[_RushPuppies_]

I woke up to the list already being out (about an hour early)! I was hoping for at least 6 out of a possible ten parties. I was shocked and very pleased to receive ten parties!
Colombia
Spain
Dominican Republic
Venezuela
Uruguay
Argentina
Panama
Costa Rica
Mexico
Ecuador

9 of my 1s, and my 2 (Spain). Puerto Rico had dropped me, and looking back, I wasn’t bothered by it since there really wasn’t a “click” moment.

I set off for…

Colombia
One of my favorites from Round 1 as my first party! I was stoked. I was paired with a girl and we related over how our brains were still waking up for the day. Then, I got bumped to a girl who I had met at the preview event - she immediately said, “I remember you! Not to be creepy! I just got really excited!” and I said that if she hadn’t said that, I was going to! I remembered her too and really liked her. We got to talking and gabbing, and we got so distracted while talking that we didn’t notice that almost everyone had already assembled into the living room to sing. They had a problem with their sound system, so they improvised and sang a cappella - and NAILED IT! Lots of giggles within, and I knew I wanted to come back. Loved, loved, LOVED Colombia. Didn’t want to leave.

Spain
I felt good about returning to Spain for the next round. In Cuba, Chile, and Paraguay, I felt negative about the parties, I had felt positive about Spain and was happy that they liked me enough to invite me back. I got paired with a girl who was in an a cappella group on campus! We really got to talking and their philanthropy video was beautiful. Then, I got bumped again and we talked about moving away for college. Again, sort of formal, and a little low on energy. Nice, but not exciting.

Dominican Republic
I talked to a girl here who was crazy and goofy! A good boost of energy after Spain. I got bumped to a second girl and we discussed more about campus and activities. Their song was a fun pop medley and they all were having CRAZY fun. I felt like I had to ask a lot of questions to keep the ball rolling here. The girls all seem loud and comfortable with each other, but quieter with me so far, except the crazy/goofy one who honestly just intimidated me with her energy.

Venezuela
This house has a reputation for making really big cuts, so I was pretty pumped to be asked back! The girls are very beautiful, though I did see more girls who looked like me today, which was nice. A girl picked me up, and we talked about recruitment process (which I was shockingly really enjoying) and how you can tell when people are being genuine and comfortable. I felt so comfortable talking to her! A second girl came to talk to me and we talked about food, the ultimate conversation starter. The girl who floated to me on the first day came back to do another quick meet-cute. She seemed sweet! The song here was great - it started out with a ukulele and two girls singing before everyone joined in. These girls seemed to have a great quality about them that I can’t put my finger on, but I couldn’t help feeling like they’re cooler than I was.

I then had lunch and a break, so I headed back to my dorm to put on some more undereye concealer (a necessary thing, let me tell you!)

Uruguay
For the first girl I talked to, we pretty exclusively talked about food (oops!) so I made sure that when I got bumped that I asked about the philanthropy, which I really like! I saw one of the girls from the first day, and she smiled at me, which was reassuring. Their song was wonderful! Again, lots of laughs. Such a beautiful house and you could tell that these girls just really freakin’ liked each other. I had developed a little bit of a crush on them and was totally feeling it.

Argentina
I absolutely LOVED Argentina’s philanthropy and they did a beautiful job presenting it. It’s such a serious topic but they did a wonderful job setting the mood. These girls definitely stepped it up in terms of outfits today - each girl was Insta-ready in clothing, hair, and makeup, and frankly, I felt pretty lame in comparison in my sundress which was getting more and more wrinkled with every folding chair that I sat in. I don’t really remember what we talked about here. I still left feeling that the house was very friendly and down-to-earth and I never felt like I was being rushed here - I just felt like they were really trying to get to know me, instead of it being a formal interview like at other houses.

Panama
Panama started with a presentation, but whoever was speaking started with a line that was something to the effect of “Panama is a top house and you must have been cool to get to day 2”, but not in so many words. I think it was meant to be more of a “welcome back, we saw something in you yesterday and we’re so glad to have you here at Panama today” but it came off as SO prideful and egotistical. I was totally turned off by it and barely remembered anything else except that everyone was in super color-coordinated outfits, down to the shade - it looked like they had all been cut out of one bolt of fabric like the von Trapp kids with the curtains, and I decided that I didn’t want to frolic around the streets of Salzburg as a Panama woman.

Costa Rica
I didn’t learn much about Costa Rica’s philanthropy. The one thing that stood out to me during this round was that I had missed a spot shaving my legs and had a few little blonde hairs on my kneecap and the girl I was talking to would not stop staring at my knee. It was weird. I still think about how weird it was sometimes. The girls still seemed smart and sophisticated but the house just didn’t seem like it would be one for me.

Mexico
After leaving three parties feeling “meh”, I was thrilled to be going back to Mexico and they did not disappoint! These girls were so smart, relaxed, and fun, and I just loved every conversation I had with them this day. At the end of the round all of the PNMs sat in the living room and the Mexicans stood around us and sang a beautiful song and I teared up a little bit. I loved Mexico and so wanted to come back.

Ecuador
Another party I was excited to come back to and such a great one to finish off the day with.
These girls were so passionate about their philanthropy and put themselves in such a good light. They had little iced coffee drinks that were so tasty (and NEEDED) and again, I was just so impressed by these women. They sang another song at the end of the round and it happened to be one of my favorites. I had the tingles here!

At the end of the round, I ranked the houses accordingly:
1s: Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Argentina
2: Dominican Republic
3: Spain
4: Costa Rica
5: Panama