55 New Babiessss

My experience at USD would have been nothing without Alpha Chi.  You can easily say I'm Alpha Chi obsessed.  So, these past two weeks have been a lot of fun in preparation for formal recruitment.  

At USD, girls rush in the spring.  They come back a week before school starts and participate in recruitment.  They get the opportunity to meet every chapter and as the week goes on, they narrow down their choices until they find their perfect fit. 

This was my first time on the other side of recruitment, but I had such a fun time meeting all the new girls.  What better way to celebrate their arrival than bid day!

On Wednesday afternoon, all the potential new members gathered in the UC eagerly waiting to tear open their bid cards.  On the count of 3, they all got to open their envelopes to see which chapter they would be joining.  The chapters were spread out in different locations around campus.  As the celebration continued, everyone was chanting, cheering and screaming to welcome in their newest pledge classes.

I'm so excited for our 55 new members as I'm sure every other chapter is as well.  Greek life at USD is an extremely worthwhile experience.  Besides getting to meet new people on campus, joining a sorority or fraternity can give anyone the opportunity to get involved in more service opportunities or with more academic resources than they would have previously.  

FORMAL

One of the best parts about Greek life....the dances!  My friends and I spent this past weekend in Big Bear, California for Beta Theta Pi's fall formal.  Hands down the BEST weekend of the semester.  

For one, I saw snow for the first time in my life.  Weird, I know.  But coming from Hawaii, I've just never had the opportunity.  So, it was so cool getting to play in the snow!  A bunch of my friends got to go skiing and tubing too.  

But, after playing in the snow and roaming around the little country town, we got to dance the night away in the hotel's ballroom.  A lot of the girls in my sorority were also there, so we had such a blast getting ready together and taking pictures.  It was such a fun weekend.

Christmas Spirit

Every year, San Diego hosts a weekend festival called December Nights in Balboa Park.  The park is covered in lights and filled with a ton of vendors serving different foods and products.  The museums are all opened to the public and guests are able to walk around and soak in the Christmas spirit.
However, this year, my friends and I started our night a little too late and weren't able to make it to the parking lot in time to check out the festivities.  Thinking on our feet, rather than head home, we decided to explore San Diego and we ended up at Seaport Village.

Seaport Village is a little shopping and eating area near downtown San Diego.  It has a quaint feel that makes for the perfect evening.  While there, my friends and I stopped into the food court that was filled with authentic eateries.  We had some greek food and pizza and were able to eat over looking the water.
We stopped by a mug shop owned by one of USD's accounting professors and even listened to a Beatles cover band in a book shop.
So, even though our night didn't go as planned.  We were able to discover a new gem within San Diego.  The spot was so beautiful that we can't wait to head back again.

TBIYTC

Coming to USD, I was a little nervous about the religious aspect of the school.  I'm not Catholic and I wondered if I'd be overwhelmed here.  Would they make me go to mass?  Why do I have to take three theology classes?
However, I quickly learned that USD focuses on the basic themes of religion that are a universal language.  Things like love and tolerance.  They stress the importance of community and service and I can really appreciate that.  I've never once felt pressured to follow Catholic practices, but instead, have felt welcomed into a community of caring individuals.
So, as I said before, even though I'm not Catholic, I found myself diving into all the programs that University Ministry has to offer.
This past weekend, I attended the SEARCH retreat.  Held in Julian, the retreat was everything I was missing in my life.  Everyone is searching for something and this weekend provided that opportunity for me to take a break from reality to find that something.  I'm so glad I was given this opportunity, because I was able to meet a lot of different people who I don't think I'd necessarily have gotten to connect with during my everyday life.  We were able to have deep conversations as well as belt out songs to the top of our lungs.  The experience was indescribable...  

my SEARCH family

Gavin DeGraw and David Cook

The Outdoor Adventure Program at USD has a ton of great opportunities for students to do things around the San Diego area that they normally would not be able to do.  This week, I had the opportunity to canoe to an area near Humphrey's By The Bay and watch Gavin DeGraw and David Cook.  Best part, the event was completely free.

Now, I'm NOT outdoor-sy at ALL.  I like to stay indoors, naturally.  So, the idea of this seemed a little out of my norm.  However, I have to say that this is probably going to be one of my best memories at USD.  Honestly, when else in your life are you going to use a canoe to paddle out across the bay.  From there, find yourself in a little cove where a live concert is happening right in front of you.  It was magical to say the least.

I'm hoping to go on another one soon!  To check out more of the other activities that Outdoor Adventures has, here's a link..
Outdoor Adventure Trips

Torero Spirit

USD may be a small school, but what we lack in size, we make up for in spirit.  This week was filled with crazy, spirit filled events to pump students up in anticipation for the Homecoming game against Davidson (who we destroyed!)  On Friday night, there was a sickkk, FREE concert by Eric Hutchinson and the White Panda.  Eric Hutchinson sand great acoustic music, but the White Panda absolutely dominated the night.  That was definitely one of the best concerts I've been to in my entire life.  The music was pumping and everyone was dancing.  It was amazing!  

Prior to the Homecoming game, there was also a Homecoming tailgate for alum, students, and parents.  Our sorority, Alpha Chi Omega, had a luau themed booth with tasty snow cones!  We also had a beautiful mural for people to take pictures in front of.  Through our booth, we were able to connect with past Alpha Chi's and hopefully future ones too.  We were also able to visit the booths of the other members of the Greek Community.  It was a nice event and a great way for everyone to be connected here at USD.

The ladies of Alpha Chi Omega with the brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon

Barbie and Ken

This weekend, my sorority, Alpha Chi Omega, along with Theta, had a double date dash!  This means that both our sororities brought the dates of our choice and spent the night dancing away.
The theme was game night so everybody dressed up as things like pacman, tic tac toe, mario, and more!   Double decker buses took us to the event that was held at the Double Tree in Hotel Circle.  It was such a blast!  My date and I dressed up as Hawaiian Vacation Barbie and Ken.  We really enjoyed ourselves and it was so nice to just dance and blow off some steam from a tough week of studying.