I didn't really have a typical "college life" in America: I was a nervous and studious newcomer, spoke limited English, lived very close to home and spent most of the weekends with my parents and sister, practiced piano 4-5 hours a day in addition to being a pianist at as many as three Masses each Sunday. Well, who would have imagined that at 15 years and two kids later, I get to finally get a glimpse of college life, living amidst fraternity and sorority houses on the south side of the Berkeley campus! The funniest part is I don't just live next to any frat house, I am next to the big Christian frat house. In fact my window faces their backyard/parking lot, and with the California-style (lack of) insulation, I can hear every word they say perfectly well. Sometimes I wish I don't overhear the painful details of their conversations, and thankfully I have ear plugs and a noise machine that my house mate loaned me.
One thing I have to say is, being a Christian group makes all the difference in their behavior. These guys are friendly, courteous, and not wild at all! Last Friday, around 11:30pm, sitting in a circle around a fire, about ten guys were chatting heart-to-heart and singing with gentle guitar accompaniment! Compared to the wild drinking/drug parties and random mix of intoxicated folks that you encounter in many other frat houses, this is pretty adorable :) But, being the nerdy mommy that I am, I need to go to sleep so I can get up and work at 7am! So together with my house manager/friend, we opened my window and shouted, "Excuse me guys! The music sounds wonderful but some people need to go to bed!" They quickly moved inside and two boys even apologized.
Every evening, right at 6pm, you hear someone calling out, "FRAT HOUSE DINNER!" That is the only real reminder that I actually live literally six feet away from a frat house. Otherwise they are pretty tame. So after all, I am still not getting a taste of wild college life!
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