[Sciencewoman]

I agree with the above posters. I'm struck by the comment you made that "Some conversations lasted for 15 minutes to a point where they encouraged me to meet more members. They were supposed to last five minutes." I think you may be reading that as a positive...like you had a great conversation going that the members didn't want to end. I'm afraid you may have chatted too long, to the point where it got awkward -- the brothers wanted to meet more people, and they were letting you know that you should be meeting more people, too. The fact that you stayed after everyone else left also indicates that you may have overstayed your welcome. They may have needed to vote, get to a meeting, etc., and you don't want to be remembered as the "houseguest who stayed too long," and didn't pick up on the signal that it was time to leave, end a conversation, etc. If there was a 5 minute conversation limit, the point was to mingle and meet lots of people -- for the brothers and the recruits.

Lots of older adults struggle with this, too. It can be hard to mingle at a cocktail party or business event, and exit a conversation gracefully so that you can move on to talk with others. For some people, it's also hard to know when to leave. Thinking about how you can naturally move on to meet more people would be good preparation for fall events -- stick to the 5 minutes and move on gracefully. I'd stick to "it was great talking to you," not "I hope I can come back." They already know that, or you wouldn't be there. Be cool, be natural, and try to relax.