all the vibes.”
Morgan came with her besties: Sydney Fritz (junior, speech pathology), Natasha Weber (junior, exercise science), Hailey Prestes (junior, architecture), and Frankie Paypa (senior, physical therapy). When I asked Morgan how she was enjoying the party so far, she said “I'm currently building a gingerbread house and I have to say, I’m enjoying myself.”
After asking some people what they thought of the Christmas party, the most popular items seemed to be the gingerbread houses and egging the officers of both the AFIA & MLS clubs.
“We just got here like 15 minutes ago but we made a gingerbread house, so that was fun,” said Russel Blotore (freshman, biology). “But I’m looking forward to egging the officers. I’m most definitely going to egg Jaden Leiterman (junior, medical lab science).”
When I asked Russel what he thought of the party, he said, “I think it's good vibes so far. I have been to parties with bad vibes, [and] this is definitely not one of them. I’m just going to see how it plays off from here.”
Freshly made lumpia, a type of egg roll, was passed around in cute little bags for everyone to eat throughout the evening. It was definitely one of the highlights of the evening as Sara Hamstra predicted. The night ended with egging the officers, which I myself participated in. The clubs charged $1 for each egg thrown as a way to help fundraise for their club. It was definitely messy, eggy, gooey, and exhilarating, especially since I was able to egg my roommate, Glenielle Sta Ana.
“AFIA was aiming to provide a place where people could have fun and get to know other people, as well as enjoy the Christmas spirit,” said Glenielle Sta Ana (sophomore, speech pathology).
Lumpia. Karaoke. Gingerbread houses. Photo Booth. $1 unique egging experience. The best of all worlds.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.