a{meri}can State Fair & 21st

'I'm a brontosaurus'

Ok so the State Fair...
Northerners: Imagine Knutsford Fair - on a grand scale with LOADS of fried food. I mean we are talking fried Oreo's, Reece's, Milky Ways.... you name it. Anything healthy as well, just deep fried. Vegetables, the lot. There are lots of turkey legs as well which is just a bit random? Anyway, the usual ride stuff. I don't go on rides. Long story - got a weird eye, which is a great excuse because I am pathetic anyway. Bag lady and taking photos is my domain.
Photos to come (they are on my disposable).

deep fried oreo

Had a slight Mean Girls moment on Tuesday. It was a Monster Bash themed mixer. So I went as a dinosaur and Blancs was a vampire. I rock up in a one piece lyrca suit covered in dinosaurs and NO ONE is dressed up. Beaut.
Looked slightly out of place at Country Night.

This will teach me for pulling horrible faces!

Mezza and Clayton are 21!!!!

Philly Stew came back for another visit, though this time we had a Staycation (gettit - like vacation but you don't go away...) at the Carolina Inn which is just round the corner from my halls. The bed felt like sleeping in a cloud. Mother gets night terrors sometimes, so to say she scared the living daylights out of me screaming one night, is a pretty accurate description. Madre was on top form, amusing everyone with stories of her photo-bombing a couple on the Stanten Ferry with her Statue of Liberty headband on...!
So it's the 24th October, the eve of my 21st, and I am bedding down in my favourite pajamas (floral matching shirt and trousers), when a little knock at my door wakes me. I have a feeling it's Blancita. And I am right, but she has Olive and Nicole in tow with masks of my face and balloons and feather boas. What a way to start begin being 21. Popped open the champers and had girl-party in my room.
On my birthday we had a cocktail event in the evening. We went for supper at a Greek restaurant where the chef seemed to take a liking to us so much that he just kept coming back out from the kitchen with more and more food...calamari, dips, filo pies, baklava, wine... great stuff. The birthday excuse is always a classic. Myself and Clayton (whose birthday was the next day) held the pregame at Johanna's house and the night went from there! Let the photos do the talking...

George the chef gave me a rose

Those are the PJs...

That's me and Tom

Anyway now I can stop pretending to be Sophie Stewart, and be Meriel instead. Back to my old ID. Now Blanca can take on a new persona, though when we rock up to a bar and pretend to be sisters, I don't know how that will work out. Long, curly brown hair Vs short, straight blonde hair is never a good starting point! 

Thanks to everyone who made Friday such a great day! And for all the birthday messages! Means a lot, miss you all.
xxxxxxxx

Enn Why See

So it was Fall Break. 

View from the flat at night

I was sat in my lecture at 12.30, thought to myself, 'Dang, I'm going to New York in half an hour...I should probably go?!' So disorganised, myself and Olivia after a lot of manic phone calls about having the right visa forms for the airport were off on an adventure only having really planned the plane tickets.

May have been here 3 times..

I was staying with a friend, Steph, who goes to NYU and lives just of 5th Avenue and 14th (still not sure what that means - it's central Manhattan basically), amazing location and rooftop view of the Empire State Building. Olivia was just round the corner with her friend Janelle at the fashion school. The first day we hit the shops - fifth avenue and broadway. 

Questionable attire

That evening we went for a few 'casual drinks' with some of Steph's friends (of course the small world it is, one of the girls went to Uppingham and then Edinburgh - mutual friend galore!) Of course, there is no such thing as casual drinks. Upon leaving we decided it would be a great idea to head to the Meat Packing District to Le Bain. Let's just say there is a hot tub in the middle of the club....and we may or may not know just how hot the tub really is....

That's a story for another time. 'Ratchet' would be the appropriate description.

Spotted: O & M newcomers in Manhattan

The next day we felt we had to do a bit of tourist stuff. A picnic basking in the heat of Central Park was the way to deal with the hangover from hell. My mum was actually in NYC at the same time, so myself and Steph headed to Times Square to go and see her and her friends (shout out to Caroline, Lisa, Gilly and Amanda). We went to Bubba Gumps for supper- the Forrest Gump restaurant which only sells prawns (I didn't really register the prawn-Gump relationship!) The meal came complete with a Forrest Gump Triva round in true American style. All in all a hilarious experience. Times Square itself was cool, but full of tourists. I was probably only there for enough time to take a photo and go. I am sure my mum's crew were much better tourists than I was! That evening we went to some cool rooftop drinks at a friend's flat and headed out in the Lower East Side.

So what are New Yorkers like Vs Southerners? I would say slightly less friendly, but by no means like Londoners who would recoiling like an adder if they touch someone by accident on the tube. All in all I didn't manage to see as many of the sights as I would have liked but time literally flew by. I mean I saw someone dressed as the Statue of Liberty if that counts? 3 nights was not enough! Next time I need to head to Brooklyn and do some of the galleries. Had an amazing time regardless though. 

On Saturday we caught the bus to University of Pennsylvania to visit Haz from Edinburgh doing her year abroad there. It is pretty close, only 2 hours. Penn campus is like in the movies too - very green and with arches of trees overhead. 

with Perps and Haz in Penn

Being away from Chapel Hill just for a few nights made me really miss it...the concrete jungle of New York is certainly a change from the greenery of Carolina. Deprived of shops and clubs, we went overboard for a few days... although now it is back to reality and the papers that await! Shattered with less than an hour sleep for Olivia, (you should have seen her trying to get her shoes on at 6am) we crossed 3 states in one day, taking buses, cabs, trains, planes, and motorbikes (I wish), to get home. 100 percent worth the effort. 
Next post on State Fair and 21st! 
Lots of love to all at home, missing you all!! (Especially Murphy) xxx

Sorry for the lack of posts recently! It is the run up to Fall Break so there are a lot of deadlines and midterms to be done!

This month is going to be busy...

Next up: 
1. New York on Wednesday and Pennsylvania to see Haz 
2. State Fair on Monday - bring on deep fried Oreos
3. Philly Stew coming for Round 2
4. My 21st on the Friday - semi-formal cocktail event
5. Initiation into the chapter of Delta Delta Delta on the Sunday
6. Halloween!

..All in the space of 3 weeks. Can't believe it has already been 2 months! Crazy, time is flying by.

Been very bad with Skype recently, so email me instead! Lotsa love xxxx

A few more things to adapt to...

1. If you tread on someone's foot, the appropriate response to 'Oh I'm sorry,' is, 'You're fine'. (I know I am fine? I have just stepped on your foot...)

2. You must hold the door open for a disproportionate length of time, both entering and exiting a building. 

3. A shirt is a 'button down', and beetroot is 'beets'.

4. The first floor is the second floor. The ground floor is the first floor...Baffling, I know.

5. Boys names are no longer Tom, Dick and Harry. This has been replaced by Trent, Chase and Hunter.

The best of Skype dates -
Mr Murphy on Soph's knee

6. Where usually I would tremble with rage at a discarded tea bag in the sink, sweet tea replaces Earl Grey. Not so warming, but still delicious. 

7. No such luck as going for a cheeky drink, there is no casual drinking. Go hard or go home! (Or go to Qdoba...2am Mexican restaurant rendezvous)

8. I am secretly excited about wearing jumpers again. It has just been so hot. And I did pack 5 coats, none of which I have worn yet. 

9. Where usually I would wait for permission to leave after paying for something with the exact change, here all the money is the same colour so end up paying for a Coke with a $20 bill, when a $1 is right beside it.

10. 'Y'all', the best Southern phrase - meaning 'you guys'


'Y'all should come out!', 'have you got y'alls shirts yet?'
Doesn't really work without an American accent. Nevertheless, useful word.

So we did what they do in the movies...run steps. There are a lot of steps in the Kenan football stadium!!

Slowly getting used to life in the South! xxxxx

a{meri}can parent's weekend

Myself, David, Johanna and Harrison

So it was Parent's Weekend for Tri Delta!

When my mum first told me that she might come for Parent's Weekend, I thought 'haha, yeah sure.' But then she actually did come across the pond...

Parent's Weekend is not like 'Parent's evening' at school. No you do not go and talk to your teachers about your classes.

Yes you do go and party with your parents.

On the Friday night we had a cocktail event held at the Carolina Inn and most of the parents of the girls in the sorority come, and you can bring a date as well. The English gals didn't manage to branch out to American guys - I took a Dane, David, Olivia took an Aussie, Tom, and Blanca took a Brit, Cameron. Myself and Philly headed off to Johanna's for supper and a few proseccos down, we headed off to the Carolina inn to meet up with everyone. There was dancing, a band, drinks, it was like being back at Leaver's Ball 2k11. We were there only for an hour or so, and proceeded to get a golf car-style ride to He's Not Here (a bar named so, legend has it, because if people rang up asking if Micheal Jordan was there, they would reply - 'He's Not Here'). Madre got a round of beers in (which they serve in HUGE cups), and the band was jammin' and we were chillin'.

We got Carolina spirit!

Saturday was Game Day! So after a bit of a palaver, Mother managed to find herself a ticket off a random dude on the side of the road. Slightly worried that the ticket wasn't legit, we headed to the game, following a sea of Carolina blue clad people. We found some pom poms on our seats, and none of us having a clue what was going on (especially as the ball is so small and the players so big, it's hard to keep up!), we just followed what everyone else was doing. Luckily the screen tells you when to make noise. It literally just says 'NOISE', then everyone goes nuts. The game is pretty long, about 4 hours, and is very much stop-start. I know a touchdown is when you score but that about it. I guess it's like rugby but you can pass forwards? (And you can wear padding and helmets - v. safety conscious Americans! In rugby you only get a gum shield!) The cheerleaders were amazing. Think Bring it On. It may as well have been Kirsten Dunst herself cheering away. The whole experience was a lot of fun. 

NB: People from UNC are called 'Tar Heels' because tar, pitch and turpentine were some of North Carolina's leading exports. Our mascot is a ram. Apparently there was a real live ram riding round in a car that day and when people saw it went crazy. That's America for you!

We had a BBQ at Tri Delta where Philly Stew got to meet a few more of the parents and check out the house. Also indulged in her first 'hush puppy' - deep fried corn bread. Southerners just love fried food! Can't wait 'til the State Fair (on my 21st!) to try deep fried butter!! In fact, maybe I should ask for deep fried butter with a candle in, instead of a cake?

Yeah we did! Got the cheesy pic!

All in all a great weekend with Philly Stew, who loved the American college experience (even the driving, though sometime on the wrong side of the road...) Until next time...more on adapting to American phrases. Y'all have a good day now! xxxx

a{meri}can pledge retreat

So I said I would share a little more on sorority life...

This weekend was our Pledge Retreat to Wilmington Beach about 2 hours away from Chapel Hill. 'Pledge Class' basically means all the people who joined Tri Delta this year, and there are about 50 of us. You are a 'pledge' because you haven't yet been initiated into the sorority so you have 8 weeks to show that you really do want to join. We stayed at 2 girls beach houses in Wilmington which was beautiful, one of the houses had a dock out of the back onto the sea. You might expect that a pledge retreat to be full of 'bonding' activities and 'ice breakers', but it really isn't anything of the sort. We chilled, we shopped, we sunbathed, we ate Mexican. Let's face it, that's all girls really need to 'bond'. We had a few 'organised' activities, but they just ended up disintegrating to general crazy story telling.. Not.To.Be.Repeated. Regardless, you spend time on the beach with your new class and enjoy cheesy pics and some trashy tourist stores. #spottheBrits (See right).

Ok so haven't described cocktails well so far. My date on Friday,who I was set up with by a girl in Tri Delt, wants a 'great review' on my blog, which is what he will get. He picked me up from my accommodation in his car...(although his frat is maybe 100 meters from my building?), had a few drinks on the roof, popped some champers (not always champagne it just happened to be the theme at Phi Delta), did a bit of shagging (REMEMBER THAT IS DANCING!) and you don't want to know the rest of the night, it gets gradually crazier as imaginable. In few words: some Danes, some cross dressing, some gymnastics road-side, sleeping in a cupboard, 'your dress is in the dry cleaners', some cycling....No names mentioned. You make up the rest.

This is why the bus was full of 50 girls pretty dead on Saturday. Not sure you would call it a 'party bus'.

We also have a 'Big Sister' in the sorority, and you write down the names of your preferences, and get matched with an older girl in the house. A Big is just someone if you have any questions...need someone to hang with.. basically just a friend in another year. 

Me and my Big, Johanna

Next blog post will be on Parent's Weekend at Tri Delta where Philly Stew is coming Stateside to visit!! Until then xxxxxxxx

a{meri}canisms

Few things to clear up!

1. 'Game Day' doesn't mean you actually go to the football game.

Everyone gets dressed up in Carolina blue and heads to Frat Court in the late mornng for drinks, music, food...But the game starts at 12.30 (and they are about 4 hours long)..so that means sometimes you might not actually make it to the game. You're busy just bouncing around and before you know it, it's 4.30.

2. You don't leave 'xxx' on texts

I thought at first people just didn't like me. I still leave kisses though!

3. The reason sororities don't have parties is actually because of State law

An antiquated law that has something to do with if more than 5 unrelated girls live in a house together it is a brothel. Obviously there are actual sorority houses, but they aren't allowed to host parties. This is why for a 'Mixer' (with another frat/sorority/both) or 'Cocktail' (where you can invite a date) you have to rent out a club.

4. 'Ratchet' 

Adjective, meaning crazy/grimy/ghetto/messy

Eg: 'Last night was ratchet'. Used all the time. 

5. Queue Vs Line

In England I have never realised this: we queue vertically - with the purpose of reaching the front, and we stand in line horizontally, with no one in front of us, without intention of getting to a destination.

In America a queue = a line

A weird observation. I was talking to someone the other day and they were just nodding and smiling, until I just had to ask 'Do you know what I'm talking about?', the reply was simply, 'I understand about 3 out of 10 words that you are saying.' 

This is a biscuit

6. A biscuit is not a biscuit

Our 'biscuit' is a cookie here. A biscuit is actually a fried chicken sandwich. So 'tea and biscuits' is met with confusion.

7. Friday is not Fish and Chips Friday

It is Fried Friday. Literally everything fried- including macaroni cheese. The chef at Tri Delta tweets the menu every day, handy.

8. 'Cute' Vs 'Fit'

At home we call guys 'fit' if they are hot, and we don't mean fit as in having good stamina on the treadmill. A dress might be cute, or a bunny, but never boys. Here, if boys are cute they are good looking.

Tri Delta Sorority house: it looks small from this angle but it sleeps around 40 girls and it is massive

I am sure there are some things I have missed out on! But for now, that will do.
Going on a beach retreat with my pledge class tomorrow to Wilmington. 
Next post: more on sorority life!
Love to all! xxxxxx

Punkahontus and the 'Jungle' - at a Mixer with Dke, Beta (Fraternities), and Kappa Delta (another sorority)