Short and sweet story..

[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.

[BetteDavisEyes]

Originally Posted by 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.

HAHAHAHAHAHA!
These 2 have got to be my favorite questions EVER!

[twinkle555]

update update update!!! i love this one!!!!!!!

[AK Phi Sig]

Originally Posted by 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.

This story is bringing back so many memories for me. The big question I still get all the time is "Isn't it like dark there all winter and light all summer?"
During school my favorite question was "Do you have a pet moose?" because at least for that one I could say "Yes, we had a neighborhood moose. It made getting rid of our Halloween pumpkins so much easier."

I did have one especially ignorant person ask if it was strange for me to see all of the people with different cultural backgrounds in CA (not quite their words, I believe they used the word colors) Um, just because I am blond, blue eyed and Day-glo does not mean that I represent the make up of the entire state, moron. In fact, coming from my HS it was strange for me to not see as many different groups as I was used to.

Great story! I can't wait to see where you end up.

[UGAalum94]

People from New Mexico get a bunch of those questions and comments, so much so that New Mexico magazine has a running feature about it: http://www.nmmagazine.com/50missing.php

My favorite was that during the lead up to the 1996 Olympics, the folks handling ticket sales told people from New Mexico to call their embassy.

[VandalSquirrel]

A woman I know from Alaska went through Rush and cut the top house because when she mentioned where she was from the two girls thought Alaska was an island between California and Hawaii. It offended her that they consistently had top grades and not one, but two of them had no idea where the 49th state was.

I guess that falls under "Funny reasons why you cut a chapter" though we probably all have at least one sister who says something that makes us stop and think "WTF?"

[epchick]

On "are you smarter than a 5th grader," the guy chose U.S. geography for like $200,000 and the question was What is the northern most state?

Both my mom, dad & the guy playing the game said "Maine." I was like WTF? Uhhhhh...its Alaska!

[AOEforme]

Originally Posted by awkward1

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.

We always have girls on our campus who can't believe that Chicago isn't a state.