Because I really want to brag about climbing mountains and therefore need to get in shape, I`ve been running up these epic mountain roads every other day or so. For the first time in my entire life, I`m not even exaggerating; these hills are insanely vertical, and when I run up them I go about the same pace as if I was walking, much to the amusement of passing cars.
Anyway, on the way down from one such run, nearly back to Our Chalet, I spot a guy walking up the hill where I`ve just come from. Since I`m running by myself, it`s almost dark and I`m paranoid about random men on mountain roads, I avoid eye contact and scowl at the ground until he goes, "Oh, Cate!" and I realize it`s Cameron, the only guy amongst the twelve summer vollies.
Despite wearing jeans and hiking boots, he turns around and jogs with me, which was both very nice and probably dumb of him, since running in jeans is fairly warm and uncomfortable if you`ve ever tried it. We got to discussing our expectations of this summer, and he admitted that having just lived with a bunch of his fraternity brothers, he had no idea what he was getting himself into here. To his credit, Cameron`s girlfriend works on full-time staff here, and he handles living and working with a bunch of teenage and twenty-something women very well, but I can certainly imagine the shock of living with a ton of normal girls, much less Girl Scouts.
In a previous discussion with him and another summer vollie, Sarah, we got to a discussion of sororities. Because I`m a mean person and I enjoy pointing out the obvious, I made some sort of a joke about paying for your friends, to which Cameron made an equally snarky remark about how Girl Scouts also pay dues and are thus paying for friends. I was super offended because Girl Scouting is the best organization in the whole wide world and we empower young women to do things besides be trophy wives and how could you possibly compare $10 dues to thousands of dollars and besides, we light stuff on fire, and when was the last time you saw a sorority sister do that and not get charged with arson? And then I calmed down and realized that a) not all sorority women are trophy wives because some of them become people like Katie Couric and b) he had a point.
A brief Google definition search tells me that a sorority can be defined as simply an organization of young women, which has lead me to believe that Girl Scouts is actually just the coolest manifestation of a sorority. For example, sororities often have secret handshakes or signals. Girl Scouts? We used those signals to pass spy messages during WWII. Sorority women help each other be poised and beautiful. Girl Scouts understand that the most attractive you will ever be is right after mud stomping. In sororities young women often learn valuable interview skills, social skills or study habits. Not only has Girl Scouting taught me how to light anything on fire using just one match, but this afternoon I learned how to use a chainsaw. These things matter, people.
So, Cameron, I know you think it will be rough summer with all this estrogen around you, but it will probably be the best work environment you`ll ever have. We may never be as chill as your fraternity brothers, but we know all the best juvenile pranks and can fix anything with duct tape. If you`re nice, we`ll even share our Thin Mints.
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