Lions, Tigers, and Gators?

I hope no one thinks I dropped off the face of the planet! This job has kept me so busy. My first visit was definitely more than a 40hr a week job. The last two and half weeks I was in Natchitoches, LA (said Nak-a-dish). Natchitoches is small-ish but a cute place. It was the first settlement of the Louisiana Purchase, so it has a lot of history. It sits on Cane River Lake (yeah, I don’t get that either) and has several other bodies of water around it. You know what that means- gators! But more on those later… Steel Magnolia was filmed in Natchitoches. I ended up watching the movie while I was there and sure enough, you see historic Front Street with the brick road, the Christmas lights festival, the house, and various other locations in the town. Apparently the writer of the story was from Natchitoches and rumor has it the main character was a sorority girl from NSU. Pretty cool I think!
The trip started out interesting. I went to Natchitoches with another LC, Maureen, but she was only there for a week. We stayed the first night with a woman and her four cats. If you’re looking for a good story ask me about that later. The rest of my time in Natchitoches I stayed with one of the chapter advisors and her family. They made me feel like part of the family, which was nice to come back to after being on campus all day working. I got very comfortable there and luckily I was invited back for the next two scheduled visits I have to Natchitoches.
Side note- did you know Louisiana doesn’t have counties? They’re called parishes. And drive thru liquor stores seemed popular. Didn’t get a chance to try it out, if you’re wondering. And the Sonic had an indoor, sit down restaurant. Weird state…
Jade surprised me with a weekend visit while I was there! And here’s where the alligators come in… we went to an alligator farm. It was CRAZY! I saw everything from baby gators to really big gators to albino gators to mutant gators. They had a whole room of gators that had all hatched deformed in some way and were sent there. Some had extra toes or body parts turned different directions. For some reason the park also had raccoons, goats, peacocks, and other random animals… mmm maybe I don’t want to imagine why they kept them there. Sad. But we did watch them feed the alligators hunks of chicken and it was one of the most stunning things I’ve seen. It’s pretty intense to watch reptiles that big jump from the water with massive jaws. You know Jade and I eat that kind of stuff up- no pun intended. We love zoos! I also learned about spotting alligators in water at night and being able to tell if it is a male or female. Good to know if you ask me. I just assume there are gators in all bodies of water in Louisiana. And Florida too.
The next week I essentially planned a formal recruitment. I know that doesn’t mean much to some people, but it is kind of like planning a major event, or a wedding. It’s something that typically happens over the semester prior to the event, so it was a very busy week for me. I was joined by another staff member, Katie, for the actual days of recruitment. We had a good time together and I was glad to have her. We (mostly I) watched Swamp People one night and if you haven’t seen it I highly recommend it. It will open your eyes to a whole new world you probably didn’t know existed in the US.
I’m learning a lot. I didn’t know I had the ability to be an event planner and for it to actually come out well. I can be a playwright too. I wonder what I’ll be next week? One of the most challenging things so far is learning how to balance being a friend and being a boss. Most of the time I need to use both, but in some situations I need to let one take over. I’m getting the hang of it, but it’s strange since I’m not THAT much older than the collegians and I’m definitely younger than their advisors. Every chapter presents something new. Different personalities, new challenges, and various situations keep it interesting though. I know I’ve not been doing it long, but I really am enjoying the job despite the hours I work. I love what I’m doing and who I’m working for.
Now I’m in Tennessee preparing for recruitment this coming weekend. I’ve got a fantastic housing situation- my own townhouse and a member who actually wants to cook for me. I was greeted at the airport with a sign and it totally made my day! I’ve really enjoyed spending time with the women at this chapter the last couple days. Tomorrow I’m going to see my friend Beth, who is at Vanderbilt grad school, and my other friend Becca, who just married and moved to Tennessee. I’m really looking forward to it!
The pictures are of historic Front Street, the Steel Magnolia house, the gator farm (advertisement bus, feeding time, the albino gator, and the raccoons I fed), and a room I decorated for recruitment. Notice the albino raccoon and I also want to point out there was more to that room than what you can see in the photo. It looked a little more impressive than the photo wants you to believe.