[allthatglitters]

Thursday: Philanthropy Day/House Tours
Again we piled into the auditorium to find out what houses would tell us about their individual philanthropies. You could get a maximum of 7 that day.

My list read:
Spain
England
Thailand
Ireland
Austria
Japan

I was THRILLED to see Spain and England on my list! I was happy about the others but I had two of my original top choices and I was besides myself.

Spain The philanthropy here was one of my favorites because it was for a girl who had actually attended my high school before becoming a member of this chapter. I really liked that they actually worked directly with their organization rather than just collecting money and sending it to an individual. This philanthropy was specific to the chapter, their national philanthropy was also awesome and I really liked how active their chapter had been with it. This house, is one of the most interestingly constructed buildings I have every seen in my life. The outside looks like a normal house, but the inside is a maze of hallways. It was so pretty. Again I liked this house, a lot. And I was greeted outside by the same girl who I had talked to the day before which I really liked. I left with high hopes of going back to Spain for preference day.

England I really, really liked England's philanthropy and that they too had members that were directly affected by their cause. Unlike Spain, this was the national philanthropy so it was sheer coincidence that there would be a member who was able to speak about her personal experience. It was definitely emotional and I left wanting to go research the organization. This house was also beautiful. The staircase immediately caught my attention as I hadn't seen a spiral staircase in any other house. I loved it. Again, I was approached by one of the girls I had talked to on day 1. She *looked* excited to see me which was completely flattering. I was so happy to be back at England.

Thailand Thailand was so nice. I loved how they had everything set up. Instead of focusing on the house and the philanthropy, they had set up stations on the main floor of the main things girls in their chapter were involved with. I had been pretty active freshman year so I already knew what organizations I was interested in, but if I had been a freshman with no idea what to get involved with, this would've been incredibly helpful. On the outside, this house isn't that visually appealing, but inside and upstairs it is very cute. Some of the other houses were very "regal" in appearance, but this one was very homey. The walls had been painted on by girls that had passed through years prior, and it was all very cute. The rooms were MASSIVE. And I while I loved England's philanthropy, Thailand had a philanthropy that was very personal to me and therefore my absolute favorite for the day.

Ireland I LOVED the girl I was paired with here. She was wonderful and made my visit to Ireland so entertaining. This house appearance is so decieving. It looks tiny from the outside but was HUGE inside. One of the coolest layouts I saw that day. The philanthropy here wasn't very memorable sadly and they didn't have much involvement yet because they're still a newer chapter.

Austria I wasn't too thrilled to see this house on my schedule again but I put on a smile and went back to Austria for the 3rd day in a row. Their philanthropy was interesting. It was the only one that didn't directly relate to any member of the community. The money raised went to some obscure fund for, something, which was strange to me. They're the newest chapter on campus so overall involvement was pretty low. This chapter is renting out a fraternity house that had been kicked off campus years ago and the house is awesome. The rooms are massive, some are divided by various styles. I have never seen any other house that had loft beds. Loved the rooms, but I didn't love the house or the philanthropy.

Japan I was paired with a good friend here so that was definitely fun. We chatted about life, watched a video about the skit, walked around the house then talked some more. Easily my most comfortable house visit, but then again it almost doesn't count since I was paired with someone I knew pretty well. Cute house. VERY impressive philanthropy and turnout for their on campus events. I left impressed.

Ranking:

1. Spain
2. England
3. Thailand
4. Japan
5. Ireland
6. Austria
7.