Short and sweet story..

[AOII4ME]

Enjoyed this story, very much. Thank you.

[LionTamer]

Great story with a great moral

Another moral is that Americans are appallingly ignorant about US geography:

I called Encyclopedia Britannica once, and asked for something to be shipped to Dover, Delaware. They said "I don't think FedEx ships there" (this is back when FedEx didn't ship everywhere).
I said "I'm certain they do - it's the capital"
They asked "The capital of what?"
"Delaware"
"What state is Delaware in?"

I was in an elevator in Boston with 2 Harvard MBAs. They said "are you going back to Philadelphia today? What airport are you flying into? New York?"
"Why would I fly into one of the New York airports? I'm flying back to Philly."
"Philadelphia has its own airport?"
"It's the fifth largest city in America - yes it has its own airport"
"Fifth largest!!! By what measure?!!!"
"Uhhh....population." Needless to say, my respect for Harvard MBAs plummeted, even though both these guys were from California, so their sense of geography was really West Coast.

Lastly, and most excusably, I've run into some funny reactions to living near King of Prussia PA. The woman on the phone replacing my AMEX card said that only one site was open Saturdays in Pennsylvania - did I live anywhere near...uh...uh...Queen of Persia?
"You mean King of Prussia?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess"

[MaggieXi]

Originally Posted by LionTamer

Great story with a great moral

Another moral is that Americans are appallingly ignorant about US geography:

I called Encyclopedia Britannica once, and asked for something to be shipped to Dover, Delaware. They said "I don't think FedEx ships there" (this is back when FedEx didn't ship everywhere).
I said "I'm certain they do - it's the capital"
They asked "The capital of what?"
"Delaware"
"What state is Delaware in?"

I was in an elevator in Boston with 2 Harvard MBAs. They said "are you going back to Philadelphia today? What airport are you flying into? New York?"
"Why would I fly into one of the New York airports? I'm flying back to Philly."
"Philadelphia has its own airport?"
"It's the fifth largest city in America - yes it has its own airport"
"Fifth largest!!! By what measure?!!!"
"Uhhh....population." Needless to say, my respect for Harvard MBAs plummeted, even though both these guys were from California, so their sense of geography was really West Coast.

Lastly, and most excusably, I've run into some funny reactions to living near King of Prussia PA. The woman on the phone replacing my AMEX card said that only one site was open Saturdays in Pennsylvania - did I live anywhere near...uh...uh...Queen of Persia?
"You mean King of Prussia?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess"

I live outside Philly so I totally understand the "Queen of Persia!". My favorite is that I work in the town of Villanova. A secretary or admin called me from New York and asked what our address was so I gave it to her. She asked me to spell Villanova and I did. She repeated it back to me and it was wrong, so I corrected her, she spelled it back to me wrong again and I said "You know, Villanova, like the University". She goes "There is a University of Villanova? I didn't know Villanova was a state?"....OMG lady - No its not! I eventually got the package she was sending and Villanova was spelled Bilanova. It's lucky it even got here!

Other fun philly favorites - ask someone not from the area to look at the words Schuykill, Conshohocken, Uwchlan, or Tredyffrin and ask them to say it.

[LionTamer]

MaggieXI - I was having something shipped to Conshohocken, and the lady on the phone from the Virginia Department of tourism said "Conshohocken! Conshohocken! That's a funny name!"
"Big words from the lady from Rappahanock," I replied, which made her laugh.

Our new members from Pittsburgh couldn't get their head (or tongues) around Bala Cynwyd, either! (hint: it's not Bay-la Sin-wood) Damned Welsh!

[luv n tpa]

Originally Posted by MaggieXi

Other fun philly favorites - ask someone not from the area to look at the words Schuykill, Conshohocken, Uwchlan, or Tredyffrin and ask them to say it.

I was at St. Joe's recently (Manayunk was fun!) and I was very amused by Conshohocken and the Schuykill.

[Benzgirl]

Done that a few times. What we most often would wear was a dry-cleaner bag over our costumes. It was clear and it helped to keep your costume dry.

I can't tell you how many times my southern relatives thought we didn't go to work when it snowed.

[WCsweet<3]

We always had to make our costumes waterproof. The garbage bags kinda ruined all the creativity one would put into the costumes...

Along with the geography line, People seem to forget that Oregon is in between California and Washington (YOU MEAN THERE IS SOMETHING SEPARATING THEM???) and that Oregon has coast (I thought it was in the midwest...)

[awkward1]

Schuykill = skookle
King of Prussia = excellent shopping!!!!

[tld221]

well, PA was always weird. id go into detail, but i kinda dont feel like it.

but upstate NY and LI has some weird town names too, so i cant really talk.

[violetpretty]

Originally Posted by tld221

well, PA was always weird. id go into detail, but i kinda dont feel like it.

but upstate NY and LI has some weird town names too, so i cant really talk.

A lot of the "weird" names are Anglicized interpretations of Native American words.

[AuburnMom08]

What a great story! Thanks for sharing that.

And for whoever was trying to guess which school, it couldn't have been Auburn because they don't have houses. Maybe they did a long long long time ago but I don't think she's that old. lol

[Denise_DPhiE]

Originally Posted by awkward1

It is hard to tell a lawyer or doctor from a clerk, they dress the same and drive the same vehicles. They know that all people freeze to death at the same rate no matter how much money they have, so there are better attributes to use when judging someone. For instance, does their truck have a wench? Is their long underwear silk or cotton/poly blend? Is this a person I could depend on if my heat goes out and it's 30 below?

Ok, no fair, I didn't know I was going spit my coffee all over my keyboard on this thread.

[awkward1]

We met our Rho chi groups in the evening and I was really excited to start meeting people. After I ate dinner I went back to my room to wait until it was time, and to get ready for the meeting. At the meeting we sat in a circle and our Rho Chi asked us to say our names and where we were from. When my turn came, I gave my name and said I was from Anchorage. Everyone stared at me like I was from outer space. But then when you are from Alaska you get used to that type of response and brace yourself for the questions to follow. " Is it cold there all the time?" "Is it really dark all day?" and so on. I always answer politely knowing that most people will never be able to travel to Alaska and experience it first hand. The girls were friendly though and I left the meeting with a really good feeling about my decision to go way south to college and to rush.

RUSH DAY 1: I dressed in my cutest outfit : a skirt that fell about mid thigh and a cute top and a pair of shoes that I absolutely loved! My roommate and I headed out for the big day, confident and exuberant. And then we exited the building and I was hit by the thickest air ever! The heat and humidity combined to make me feel like I was breathing underwater. I immediately began to sweat profusely....not a good sign. We went to our respective groups and made our way to the first party. I truly could not believe what lay before me when we walked up to the first house, Delta Gamma. The house was beautiful beyond anything I ever imagined. The lawn (actual grass not tundra) was immaculate, the house looked like it belonged in a movie. I looked at the other girls nervously...was I the only person who had never seen anything like this? I noticed giant plywood anchors in the front yard...why? Then the front doors flew open and out came a big group of enthusiastic girls clapping and singing and performing their hearts out. Whoa...I hope they don't ask me to join in I thought...what was going on here and what was going to happen next? As suddenly as it all started it stopped and the girls walked forward and started leading PNM's into the house one by one. I couldn't move, I was frozen in place and really overwhelmed by what all just happened. The DG girls weren't just enthusiastic, but they were the most beautiful girls I had ever seen in my entire life! They all had good hair, make up and they were all so pretty! And then it was my turn. It took a little coaxing to get my feet to move but I followed my DG inside and my jaw dropped at the beauty of the inside of the house. I quickly regained a semblance of composure and managed to answer the first question...'where are you from?' I was never so thankful to be able to say I was from Alaska because the uniqueness made conversation easy. I apologized for not coming into the house right away and explained that I had just never seen a house like this before and I really loved it! The party went by fast and on to the second house. Same thing at the next house, the prettiest girls ever, good conversation about Alaska, beautiful house. And so the day went until the last house. I was tired and overwhelmed by the heat at this point and ready for the day to end. I remember vividly stepping into the DDD house and thinking to myself 'how do these girls just know how to pull themselves together and be so perfect?' . This was the first house where I felt totally out of place. They talked about spring break cruises and designer handbags...I knew I could never keep up with them. But they were so friendly that I was a little sad knowing that I couldn't fit in here. They probably didn't want me anyways I thought.

My roommate and I had a late dinner that night. I took a look outside my window before we left and saw that it was dark outside so I immediately grabbed a jacket, put it on and headed out. When I stepped outside I realized what a dork I was. Just because it is dark outside does not mean it is cold out! DOH! It took me weeks to break that habit!

The next morning I dawdled around and told my roommate to go on ahead. I was overwhelmed, jet lagged, and realizing that I was in way over my head. I took a good look at my clothes...my skirt that I had worn was corduroy which I didn't think twice about at first but realized soon enough that corduroy is not the fabric of choice when it is 95 degrees out. My cute shirt had sleeves, my shoes were leather. Hot, hot, hot. Maybe for the Fall but not a southern summer. My hair was blonde, or it would have been blonde if it weren't for our Alaskan well water. I now knew that my hair had a somewhat orange tint to it from all of the minerals in our water and it was dry from our harsh winters. My clothes were wrong, my hair was wrong, even my makeup (or lack thereof) was wrong! I decided then and there not to continue with Rush. I laid down on my bed and cried. It wasn't too long before there was a knock at the door. I answered. There were two Rho Chi's who were sent to find out where I was and make sure everything was OK. They noticed my puffy eyes despite my best efforts to act non chalant. They were really sweet to me and consoled and me and managed to talk me into continuing. I got ready and joined my rush group, only missing four parties. Today was more of the same and I tried to be as happy as I could be even though I was dying inside.

DAY THREE: The opening of the envelopes.....

[wsuTriDelt]

Originally Posted by awkward1

I quickly regained a semblance of composure and managed to answer the first question...'where are you from?' I was never so thankful to be able to say I was from Alaska because the uniqueness made conversation easy.

i know what you mean, being from alaska saved me. if conversations weren't really flowing or they got a little awkward i just ended up talking about alaska. people act like it's the other side of the globe...but then again a lot of people think we're tiny and next to hawaii because of how we're always shown on maps haha.

[awkward1]

1. Did you need a passport to get here?
2. Do people live in igloo's?
3. Do you have a dog team?
4. Is it cold all year round?
5. Isn't Alaska by Australia?
6. Is Alaska an Island?
7. How long did it take to get here? 12 Hours! What, did you drive?
8. Does it take like, 2 days to drive home?
9. It must be cool to live so close to California.

How can so many people not know where Alaska is? I came to understand that because Alaska is always shown on maps as being an island floating in the Pacific somewhere that people really believe this to be true. Some maps show Alaska to be situated north of Washington, neglecting to show Canada so it looks like it is very close to Washington. I don't get these types of questions much anymore. I think it is the popularity of things like The Discovery Channel etc. give people glimpses into what life in Alaska is really like. But back in the day there just wasn't a lot of exposure to Alaska and what life is like there.