Coming to Facebook Soon: A Film Co-Directed by Phoebe Loew

 

Yes, it is what you’ve all been waiting for. The one, the only, PHOEBE LOEW is the ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF THE KASTEEL WELL 2017 FALL LIP DUB.

I would just like to commend Phoebe’s excellent job on this fall’s lip dub! Every year the Castle encourages its students to create a lipdub at the end of the semester, and Phoebe is working with other students on its creation! She has been extremely helpful in coordinating meeting times, making sure people are at the right place, as well as making sure the rehearsals run smoothly.

Might I add, fun fact, Alison Michalak has deemed herself (and I would agree) as an ADVANCED DANCER (so please hold that accountable to her during next formal) and was able to dance with the ADVANCED DANCERS in this video.

CHECK OUT THESE DOPE ABROAD SISTERS’ LIP DUB VIDEOS AS WELL:

There is Mimi, Dani, Abby Skrup, Nayiri, Olivia Medley, Kelly McGarry and other sisters included. All very comedic. Great way to procrastinate.

Fall 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHK7EcEEp7c

Spring 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65hOLUqqr8Q

Fall 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzpsueY2JwI

Spring 2017: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY3I35CaRoc

Enjoy this photo of Abby posting up with her fellow back up dancers on the steps of the Main Castle. She gets a line!

Trash Picking Up Trash

On December 2nd this year, students in the Castle were offered another opportunity to work with civic engagement. Abby and I were some of the sisters that attended this trip! (I accidentally overslept and had to be risen- that’s a separate story.)

Anyways, we were taken super far north of the Netherlands (about a 3.5 hour drive from where we’re staying) to Pieterburen. The folks up there according to Dojna, one of our OSA staff members, are “super Dutch.” The whole landscape was white with frost, and it made me miss the ugly, grey (but incredibly warm!) down jacket that I left back in Boston.

We were taken to pick up trash on the beaches up north, and in addition we would be able to see a seal rehabilitation center to learn more about how humans can negatively or positively impact the environment we live in.

The Netherlands is already a land with a history of flood concerns, so it is natural that they become concerned with the litter that ends up in the sea and on their own lands and how it affects their unique wildlife.

We found out that cigarette butts are the number one source of trash that winds up bothering our common seal friends!!!

We only froze our butts off for about an hour and half in which we picked up trash (might I say, I definitely seduced some dudes with my agile skills at picking up hard to reach trash…try it next time single sisters 😉 ). Dojna pitied us and took us out for some BOMB MUSHROOM SOUP AND A BREAD PLATTER, and Tikesha, another OSA member gave us a great in depth conversation about the race relations affecting the campus back home.

Before we picked up trash, we got to play with the cute seals!! And by play, I mean stare at them from a safe distance!!! We learned how they can have lung worms, too. Not much more to expand on that note, but I thought it was cool (and they look like spaghetti! They basically eat out the lungs of seals…very bizarre.)

This is very important to me PERSONALLY because these lame-os back home always litter their Safeway sandwich plastic cases in the sand. Like ????? Let’s keep this earth beautiful for ourselves and for all the organisms that live in it! And if you don’t care about that, just be a respectful human being I mean you’re over 2 decades old so pick up after yourself? Anyways. We also got hot fresh pizza after and it thawed my frozen soul like a little Campbell’s chicken noodle soup boy.

In conclusion:

Clean up.

Seals and pizza. Great combo. Well- not on the pizza.

London/Thanksgiving/Mimi Being Free

I am going to take a break from the posts to write something more solemn. I feel that being miles away from my home in California, studying in Boston can be emotionally difficult. Especially when I joined the sorority, I was at a time in my life where I was especially heartbroken and sad.

I am lucky to say that at that time, the process cheered me up immensely. I rarely imagined myself being a sorority girl, but now that I know it means being a part of a family and a support system, I can’t imagine myself being a part of any other organization other than Aephi.

Again, at a time where being even farther from family can be rough, I was blessed to say I could spend it with a familiar face. Mimi is studying in London as you all know, and immediately took me in to have Thanksgiving dinner with her and Sydney’s roommates (who could not be there because her boyfriend was visiting! Aw 🙂 Also her roommates are the best!!!). With London coincidentally looking a lot like Boston, a plate of turkey in front of my face, and bubbly girls around me, it barely felt like I was missing out on anything. In a time where we are supposed to reflect on how thankful we are, I am one hundred percent certain that I am grateful for the wonderful girls that have made me feel accepted and loved.

On a lighter note, Mimi is grateful that Black Friday was her LAST DAY OF WORKING !!! Woohoo! I was so excited to hear her talk about how she will ball out in the UK these next three weeks (such as by hitting up the Christmas Market and chilling in Oxford) and how she plans on going to graduate school there to live out her wildest dreams. She is definitely #thriving.

Also if you didn’t see my funny snapchat, I said that every thanksgiving we gain 10 pounds and took a picture of the English currency EH EH.

#girlsgottaeat

Cheers!

XX Annika (Mimi taught me that.)

FSL Scavenger Hunt!

*Dream sequence*

It was last month. We were experiencing FOMO from all the FSL activities taking place back home. How can we feel more secure in ourselves, us abroad FSL members said? How can we make this about us?

Well flash-forward and ya girl along with the inspiration of the other Aephi members and input from Xi Gamma Nu/Zeta Phi Eta, we were able to come to the conclusion of making an “FSL” Day in the Castle where we could all bond.

Today, a scavenger hunt was born. We divided all the orgs up (yay meeting new people) and made giant teams. 31 items, 14 members, and an hour and a half to finish. Kitchens were broken into, pyramids were made, sabotage occurred, but in the end only one team won.

Some of our competitive sides showed, but hey, we’re American.

Peep me telling Ali someone else won:

Paris during Armistice Day!

Three of our sisters (Mimi, Abby and I) were in Paris during Armistice Day! Although Paris is known for many things, I thought it was especially wonderful for me to experience the city during that day.

Armistice Day originally was on November 11th, 1918. It marks the official agreement between the Allied and Central Powers in World War I (which obviously France was a part of.) In America, we celebrate this day as Veteran’s Day.

The famous Arc de Triomphe, a large monument erected at the end of the Champs Elysee, has a special inscription on the floor that marks this momentous day.

Luckily for me, I was able to watch a special light show held on the Notre Dame Cathedral that night, as well as witness a memorial parade that morning.

One of the best parts of traveling for me is to witness the culture of these countries, and so remembering this important historical day (for multiple countries) by seeing all the waving French and EU flags made this visit to Paris especially interesting to me and enhanced my history knowledge!

Greece!

Abby spent the rest of her travel break with some friends in Greece! She spent a day in Athens and the rest of her week in Santorini, Greece. Even though she said the weather was nippy, it still did not stop our adventurous girl from jumping into the Mediterranean sea! She had her feet nibbled on by tiny fish, ate amazing Greek food (though we know our sister is not very picky haha), watched gorgeous Santorini sunsets, and fell asleep on boat cruises that led from one beach to another.

Most importantly, Abby will let me use her photos of Greece for a presentation I have to do on it in class later on!

I’m so glad that she had such a relaxing time, but I’m even happier that she is here to eat food with me (mwahahah.)

Firenze!

After our excursion with our class in Rome, the Castle girls were free to roam for the rest of the week on their own. Phoebe, Alison and I all decided to go to Italy for the rest of break, as many of our peers did. On Wednesday of Travel break, Alison and I bumped into Phoebe and her friends as we were coming back from the Galleria dell’Accademia where the Statue of David is (it’s huge! 😉 what a booty.)

Phoebe was telling us all about how they saw the Duomo, and was heading up to Venice and Verona later in the week. It’s little moments like these, where you bump into people you know while getting lost in the city, that brightens my day the most!

Travel Break! Rome

The second travel excursion for this semester at the Castle was in Rome, Italy! It was the first time that the Castle had taken the students to Rome, and it was a success in our eyes!

The four of us were able to experience a variety of Italian life. Abby lived her lifelong dream of throwing a coin at the Trevi Fountain, Phoebe and I saw the Colosseum, and we also were able to witness the awe and glory of Vatican City and the Roman Forum.

We were extremely lucky to be able to eat all this decadent food (gelato anyone?) and even use some of our own language skills (Abby’s high school Italian got to flood back to her.)

Most importantly we learned a lot about one of the greatest empires of all time. Alison was able to put her Art History and Biblical knowledge to use and explain the differences between Renaissance art to me. I learned that the Romans hated Nero, and so the Colosseum was erected in place of a destroyed statue of him when he died. Phoebe learned that the Pope says hello to his guests every Friday!

We also got to spend the evenings in Rome which were doubly magical. I bumped into Phoebe at the Trevi fountain on the last night that I was there, and it felt like fate. Alison and I enjoyed soul music at a jazz club, and we hung out with Abby another night talking about our hopes and dreams.

I think I can safely speak for everyone in the Castle that we are extremely grateful and lucky to experience something like this. To be able to see a land you dream of so much (and learn about so much in history!) is truly an unbelievable experience. The educational aspects is one of my favorite parts about traveling on an excursion with the class, because putting all of these beautiful places into context makes it that much more beautiful.

Breaking: Mimi and Sydney Survive Storm in Wales

 

Here is a lovely note from our sister Mimi Warnick! She and Sydney have been having an amazing time outside of London in places such as Iceland and Wales!

“October 20-22 I embarked to Wales with fellow sis, Sydney Orason, and out other friends Kendall and Griffin. We traveled by train to Pembrokeshire National Park which is on the west coast of Wales about five hours from London. It was absolutely beautiful! We took coastal walks, a nice long afternoon hike, and then we went “coastering”. Coastering is swimming and jumping off the cliffs on the coast. This entire trip would of been totally normal, however, we had another friend on our journey, super storm Brian. Brian brought along with him 80 mph winds which definitely added a special touch to the walks, and added some serious height to the waves that were crashing along the shore when we were in the water. However, we embraced Brian and basically became high level storm chasers. It was one of the best weekends I have had abroad ever, and cannot wait to go back to Wales soon!”

Castle Celebrates Founder’s Day !

“Oh Aephi! Late October 1909…”

On October 24th, 1909 our amazing founders created a community at Barnard College. On the same date over a century later in a place thousands of miles away, we are able to say that we are a part of that very same sorority.

As for all of the Castle sisters, we can see we are extremely happy to hear about all of the bonding and sisterhood that is occurring back on the home campus. We wish we were there with you all to support you on your amazing endeavors.

We decided to celebrate on our own too, and had an AEPHI exclusive dinner on the day of our Founding. Phoebe was the sweetest and let Alison and I borrow some merchandise (she brought so many 🙂 )!

I would personally like to say how thankful I am to be in this sorority and have the opportunity to get to know such a great group of girls. Over these past few weeks, we’ve been blessed to have the ability to bond while we travel, and see our sisters in ways we we have not before.  Whether it be together or independently, I always feel the sense of support from sisters home and abroad, and I feel joy for the others that can’t be with me. In a community where it can be difficult to make friends and feel close to others, Emerson Aephi has been a godsend.

Thank you to our founders for making it possible for a community like this to exist!

LML!