The difference between boys and girls

As you all know, I have worked with men's collegiate hockey for the past eight years.... that involved going on DOZENS of road trips, mostly bus trips. During those times I was usually the ONLY girl. I'm not complaining, I can hold my own and usually we had a pretty darn good time.
Now I'm working at a local college and for the first time in almost 10 years I am working with a women's team... women's soccer to be exact. Now, to be even more honest, the entire team is 18-19 years old, except for maybe 4 or 5 girls who are a whopping 21 years old.
So, yesterday we embarked on a lovely roadtrip to freezing Helena, Montana. It was the first time I have ever traveled with girls. I didn't really expect, and therefore prepare myself, for the drastic differences between traveling with girls and boys.
I often refered to my hockey days as "herding kittens." Now, for any of you hockey players actually reading this, this is not a bad thing! It just simply means I felt like I was constantly trying to keep order when it was simply impossible. Often times I was "along for the ride" more than I was actually making anything happen... or so it felt. Road trips with the boys were always interesting... Here is how a typical road trip would work:

6:00 am - Sara trying to make sure all of her "kittens" have everything on the bus and they are all there.... Oh, and trying to make sure the "kittens" have everything they need and she has everything they have forgotten they need
6:30 am - Bus pulls out for who knows where, Kittens decide they want to watch a movie. Machine guns now echo over the speakers of the bus.
6:35 am - Kittens are all asleep, machine guns still blaring.
6:37 am - Sara put in iPod and falls asleep
7:42 am - Kittens wake Sara up wondering when we are going to stop for food. In an hour? Ok, Sara gives them some of her food to keep them quiet.
9:15 am - stop for food and bathroom breaks
9:32 am - Kittens have been watered, fed and are all back on the bus. Start another movie. Bombs and fighting noises echo through the bus.
CONTINUE THIS CYCLE FOR ANOTHER 10 (or so) HOURS

Now, I'm not complaining, things were fun... traveling with 30 guys is definately an interesting experiance. I was exposed to endless "guy movies." (but I like guy movies, not a big deal). I would always tease them and say that statistically speaking it was finally time for ME to pick a movie, they would say "Ok, which one?" and I would say "the Notebook" just to get their reaction... of course we NEVER watched the Notebook.
I was introduced to "Gay Bob", a game that is played in the back of busses on hockey trips that no Mother or unsuspecting innocent bystander should ever even know about. It involves cards, male genitals, and lots of guys screaming and carrying on. Thank GOD I don't know the ins and outs of the rules... But I do know that every trip I would be awakened to "GAY BOOOOBBB!" being shouted out from these unruly gentleman every couple of minutes. I would shutter every time.

SOOO, imagine my amazement and wonder when I started my roadtrip with my women's team yesterday.....

We arrived at the school and carried our bags to the bus. The busdriver is very chivalrous and loads all of our bags for us. We simply hand them to him and he places them underneath, very orderly. I board the bus and quickly find my seat. We start our trip and IMMEDIATELY offers of homemade goodies start being passed around the bus... Michelle's Mom's Homemade Oreos, Corie's chow mix, Lisa's chocolate chip cookies.... "And there is more where this came from!!" shouts Heather!
We start down the highway and Heather pops up to my chair, "Sara, we are making friendship bracelets... What colors do you want?" As she holds up a huge ziplock bag full of thread. I choose my colors and she gives them to me on a pin to attach to the seat in front of me so I can join in the fun. Before I know it the girls have made about 10 bracelets FOR ME (to join my own). I have been the only one on this team to not have a wrist full of these things... until now. Apparently it is a "road trip tradition." We finish our bracelets and I politely decline the invitation to start another....
I put in my iPod and fall asleep.
I wake up to my chair being shaken around. I open one eye (with my iPod still serenading me) and realize the trembling is coming from one of our assistant coaches who is sitting in front of me and jumping around in HIS seat (remember, he's a guy). I notice he is watching the TVs, and getting quite annimated about what is going on, so I look up.. and a movie is on.... and IT IS THE NOTEBOOK!!! hahahahahhaa....
Yes, Ladies and Gentleman, for the next 5 hours we watched not one... but TWO total chick flicks. The Notebook, followed by A Walk To Remember.
Now, As Owen said (in a text message when I filled him in on all this... because I knew he would get a kick out of it...) "I'm usually not very sexist, you know this, but how are they supposed to muster their warrior spirit for regionals by watching the f*#%ing Notebook?" I don't know Owen.... I don't know.... I will tell you when I figure that out....
After our second movie ends we sit in silence and coach tells us all to "maybe do some homework, focus on our games" instead of putting in Kung Fu Panda like they are begging for... After about five minutes we hear music wafting up from the back of the bus. I turn around and there is one of our girls standing in the isle way with a boom box on her shoulder, music blarring and she is dancing up and down the isle. Before we know it half the bus has joined in the dance party and there is booty shaking and chorus lines and of course singing at the top of their lungs. The dance party continues for about 20 minutes until one girl extends the booty shaking to up where the coaches are sitting.... "Its about time we all sit down I think." Coach spoke, they listened.
Some of the girls come up and chat with the coaches and I. We talk about who is dating who, who broke up with who.... get the gossip and the latest on everything and soon enough we pull into town. The girls all wait patiently for their hotel keys, with NO COMPLAINING. What? No complaining? No way..... but it's true!!!
We check into our hotel and then promptly leave for a nice dinner at a local Steakhouse...

There ya have it kids, the difference between boys and girls.... just incase you were wondering.
It has been an interesting trip and I'm sure it will be even better today and tomorrow.
I will keep ya all posted, but until then... I'm off to go shower, then probably make another bracelet and join a dance party with my girls.