California here we come

Beta Kappa, University of California Irvine

This post is a little late because I had this week off at home. It took me a while to get back on Eastern Time but now I'm finally readjusted. Here's all about my visit to UCI last week!

This trip was another big one for me. It was my first time to California, which brought so many other firsts along with it. The one I anticipated the most was going to the beach and seeing the Pacific Ocean for the first time! I got to go twice while I was in Southern California. Early in the week I met up with an AEPi consultant and he brought me to see Newport Beach, where a lot of Irvine students rent houses right on the ocean. He was staying there with some brothers there and had been down that beach a few times so he was able to point out some cool spots. The beach was so pretty and the sun was beautiful over the ocean in the late afternoon.

View from the Newport Beach pier

The second time I went to the ocean was at Laguna Beach! The president, Morgan, planned a fun little trip out to Laguna Beach, where we all got salt water taffy, walked in the sand and had dinner right across from the beach. It was already dark when we got there but it was still really pretty and it was a cool view to see all the lights of the retaurants and shops lining the beach. The thing I still cannot get over is the view of mountains and the ocean together. We had to drive through some mountains to get from Irvine to Laguna and from the beach there was such a pretty view of the mountains. When the ladies asked me about mountains at home and I explain how different it was they seemed surprised, being so used to the gorgeous scenery.

My first that people seemed the most excited about for me was trying In-N-Out. I had the cheeseburger and fry combo, which was really good. It definilty met my expectations and I even went a second time while I was there. I didn't go for anything too adventurous or from the secret menu but I saw lots of people with animal style fries, so I feel like I got the experience without the added calories.

Shelby, Jillian, Emily, Taylor and I all ready to table

Another food first was trying mango. It was totally by accident and I'm not sure that I really love it. One morning at the on-campus Starbucks (best thing ever), I got a fruit cup. After eating the berries and melon on top, I got to yellow chunks that I know were not pineapple. I enjoy trying new foods so it wasn't a bad surprise, just an unexpected one. Who knew you could get mango at Starbucks? Definitely no one from the Northeast.

The Starbucks was a fully operating location, which I haven't seen too much on campuses. They were super busy everytime I was there but they worked efficiently to get people moving, which was nice. Starbucks was a great place to people watch and get work done. And outside in front they had tables with umbrellas, which was also a nice place to do work, until my iPad overheated and I was forced to move in side. But when I was out there I got to see a hummingbird about 3 feet away from me. It was so little and cute and I had never seen one, so I can add that to the list of firsts!

I also had the chance to take a little shopping excursion early in the week. So I looked up cool places and found this one called Fashion Island in Newport Beach. It seemed really nice and I was even more impressed when I got there. It was a gorgeous day and the scenery was just beautiful. I got to do a little shopping and I found the only Vineyard Vines store on the entire west coast, so that pretty much made my day.

View of the ocean from Fashion Island

Another, more obvious, change from New England is the weather. In late September at school I'd be in pants and cardigans by now, as the tempuratures dropped into the low sixties. But in Southern California it was still full-on summer. It was in the mid 80s and even got up to 90 one day. I was not prepared for such heat and found myself hot all the time. I cherished the few instances where I was caught in a super air conditioned placed and started to shiver.

The other part of the weather situation that mistified me was the way people dressed for it. I am all about dressing for the weather and in the fall that usually means layers so I can adjust to the tempurature. But apprently in So Cal everyone thought the gorgeous 75 degree days were fall so they broke out pants, sweaters, and even boots. Then there was me in a sleeveless dress embracing the breeze and the beautiful day. I still will never understand how someone can wear pants and long sleeves when its 75 degrees and sunny and not die outside.

Beta Kappa ladies still excited after 10 rounds of recruitment

I really felt like a tourist on this visit but it was all in the midst of Beta Kappa's recruitment time. It was a week packed full of AEPhi fun, and a lot of hard work too. We tabled at the Anteater Involvement Fair (yes, their mascot is the anteater), tabled by the student center and gave 10 presentations about the chapter to PNMs. The women of Beta Kappa impressed me so much and did so much great work during pre-recruitment week and the first round of formal recuitment. They are now starting the second week of the quarter and are in full swing with COB. I know they are doing a fabulous job because their new advisor, Jillian, is so dedicated to supporting them and has been a great match for the chapter at Irvine.

Sun setting in Newport Beach 

I know this is getting long, but I have a short explaination of the title! California by Phantom Planet is the song that "California here we come" is from. For anyone who isn't obsessed with The OC or never watched reruns on The Soap Net, it is the theme song. This was the perfect line for me to use because I was coming to California for the first time. And not just anywhere in California, but Orange County to be exact!

I'm in Pittsburgh and it's rainin'

Nu, University of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh was another quick visit where I got to explore the campus area. And I definitely broke in my Sperry's in the process. It is way more of a city school than I realized so that means you walk everywhere and can find almost any kind of food on or right around campus. I went to Panera and Dunkin a lot because they're my favorites, but I also tried a place called Hello Bistro, which did build your own salads with as many toppings as you want. I wish they had this chain in New England because it was such a good deal with so many options. I also had my first pumpkin bagel of the season while in Pittsburgh because it finally began to feel like fall.

I got to stay in AEPhi's suite in the dorm building that only houses sororities. I had never seen a set up like this so I was excited to see it. Each floor is a different sorority's to decorate the way they want, hold events in, and house 15 women. They are also allowed to paint walls in the stair well of their floor so going down the stairs in the building was a cool experience.

Sorority suites

I had a beautiful day to explore the lower campus area. The buildings in that part of campus are so pretty and there is a park right across from the Student Union, which is next to the suites. Carnige Melon is also in that area of Pittsburgh and I accidentally ended up on the edge of their campus on my long walk. 

Suite's stair well 

Formal recruitment was during most of my visit. I was there for the two nights of round 1 and the day of round 2. For round 1 the suite was decked out in green and white and we all wore black letters (my Alpha Xi standards came in handy for that). Round 2 was a Woodstock theme so we all got the red v-necks and wore converse, which was a nice change from heels. The decorations for Wookstock were so much fun because they were bright peace signs, tie dye and lots of flowers. I got to serve water and lemonade each day, which was a throw back to Michigan. At this point I could probably pour plastic cups of water and lemonade competitively. 

Sophomores ready for round 2

Something I learned towards the end of my visit is that expectations can really shape a visit. I had a lot of comunication with the support team and advisors before this visit, more than any of my visits so far. And I think I've learned that creating an expectation in my mind is not the best thing to do because I may look for ways for women to fill them without looking outside of it. I think knowing what to expect can sometimes be a good thing but I also enjoy meeting women for the first time and figuring out some of it on my own. It is a fine balance that I am certainly still working on.

On a different note, you may (or may not) have noticed that the title of this post is a line from a song. The song is called I'm in Pittsburgh (And It's Raining). I didn't have many Pittsburgh song options but I liked this one because it downpoured during recruitment on my last day. My goal for the rest of my posts is to name each one after song lyrics related to my visit! This will probably take some creativity and a lot of Google searching but lots of TV shows do things like this for episode titles so I thought it would be cool.

Cheyenne's Favorite Place

Delta, Adelphi University

I spent a short two days in Garden City, NY, which is in Long Island. I was excited to visit because Long Island is Cheyenne's favorite place! Though I didn't get a chance to exlpore farther than campus, I did have a nice airport experience at JFK with Baked by Melissa cupcakes.

At Adelphi I got to attend Delta Chapter's informational session with over 30 potential members. It was such a successful event for them and it was great to see them so excited about it. I stayed with some sisters in one on the newest dorms, which was really nice inside. They were so accommodating and Sandra even got up to take to breakfast each morning. I spent most of both days in the University Center catching up on work in between meeting with sisters. The cafe brewed Starbucks coffee so I was all set to move in. 

Even though my visit was so short, I had a great time getting to know the Delta Chapter (and Jess's roommate Meghan!) I am excited to see their new member class and how the semester goes for them!

Back to Ann Arbor

Pi, University of Michigan

This week I had the unique experience of getting to return to a chapter I had already visited. When I got to Ann Arbor I already knew how to get into the AEΦ house, where Starbucks was, and a lot about the women. This was so fun because it made me feel at home with the Pi chapter.

Another very unique part about this visit is that I got to spend the whole visit with Cheyenne too! Michigan got two TECs for formal recruitment so Cheyenne and I got to be roomies for the week and do all of the errands, exploring and set-up together. We had lots of things to pick up, like all the apple juice and Timbits (Tim Horton's version of the Munchkin), folding chairs and lots of paper goods. There was quite a lot to do but Cheyenne made it much more fun!

Cheyenne with all the apple juice at Costco

With it being the first week of formal recruitment, we also got very little sleep. That caused a lot of late night eating and some very crazy moments. I got to experience the Pizza House cheesy bread, which was delicious, as well as two of Ann Arbor's breakfast places. At Angelo's we sat in the famous booth from Pursuit of Jappiness and at 7am before my flight home, we got lost trying to find Northside Grill. All the food and lack of sleep made for some very memorable late nights with the ladies of Pi chapter. Dancing and singing was always a welcomed option and there was never a dull moment.

Kick-line dancing in the foyer after Day 1, Set 2 was completed 

Being at Michigan for recruitment showed me that is possible, with a lot of coffee, to function on 4 hours of sleep. More importantly, it reminded me that women with determination and hard work can accomplish anything. These women have to work three times as hard during recruitment than any other chapter on campus and they have fun doing it. That isn't to say hard work is always fun, but being able to combine the two makes recruitment more enjoyable for the Pi chapter and I loved experiencing that feeling with them!

Quick trip out West

UW Colony, University of Washington

I had a great visit out to the West Coast! I had never been that far west and I think the coolest thing I saw was Mt Rainier poke through the clouds from the airplane flying in to Washington. My trip to Seattle was pretty short so trying to adjust to Pacific Time wasn't going to happen. But I was able to sleep well and I got to share a room in the phi house with a couple sisters.

UW colony's house

I had such a great time getting to meet the ladies of the UW colony. In the short time I was there, there were so many sisterhood bonding opportunities for me to get to know the colony. My favorite activity we did the second and last night I was there. Everyone sat with women they weren't best friends with and we ate apples and honey for Rosh Hashanah and took turns telling stories. My table somehow ended up telling the most random stories about broken bones and gross parasites. We all laughed so much we cried. After that each table did the human knot and the laughing continued with our group. We could not get the knot undone but we had such a great time stepping under and over arms and twisting around trying to do it!

stuck in our human knot

One thing that really stuck out to me about UW was they were all so excited to be working on recruitment. So often women dread it as hours of practice but these ladies were so excited for the opportunity to welcome new members that they are looking forward to formal recruitment. They will all have to put in 150% next week because they have many fewer women an other chapters on campus, but despite their size, they have been singing just as loud as anyone else.

I had such a fun time with the UW ladies and, even though it was a short trip, I feel like I really got to know them and to help with their recruitment prep!