Living & breathing Japanese (literally, I was on a homestay).

I am extremely grateful to have been involved in a homestay during my time in Kyoto, which took place during my third week of the exchange. My family consisted of my host parents, and two daughters, Miki and Asuka. They also had a pet ferret called Ponta, but don't even get me started on my hatred for that thing. I'm not a fan of being targeted, constantly bitten on the ankles, and even having it break into my room and get INSIDE my pillow case.

It was obviously meant to be, as there were numerous Hello Kitty things in the house, and my room (a small guest room downstairs with a futon) came complete with Hello Kitty curtains. 

I'll always remember how the first thing my family asked me was if I got car sick, and with good reason too, I think my host father fancied himself as a bit of a boy racer down the small Kyoto side streets. My family were super cute, as they struggled with pronouncing my name, like most Japanese people do. Instead, I acquired the nickname of "keito". This was my favourite thing because whenever my host mother would run a bath, she'd shout that to get my attention from upstairs.
Somehow, through a lack of me paying proper attention, I even ended up cooking lasagne for the family one evening because they wanted to experience both my cooking, and some western food. Afterwards, Miki was feeling super sleepy so I taught her the phrase "food coma", which she absolutely loved!

Asuka was studying English for her university entrance exams, so we really helped each other develop ways to remember certain things in our other languages. She would always get confused over her left and right, so I taught her the simple trick of looking at her hands to find the “L”. It was so adorable to see how happy she was after I'd taught her such a simple thing, and needless to say, I trusted her directions a lot more from that point on.
Most evenings after dinner seemed to be the time when my host family would socialise. It often ended up with me telling them about random things they wanted to know about England. One evening, I even spent almost two hours trying to teach my host mother how to say "the earth is round" without making her r's sound like w's. It ended up with me making her practically growl to get the noise out, much to Miki and Asuka's amusement. 
Another evening, there was a discussion about my dislike of heated Japanese toilet seats, which they couldn't understand my logic of it feeling like someone has just been sat on it before you. Also note to self, never, ever try to explain the concept of a Yorkshire pudding to anyone in Japanese, it's not going to go well!

My confidence in speaking Japanese has come on leaps and bounds, proven by the fact we had to give a speech about our experiences to fellow classmates at the end of the exchange. On the first day, I was put off by just introducing myself in the language to people I knew had a greater ability, but by the end I was much more confident in my own ability. I know this is definitely down to being involved in a homestay, and even though sometimes I had no clue what my host parents were saying to me, I managed to find ways around this and be able to wing it.

In Kyoto we saw so many people dressed in kimonos and yukata, and one evening we even got a chance to wear yukata ourselves at a festival on campus. There was also a Hawaiian themed DJ night going on, which I can only describe as if the SU was more tame, had a cream carpet and closed at 8:30. What a random experience that was!
Aside from my time with my host family, I made a trip to Osaka to try the famous okonomiyaki and visit Dontonboori, where I took an obligatory photo with the iconic Glico sign. KUFS also organised us to experience a calligraphy session and a tea ceremony, which was a great insight into traditional Japanese life.
Our final day involved a ceremony and leaving party, which consisted of a lot of picture taking, goodbyes and also a nice little certificate saying I'd successfully completed the programme. We ended our final night by visiting Osaka for a firework display along the river during the Tenjin Matsuri.

I don’t think I’ve taken as many photographs as I have during these past three weeks, and yes, I have been that tourist taking pictures of trees. You could live in Kyoto all of your life and still have only just scratched the surface, and I really hope I get the opportunity to go back some day! 

The study abroad experience may have ended, but that doesn't mean it's not still with me!

In light of my impending travels, I figured I would make amends to my shocking blogging towards the last month of my semester at CSU so I am fully up to date. My trusty camera broke on the train back from San Francisco, so although there's not as many pictures, it's been fun-filled to say the least.

The last month was easily one of the best I had out there, as it was a time when we all grew closer since we knew our time left together was limited. I've mentioned "Team Commonwealth" before now, and a bunch of us from that group really bonded, As a result, we narrowed it down and began referring to ourselves as DELTA SIGMA WINE, or just Delta Sigs for short. This new 'fratority' consisted of myself, Leif, Caragh, Jack, Leni, Chrissie, Megan, Jonny, Robbie, Phil, Katy and Carly. We even took it upon ourselves to get some letters made, and we actually did convince a few Americans it was an International Sorority/Fraternity since there were that many of us with matching hoodies.
I couldn't make it to our original initiation ceremony (candle-lit and super inappropriate I might add), so mine was scheduled to be on the first night of our Winter Park ski-trip. We took the entire thing super serious, and there were "going to be punishments" if we wore our hoodies before that night...

The ski trip was an experience in itself. Day 1 started off with me, Caragh and Megan taking a lesson which seemed to go quite well. I definitely peaked too early, with my first wipe out happening when I was heading towards a ledge by a ski lift, then later in the day I got to the end of a run an had to get rescued by Leif after becoming entangled in a safety net.
Day 2 was even better. I got cocky and did my first huge flip early in the day that resulted me in smacking my head, both skis coming off and my goggles shifting to enclose my nose. At least when I fall, I fall. To top it all off, I managed to take a wrong turn and lose everyone, ended up at a dead end and my only option was to get a ski lift up another 2,000 feet. I wasn't amused since I had to make it to the bottom alone, while getting over taken by 4 year olds and almost having a mental breakdown. Never have I been so happy to see Leif's hat flapping in the breeze and getting myself onto flat ground. I mean I'm happy I went. but let's just say I would have happily had the entire weekend getting drunk in a hot tub and having a rowdy night in the hotel room like we did the night before.

The last few weeks were pretty hectic with finals coming up, but the entirety of Delta Sig spent so much time together revising, making forts and final visits to Sundance and various other food joints. That just made leaving this mad bunch so much harder, because we actually felt like a little family. We even took Christmas pictures because we're just that weird.
I couldn't have been happier to have gained such good friends, in Leif and Caragh especially. Having them back at Keele this semester helped so much with the "re-intergration" into life back at home. Even though the 12 of us have been split up for the past few months, worldwide skype dates are always on the cards, no matter how hard it is to organize. I'm so excited that during my trip this summer, I get to reunite with Chrissie, Leni and Katy when I go to Australia, and once I'm back home for third year, then entire English division of Delta Sig will be back on home soil ready for a tour of hometowns and unis. So with that, I think this proves that it didn't matter who I met or when I did, but the fact we all managed to find people equally as weird as ourselves during our time at CSU, and that made the entire experience all the more amazing. Watch out world, you never know where Delta Sig will make an appearance next!

Californiaaaaa

This post has taken me FOREVER to get round to finishing, so although it's a little late, please forgive this poor student with tons of work and appreciate the effort I went to to get this done :)

Last week was Thanksgiving break, and boy it was needed. I honestly don't think without it I'd have been able to cope with the last three weeks of school in the run up to Christmas.
A few weeks back Caragh and I had a little discussion of what our plans would be, so after a lot of pondering we decided we were going to get the Amtrak California Zephyr from Denver to San Francisco.  It was a little bitter sweet actually. My initial idea was to go to on Washington D.C. and for Aisling to fly over from back home and join me. Due to our change in plans, it wouldn't really have been worth it for her to spend all that money to just come for a few days. However, I've always wanted to go to San Francisco and it was one of the only cities I haven't been to yet that I really wanted to go during Thanksgiving. So although Ash's visit didn't work out, it's not that long until I'm back home anyway.

The first day of Thanksgiving break was actually Caragh's birthday, so we decided to spend the day exploring Denver before we got the train on Sunday. We visited a (very tiny) German market, and did the typical tourist thing of getting pictures at the mile high sign on the Capitol building. Maybe it was the time of year, but I actually wasn't too impressed with the amount of things to do in Denver. It's definitely one of those cities that the bar scene helps a lot. I also have a bad impression on the place since it was there I realized that my trusty Pooh Bear was still sat on my bed at CSU and wouldn't be making the trip to San Francisco with me.
Our day perked up when we headed to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner, one of the only birthday requests Caragh had from day one of the trip planning. The portions were huge, so we got garlic bread and split garlic noodles... failing to remember we were going to be spending 32 hours on a train and would probably be stinking the place out with garlic. Oh well. Disaster struck when it came to cheesecake ordering time, as after a 5 minute long decision making process, Caragh's choice of lemon meringue was sold out. Back to the drawing board she went, while in the meantime I was secretly plotting with our waiter for a little birthday surprise. The great combination of my accent and Caragh's impending approach led to him thinking her name was "mcaragh", thank god he checked with me on that one afterwards! After finally joining me in a piece of key lime cheesecake, I was rewarded with a look of death as hers was brought by singing waiters complete with a candle. What can I say, I had to embarrass her in some way!

The train journey really dragged since there was a rock slide in Rocky Mountain National Park, so we had to detour through before Wyoming before making it to Salt Lake City. It was a very welcomed change of scenery when we woke up to desert in Nevada, however that got boring quickly too, so it was exciting to near the end of our trip. It was a shame that because of our delay we didn't get to see San Francisco for the first time in the daylight, but both Caragh and I have never been so excited to see city lights for a long time! We spent our first evening at Pier 39 and instantly fell in love with the place.

The next day we did so much! We got up bright and early to try and get Alcatraz tickets, but it turned out people had been queuing since 4:45am and there were none left. Off we went on a little adventure walking the streets of San Fran... you know it's too early when even Chinatown isn't open. That first day we walked to Union Square, Chinatown, back to the Pier 39 in the day and were at the Golden Gate Bridge by noon. The views were so amazing when we walked a long it, and you really noticed what a strange city San Francisco actually looks like. It's strange to have such skyscrapers mixing in with what looks similar to a Greek town with houses perched on hill sides.
Afterwards we went to Lombard Street, the "crookedest street" which my roomie Liv had recommended to me. We were definitely grateful for the Colorado altitude when we got there, talk about steep hills! It was a shame because of the plants all the pictures I took you couldn't actually see how crazy Lombard Street was, but I'm sure you get the idea. We went to Fisherman's Wharf in the afternoon and headed back a little early since we were walked out and had a busy day ahead.
We decided if we were getting up early for Alcatraz tickets, we were getting up early. Major props to Caragh for going along with me on that one since she knew Alcatraz was a bucket list thing for me. So there we were, first in the line at 4:30am. I'm pretty sure she'll back me up when I say I had a cheesy grin on my face all morning during the tour and I'm soooooo glad I finally got to go! We did more walking around Chinatown (it was actually open) and I got my fix off my all time favourite spicy eggplant :D Sadly, the place with the best egg tarts in the city was shut due to vacation, very inconsiderate, but we visited the shop where fortune cookies where actually invented, hidden away in a back alley and smelling glorious.

The next day was Thanksgiving, and since we'd done pretty much all the tourist traps, we decided to take a day to relax. We headed to Golden Gate Park with the intention of spending the day looking around, however that changed when we realized not only how big the place was, but how badly signposted things were inside. Instead we headed for the beach and had a makeshift picnic while watching those Cali waves. Needless to say, typical clumsy me got caught in one of said waves, so while we waited for my jean to dry, we got to watch the sunset.

 Friday we did some Black Friday shopping upon the realization we were heading back soon, needed one last final break from work and hunting for something hilarious to buy Leif as a present. All in all, I loved San Francisco more than I thought I would and had the best first Thanksgiving I could have asked for. Also, after 10 full days Caragh and I didn't murder each other which is always a bonus.

COLORADO TURNS BALTIC

This past week winter came early to Fort Collins with temperatures reaching -20ºC... yes that's celsuis. Despite the fact it was bloody freezing, it was a nice chance to get to see campus looking all wintery once fall was ending everywhere lacked a bit of colour. One evening Leif, Chrissie, Jack, Leni and Katie decided we wanted to go and see what downtown looked like after class, and what a bright idea that was! We ended up having a huge snowball fight, which some people like me not prepared with waterproof gloves, and had to walk home feeling extra chilly. By the time we got back to change before a little study session, my legs were glowing pink where I'd been pelted, not pleasant to say the least!

The next day Leif and I went on a little scout of a tattoo parlour where he was planning to get his own little design done. Since it was so cold on the walk back, we decided to go to Lucille's for a chai to warm up. We both knew it wouldn't just be a chai whem we saw the menu, and we felt like we were cheating on Caragh since she wasn't us. Sadly, I couldn't be there for his actually tattoo appointment the next day since I had to leave to meet my parents at the airport.

We headed into Denver, ate some good food then went to see the Black Keys at the Pepsi Centere. The highlight had to be some guy smoking a spliff in the middle of the arena, something I didnt realise I considered normal until I saw their faces! The weekend in Breckenridge that followed was stupidly cold and blizzard like, so what did the Puzzars do? Go in an outdoor hot tub... bright idea until you want to get out but have to face snow with no shoes on.
I couldn't spend much time with them while they were in Fort Collins because of my classes and crazy workload, but I did get to show them the Chi O house, something I'm pretty happy about :) On that note, it also got confirmed this week that the national president of Chi O is letting me be initiated early which I am so excited about :D I'm so grateful to Bree and Sara especially for their hard work in making that happen, and it was definitely worth it to hear my pledge classes reaction to the announcement after our Christmas photo taking!
Finally, the last dayof my parent's visit ended with a trip to Sundance! We brought along Leif, Caragh, Megan, Jonny and Carly... all fun and games until my dad posted a video of Leif and I line dancing without our knowledge. What can I say, after learning the dance to Footloose and it not being played, we weren't going to let that hard work go to waste!

Hallo-weekend

I knew the Americans took Halloween seriously, but I didn't realize how serious it was. This wasn't the time for a make-do costume from Poundland like this year, this had to take some serious dedication. However, due to our wonderful lack of planning ability, the day before Halloween we headed to the thrift store, still with no idea what our costumes would be. First stop though, a trip to Whole Foods, and oh my god I think I died and went to heaven! The craving for English foods has been very prominent lately, and the fact this place had "proper food" almost made it better. The fact that it sold baklava did.

Off we went to the thrift store, and I ended up leaving as a Greek goddess (props to Leif for finding that gem of a costume, which was a joke initially) and Caragh finally got her Woody from Toy Story outfit sorted. I completed the look on Halloween by writing "Andy" on the sole of her shoe in nail varnish for added effect. I was on point with outfit design since I helped Liv figure out an outfit from her wardrobe in 10 minutes too. I'm not quite sure where this artistic flair has come from, but it won't last long. Must be all the crafting that goes on in Chi O.
And so the shenanigans began, but I have to say, after all of the hype Halloween turned out to be a bit crap. I was definitely wishing I could have been at the SU even though we went to a frat party. That's one of the many things I miss about Keele, you don't have to constantly plan what parties are happening or where. Spontaneous nights out are usually the best anyway, and I know being away from the SU has really made me appreciate it's snakebite covered floors even more.

On the Saturday we booked tickets to go and see Cherub at the Aggies Theatre downtown. An hour to get ready called for the revival of the zebra costumes from the Chi O social, this time with slightly zombie looking makeup courtesy of Leif. Leif, Caragh, Ben, Jack and I went, not forgetting the one lone American, Whitney, who could handle another night out unlike the rest. It was such an enjoyable night, topped off by a late night visit to Alleycat for grilled cheese and a soy chai. Always a winning combination.

A quick update this time, but that's due to a crazy workload this week in trying to complete all of my assignments before my parents arrive. Especially since my next post involves a lot of drama to say the least, I'll leave that for another night.

Good food & good company.

The title says it all really, what better to way to celebrate the halfway point of this whole study abroad experience!

Earlier this month Leif and Caragh had spotted a cute little cafe not too far from campus, so we all decided to go on a little brunch date on Tuesday. Lucille's is a New Orleans style joint, and what can I say, the food was to die for. Homemade buttermilk biscuits with apple butter, orange marmalade, blueberry and strawberry rhubarb jam. Eggs galore. It was definitely a pleasant change from the dining hall food! Needless to say we all had food babies, or more like triplets, after we left. Thankfully though our decision not to order beignets too (much to Caragh's distaste) was a good one, so it looks like we'll have to go back again to try them.
That night we decided to go to Sundance for the second time, but this time with the rest of "Team Commonwealth" in tow. We must have been the most annoying people in the world, since we proceeded to dance like we would in the SU right in the middle of the dancefloor. Thankfully, we were too drunk to notice the glares we were most likely getting from everyone trying to line dance.

Wednesday night Caragh and I went to Zeta Tau Alpha's "Think Pink Dessert Party" to raise money for breast cancer. I have no idea why we thought it would be English desserts, but god were we so wrong. I don't think I've ever been anywhere with as much peanut butter, sugary, brightly pink food-coloured stuff in my life! But hey, all for a good cause.

Thursday was Chi O's first social, which was "day at the zoo themed". I'd invited Caragh as my date, and we didn't have an absolute clue what to wear. Running low on ideas, I had a brain wave the night before, and thanks to my current obsession with animal print clothing, I conveniently had two things that matched for us to wear. Now came the zebra make up to complete the look... never again will I draw in my eyebrows with liquid eyeliner, talk about an effort to get them off. All in all everyone loved how we matched clothes and loved our make ups, so I'm blowing my own trumpet for a second at the design skills I didn't know I had!
The social was in the basement of Washington's sports bar downtown, and it was nice to have it to ourselves. I still can't get used to the craziness of Americans at things like this though, Caragh and I were stood in shock for the majority of the night at how crazy they are without even having a drink.

On Sunday we had another sisterhood retreat at the house which was pumpkin patch themed. We got the chance to carve pumpkins, make smores and generally just bond. I know remember why I don't like carving pumpkins, the insides I can only compare to picking up someone else's sick. Not pleasant.
I couldn't stay for the whole time sadly since I had another midterm due at the end of the week, something that is becoming a common occurrence here. Leif hit the nail on the head, "there's not time for hangovers or illness in America, you get way behind too quickly".

Homecoming week!

Homecoming week on campus was crazy with so many different events going on before the actual weekend. The sororities and fraternities on campus teamed up and competed through the week on all of these different events.
Chi Omega joined with Theta Chi (a fraternity) to become Team Skyline. The first event was called Ram Rhythm, were all the teams make an elaborate dance routine and perform them on the basketball court for judges to score. I really wanted to be involved, but sadly the rehearsal schedules clashed with the other stuff I had going on. Eager to support, Caragh and I went to watch, and I can say this because it was my team, but we blew everyone out of the water. Sadly, the judges scored us joint second, but it was a great start to our team. We couldn't help but laugh at how eager the frat guys were to perform and how much they got into the dances, something that definitely wouldn't happen back home!!

We had to leave early because Caragh's friend Jess was taking us, along with Leif, to Sundance. It's a saloon that plays country music and everyone line dances and swing dances.
We went with open minds, however I don't think we've all felt as British as we did when we first walked in. Nothing makes you feel like an outsider like everyone wearing cowboys boots, hats and a wagon above the dance floor to complete the saloon vibe. It took us a while to get into it, especially since everyone already seemed to know what they were doing. After our fair few attempts at the line dancing, we were happy to hear the random "normal" music breakdown which made us revert back to our usual SU antics.
Leif and I managed to get a little swing routine going which we're planning to use every time we go, meanwhile Caragh got ambushed for a dance by a cowboy. Maybe that's where I'm going wrong. Instead of playing the "I'm a dainty British girl card" like her, I proceeded to dance the Inbetweeners dance and gallop around the dance floor, much to Leif's amusement/disapproval... I couldn't really tell.

Another way to earn points for homecoming was to go to Starbucks. Being the "basic white bitches" the Chi O girls claim to be, they went all out ordering pumpkin spice lattes and Team Skyline won that part of the competition too. Other events were chalking the plaza and a game of capturing the flag of other teams around the campus, but I couldn't go to either... yay for my class schedule!
It was announced the other day that Team Skyline actually won the entire of homecoming :D However, I have no idea what that actually means so you'll have to bear with me on that.

Friday marked the beginning of parents weekend, which seemed a little weird having so many families on campus. The Chi O house was open for parents to tour which was annoying since I won't be able to do that until mine visit in November, but it's making more excited to show them it.
It couldn't have been a better weekend for this, as all the trees were starting to change and it's definitely the prettiest campus has looked by far. The homecoming parade began in the late afternoon and we headed to watch all the floats go by at the Oval. My highlight from the 100th homecoming parade was getting the chance to embarrass my roommate Olivia while she was representing her Chinese class float. It was a little annoying that a lot of the events overlapped each other, so Leif, Caragh and I actually missed the bonfire and fireworks display because we were at the concert in Moby Arena. Compared to Macklemore last year, the acts weren't as great, but we were front row and joined the Americans in their rowdiness while listening to Splyt, Mike Posner and Nico & Vinz.

Saturday was time for the homecoming football game, but since we were knackered from the week Leif, Caragh and I decided to trade the first half for wings and wine. Good choice, as when we got there the game had apparently been nothing to write home about. We met up with the Australians and stayed for the rest of the game, leaving 3 minutes before the end. We missed a drop-goal in the final seconds and the crowd flooding the pitch in celebration... typical.
All in all, homecoming was a fun, typically American experience, one that sadly marks the halfway point of my study abroad experience! Two months down, two more to go.

Chi Olympics and Big/Little reveal.

This past week has been filled with Chi O events and the ball seems to be rolling, in more ways than one.

Our philanthropy event, Chi Olympics was this past Sunday, which consisted of various inflatables and obstacle courses. Almost 50 teams signed up, with the funds raise going to Make A Wish foundation. The little girl who we were raising money for, Alexis, actually attended the event and we were raising money for her to go to Disney World.
The IM fields were filled with a variety of inflatables (jousting, bouncy castle and hamster balls, hence by pun earlier) and other games like shot put and tug of war.
I was a team coach, and my team were a lot of fun to work with even though we stood no chance of winning. I didn't manage to take pictures at the actual event because we were too busy running it, but I did get one of the token super-American banner we had.

For the rest of the week, we began the process of choosing our "big", someone who is assigned to us and who becomes my role model during my time in the sorority. Apparently the bond between big and little is very special, and is often a lifetime bond.
Every day for four days I had to collect gifts from my big, in an attempt to guess who she was from any hints she left me. It's really nice since I got mason jars from her that spell C-H-I-O and my first pair of letters, things I'll be able to take home. Which I appreciate a lot more than a girl in my pledge class who got a fish.

One day 2 there was the traditional giving of hand-me-down Chi O clothing as some way of showing the continued sisterhood. I conveniently got a "Potter" one, which was obviously a nod to my British-ness.
I had no idea who my big would be, so on reveal day everyone was given t-shirts by their big, and they were all lined up in the garden wearing sweatshirts. On the count of three they all took off their sweatshirts and we had to find our big by our corresponding t-shirts.
I was so happy, since my big is Sarah. I've got along with her really well ever since recruitment, and it's nice since she is studying abroad at Swansea next semester. Goes to prove Chi O can go international when we have a big/little reunion once I'm back home!

It's all fun and games until the cops arrive, apparently.

I actually wrote this last Monday intending to get something up before my midterms, but obviously that didn't happen. I've now learnt the error in my ways regarding the very unreliable CSU wifi, which is also a hassle when you're trying to watch Netflix. So here's my 'flashback' post, written while I sit in Caragh's room having a 2000's music flashback session to complete the theme.

Last weekend actually started off in a pretty chill fashion, with Caragh and I going on yet another date for froyo (that girl is obsessed). After a night of more snuggling, we woke up Saturday and decided we'd be going to the football game at Hughes Stadium that afternoon.
Off I went to the liquor store, so at 11:30am I was roaming the streets of Fort Collins with 3.5 litres of vodka smuggled into my backpack, in the hope I didn't encounter the bike police. Once I got back Leif, Caragh and I hurriedly transferred this into our new sunscreen flasks to take to the game. After all, who would question three British kids taking sunscreen to an outdoor event? Clever I know.

The game was what is known as an orange out, where people wear orange to honour the "Aggie era" of CSU. This was before the ram was adopted as an official mascot, and currently the most recognizable reference to this era is the "A" located on the mountain side above Hughes Stadium. Every year the freshman class hike to the "A" and re-paint it,but we never got the chance to go cause it clashed with plans we already had.

We met the Australians there, and in all honesty I don't think any of us paid attention to any of the game. All I know is that the Rams won, cue my loud chanting of "I said I'm proud, to be, a CSU rammm".

We headed back, raided the dining centre for scran and all headed for naps to help ourselves prepare for the night ahead. Worst idea ever. It definitely sped up whatever hangover was going to hit us the next day. We all felt very grim, but being the troopers we are, we headed to Leif's room for round 2. This was when the drama for the evening started...

We headed to a block party not too far away from campus. When we arrived the cul-de-sac was crammed with a tleast 300 students,and if I'm honest, it wasn't any fun. We tried to scout alcohol, but with no music and everyone surrounding us acting like idiots, Caragh, Leif, Jack and I decided we'd leave.
Talk about perfect timing. Once we crossed the street and reached campus, a convoy of police cars came hurtling around the corner, sirens blaring, in an attempt to control the party. As many of my friends/family know since they saw the news articles, this did result in a riot, which apparently is becoming a common thing with CSU students and parties. My favourite article the next day described how "rambunctious students wreck havoc, citizens tomato plant destroyed". Needless to say, we left with very smug grins on our faces knowing we weren't involved in the riot, and the closest claim to fame we have is we were actually there.

Guess what guys, I'm a sorority girl now!!

So I know I haven't posted recently, but with valid reason. I wanted to document this entire experience of the past 4 days in one go, especially since I didn't know what the final outcome would be.

This weekend was the beginning of what is known as sorority "rush", or in other words, recruitment. CSU has 7 sororities: Pi Beta Phi, Chi Omega, Gamma Phi Beta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Delta Delta Delta, Zeta Tau Alpha and Kappa Delta.
In a very spur of the moment decision, Caragh and I decided to sign up since we knew it would be an experience we'd never get the chance to take part in again. On Saturday about 500 of us potential pledges were split into groups of around 20 and given a Rho Gamma (a sorority girl who leaves her house temporarily to help us find ours).
From 9:00am until 8:00pm that day we visited each sorority, spending 30 minutes in a whirlwind of conversations with the girls, most of mine involving "oh my god you have such a cute accent" or "wow you're from England". I embraced this, but after a while the combination of slowing my speech, refraining from using slang and shouting above the general natter in the houses took it out of me. I even got to the point where I just went along with the fact they assumed I was from London because explaining there's more to England just wasn't worth it. All in all it was a very surreal day, especially since I hadn't quite expected 40+ girls singing at me when we knocked on the front door.

Saturday night ended with us ranking all seven sororities in order of preference and waiting to see which ones we got called back to the next day. I was called back to Kappa Delta, Chi Omega and Delta Delta Delta, and this day was more relaxed in the sense we could actually discuss the values of the sorority and what their main charities and fundraising events were. I was also given the wonderful opportunity of hearing American girl logic at its best, and I quote "I wanted to wear wedges but I've just had knee surgery. What if they don't want me because I'm wearing sandals?".
We also got to have house tours, which we all know is great when you want a good nose. They were really beautiful houses and definitely gave you an insight into what each different sorority was like. That night we ranked the sororities again and awaited Monday, or what was known as preference night. This was a more formal occasion than the others, so everyone was dressed up as I went to Chi Omega and Kappa Delta. Preference night is the one time sororities share some things they do at chapter meetings, and is one of the only times you'll see this without being an actual member.

First I went to Chi Omega and already the atmosphere was different. Instead of walking in alphabetically and pairing up with the first member we saw, each member called for us personally at the front door, holding a white carnation which is symbolic for Chi-O. I spoke to the three members I had on the first day of rush, which was nice since I got to have more deep and meaningful conversations, especially about their involvement with their chosen charity, the Make-A-Wish foundation.
The night was similar when I visited Kappa Delta, but there was just something about Chi Omega that clicked with me more, and hence when we had to chose our ranking for the night, I did what is known as a suicide. Even though it dramatically reduces your chances of joining a sorority, I'd already decided that if Chi-O didn't bid for me, then I wasn't going to join another that I didn't like nearly as much.

Then came today, bid day. Everyone met on the IM fields (including frat boys that think it's hilarious to watch) as all the sororities came together and we were given our envelopes stating our bid. Once they were opened girls began running like maniacs to where they were meant to be, with lots of screaming, hugging, tears and excited jumping. Forever feeling odd in situations like this that are so alien to me, I was dodging these girls with a backpack filled with textbooks from my day of classes. Yes, couldn't get any cooler I know.
As I headed towards Chi Omega, I could see Sarah (who I later found out is my 'owl pal', Chi-O's mascot is an owl, which is perfect since I love owls) holding a paper sunflower decorated with my name. That is currently drying out on my floor as the weather was wonderfully British today in Colorado and rained on cue when we were all outdoors with no shelter. Next thing I knew I was being taken in a car to the Chi-Omega house, given my first t-shirt and being hugged and welcomed by hundreds of smiling girls who I'd barely seen before. Any girls I had met before were even more excited to see me again and were so happy to have me as "part of the family", a phrase I heard a lot this evening.

After some food we did brief introductions, which I got told afterwards the fact I was English (the only one I might add, we're taking Greek Life internationally now) and my fun fact of I'm learning Japanese "blew everyone else's introductions "out of the water". Then we went outside to carry out the tradition of all the new members standing around holding a circle of ribbon, and taking a piece as it is cut which was then pinned on us by our owl pals.
We couldn't take anything inside the houses during recruitment, but now I've infiltrated I'll be snapping away. I have my initiation this Thursday so I'll take some then and keep you all in the loop in my few months as a Hootie!