Greek Life

I had an interesting experience at dinner last night. I have been wearing my lavalier every day (for those of you who don't know, that is the name of the necklace pendant with the letters of my sorority), and last night at dinner, one of my host sisters, Yolanda, asked me what it was. Which presented a problem. How do I explain what a sorority is to someone who lives in a country where there are no organizations even remotely similar to sororities and fraternities at all? It's hard enough explaining to Americans unfamiliar with the Greek system that being in a sorority or fraternity is an awful lot more than one sees in the movies. There's that quote "from the outside looking in, you can't understand it, from the inside looking out, you can't explain it."

Joining my sorority is one of the best decisions I have ever made. Through Kappa Alpha Theta, I have made some of the best friendships I have ever had and that I know will last my entire life. It's a sisterhood and a support system. It's a social service sorority, meaning we are required to complete some volunteer hours each semester, but we also place some focus on the social aspects of Greek life, coordinating events with other sororities and fraternities to build relations and make new friends.

For philanthropy, each social service fraternity and sorority supports a national non-profit organization, such as Red Cross, the American Cancer Society, the American Diabetes Association and many more. We all throw events each year to raise money for our respective organizations, typically in the form of dinner where we can pay $5 for a simple meal such as Tacos in a Bag or all you can eat pancakes. At Theta, we raise money for a the non-profit organization Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, which is a program that matches children who are caught in the court system with an adult who gets to know them and their living environment. The adult then goes with the child to court and advocates for the best interest of the child, giving the child a voice where they might not otherwise be heard.

How do I explain all of that to a Spaniard? In limited Spanish no less. It's an organization of women..we are all students..we raise money for a bigger organization like the Red Cross..we have a house where I live on campus with 30 other women in my organization...That's about all I could manage.

After many questions by my host mom and host sister, me trying to explain and pausing frequently to find the right words, and confused facial expressions by all of us, this is the response I got: "Es muy mysterioso!" (It's very mysterious!)