Feeling The Burn

Today felt like the longest, hottest, most exhausting day ever. I had a lot of fun exploring Corinth and Mycenae, but the whole leaving at seven in the morning and getting back at eight in the afternoon took a toll on basically everyone.

The First Burn: Legs. Between all of the walking we are forced to do on a daily basis and the time I spend in the gym, my legs are sceraming at me all the time, and while climbing the many steps and slopes today, I could feel the burn. I swear, the Greeks would take a flat piece of land, pile sand on it, and then build steps into it. They really enjoy their cardio. So, from start to finish today, my leg muscles were on fire. A good fire, maybe, but a fire all the same. Here's a picture of me doing some intense climbing. Please ignore the sandwich in my hand...no judging.

The Second Burn: Sun. If any of you know me well at all you know that I am usually too forgetful (or lazy) to put sunscreen on. Well, I was running a little late today, so I had every intention of putting it on while we were on the bus. Instead, I took a nap on the bus, forgot to put the sunscreen on, and am feeling the heat spread across my shoulders and chest as I type. It looks like it will turn into a pretty nice tan, thankfully. Unfortunately, my tan lines will look ridiculous. I'm just impressed with the fact that this is only the second serious sunburn of the trip. I would pat myself on the back, but it's a little bit tender.

The Third Burn: Irritants. And by irritants I mean people. As most of you know, there are a lot of little things in life that really tick me off. I have learned to over look these things in most people after realising that, if I don't, I might end up with no friends. However, everyone was having a rough day today running on little sleep, being all hot and sweaty, etc. Needless to say we were trying each others nerves. The majority of us being women, I thinnk that so far we have been handling ourselves and our disputes very well. I'm just finally owning up to the fact that not everything is flowers and rainbows over here.

So, that was my little complaining rant of the day. I'll be here all week, folks...stay tuned.

Insert Clever Title Here

I would just like to start this blog by admitting that my three roommatees and I have been through four jars of Nutella in the last five days. I had never tried it before coming to Greece, and now I'm addicted. Thank God there is a gym downstairs or I would be in a lot of trouble.

Anyway...hello! I hope all of my readers (A.K.A. my mom. Hi, mommy! I love you!) are having a great day. My life is currently a dream. Greece gets more and more beautiful everyday I'm here, despite the annoying culture differences. One of the things that is really helping me out is our Greek survival class that we are taking at the college. It isn't for any credit, but it helps tremendously with everyday tasks in which you may interact with someone who doesn't understand English. We've been through the Greek alphabet. I don't know how I learned English as a child because having to learn Greek is ridiculously frustrating, but you go about it the same way. I feel odd as I walk around and try to sound out the Greek letters, which are a challenge in themselves. I feel as if you have to be an artist to even write in Greek, and my writing didn't need any help looking messy. Then, when I finally figure out how to say the Greek word, I have no idea what it means. I suppose that any progress, no matter how small, is still progress. Today we learned greetings (formal and informal) and simple phrases to ask someone how they are, tell them how you are, ask them where they're from, etc. I would type them here but I am too lazy to get the Greek letters going and go get my worksheet out of my bag (just being honest).

Something that hit me today is that there are tons of stray animals in Greece. There are dogs everywhere (usually sleeping), and cats just lounging all over the place. They don't act like strays, though, they're more nomadic in that they seem to move from place to place until they get bored or someone stops taking care of them. I was sitting in a coffee shop today and there was a whole family of kittens just walking around the tables, and they didn't look malnourished, so somebody must be feeding them. If it weren't so illegal I would probably try to bring one home.

I love and miss you all more than you know.

It Wasn't My Fault

Despite the urge to stay curled up in bed for as long as possible, I got up early this morning to go to the Byzantine Christian Museum in down town Athens with Mary. We figured that if we went at nine in the morning, we would have plenty of time to explore, grab some lunch, and be back in time for our class this afternoon. We were wrong. But I swear to you, it was not our fault. The last time we went into Athens before class we made it back with plenty of time, but today we fell on the wrong side of "Greece time," which is the phrase we're using to represent that fact that there really is no set time for anything here. There's no hurry, no punishment for being late, and everything is so leisurely it kills me. I'm not saying I enjoy being rushed around all day, but when I want to leave for the store at five and be back by six, I don't need the slow moving lives of other people getting in my way. Have I mentioned yet that they have a designated nap time? That can't be productive! So, we leave downtown athens with a little over an hour to spare, hop on the metro, get off at the appropriate stop, get on a bus that pulled in as we were walking up, and then sat on that bus for fifteen minutes as the driver just kind of wandered around on his cigarette break. So, we were approximately ten minutes late for class. I think this horrid story of the bus driver not doing his job is even more shameful than if we were to have claimed we had gotten lost. At least being lost is somewhat exciting, am I right?

Besides that little mishap, it has been a great day. The artwork at the museum was absolutely gorgeous. I don't always get emotional over art, but when I do, it's of Byzantine Christian art. We had a delicious lunch. I ordered a burger, which are way better in Greece. They taste better and they don't come with a bun or all of that other stuff that gets in the way. Granted, the water wasn't free, and that still gets on my nerves, but it makes me appreciate home that much more. One interesting thing that happened today was that I caught two men kissing each other on the cheeks as a form of goodbye. I know you hear about that a lot in other countries, but seeing it was different. It's not that it was uncomfortable, just something I wasn't used to. I wonder how my friends would react if I started kissing them on the cheek every time we saw each other...hmmm. Also, this whole two hour class five days a week is getting pretty tiring, but the information is intersting so I refrain from sleeping in the back row. Although, I think I'll indulge in a little Greek culture tomorrow and take a little siesta after class. I deserve it.

I'm having a great time, I miss everyone, and I could really go for some Taco Bell.

Dancing

My inner dancer was extremely excited today when we went to a Greek dancing class instead of our Greek survival class! We learned a few of the basic dances with fairly basic steps, but what it lacked in variety it made up for in tempo. Wow, those were some fast paced moves! It was slightly inconvenient because we had the lessons right before our other classes, so we got to show up nice and sweaty to those, but I've come to the conclusion that you sweat everywhere in Greece. It's always hot out and you have to walk up a hill to get anywhere. But in all seriousness, I very much love the dancing. I hope to find a place around the dorms to do it on a weekly basis. If I could dance for the rest of my life, that would be perfectly fine with me.

On another note, there was a planned power outage today from about eleven in the morning to four in the afternoon. Apparently, these kinds of things happen a lot in Athens. Sometimes for construction, sometimes for protest, sometimes for no good reason at all. In any case, I find it odd that it's so normal. Whenever the power is out at home, we all act like it is such a shock and horrible inconvenient and expect it to be fixed immediately. Here, however, people don't even mind, which seems to be their take on basically everything. It drives me nuts, to be completely honest. I was enjoying this "go with the flow" thing for a while, but now I feel the need to get back on my usual track of making the flow go where I want it to, and it's not going well.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10100205052729732 < A video of us dancing. No laughing at our expense, please.

Deree Classes

So, as of Monday, classes have officially begun. We have a class with Dr. Kaplan on Monday and Wednesday morning, then we have our Greek survival class on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons, and then we have our credited classes at Deree everyday from 2:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M. At first I was dreading this two hour class for five days a week, considering I know little to nothing about the topic of the class (Greek art), but I'm finding it very enjoyable. For starters, the professor is British, and I could listen to him ramble on in his accent about Greek art all day long. Also, the material is a lot more interesting than I thought it was going to be. I find myself taking pages of notes and not caring that my hand is cramping because I am actually fascinated by the information I'm soaking up. I can already see it making a difference. For instance, we had out first class yesterday and we learned about art in Athens before the classical period. Then today, while in a pottery museum in downtown Athens, I found myself looking at the art work in a whole different way...and by that I mean actually looking at it and not just glancing over it to see pretty pictures. This week in class is all lectures, but we should be starting to go on trips next week to explore some of the sites we are studying.

Our Greek survival class isn't for any credit, but it is incredibly helpful. We're learning the tools we need to function in Greek society while we are here. We started with the alphabet, which is kind of frustrating because I feel like a child again, but I can't deny that it interests me to the point of studying it. We will be also be learning some common phrases, manners, and other common decencies for conversation with others. Although, so far, all of the Greeks I've come in contact with have made it a point to do their best to understand me and help me find what I need to. Granted, that's usually because I'm buying something from them. The hardest thing I've had to deal with shopping wise is the breaking of euros. No business seems to want to break big bills, but that's all anyone gets from the ATM. We should just be grateful that we can pull euros out. I hope the changing politics and riots don't take that right from us.

That's really all that's been going on the last few days. Studying, cooking, enjoying ourselves, repeat. Even the hard work here doesn't seem so bad. I hope this honeymoon phase in Greece can last until the ten hour flight back home in July. I miss you all, and wish you were here.

Just the Little Things

So, I've been in Greece for almost two weeks now, and there are a few things that have really started to get on my nerves. The first one is the fact that whenever you go into a store, the workers will harass you until you buy something. No matter how many times you tell them that you're just looking, they will not leave you alone. I spent perfectly good euros yesterday out of pity because this woman would not leave me alone about buying a figurine. Granted, it is a really cool figurine, but it was annoying. It's gotten to the point where I stop going in somewhere unless I am fairly positive I am going to buy something from that store. There is no "just browsing" here, you have to have a purpose.

Another thing I have to complain about is the Greek dining. The food is fantastic, don't get me wrong (although I would kill for some Taco Bell), the issue is paying for it. They never split the check up. Ever. Then, everyone has to scramble to find change, which is hard because the ATM always gives us big bills. So, figuring that out always takes about thirty minutes. That may be an exaggeration, but you know what I mean. Not only that, but they bring the check before they even bring your food, which makes it kind of awkward if you want another drink or dessert or something along those lines. We have found some delicious and cheap restaurants, but the check thing really drives me nuts.

One final thing that bothers me is this whole "siesta time." Being a college student, I understand the purpose and importance of a good nap, but for all the stores to close for three hours right in the middle of the day is really inconvenient. What if I really need something from the store? What if I need some medicine from the pharmacy? Plus, what am I supposed to do if I am not partaking in siesta time? Those three hours of not being able to get whatever I need is a small inconvenience, but an inconvenience none the less. I know these complaints probably sound trivial, and I am still having an amazing time in Greece, I just thought you should know that it's not all unicorns and rainbows over here.

Impersonating the Oracle

So, we were all up and ready to go at seven in the morning yesterday to go to Delphi. Anyone who knows me understands my struggle of being awake and functioning at this hour. Luckily, we had a two hour bus ride to Mount Parnassus to catch up on sleep and watch the beautiful scenery fly by. I know that right now I'm still on the initial high of being in Greece, but I really don't think I would ever grow tired of these views.

Anyway, we got a little bit of history on Delphi as we travelled towards it. Greeks used to walk the entire way that we drove and climb this mountain to see an oracle. They would ask the oracle a question about their lives and the oracle would give them a response. Between the long walk there and the wait for an oracle, this little adventure could take weeks for the Greeks. Then, they would go see an oracle, who was supposed to be a pure female, and the oracle, who was high off of the gasses rising from the ground, would tell them something as a response to the question. A lot of times, these responses were very vague, and they were in metaphors. That way, if anyone came back and complained that their prophesy didn't turn out how they had hoped, the oracle could just tell them that they misinterpreted her meaning.
So, we hike up this mountain to explore all of the ancient ruins that are Delphi. Just a little side note: I love the hiking. The Greeks love to put stairs places and everything seems to be on an incline. Anyway, some of the ruins are in great shape, one of them being a large stone with an whole through it. The oracle would sit behind the stone and give their ambiguous advice to the person on the other side of it. I, being the ever ridiculous one, decided it would be fun to give out advice. I'm pretty good at it. So, after Rebecca was done giving her advice, I got behind the rock and started to rattle off some pretty good prophetical stuff! I was then yelled at in Greek for disrespecting the ruins. Oops. I guess from now on I'll have to charge for my advice. Here's a picture of my criminal activity.

After walking through and admiring the ruins we went to the museum, which was full of beautiful works of art that had been excavated. We got in trouble again for trying to take pictures next to these artifacts. The whole "behaving yourself" thing really isn't working out for us, but the whole experience was beautiful and eye opening.

Greece vs. Germany

So, the last few days in Athens have been pretty fantastic. We met some of the other students staying in our dorms. Most of them are from other parts of the U.S., but some a from other parts of the world. We took a tour of the campus, which is absolutely stunning and has great accommodations. We've also been doing a lot of cooking in our free time, and are quickly learning to plan ahead because the stores seem to close right around the time we get a really good idea for something delicious. Athens has a recognized nap time from about 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM, and most of the stores close for that and don't open back up. So, that has definitely been a culture shock to get used to. Another culture shock is the lack of personal space. Now, I'm not one to have a personal bubble, so I didn't think the whole personal space thing would be an issue, but there was an older gentlemen eerily close to me yesterday in the check out line. It was extremely far out of my comfort zone. Also, credit cards aren't accepted much here, and wherever they are accepted it's a slightly long and complicated process (that I've witnessed) to get it to go through. However, I have not let these slight differences detract from the awesome experiences that I'm having, such as tonight.

Tonight we went to watch a soccer match between Greece and Germany. I love soccer, but it's a hard thing to get excited about in American culture, but it was crazy here in Athens. We couldn't really find sitting room anywhere, but we were more than happy to stand and watch and cheer Greece on. Everyone was sporting Greece colors, hats, and one guy was even wearing the Greek flag as a cape! It was super exciting, and I couldn't quite get over how lucky I was to be in Greece during this time. Unfortunately, Germany started to show Greece up, and we left when it was 4 to 1, but then one goal Greece made was one of the most exciting moments of my life. It felt great to stand up and cheer and be surrounded by a bunch of people just as crazy as you are, screaming at the top of their lungs for something they're passionate about. I've loved being in Greece and feeling like I'm on vacation, but during that moment I kind of felt like I was also at home.

Rhodes

We finally arrived in Athens on Friday the 15th after a very long and uncomfortable ten hour plane ride. We got our first taste of Greece on the plane, because everything was said in both English and Greek. I tried sleeping on the plane, but it wasn't at all comfortable, so by the time we landed in Athens my circadian rhythm was very confused. Back home, it was three in the morning and I felt like I should have been sleeping, but it was a beautiful sunny morning in Athens and I was too excited to do anything but explore. After dropping everything off in our rooms, we took a little tour of the city to learn where everything we might need would be (restaurants, markets, ATM, etc.) and had our first Greek meal!

Shortly after our short tour of Athens we got on a ferry boat to go to Rhodes. It was overnight and I was incredibly happy to have an actual bed to sleep in. When we arrived in Rhodes the next day, it was late morning.

We put all of our luggage on a bus and headed straight to Lindos, where we grabbed a quick snack and headed to the Acropolis. On our hike up to it we walked through a cute little town full of shops and restaurants and it was very hard not to spend all of the euros I brought with me. The Acropolis was absolutely stunning, and it had a great view being the highest fortified point of the city.

After visiting the Acropolis we walked around Lindos for a little while before going to our hotel. While I didn't ever want to leave Rhodes, I wouldn't have hesitated to leave that hotel. It seemed fine at first, but you had to pay for air conditioning! We all thought that was outrageous, but it seems to be normal in Greece. The weather is usually so beautiful up until July, that if you want it before then you have to purchase it. We slept with the windows open to keep from being uncomfortable. However, it was right across from the beach, and the beach was absolutely beautiful. We got to watch the sunset over Turkey every night. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. The first night we were there we all went out to eat at a restaurant called Mezes and the food was spectacular. They even threw in free dessert! Luckily, Rhodes is touristy, so most of the people who live and work there are also fluent in English, which made our lives a lot easier. We then joined the Greeks while they cheered their soccer team to victory over the Russians.

The next day we went to Old Town and explored all of the history that was there. I wish I could explain in words how beautiful it was, because even the pictures don't do it justice, but I'll post one anyway.

There were many more places to shop and blow euros along the street. We also went to a Jewish Synagogue and learned a little bit about the Jewish community in Rhodes and what they went through. After that we grabbed some lunch and headed back to the hotel. That night we went to a pirate themes restaurant called Blue Lagoon (very touristy, but the food was good) and they had live music and dancing. Once I started dancing, I didn't want to stop. I found my Kefi, and it was a great feeling.

The next day we could do whatever we wanted, so some of us joined the Kaplan's on their excursion into New Town. I finally gave in here and spent some money on souvenirs. Unfortunately, we had to get back on the ferry the next day at four in the afternoon, but we got a full days worth of excitement before that. The first place we visited was the archaeological museum, which was full of beautiful art work and rich history. Filerimos came next with its monastery. If there's one thing Greeks love it's their God. After Filerimos we visited Kamiros, which was a giant archaeological site of an ancient city. For our last stop we visited the Valley of the Butterflies (even though they were really moths). It was a beautiful hike, and at the top their was a little restaurant of sorts where we could by fresh food and juice. This is the view from the top.

After the Valley of the Butterflies it was back to the ferry and back to Athens, where we had to get back to a real life situation and clean, grocery shop, etc. So far it's been a lot of fun. I have great roommates. There have been a few moments where I've felt very uncomfortable, and they all deal with the language barrier. Sometimes even the Greeks who are best at English don't understand the slang, and then there are some who hardly know any English at all and it's very difficult to work through. I felt bad because I shouldn't expect them to know my language, so I felt as if it were my fault. It really reminds me of being back home when people say things like, "I don't want to have to press one for English on the phone!" Well, I'm all for it. Anything we can do to help new comers or those who are only spending a short period of time should be done, because it is difficult and frightening to be in a place where you can't communicate with anyone. I have learned a few phrases, and they get me through, but there have been a few awkward situations. However, those slight moments of discomfort cannot ruin the beautiful experience that is Greece.

Hey, everyone! As a lot of you may already know, I'll be studying abroad in Greece this summer. I'm very excited, so I wanted to share my excitement on the world wide web! If you would like to follow me, it would be greatly appreciated! I will be posting at least once a day while I'm in Greece, and I will do my best to make them as entertaining as possible, and pictures will be included. Daily posts should start on June 15th or 16th.