I'm Going Down to Austin, Texas

Omega, University of Texas at Austin

This was my first time in Texas! I had heard so much about our Omega Chapter and the city of Austin that I was so excited to visit, especially after a nice week off at home. The front of the house had just been redone and it is gorgeous inside. I loved all the space in the house and the women I stayed with were fabulous. Austin definitely lived up to the hype, with all the funky stores and cool places to see. And who doesn't love hearing that Texas accent and "y'all" every way you turn. The first night I was there we went to Whole Foods for dinner (which has a parking garage underneath it!). It was basically the same as at home, just bigger and had more Texas flair. I also learned that the city has a bag ban, meaning plastic bags are not allowed anywhere and some places charge you if you want a paper bag.

My first morning in Austin I got up early and went to the 9:30AM Cyc class. That is the spinning studio I went to with the Wisconsin Phis. I had been going to SoulCycle during my week at home so I was ready to keep working! Going so early made the day feel much longer but I'm happy I made myself go.

On Monday, Hillel put on their annual Israel Block Party and the chapter preisdent, Becca, took me to see it. The co-directors of the event were Phis and so were most of the female volunteers. I met the director of Hillel, who raved about the Phis running Hillel and I even got a great falafel and pita. Across the street there was an anti-Israel group protesting but the event had security and ran smoothly.

The UT Austin campus is pretty and very pedestrian and biker friendly. A lot of eco-friendly people bike around campus and in the city of Austin. The drag, which is a street of shops and restaurants, lines the west edge of campus. The west side is where most of the fraternity and sorority houses are so I crossed this street to get to campus each day. The drag is an interesting mix of chain restaurants, local boutiques and some run down places. There is a fair amount of homeless people that congregate as well but I never felt unsafe. The Co-op is on the drag and has so much stuff; anything you can think of, they sell in orange or with Texas written on it. I also when to Melissa's Custom Gifts, the local Greek shop. They had a lot of cute things and make all sorts of custom apparel and accessories. Tyler's is also a staple to the drag. They sell a lot of touristy apparel, but also some athletic and surfer-type clothing. On the corner of the drag is the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. I went there for coffee as a semi-local alternative to Starbucks. Shannon, the woman I stayed with the first night, told me it was her favorite coffee and that they sell breakfast tacos from one of the good local taco places so I made sure to try both.

               

Monday night, after chapter, I got to see my friend and AEPhi sister, Amanda, who moved to Austin after we graduated last May. She brought me to this cool outdoor shopping center, which is their equivalent of a mall since the weather is so nice (kind of like the outdoor malls I went to in Southern California, but a little more spread out). I got to see the famous Lilly Pulitzer store she works at and I had to restrain myself from buying everything in sight in such a big Lilly store. Amanda also brought me to get barbecue at a place called Rudy's. It is a country store, barbecue and gas station all in one and definitely felt like Texas. Since I had never been there before, they gave me samples of their three most popular meats and one of the most popular sides, creamed corn. I had never had creamed corn, nor was I very interested in eating it, but I was happy to have a sample as part of my Texas barbecue experience! I ended up getting the lean brisket and a side of potatoes. They give you the meat with no sauce and bread on the side so people can make their own sandwiches however they like. I liked that they also had a pickle bar! It was all very good!

The next night I got the chance to go out with a ΣΔΤ and a ΔΤΔ consultant. The three of us went downtown and checked out a few of the places on 6th. It was very quiet because it was a Tuesday night but I really enjoyed spending some time with other consultants away from campus. Afterwards they took me for my first Whataburger experieince and made me try the Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit  sandwich. It was great but caloric, and apparently something you have to do while in Texas.

My last night at Omega was the weekly Panhellenic meeting and AEPhi's week to host. I had a fun time helping our delegate get ready and enjoyed getting to hear about what is going on in the community from the Panhellenic board's point of view. I also got to meet their advisor, who is a first year higher ed student, and he told me a bit about UT's program. Anyone that knows me well will know that an evening of Panhellenic and higher ed talk was clearly a great night!

I had a such a good time with the Omega Chapter and exploring the cool city of Austin. I was sad to leave a place with so much to discover but hopefully some day soon I will be back to eat my way through the city!

Texas Cookin' by George Strait

Hello Wisconsin!

Sigma, University of Wisconsin

I was excited to visit the state of Wisconsin for the first time and to complete the string of mid-Western chapters! I have loved them all so my excitement for Wisconsin was pretty high. Below is my home for the past week. One of the first things I noticed was that there are only those few parking spots right in front. Eventually I realized most of them don't have cars at school because they are from so far out-of-state so it isn't really a big deal. I really enjoyed living with all the sophomores in the house and their house mom, Carol, is the cutest little lady and was so sweet to me.

My first night Nicolette, president, and Tori, vp-panhellenic, took me to dinner down by the state capital at a place called DLUX. It was a nice little restaurant with a tiny bar and TVs playing the Wisconsin basketball game. All the food on the menu looked so good and was also super reasonably priced. I ended up chooing the southwest salad but we all shared the spinach artachoke dip and truffle fries; both were delicious. After that we got milkshakes and I went with March's special, the Shamrock Shake. It was mint, which I love, and had lucky charms on the top. It was a great combo!

On Monday it was gorgeous out (almost 50 degrees) so I decided to take a long walk around campus. I knew State Street so I did a big loop through campus and ended back there. On my way I stopped to see the frozen lake and took a picture of the capital building from the other end of State Street. I also made a stop at the bookstore and found a fun stack of cheese wedge hats. My mom reminded me that I was in the "land o lakes" and to try lots of cheese while in Wisconsin!

The chef at the Phi house was really good and everyone loves his food, even though the meals this week got pretty random leading up to the kitchen closing for spring break. There is also a secret little store/deli around the corner from the house where students like to get deli wraps and paninis, snacks and breakfast sandwiches. I was told I had to try the breakfast sandwhiches so I got one my last day and it was definitely lived up to the hype. The store is also so inexpensive that I think I would go there all the time if I lived at the AEPhi Wisconsin house. The other thing I was told I had to try was the mac n cheese pizza. I stopped in at Ian's one day for a slice and was not disapointed in the slightest. I love pizza, I love cheese and I love mac n cheese so I think this is a great creation. It tastes just like the perfect combo of pizza and macaroni!

On Wednesday evening I went with Ilana, the past-past president, to Cyc. Cyc is a spinning studio similar to SoulCycle but it is less expensive and they currently only have three national locations. I hadn't been spinning since I graduated so I was a little nervous but it is such a great workout that I tried not to think about it. I had never used spinning shoes or weights during class so it was definitely an experience but I was only a little sore the next day so I was happy I did it. I loved the studio and the Cyc atmosphere so I am definitely planning to go again while I am in Austin, TX. The third location is New York City and I will definitely try that one too if I am ever there. All the ladies here are totally obsessed with Cyc and it seems like the business is doing well so I certainly hope they expand soon!

It was kind of a slow week at the Phi house because the sophomores were all in the middle exams. But the excitment of spring break beginning and their trips to California and Mexico made everyone more lively towards the end of the week. I was a little jealous that they are all traveling to warm destinations but I am so happy to be going home that I can't really be too upset. 

I'm heading home! Happy spring break, y'all!

In The Street (That 70's Show Theme Song) by Cheap Trick

Another Ladies' Night in Buffalo

Beta Gamma, Buffalo State

I love going back to chapters and seeing how they have improved and I was especially looking forward to that for Buffalo. I have heard so many things from Cheyenne and got to see Amber, the current president, at President's Academy so I was excited to return to Beta Gamma.

One of the most exciting parts of my visit was being there for Big/Little reveal. The new members were so surprised and thrown off by what was happening. They were given small squares of paper with one letter written on each and they had to scrable them to spell out "This is big sister night." When they finally figured it out all of them screamed, there were tears and one new member swiped all the letters off the table because she couldn't believe it. When it was time for them to finally meet their bigs they lined up with the socks they were given, as shown below. After all the excitment, it is tradition at Beta Gamma to go out for dinner by family tree. There are three different families so I went with the Bushmills on their family dinner. We went at 11:30pm to an all-night Greek diner. It was so fun to be out to dinner with twenty women and I got the chance to meet some of the new members more indepth.

Some of the ladies took me to sushi one night and another day we went to brunch at Pano's, the place Cheyenne had taken me last time. I got eggs and a pancake because I had remembered how much I like pancakes while at UMass.

Cheyenne came home on my last day in Buffalo so I got to see her on my last night. It was so great to see her and catch up on life in person. We were all so tired the next morning after staying up late and loosing an hour to daylight savings but it was great to spend time with everyone!

Ladies' Night in Buffalo by David Lee Roth

Out In The 413

Beta Beta, University of Massachusetts

I felt so welcomed as soon as I got to UMass! Even though I'm from Massachusetts, I had only been to Amherst twice before so I was excited to explore and learn more about the school. I stayed with the president, Sami, and two sophomores in a house of mostly AEPhi. We went to the local pub the first night and to the Amherst Go Berry afterwards.

On Saturday night my mom drove out to Amherst to bring me some stuff and to take me to dinner. It was so nice to see my mom after a very long month and we literally sat and talked for hours at the Amherst Brewing Company.

A fun part about visiting UMass was that I got to see a friend from home, Dana Bornstein. We went to the same high school and she went to Pembroke for one summer. We have a lot of mutual friends from camp and from BBYO too. I got to have dinner with Dana one night and she came to hang out at Sami's a couple of times.

I was at UMass for International Badge Day so here is my #BadgeDaySelfie. I love Badge Day because everyone remembers how important their sorority membership is to them and what the badge represents. It is so fabulous to see all the social media about it and such positive promotion of the sorority experience.

My last night in town was Sigma Kappa's philanthropy event, Sigma Stacks. It was kind of like the Late Nights we do at UConn, where the chapter cooks food and charges admission. Sigma Stacks is a night of pancakes and it happened to fall on International Pancake Day. I rarely order pancakes when I go out for breakfast so I was excited to have some, especially for a good cause. So many Phis came out and it was really fun to see so much of the Greek community.

One random thing that came out of my UMass visit was this fun new snack. Sami was eating them one night and when we each tired one we were amazed that what was inside the little jelly bean-type shell actually tasted like the sour gummy worms. So when I found them at Bradley Airport I had to get a bag for myself!

I was sad to leave the great ladies of Beta Beta and knew I would miss the Phi house and wild roomies but I only have a couple visits until I return home to the great Bay State!

413 by Dr. Westchesterson

I'm back to livin Floridays

Beta Zeta, University of Central Florida

I was so excited to visit UCF again because they were my very first visit back in August! I was so happy to walk into Chabad for dinner and see so many friendly faces ready to hug me! I had so much fun catching up with the Beta Zeta ladies and seeing what great things they have done since the beginning of the year!

                    

During my visit was their Sping semester philanthropy, Bowlanthropy. It was their 9th annual event and it was so fun to see everyone together and see the excitiment of the chapter. There was a great turn out from all the other sororities and fraternities and Beta Zeta announced the winner of their Phi Guy competition. 

The last night I was there was their last sisterhood event before spring break so we all went to Boing, a trampoline place right near campus. It was the first time I had ever been to a place like this so I was excited to finally experience it. It was so tiring so I could only jump for a few minutes at a time but then I got a second wind and a third wind. It was such a good workout too! The president, Sydney, and I jumped a lot and tried really hard to get a few good pictures. 

I felt like a princess while I was there because they took me to all their favorite places, and Sydney even made me breakfast one day. One of the places I liked was kind of strange but really cool. It was a sushi place that makes a Japanese version of a burrito bowl. You start with rice, choose which kind of raw fish you want, toppings, like avocado and cucumber, and sauces, like spicy mustard. I also went to a good fish taco place, called Jimmy Hulas and the best bagel and coffee place, Brooklyn Water Bagel. I was sad to leave UCF and the Florida weather but I am so happy I got to work with them again!

Floridays by Jimmy Buffett

Back at home in sunny San Diego

Epsilon Nu, San Diego State University

I had a fun week being back in San Diego! It was a great escape from the east coast weather and I really enjoyed seeing cool new places and eating some great food!

In San Diego, Taco Tuesday is a city-wide event where all the Mexican bars and restaurants have deals on tacos and margaritas. I went to Fred's, which is known for their unique tacos, with a few AEPhi seniors. It is in Old Town, a historical district of San Diego. I got a buffalo chicken taco and a Texas barbecue taco. Both were really good and I was happy to try something specific to this restaurant.

I rode the trolley while I was at SDSU because they have a stop right on campus next to the student union and it goes to all the shopping centers in Mission Valley. The trolley is raised above street level at some points and has a really great view of the small mountains throughout this area of San Diego. The cars seemed pretty new and were very clean and I could actually understand what the conductor said over the PA system. The only thing that confused me was that it seemed easy to ride the trolley without paying because of the lack of regulation or ticket machines. But I thought it was really cool that students can take the trolley for $2.50 right from campus, down three stops to the football stadium (especially since I used to take make the 40 minute drive from UConn to the stadium). Just a few stops further are the different chopping centers. Even though I have been to a few Southern California malls this year, the outdoor style still amazes me.

Wednesday, February 12th was Sharsheret Pink Day, so we wore pink all day to show support for one of our national philanthropies. Sharsheret, which means chain in Hebrew, is an organization that links Jewish women with breast and ovarian cancer into support groups.

Wednesday I also got to make a visit to University of California San Diego (UCSD) to do some work with our chapter there. I really enjoyed putting on a program for the Beta Eta Chapter and getting to know their executive board. I'm glad I got to visit both San Diego chapters while I was in town, even though it was short at UCSD!

On Friday night, I got dressed up for a GALentine's dinner with Rebecca, the Epsilon Nu president, and her roommates. We went to a Greek place they like in the Pacific Beach area call Cafe Athena. It was such good food; I had a sampler of different popular menu items and a pear crepe a la mode for dessert. Even the car ride home was fun because we sang 90s songs the whole way back. Literally all the songs were ones I used to sing on e-kara karaoke with my sister when we younger. I used to love singing e-kara, which explains why I still remember every word to Aaron's Party.

The weather was so gorgeous and just got better as the week went on. By the last day of my visit, it got up into the high 70s so we decided to go to the beach. Rebecca and her roommate Hannah took me to Coronado Beach on Coronado Island, which is actually a little peninsula across the bay from downtown San Diego. It is a gorgeous place, full of palm trees, million dollar homes, pretty hotels and little shops. They equated it to Malibu, but for the east coasters I would have to go with the Hamptons. To get to Coronado you have to drive over a bridge, which is pretty high up and has a fabulous view of the island and of downtown. The beach itself was great too. The sand is glittery and actually looks like someone dumped gold glitter into it. I really enjoyed relaxing for a bit but I also could not get over that going to the beach in February was not that strange for everyone else.

View of downtown from the bridge going over the San Diego Bay

After the beach, we were all pretty hungry and decided to go to Slaters 50/50, a burger place down by the Naval base. Hannah had been there before and they have a substantial gluten free menu (for Rebecca) so it was the perfect choice. Their signature burger patty is 50% bacon and 50% ground beef, hence the 50/50 in the name. I decided I wanted to try that even before I saw the menu but once I did see it, I realized they had bacon in a lot of their dishes. I couldn't resist trying the fried bacon mac n cheese balls, since I love mac n cheese and was told they are good. I was definitely not disappointed at all. Then after the huge burgers, Hannah and I shared the chocolate brownie a la mode topped with bacon bits. I have to admit that it was pretty weird, but I did enjoy the brownie and ice cream. This place also had over 100 beers and ciders on tap, so over all it is a cool place and I recommend it if you're ever in San Diego.

From left to right: bacon mac n cheese balls with hot sauce ranch dipping sauce; build my own burger with signature 50/50 patty; brownie a la mode, topped with bacon bits

One last random thing about Rebecca and her roommates is that they really like Disney movies. They have a huge bin of Disney movies on VHS and during my visit we watched Spirit, Mary Poppins and The Lion King (I conquered my childhood fear on that last one).

Thanks for reading!

Christmas Eve in San Diego by Neal Svalstad

New love, New York

Phi Mu, Binghamton University

My visit to Binghamton was all about recruitment! I arrived on the second day of formal recruitment and left the day after bid day. I spent most of my visit in the new student union for my meetings and recruitment rounds. The building is brand new this semester and I loved the market place because it has Starbucks and Red Mango.

I stayed in the junior house, which is unlike anything I've ever seen. The entire junior class lives in this house together and it is three floors of opened up apartments. It almost reminds me of a boarding house because of the set up but I think it's really cool that they all get to live together.

                              

The picture above is of me and Gladys, the president, at preference. They did such a nice ceremony and I loved some of the old AEPhi songs they use.

This is the Phi Mu Chapter with their new members on bid day. Panhellenic held a pizza party and after bid reveal for the entire community and afterwards AEPhi had an ice cream party. Their bid day tanks were really cool too. Even though it was a quick visit, I had a lot of fun and really liked all the women!

New York by Ed Sheeran