19

When I was 19, I was living in the Habitat for Humanity theme house (Habby House!) as a sophomore at SLU.

I was playing rugby and many of my teammates seemed to be part of the same sorority. Girls I volunteered with were in this sorority. Girls I had class with were in this sorority. Almost every awesome girl I met was a Chi Omega, so I became one, too. My father called it “the cult.” It wasn’t personal, but of course there are certain connotations and stereotypes when one thinks of sororities. Some things held true. We did have traditions and rules, theme parties, and twenty-ish girls living in one sorority house. We also had traditions and rules, theme parties, and twenty-ish girls living in one sorority house. What was different about Chi O was that the sorority truly embraced diversity, not only in the backgrounds of the girls who were initiated, but also in the talents, interests, and personalities. It was not cookie-cutter.

After pledging Chi O in the fall and just as I started to feel really in the “college” zone, with friends, activities, and budding romance, I had the opportunity to go abroad again, which of course I took. I spent the spring semester in Vienna, Austria (*note – not Australia, not Venice). I was more removed from my host family this time, and there was only a small group of girls on the program, a few of whom were not very nice. However, after bonding during a trip to Italy and subsequently spending a terrifying and uncomfortable night in a train station in Bologna, Erika Kelsey and I did not waste any more time getting our fun on. I reread my diary from this trip and it made me remember this crazy moment of serendipity we had. All five of us girls had planned to travel together for the weekend, and for some reason it was really stressful and I ended up missing the train. I was so sad and lonely unpacking my suitcase, thinking about being on my own for the whole weekend. I ended up going out to the grocery store later that day and who did I see there, but Erika, who had also missed the train. That weekend was our first bonding experience and I recorded this quote:

“A friend is someone who says what, you too? I thought I was the only one.”  

I don’t think I would have come out of that experience, which included the passing of my grandmother, like I did without her. I saw many places – Germany, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Holland, and a solo trip to Russia which included people smoking on our very small airplane, no safety instructions, being convinced I was on the wrong flight, and not being able to communicate anything because no one spoke English, nor I more than a few words of Russian.

At the airport, leaving for Vienna.

Dorfgastein, Austria. Where we spent our orientation.



Belvedere Palace, Vienna.



St. Stephens Cathedral, Vienna.

SLU students with the Weissgarbers. The husband and wife were the coordinators on the Viennese side and were simply amazing. This was an Austrian cooking night they hosted.

Prague?

Nymphenburg Palace, Munich, Germany.

Matryoshka dolls, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Kazan Cathedral, St. Petersburg, Russia.