Colorado!

I am at Colorado College and I love it! If you look out a window you can see Pike's Peak in the distance. They just had a recent snowfall so the mountain is covered on top with snow. It looks like a landscape painting, it's just so beautiful! The people here are great too. I don't think I am every leaving Colorado! On Wednesday I am going to the Garden of the Gods and I am very excited about that.

Sorry I haven't written in awhile. Since my last blog I have been to: Auburn, Indianapolis, Iowa, New York City and some time in Los Angeles/Tucson. On the trip from LA to Tucson, Matt and I stopped in Palm Springs and it was so neat! We went up in an aerial tram and saw all of Palm Springs and beyond from the top of the mountains. It was so beautiful! I also went to a national forest in Tucson and saw the most beautiful sunset. The picture to the right is from that. I am still enjoying my time in this job. Sometimes it gets difficult and lonely, but for the most part I have had positive experiences and it's been great!

Next I go to Nebraska and then some time in Los Angeles again! I can't believe it's more than halfway through semester, this semester went so quickly!

Tomorrow I am going to the Garden of the Gods here in Colorado Springs before I head off to Nebraska. I don't ever want to leave Colorado!

In Los Angeles!

I am in Los Angeles and I love it! I got here last Friday, September 18th and it has been so much fun. I first went to Occidental College, near Pasadena, and it is just beautiful. A lot of movies/tv shows filmed on the campus including: Heroes, Clueless, Greek, The Holiday and more. It's really neat because you walk around the campus and you see spots that are from the movies. It is really neat. The campus has the same amount of students as OWU (1800) so it felt comfortable but the campus itself was a little smaller.

One of the nights at Occidental I met up with two ELCs in the area and it was really nice to catch up. It is weird to think that we've seen each other all over the country and one was in NH two weeks ago!

It is so warm here and feels like summer. Some of the flowers are even in full bloom, it feels weird to see that in almost October! Yesterday I came to Loyola Maramount University. It is a beautiful campus and is right on the water. On one side of the campus there is a cliff and you can see a beautiful of LA and on the other side is the water. It is so beautiful. I also had my first In 'n Out burger today - so good!

I haven't seen anyone famous, but I'm still here for awhile! I leave here on Sunday for Long Beach and then go to UC-San Diego for recruitment. Still having so much fun!

Go Nittany Lions!

I am currently at Penn State and I am having a good time. It is formal recruitment here (fourth recruitment visit!) and it has been fun. This is the longest formal recruitment I have been a part of so far and the women are doing a great job. There are around 22 sororities here so it is a fairly big recruitment. Penn State currently has the biggest amount of Greek life organizations on their campus that I've seen so far. They have around 52 fraternities!

The campus is beautiful and I've been here for about a week now. I have spent some time seeing the campus and enjoying the town. It is a nice college town, in State College, and the students seem to enjoy it. Last night I went to dinner with the advisory board at a very cute restaurant that was called The Tavern. It had a New England feel to it, so it felt a little like home.

I also got to go to a Penn State football game! One of the advisors had three tickets that she gave me and two of the chapter members. The seats were right on the 50 yard line and we had a great time. Penn State played Syracuse but won 28-7. The game was fun and the student section was huge (but the OSU games were so much better Dad don't worry!).

I just had a very embarrassing thing happen. I was walking into one of the student centers to do some work in between meetings and to get out of the chapter's suite, which I've been in for awhile now. I decided to stop at the ATM and I was taking out money I felt somethng prick me on my leg. I spun around and realized I had just been stung by a hornet. As I realized that I felt another sting and the hornet was in my dress! I kept spinning around and trying to get it while trying to get my card and money from the ATM. I looked pretty crazy. I immediately ran to the bathroom and took everything off in a stall to get the hornet out! I now have to stings which are pretty red but I'm not allergic so I am fine. I am hoping not too many saw me since they woud've had no idea that I was being stung from inside my dress!

On Friday I take off to California until October. I am looking forward to heading to that region of the country. I will be visiting Occidental College first and then Loyola Maramount University, both of which are in Los Angeles. Time to continue recruitment, more updates soon!

In the Land of Many Horses...

I am now at Eastern Kentucky University. The flight in was beautiful. We flew over what felt like hundreds of horse farms and riding centers. The grass was so pretty with the white fences everywhere. It is warm here, but definitely not as warm as the deeper parts of the South... it almost feels cold being 70 degrees! Before I came here I spent some time in New Orleans, so I will recap that first.

Jennica (another ELC) and I arrived in New Orleans on the 23rd after we were done at LSU. The picture to the left is a picture of us putting a kite (our logo as Thetas) around Mike VI. Mike IV is LSU's live mascot. He lives in a multi-million dollar home next to the football stadium. He was sleeping when we got there and the chapter member we were with yelled his name and he came out so we got to take a picture with him!

We were also fortunate to find a ride through a chapter member who was heading that way anyway. The drive was around an hour but since she grew up in New Orleans we learned a lot about the area on the way down and also about the devestating effects of Katrina. It was interesting to learn all about hurricanes. Children here begin learning about them at a very early age in school and how to track them/what to do if one hits. I was surprised it was taught as early as it is in school there, but it makes sense. I also learned that tornados are a common element to hurricanes, who knew!

We pulled into the French Quarter, where our hotel was and it was just beautiful. It looked like Paris, you almost had to stop and remind yourself that you were still in the US! Our hotel was wonderful (Place d'Armes) and it had a great location. We put our stuff down and explored the area a little while we waited for Jenny and Justine (another ELC) to arrive.

When they arrived we all went to dinner and met up with a FIJI (Fraternity) consultant who was visiting Tulane. We met him at a conference this summer and all became friends. We also went to Burbon Street. It felt like the Amsterdam of the US, I didn't know there was a place like that here!

The next day we walked around and got acquainted with the area. We went to Cafe du Mond and had Beignes (spelling?) which were just fried dough with a fancy name. We listened to some jazz and went back to the hotel to relax. Later that night we went to a quieter part of the city that mostly locals know about and went to a jazz bar. It was nice and less touristy.

However, while we were at the hotel I started feeling sick with a head cold and soon enough it was a full blown fever. The entire next day I could hardly do anything and my fever kept going up. I was afraid it was the Swine Flu because of how bad it was at LSU. I went to a Walk in Clinic and had a bacterial and viral infection that was causing "flu-like symptoms". I took the antibiotics and by the afternoon of the next day I began to feel a little bit better.

On the last day we went to a place called, The Court of Two Sisters, where they served a huge brunch and had jazz music playing. It was nice with a lot of Creole/Cajun foods. That night we went to a bar that had only candles for light and music. It was nice to say goodbye to the city that way, even though I couldn't stay for too long.

Soon enough it was Thursday and time to head to Lexington, Kentucky. I was still feeling a little sick but was able to make it here. When I arrived the chapter members picking me up from the airport had a sign for me, which was really nice, and were very welcoming. The school just put all Greeks in two towers for rooming. On the first floor of the sorority tower are a bunch of guest rooms, so I am in one of those for a couple days. It's nice to have space to spread out, even if I am living in dorm life again.

It is recruitment here (again!) and has been fun. It is a much smaller recruitment (200 people going through instead of 2,000!) which is a nice break. It actually reminds me of OWU and how recruitment was there. It is much more relaxed than the previous recruitments I have done so far. Recruitment will last until Monday and then on Tuesday I head back home to NH!

That's all for now, more updates later!

Geaux Tigers!

Today we start our second round of recruitment at LSU. It is philanthropy day (we talk about CASA, which is the philanthropy we support). There is a great buzz in the house since they did well yesterday with Round 1. I am very excited for these women and it's been fun so far.

We do have some members who are getting more sick each day. I have a weird feeling in my throat but I'm feeling alright so far - hopefully Jennica and I can stay healthy so we can enjoy our "vacation" in New Orleans after this!

I did a five minute walk the other evening to a mailbox to mail a letter to headquarters. Within the five minute walk the envelope was soaked due to the humidity. I have never seen a place so humid. The windows steam up with the AC on in the house!

I have also had jumbalaya which is awesome and PoBoys (a sandwich with fried oysters etc.) it is also really good but not very healthy! I have also managed to mess up everyone's last names because they are Cajun, like: LeDoux or Herbert. Apparently a common name here is Waugelhaus or something. It is very different and the biggest culture shock so far. Some houses have their members wear full length gowns during recruitment which I have never seen before! It is fun and very eye-opening. Off to another day of recruitment!

Geaux Theta!

Off to Louisiana...

So today I left Auburn and arrived at Louisiana State University. We found out last night that our Auburn Theta's did a great job during recruitment! Quota was 53 (the maximum amount of women a sorority can take through recruitment) and our Theta chapter there got 68!! They had 15 extra women added due to quota additions. That means they did great and probably got the biggest amount of women during recruitment out of all the sororities. I am so proud of them and it is great to see success after all the hard work everyone put in.

Louisiana is beautiful. It is humid here but not too bad so far. The chapter house is beautiful and is right on a lake. All of the sororities are in a row surrounding a lake on the campus so it just adds to the beauty of all of the mansions.

As we arrived we were told that the Swine Flu is currently spreading around campus. Not only is it around campus but it is on the sorority row. One of the sororities currently has 20 members out of recruitment due to the possibility of them having Swine Flu. Jennica (another ELC I am on the visit with) and I are worried since it is recruitment and there will be around 860 women traveling between all the houses the coming week, starting tomorrow. We are going to be very conscious with our health and make sure we keep washing our hands etc. They have currently sanitized the house and will continue to do so through out recruitment.

We are tired from traveling but also ready to start our visit. We have dinner with the Vice-President of membership soon, which kicks off our week. I hope to keep you all updated this week!

Recruitment Season... Having a Blast

I am currently at Auburn University in Alabama and I am having so much fun. It's recruitment here, which has consisted of 1200 potential new members coming through their new suite/chapter room. The ladies of the Gamma Omega chapter here are wonderful with an eager attitude to learn more about Theta and recruitment. They were just re-colonized on Auburn's campus this past Spring semester and were initiated in April. However, you would never know this because they are as competitive as the other 17 sororities on campus and are doing a wonderful job here at recruitment. Today is skit day and they have a Grease skit all about Theta which has been a lot of fun.

This has been my first visit since training and I am having so much fun. I definitely know this is what I should be doing and it has been such a great learning experience. I will be sad to leave on Saturday but I know that I will be at another school (LSU) doing this all over again and enjoying every minute of it.

I will update you all later on the various traveling mishaps that have occurred on our way here because it is quite the story. But for now it is back to recruitment...