Although it has been almost a week since we have returned to Athens I wanted to let everyone know about our trip to Prague. We got back to Athens around 4:00 am on Monday (March 17th – St. Patrick’s Day for the Irish folk out there) and so therefore Monday was a lazy day and then I got caught up with school work and other things so that is why it has taken me so long to write about our little vacation to the Czech Republic.
Nonetheless I will tell y’all about it now…
We left Athens at 4:20 am so with the 45 minute bus ride to the airport we left our apartments around 1:00 am just to be sure that we would get there in plenty of time. Of course we got there before check – in so we spread out on some airport chairs and attempted to get a little sleep. Finally we checked in, on Greek time of course, for those non-Greeks reading this Greek time is half an hour after the scheduled time. Once we ended up at the correct security checkpoint (the first one was closed but there was no indication of this until we had walked all the way to the end of the terminal and read the sign, typical Greeks huh?) we passed through with no problems, however we were short a few bottles of lotion and containers of hair gel, looks like they do have size limitations on liquids in Europe too. Once we got to the gate some of us slept and others discussed the thunderstorm brewing outside. Max (aka John Maxwell or Kevin James as he is also known) doesn’t enjoy flying as it is so the thought of taking off during a thunderstorm wasn’t sitting well with him. After an hour discussion about plane crashes and planes being struck by lightning we boarded the plane.
The trip was good for some and terrible for others. For myself and the ones who slept it was a wonderful trip that felt like a 30 minute flight rather than a 2 ½ hour flight but for the ones who were awake for the bumpy turbulent ride it seemed much longer. We arrived in Prague around 6:00 am and once we got our bag (more on the bag later) we attempted to find our way to the hostel where we were staying. We looked into getting a van but they held only 8 people and there were 9 of us. Finally around 7 am the booth for bus and metro tickets opened and we found our route to the hostel. We got on a bus and rode about 30 minutes (with all the students going to school and people going to work) to the metro station where we ended up at the Florenc metro stop. After we got out of the metro station the directions to the hostel were not helpful at all; also the fact that nothing was in English proved to be a problem as well. We asked several people for directions and ended up walking around in a huge circle. We only had a small black and white photo of Hostel Levir and were judging different buildings by the top of the building because the hostel had a very distinct shape. Finally we arrived and entered an old building.
When we approached the registration desk Levir himself greeted us, he was a creepy Czech man with a rather large mole on his right cheek. We paid for our rooms (a total of $36 for all 4 nights) and then he showed us upstairs. The building itself wasn’t anything special kind of rundown musty stairways. We were on the 4th floor and no elevator so we made the trek upstairs. Thankfully there were 9 of us so they put us all in one room together. Being all together helped ease my fears of staying in my first hostel. Also after reading several reviews on www.hostelworld.com we decided to take our own sheets even though linens were provided because of suspicious stains on the sheets they provide. We therefore had to pack a suitcase to check in full of sheets; hence why I mentioned the one bag earlier. For those of you who know how much I over pack when I go on vacations you will be pleased to know that I packed for 5 days in my book bag; minus the sheets of course. We got the grand tour of our floor complete with mini kitchen two toilets and one shower. Very luxurious accommodations. Seeing as it was 8 am and we hadn’t slept much the night before we all got into our beds to take a morning nap. We used the comforters which Levir provided and put them on top of the mattresses because they were dirtier than the sheets. Then we put their sheets on top of the comforters and finally put our sheets on top of those. We did the same with the pillowcases and finally we all fell asleep.
Around noon we woke up from our nap and decided we were all starving and we wanted to see the city. Our hostel claimed to be near historic Old Town Square however we were a good 20 minute walk away. We had Levir point us in the right direction and we were on our way. We walked through the picturesque streets of Prague with our cameras in hand. Prague has beautiful architecture and has Bavarian influences so it feels like you are in a little Bavarian village, or a fairy tale as we decided while we were walking. Finally we ended up a café, Café Emporio, and decided to eat there because we were starving. We drank delicious iced coffees with ice cream and ate a huge meal. Finally after we stuffed our faces we started off to see more of the sights. We walked around and ended up in Wenclesas Square then proceeded towards St. Charles Bridge. On the bridge we saw Prague Castle in the distance and we stopped to take several pictures with the river in the background. We crossed the bridge and went searching for the John Lennon Memorial Wall. The wall has a bronze face of John Lennon sticking out of it and people from all over the world write various quotes and graffiti.
After reading as many of the quotes as possible we headed back towards the bridge, however we stopped first to take a “Little Miss Sunshine” picture with a VW van we happened to see parked on the street. We found a group of Italian high school girls on a school trip and we had them take our picture. When Tim told them that he was from New York City they all screamed and were so excited. They kept shouting, “the best city in the world!” After we said our goodbyes we headed back towards the bridge then found a small underground pub on the way. Since Prague is famous for its beer we decided to stop and have a drink seeing as it was approaching happy hour. We got our $2.00 ½ liter beers and sat around for a while just enjoying ourselves.
We went to another bar after a little more exploring and found 1 euro happy hour. So we warmed up with some amaretto hot chocolate before heading back to the hostel. Once we got back we took a nap. Courtney, Ashley, Rena, Leah, and I decided not to go out with the guys and Ivy and instead we set out towards Wenclesas Square to find something to eat. We found an Italian restaurant and walked in around 11:20, however we were still on Greek time so we were shocked to find the place cleaning up and closing at midnight. However they still served us some delicious pizza and appetizers despite the late hour. Afterwards we began our walk home and ran into some British guys. They latched onto us because some guys promoting a strip club kept following them around. So naturally if you find a group of girls the guys asking about the strip club leave you alone. We ended up talking to them for a while and then parted ways. However as they were turning the corner one of them turned around and said, “Facebook?”
When I heard him say that we all stopped and met again, we wrote names down on pizza boxes and next thing you know they were walking back to our hostel with us. They were from Liverpool and were in Prague for a “holiday.” We were hoping to stop at one of the many pubs near our hostel but seeing as it was well past midnight everything was closed. So we made them walk all the way to our hostel and then made them turn around and go back to their hotel. Oh well it was nice to have a group of guys to walk us back late at night.
Thursday morning we got up bright and early and went to Wenclesas Square to meet our tour guide where we were begin our 6 hour tour of Prague. We started with a 2 hour walking tour through Wenclesas Square, Old Town, and the Jewish Quarter (to name the highlights), then we got on board a ferry boat and rode on the river to see the city, “from a whole other perspective” – at least that’s what the pamphlet said. The boat was nice and we got a drink and tasted the famous “hot wine” that Prague has to offer. It is spiced warmed wine – almost tastes like apple cider and very tasty. We got some great pictures from the boat of the bridge and the castle in the distance.
After the boat ride we went back towards the city to have a “traditional Czech meal.” Problem with going to Prague during lent is that the vegetarian selections are very expansive so I ate fried cheese (a famous Czech dish) and French fries. The fried cheese is like a big rectangular mozzarella stick; however the Mayflower’s mozzarella sticks are much better than what we ate in Prague. Everyone else had the pork with sauerkraut and dumplings. The dumplings in Prague are pretty bland and are basically rolls so you have to dunk them in the sauce to give them any flavor. We also had vegetable soup (tasted like Campbell’s) and a gingerbread cookie/pie thing for dessert. Wasn’t our best meal but what can you say – it was included in the price of the tour.
Once lunch was over we made our way to the tram where we headed up towards Prague Castle. The highlight of the castle is the church that inside the grounds. It is absolutely spectacular. The gothic architecture is breathtaking and the stained glass windows are beautiful. After we walked around the church we walked through the castle grounds and it truly felt as if we were in Beauty and the Beast. Despite the freezing cold temperatures and freezing rain/drizzle it was a wonderful experience.
The tour ended at the castle and so we made our way down from the stairs. Courtney, Tim, Ivy, and I ended up at Bohemia Bagel to eat a little snack and get inside from the cold. Bohemia Bagel was our favorite place in Prague. It was started by an American and has several locations around the city. It has all kinds of bagel sandwiches and also has internet access which was helpful too. We checked our email and then ate bagels and cream cheese. Tim and Ivy tasted grog, the warm rum drink in Prague. Courtney and I tasted theirs and decided not to order our own. We walked back through Old Town Square and found a candy stand with chocolate covered fruit so we stopped there and had chocolate covered bananas and strawberries.
Once we got back to the hostel we all re-grouped and ventured towards Café Velryba, a recommended restaurant that had cheap pasta dishes and cheap beer too. We had to split up because there were no tables big enough for 9 people so I went with Tim, Dylan, and Max into the back of the bar which turned out to be a separate restaurant so we ordered our pasta and beer and talked for a while. Then after a couple of beers we made our way to Dog Bullocks, another recommended bar. The boys ordered fried cheese and we eventually all got to sit at a table together and enjoyed more beers and each others company.
After the two pubs we started on a trek to find this hip hop bar. After asking several people for directions and stopping at several places for potty breaks we finally ended up at the club. However it was pretty much an American club in Prague so Max, Dylan, Ashley and I left and got a taxi home.
The next morning we slept in and had a delicious meal at Bohemia Bagel. I had French toast bagels, they were pretty much heaven on earth. Then Ivy, Tim, Dylan, Max and I met Eric (Stephanie from Athen’s boyfriend) to go to a monastery that brews beer. The monastery is one of the oldest working monasteries in Europe and had an art gallery inside with very interesting and un-monastery like art. For example there was a painting of a woman holding a severed head smiling…quite interesting to say the least.
After we toured the monastery we went to the brewery and tried the beer that the monks brew. Although to our disappointment the waiters in the brewery were regular people and not monks. We enjoyed a few beers and then afterwards we walked around a bit then headed back to the hostel. After a short nap we decided to grab something to eat. Ivy, Dylan, Max and I went to a restaurant up the street from the hostel. We walked in to find a restaurant full of locals, a menu only in Czech, and a lot of staring people. We ordered the first item on the menu that we could recognize, “penne.” And then we hoped that it was pasta. To our delight it was pasta with salmon and the boys had pasta with chicken. We survived our first Czech meal then hurried out of the restaurant because we didn’t look very welcomed.
We came back and took another power nap and then got ready for our crazy night in Prague. There is a 5 story club in Prague (Karzoy Laznye – sorry my Czech spelling is terrible) and it is the largest club in all of Central Europe. On each floor there is a different type of music. So we made our way out to the club around 1:30 am with our new German friends that were staying in our hostel. Frony, Rosie, Lucas, and Alex joined us as we ventured towards the St. Charles Bridge and the club.
There are 5 floors the first floor plays modern current music, the 2nd floor is the techno floor, 3rd is hip hop, 4th is retro, and 5th is the chill out floor. Each floor has a dance floor area and a lounge area with couches and chairs. It was crazy in there; a lot of Americans and a lot of non-Czech but definitely worth going to. We spent a lot of time in the retro floor in the beginning because they were playing wonderful 80’s songs. We walked in and “Living on a Prayer” started playing. It was pretty surreal listening to such typical American songs while in Europe but everyone around us knew the words too. While on the retro floor we met some more British guys who were celebrating a “stag” party or bachelor party as we know them.
After the retro floor we ventured to the other floors and before you knew it the club was closing and it was 5:30 am. Half of us left to go back to the hostel while the guys and Ivy went to Studio 54. We got to the McDonald’s near our hostel around 5:50. It was freezing and we all had to use the restroom so we stood outside of the McDonald’s for 10 minutes while all the employees were inside watching us. We got our food and ate the best Egg McMuffins ever. We also splurged and got a Kit-Kat McFlurry…when in Prague, huh?
We went back to the hostel and slept for a while then ventured to Bohemia Bagel for a late lunch. We did a little shopping and walking around. A few of us went to a Salvador Dali exhibit and just saw all the sites one more time. That night we ate at a restaurant called Mama Lucy’s and enjoyed a good meal but a steep bill – Tim’s cheeseburger ended up being like $20. We never really got used to the crown, Prague’s currency. 16 crowns equals 1 US dollar so we were constantly checking our calculators and trying to do the math in our head. Sometimes the conversion got the best of us and we ended up paying more than we should have for some things but we always saved money on beer – because it was no more than 30 crown for a half a liter.
Sunday was spent killing time. We left our hostel at 10 am and our flight didn’t leave until 11 pm. We ate again at Bohemia Bagel with our German friends who were high school students who just drove to Prague for the weekend. Then we split up and walked around, bought souvenirs, sat in pubs, ate our last barrels. Barrels were one of our favorite things about Prague. Because we were there before Catholic Easter were there in time for the Easter Festival. All throughout Old Town and Wenclesas Squares were tents set up selling souvenirs and food. Our favorite things were these cylinder shape dough things dipped in cinnamon and sugar. They were delicious!! We also drank our last beers and ate our last fried cheese sandwiches before getting on the metro go to towards the airport. We got to the airport early again and settled into our seats before heading to the gate and heading back to our home away from home.
Overall our first trip was a success although 6 full days might have been too long on our budget but other than that Prague was wonderful.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Monday, March 3, 2008
Adventures, Aegina, ATV's, and Ancient Ruins
Sorry it's been a while since I last updated this but it's been a busy week and a half. So bear with me it's going to be a long posting...
Last time I posted an update was two Thursdays ago (2/21) so I will start with the adventure that took place that evening and go from there.
After the typical Thursday classes the group decided to go out Thursday night and celebrate the beginning of our usual long weekend. One of the girls, who is into techno-club-house music knew about this club and really wanted to go hear a specific DJ. We found the street name and knew the area that the club was in so we all decided to go with her. We went to Liquid first to see our favorite bartender, Demetri, then we headed off in search of Club Motel.
Once we had walked for a while we started to get the feeling that we were lost, or at least getting there. We had left the usual area of the clubs and bars near us, Psiri, and things were starting to look a little less familiar. We kept walking and asked a couple of people along the way and they were pointing us in the direction we were going so we thought we had everything under control. As things started to get a little more "sketchy" we suddenly realized that we were in/around Omonia. This isn't the best place to be in Athens, especially at night. However when we realized where we were we looked down the street and saw the reason that they tell us not to go to Omonia. On the corner in front of us were a good handful of prostitutes. With a group of 20 or so people we started walking down the street and because it's their job they approached us and tried to get our business. We walked quickly through them and one of the guys in the front of the group turned back and started yelling "Oxi! Oxi! Oxi!" (no! no! no!) at them and we made it through without any harm. Looking back on it we can't help but laugh and realize it's times like these that are the fun stories to tell. A little scary while you're in the situation but quite amusing after the fact.
To put this story into perspective I will try and outline the group for you. We were about 20 or so people like I mentioned earlier. But we were all in little groups of 3 or 4, some of us further behind than others. When we had been at Liquid we found the "balloon man," literally a man that walks up and down the street with big aluminum balloons in all different shapes, sizes, and characters. We ended up with a Minnie Mouse balloon, so while we are walking through the hookers, Diego (one of the guys) is walking through the crowd with a Minnie Mouse balloon tied to his wrist. Quite an entertaining site to turn around and see that. No worries though we all survived and now we can all say that we lived through a night in Omonia, however I would not advise anyone to go through there at night, we know that we will never do it again.
Ok so after we got through Omonia we realized that we went to where the original Club Motel was. Turns out it had moved and no one that we had asked for directions realized this. So after a good 20 minutes of walking we ended up nowhere. We ran into some Greeks who spoke very good English, and actually lived in the States for a while. They knew where Motel was so they offered to take us. So we start off again on our adventure to Motel and after walking for what seemed like miles over a cobblestone street we started to recognize things and places. When we finally got to Gazi (the area where Motel is located) we looked around and almost gave up on finding it, but after a few more blocks we finally ended up in front of the club.
However, to our dismay it was a 20 euro cover charge ($30 - and that was the discounted price). We stood outside and debated for a while then half of us just decided to go home because we didn't feel that it would be worth it, also some of the group was leaving at 5 am to go skiing in the morning and by this point it was already close to 2 am. On the way home we found a gelato place still open (gotta love finding a place open at 2 am with ice cream, it's kind of like CookOut in Athens) and so in an attempt to up for the failed night we got gelato and found a cab back home. The ones that stayed said that Motel was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience but I think that personally the trip there was its own once-in-a-lifetime experience.
After a long night of walking we woke up Friday and laughed some more about our adventure the night before and recapped some of the highlights, especially as we looked up at our kitchen ceiling and noticed Minnie Mouse looking over us. She is still there today, although she has deflated quite a bit.
We did a little shopping on Friday and braved the crowds because it was nearing the last days of sale season here in Greece. They only have sales about once a year here and we happened to be here for the best parts of the sales - lucky us! I'm trying to break out of my J.Crew prep look and blend into the European fashions - it isn't really working out but I did manage to find a few things I liked well enough. And they were all on sale so that's always a good thing!
Friday night we laid low and stayed in, we needed to relax after the previous night, and prepare for our day trip to Aegina, the island closest to Athens, the next day.
Bright and early Saturday morning (6:30 am to be exact, yes we do get up early sometimes) we got up and ready and made it to Pireaus (the port of Athens) by 8:45. We got to the Hellenic Seaways building and walked inside to buy our tickets for the ferry. When the woman asked where we wanted to go one of the girls, Courtney, responded "We want to go to Pireaus!" After a few seconds and she realized what she was saying and corrected herself. The rest of us in the group cut her some slack because it was so early, but we still found it pretty amusing. The woman directed us to the correct gate and informed us that it was easier to purchase our tickets right in front of the ferries.
We found the ticket counter for Aegina and after explaining to the woman that our school was "in Athens" and not in the United States she gave us the student rate and 6 euros later we were on a ferry headed to Aegina. We thought we could tough out the upper deck of the ferry but once we started to move we realized it was colder than we thought, so we headed downstairs to have some caffeine in the form of a frappe. Nothing than Greek ferry boats that have completely stocked bars and coffee shops right on deck. And couches to lay on too. After coffee and naps we went onto the deck of the ferry to take pictures of the island as we approached the dock.
Aegina is famous for pistachios and is one of the largest producers of pistachios in Greece. So immediately as you get off the ferry you are bombarded with kiosks with nothing but pistachios. After we each bought a bag (or two), Tim (one of the guys) said he found a place where we could rent scooters and go around the island on them. I was a little apprehensive about this because I know how crazy Greek people drive and I wasn't so sure that we would be safe on scooters, especially since we would be sharing the road with Greeks driving. When we found the store where we could rent them from we asked the guy, a young typical Greek guy who spoke decent English, about renting scooters his reply was, "Don't do it for your money and your life." After this warning we reconsidered our original plans and then he suggested ATV's. We all agreed that those sounded safer. We had 11 people so two per ATV and then one guy knew how to drive a scooter so he got a scooter by himself. We snapped on our helmets and set off to explore the island. We went to get gas and the gas attendant spoke Spanish to us, also he was dressed in a blue and red shirt and blue overalls so we deemed him Mario for the rest of the trip. We filled up and hit the road.
First we stopped at Agios Nektarios, the famous monastery on the island. We went into the main sanctuary and Rena (the other Greek girl) and I lit candles and explained some of the Orthodox basics to the rest of the group. Then we climbed the stairs up to the monastery and went to see the relics of St. Nektarios. We continued to explain to the group about St. Nektarios and about the "agiasmo" (holy water) that we got from the monastery. It was truly one of the most beautiful and picturesque sites I have ever seen.
After the monastery we got onto our ATV's and tried to set off on the open road again, but Diego & Courtney's ATV wouldn't start. They had one that wasn't electric so it took a lot more than just turning a key to start it. After several failed attempts we called the guy who rented them to us but as soon as we called him it started so we hung up the phone and took off.
We drove around the island and when we all realized we were starving we drove along the north coast of the island and headed towards Agia Marina, one of the beach towns on the island. We got into the main area of the town and everything was deserted. It is still off-season on most of the islands so a lot of places were closed or under repair. We found a restaurant that had a beautiful view of the beach and the Sarconic gulf so some of us sat down and enjoyed a delicious meal and a couple of glasses of white wine to go with the beachy atmosphere. It was wonderful, except for the tzatiki, which was probably the worst we have had since we have been it, it was pretty much pure garlic. But the calamari definitely made up for the tzatiki and with our stomachs full we set off for the Temple of Aphaia.
The Temple of Aphaia is the temple on the island that is dedicated to Zeus' daughter. We got in for free with our student ID cards, they have really saved us some money, and started exploring. It is on top of the island so we had a great view of the island and of Athens from across the water. We spent a good bit of time taking pictures and reading the various plaques about the Temple. We met a girl that is also studying in Athens and who was visiting a few of the islands with her grandparents who came to visit her.
After the Temple we started driving trying to find another temple and the archaeological site surrounding it. However we ended up getting lost and went down a one way street that took us into some people's driveway. All of a sudden we heard this loud noise and realized that this Greek kid on his moped was trying to show off so he came tearing through the driveway (which was all gravel) and tried to do a doughnut but fell over. We all looked at each other and then as he drove off we died laughing. It was so random, and then we continued to see him around the island, I guess he was following us around.
We finally found the temple, well it was one column standing upright, but the site was closed. We found a man who was building wooden boats so we stopped and watched him for a while then decided to return the ATV's and walk around the area next to the port for the remainder of our time. We braved the local traffic in the center of the city and got the ATV's back to the owner. Then we walked around to see one of the local churches right on the water then Leah, Courtney, and I sat at a coffee shop, Yes! Cafe, that was in one of our tour books, while the rest of the group went to watch the sunset from the port. We sat outside and got some hot Nescafe (Greek instant coffee - not nearly as good as what we drink at home but it does the trick) and watched the sunset from the cafe. We got to talking and all of a sudden we looked up to where the ferry boat had been and realized it wasn't there anymore. We still had about 25 minutes until we were supposed to leave but we started to get a little nervous. Then another ferry docked and we realized that we hadn't been left on the island after all.
We met up with the rest of the group and boarded the ferry. While we were on the ferry we saw this group of kids playing with each other. There were two brothers playing with two sisters, so Rena and I started throwing their stuffed animal with them. We spoke some Greek to them and then the boy's mom started talking to us and asking where we were from. When she realized that we were Greek Americans she got excited and even gave us her phone number and told us to call her so that we could come to her house and have dinner one night and even help the boys with their English lessons. We haven't been in touch yet but maybe sometime in the next couple of weeks. We got back home and all watched a movie and passed out early. Sunday we got up and the rest of the apartment went to the Acropolis. Courtney & Tim had a friend visiting from London all weekend so they wanted to take her up to see the Acropolis. I hung around and cleaned and did laundry and enjoyed the peace and quiet. We went to dinner together in Thissio, another area nearby with a lot of outdoor restaurants that all have great views of the Acropolis. We tried to attempt to eat outside but we couldn't stand the chilly weather so we moved inside. We had a typical Greek meal complete with lamb, pastichio, mousaka, and more.
After dinner we went to a nearby Hookah Bar and introduced several group members to hookah. We had about 20 people and we all split 4 different flavors (peach, mint, strawberry, and apple). It was a lot of fun and a very relaxing way to end a busy weekend.
Last week was pretty typical so instead of boring you with day to day descriptions I thought I'd give you highlights about life in Athens. The main question I have been hounded with is what are we eating? We actually have been eating very well and we pretty much have made dinner every night the past couple of weeks. The weekends we splurge a little but during the week we are pretty good about staying in. There is a small grocery store, Bazaar, that is nearby so we go there several times a week. It is very common to go to the store every day or every other day here. Also we have figured out the places to go to get specific things. We don't buy our fruits and vegetables at Bazaar because they are much cheaper and fresher at the little markets all around us. But certain ones have better quality things, so one place we go for fruit another place we go for spinach and greens and then we go to another place for eggs. It is kind of a pain but once you get used to it you realize that you really don't over buy things. Back home you could go to the grocery store and spend way too much money but here you only buy the things you need for a couple of days. It's wonderful because everything is so fresh. There is an open air market in Omonia (it's not so bad during the day) that has everything, meat, fish, fruits, veggies, etc. for very cheap. It is about a 20 minute walk so I haven't made it over there but hopefully this week I'll venture out there.
Sometimes though when we aren't in the mood to cook we venture into Plaka (the area of Athens we are in) and get a gyro or souvlaki from one of the stands. They are only about 1.70 euros which is about $3, so they are perfect to grab on the run. We have also discovered all the gelato places around us as well. Gelato is actually more expensive than gyro's but they are a pretty good combination for dinner.
As far as laundry goes we only have a washing machine so the drying is left up to the drying racks that we have outside. However for the girls out there that know how much we like our jeans to shrink in the dryer it has been an obstacle. Last week I decided to try out the dry cleaners that also functions as a laundry-mat and it was definitely worth having my jeans fit. I also got my coat dry cleaned and it wasn't that expensive. They also give us a nice discount since we are with the school and it is right down the road from the school. It is definitely a nice place to have close by.
As far as other everyday living things it isn't really that different. We figured out how to make the movable shower head stay in the holder so our showers are normal now. We had to figure out what the conversion was from Fahrenheit to Celsius for the oven temperature and for the heat as well. It wasn't too bad going from having my own room and bathroom to sharing a room with two people and a bathroom with 3. It is like being at camp, or back to living in a dorm all over again. Most of the girls here still live in on campus housing so they are still used to roommates and shared bathrooms. We had to adjust to not throwing toilet paper down the toilet and not having a dishwasher. But everything is going really smooth in the living department.
On Wednesday (2/27) we decided to check out the roof of the school since we aren't allowed on the roof of our building. We got frappe's to-go from Coffee Break (we have deemed this our new hang out and for those Saved-By-The-Bell fans out there we call it our "Max") and snuck them in the building past the security guard. When we got up to the roof we looked up and right there in front of us is the Acropolis, it still amazes me that everyday I look up and see it in front of me. It is crazy to think that something so old and historic still stands and I have the privilege of witnessing it in my daily life. After being so sneaky and using a paper bag that Dina (our program director) gave us (she is pretty cool for helping us break the rules) we get up to the roof and the wind blows over one of the frappes. So not only are we up there with drinks we even managed to spill them within 2 minutes of being up there. Oh well a few trips to the bathrooms solved that problem and we relaxed for a couple of hours taking in the view.
Thursday (2/28) we went to classes as usual but that night in particular we had something exciting to look forward to. Our university was having a party. Since this isn't a common thing in the states I will explain it to you as it was explained to me. The universities in Greece are mainly commuter institutions, meaning there are no dorms and the students travel from great distances (up to over an hour) to get to school. Therefore they don't have time to socialize with each other like we do in the states from dorm room to dorm room or in dining halls, etc.
Instead the school arranges an "event" with a local club and lets them know that the school is planning on having people show up. The club arranges tables and gives the students a reduced cover charge and this way the students all socialize together.
My last class goes until 9 pm on Thursday nights so after class I went with a few of the students in my class to Coffee Break to have a beer after class. It is so crazy to walk to the bar/coffee shop after class and order a beer without any issues. I sat with a few of the guys who are on the student council that originally took us on one of our walking tours our first couple of days. We chatted about the differences between Greece and the States and some other various topics.
Then I came home to get ready for the big party. We had the party at a club in Psiri (our favorite hot spot) called Salon de Oro. It was decorated pretty fancy and unique so we really enjoyed the atmosphere. There were also pictures of Southern Comfort bottles everywhere, and they had about 100 bottles of it in glass panes under the bar. Interesting to see So.Co. in Greece but kind of made me feel at home. We had a great time and ended up staying out until 4:30 am or so.
Problem with staying out this late (still early for the Greeks - all the American students left way before the Greeks even thought about leaving) was that we had to be on a bus to go on our first excursion at 8 am. So after the walk home and a quick packing of the bag I got to bed and woke up about an hour later. We made it to the bus in time, looking lovely I might add. However the boys weren't awake in time so Owen had to go and wake them up and they got onto the bus looking pretty rough.
We had about an 1 1/2 hour ride before we got to our first stop so the bus was pretty silent for the first leg of the trip. Our first stop was the Isthmus in Corinth. I had already seen this sight (along with several other places on our itinerary) but took a few new pictures for photo albums and scrapbooks.
We got back on the bus, or "our home for the next 3 days" as we called it and drove a short distance to see the ruins at Ancient Corinth. I had never been here so it was pretty interesting to see the remains of an ancient civilization but it is quite hard to pay attention to a tour guide on 1 1/2 hours of sleep.
We got back onto our mobile home and drove towards the Peloponese (the western peninsula of Greece). We stopped at the new cable bridge and took pictures and sat along the water. We stopped in Patras and had lunch, believe it or not it was the same cafe where I stopped the last time I was in Greece with Ionian Village. It is right in front of St. Andrew's church in Patras. So I went inside and was pleasantly surprised to see that the scafolding that once was there had been removed and the dome of the church was finished. After a quick lunch and quick look around the church we got back on the bus and headed towards Olympia.
We arrived at our hotel Olympion Asty and found a small futball (soccer) field outside of the rooms. We put our stuff down into our rooms and some of us took a walk down the mountain a little ways while some of the U-Indy boys (they all play soccer for the University of Indianapolis home campus back in IN) picked up a game of soccer with the local Greek boys. While they were playing the rest of us stood on the sidelines and watched and were especially amused by one of the kids who was wearing a soccer player named "Henry's" jersey. He wasn't very good but was saying the funniest things. He told one of the guys that he doesn't drink water when he plays he only smokes cigarettes. He couldn't be more than 16 so this was quite entertaining for us to witness. He also invited us to his house, his exact words, "you, me, my house, big party, Greek music." We never made it to his house but instead we ate dinner at the hotel then watched The Departed in our hotel room, Saturday was another early wake up call.
Bright and early Saturday morning we got up and ate and headed towards Ancient Olympia. I had already been here as well so it was hard for me to pay attention once again to the tour guide who was very informative but told us a few too many details. Like the history of the parking lot where our bus would be parked - yes this is not an exaggeration she did this at the Theatre we saw on Sunday. We walked around Olympia and when we got to the track, Tim struck up a conversation with a couple of Chinese people and he comes running up the track telling us that they have the 2008 Olympic Torch with them.
Turns out that they were a camera crew with a Beijing TV station and they were filming the "road to the Olympic torch." The torch will be lit in Olympia on March 24th and begin its trek to Beijing. They told us that we could hold the torch so we all gathered around and had a photo shoot with the torch. Then they recorded us greeting the Beijing TV viewers, we even learned a new Chinese phrase, "Ni hao Beijing" (Hello Beijing). So who knows maybe when you are watching coverage of the games this summer you might see a group of Americans waving like idiots at the camera.
After Olympia we had lunch at a local restaurant. We were instructed to be at the bus at 1:30 by 2:00 the people at the table started looking at their watches and I had to explain to them that we were on Greek time so this was typical. By 2:45 we were on the buses and ready to go. We drove almost 4 hours to Tolo a seaside town in the Peloponese and arrived at our hotel, John & George Hotel, around 6 pm.
We ate dinner then walked around the town and went out to the beach and stood on the dock for a while. We headed back to the hotel and sat around the pool, a couple of the U-Indy boys actually braved the freezing water and unfiltered pool and jump in. The rest of us sat back and enjoyed our drinks that the bartender made especially for us.
The next morning we got up bright and early again and made our way to the Theatre at Epivadros. The theatre was built with perfect accoustics. We tested it when Clara and a couple of other girls sang while we all stood around the upper rows of the Theater. Amazingly without any microphones or speakers we could hear her perfectly. Then like typical American tourists we defaced the historical monument by singing the theme song to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
We drove a little while to Nafplio, another seaside town, to stop for coffee and pictures. Afterwards we headed towards Mycenae and saw one of the oldest civilizations. It was breathtaking on top of the hill and provided for beautiful pictures.
We loaded the bus after a delicious lunch and finally arrived back at "home" that evening. As we were walking past all the tourist agencies near our apartments one of the men shouted, "Welcome to paradise," since we all looked like "tourists" with our bags and bookbags he just assumed we were here to visit. However Jaclyn corrected him by saying, "we live here."
As we settled back into our apartments we all fell back into our normal routines. Today (Monday 3/3 - and Reece's Birthday!!) we laid out on the roof of the school and got a little sun, it was 75 degrees outside. Had lunch at Coffee Break did a little grocery shopping and made dinner. Typical evening in our apartment. We also booked our hostel in Prague (we leave a week from Wednesday) and looked into our upcoming trip to Italy. To complete the night we went to our favorite gelato place and had a little treat.
Sorry for the novel but like I said the past couple of weeks have been busy. Hope all is well back home. I miss and love you all!! Until next time...
Me agapi (with love),
Yianna
Last time I posted an update was two Thursdays ago (2/21) so I will start with the adventure that took place that evening and go from there.
After the typical Thursday classes the group decided to go out Thursday night and celebrate the beginning of our usual long weekend. One of the girls, who is into techno-club-house music knew about this club and really wanted to go hear a specific DJ. We found the street name and knew the area that the club was in so we all decided to go with her. We went to Liquid first to see our favorite bartender, Demetri, then we headed off in search of Club Motel.
Once we had walked for a while we started to get the feeling that we were lost, or at least getting there. We had left the usual area of the clubs and bars near us, Psiri, and things were starting to look a little less familiar. We kept walking and asked a couple of people along the way and they were pointing us in the direction we were going so we thought we had everything under control. As things started to get a little more "sketchy" we suddenly realized that we were in/around Omonia. This isn't the best place to be in Athens, especially at night. However when we realized where we were we looked down the street and saw the reason that they tell us not to go to Omonia. On the corner in front of us were a good handful of prostitutes. With a group of 20 or so people we started walking down the street and because it's their job they approached us and tried to get our business. We walked quickly through them and one of the guys in the front of the group turned back and started yelling "Oxi! Oxi! Oxi!" (no! no! no!) at them and we made it through without any harm. Looking back on it we can't help but laugh and realize it's times like these that are the fun stories to tell. A little scary while you're in the situation but quite amusing after the fact.
To put this story into perspective I will try and outline the group for you. We were about 20 or so people like I mentioned earlier. But we were all in little groups of 3 or 4, some of us further behind than others. When we had been at Liquid we found the "balloon man," literally a man that walks up and down the street with big aluminum balloons in all different shapes, sizes, and characters. We ended up with a Minnie Mouse balloon, so while we are walking through the hookers, Diego (one of the guys) is walking through the crowd with a Minnie Mouse balloon tied to his wrist. Quite an entertaining site to turn around and see that. No worries though we all survived and now we can all say that we lived through a night in Omonia, however I would not advise anyone to go through there at night, we know that we will never do it again.
Ok so after we got through Omonia we realized that we went to where the original Club Motel was. Turns out it had moved and no one that we had asked for directions realized this. So after a good 20 minutes of walking we ended up nowhere. We ran into some Greeks who spoke very good English, and actually lived in the States for a while. They knew where Motel was so they offered to take us. So we start off again on our adventure to Motel and after walking for what seemed like miles over a cobblestone street we started to recognize things and places. When we finally got to Gazi (the area where Motel is located) we looked around and almost gave up on finding it, but after a few more blocks we finally ended up in front of the club.
However, to our dismay it was a 20 euro cover charge ($30 - and that was the discounted price). We stood outside and debated for a while then half of us just decided to go home because we didn't feel that it would be worth it, also some of the group was leaving at 5 am to go skiing in the morning and by this point it was already close to 2 am. On the way home we found a gelato place still open (gotta love finding a place open at 2 am with ice cream, it's kind of like CookOut in Athens) and so in an attempt to up for the failed night we got gelato and found a cab back home. The ones that stayed said that Motel was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience but I think that personally the trip there was its own once-in-a-lifetime experience.
After a long night of walking we woke up Friday and laughed some more about our adventure the night before and recapped some of the highlights, especially as we looked up at our kitchen ceiling and noticed Minnie Mouse looking over us. She is still there today, although she has deflated quite a bit.
We did a little shopping on Friday and braved the crowds because it was nearing the last days of sale season here in Greece. They only have sales about once a year here and we happened to be here for the best parts of the sales - lucky us! I'm trying to break out of my J.Crew prep look and blend into the European fashions - it isn't really working out but I did manage to find a few things I liked well enough. And they were all on sale so that's always a good thing!
Friday night we laid low and stayed in, we needed to relax after the previous night, and prepare for our day trip to Aegina, the island closest to Athens, the next day.
Bright and early Saturday morning (6:30 am to be exact, yes we do get up early sometimes) we got up and ready and made it to Pireaus (the port of Athens) by 8:45. We got to the Hellenic Seaways building and walked inside to buy our tickets for the ferry. When the woman asked where we wanted to go one of the girls, Courtney, responded "We want to go to Pireaus!" After a few seconds and she realized what she was saying and corrected herself. The rest of us in the group cut her some slack because it was so early, but we still found it pretty amusing. The woman directed us to the correct gate and informed us that it was easier to purchase our tickets right in front of the ferries.
We found the ticket counter for Aegina and after explaining to the woman that our school was "in Athens" and not in the United States she gave us the student rate and 6 euros later we were on a ferry headed to Aegina. We thought we could tough out the upper deck of the ferry but once we started to move we realized it was colder than we thought, so we headed downstairs to have some caffeine in the form of a frappe. Nothing than Greek ferry boats that have completely stocked bars and coffee shops right on deck. And couches to lay on too. After coffee and naps we went onto the deck of the ferry to take pictures of the island as we approached the dock.
Aegina is famous for pistachios and is one of the largest producers of pistachios in Greece. So immediately as you get off the ferry you are bombarded with kiosks with nothing but pistachios. After we each bought a bag (or two), Tim (one of the guys) said he found a place where we could rent scooters and go around the island on them. I was a little apprehensive about this because I know how crazy Greek people drive and I wasn't so sure that we would be safe on scooters, especially since we would be sharing the road with Greeks driving. When we found the store where we could rent them from we asked the guy, a young typical Greek guy who spoke decent English, about renting scooters his reply was, "Don't do it for your money and your life." After this warning we reconsidered our original plans and then he suggested ATV's. We all agreed that those sounded safer. We had 11 people so two per ATV and then one guy knew how to drive a scooter so he got a scooter by himself. We snapped on our helmets and set off to explore the island. We went to get gas and the gas attendant spoke Spanish to us, also he was dressed in a blue and red shirt and blue overalls so we deemed him Mario for the rest of the trip. We filled up and hit the road.
First we stopped at Agios Nektarios, the famous monastery on the island. We went into the main sanctuary and Rena (the other Greek girl) and I lit candles and explained some of the Orthodox basics to the rest of the group. Then we climbed the stairs up to the monastery and went to see the relics of St. Nektarios. We continued to explain to the group about St. Nektarios and about the "agiasmo" (holy water) that we got from the monastery. It was truly one of the most beautiful and picturesque sites I have ever seen.
After the monastery we got onto our ATV's and tried to set off on the open road again, but Diego & Courtney's ATV wouldn't start. They had one that wasn't electric so it took a lot more than just turning a key to start it. After several failed attempts we called the guy who rented them to us but as soon as we called him it started so we hung up the phone and took off.
We drove around the island and when we all realized we were starving we drove along the north coast of the island and headed towards Agia Marina, one of the beach towns on the island. We got into the main area of the town and everything was deserted. It is still off-season on most of the islands so a lot of places were closed or under repair. We found a restaurant that had a beautiful view of the beach and the Sarconic gulf so some of us sat down and enjoyed a delicious meal and a couple of glasses of white wine to go with the beachy atmosphere. It was wonderful, except for the tzatiki, which was probably the worst we have had since we have been it, it was pretty much pure garlic. But the calamari definitely made up for the tzatiki and with our stomachs full we set off for the Temple of Aphaia.
The Temple of Aphaia is the temple on the island that is dedicated to Zeus' daughter. We got in for free with our student ID cards, they have really saved us some money, and started exploring. It is on top of the island so we had a great view of the island and of Athens from across the water. We spent a good bit of time taking pictures and reading the various plaques about the Temple. We met a girl that is also studying in Athens and who was visiting a few of the islands with her grandparents who came to visit her.
After the Temple we started driving trying to find another temple and the archaeological site surrounding it. However we ended up getting lost and went down a one way street that took us into some people's driveway. All of a sudden we heard this loud noise and realized that this Greek kid on his moped was trying to show off so he came tearing through the driveway (which was all gravel) and tried to do a doughnut but fell over. We all looked at each other and then as he drove off we died laughing. It was so random, and then we continued to see him around the island, I guess he was following us around.
We finally found the temple, well it was one column standing upright, but the site was closed. We found a man who was building wooden boats so we stopped and watched him for a while then decided to return the ATV's and walk around the area next to the port for the remainder of our time. We braved the local traffic in the center of the city and got the ATV's back to the owner. Then we walked around to see one of the local churches right on the water then Leah, Courtney, and I sat at a coffee shop, Yes! Cafe, that was in one of our tour books, while the rest of the group went to watch the sunset from the port. We sat outside and got some hot Nescafe (Greek instant coffee - not nearly as good as what we drink at home but it does the trick) and watched the sunset from the cafe. We got to talking and all of a sudden we looked up to where the ferry boat had been and realized it wasn't there anymore. We still had about 25 minutes until we were supposed to leave but we started to get a little nervous. Then another ferry docked and we realized that we hadn't been left on the island after all.
We met up with the rest of the group and boarded the ferry. While we were on the ferry we saw this group of kids playing with each other. There were two brothers playing with two sisters, so Rena and I started throwing their stuffed animal with them. We spoke some Greek to them and then the boy's mom started talking to us and asking where we were from. When she realized that we were Greek Americans she got excited and even gave us her phone number and told us to call her so that we could come to her house and have dinner one night and even help the boys with their English lessons. We haven't been in touch yet but maybe sometime in the next couple of weeks. We got back home and all watched a movie and passed out early. Sunday we got up and the rest of the apartment went to the Acropolis. Courtney & Tim had a friend visiting from London all weekend so they wanted to take her up to see the Acropolis. I hung around and cleaned and did laundry and enjoyed the peace and quiet. We went to dinner together in Thissio, another area nearby with a lot of outdoor restaurants that all have great views of the Acropolis. We tried to attempt to eat outside but we couldn't stand the chilly weather so we moved inside. We had a typical Greek meal complete with lamb, pastichio, mousaka, and more.
After dinner we went to a nearby Hookah Bar and introduced several group members to hookah. We had about 20 people and we all split 4 different flavors (peach, mint, strawberry, and apple). It was a lot of fun and a very relaxing way to end a busy weekend.
Last week was pretty typical so instead of boring you with day to day descriptions I thought I'd give you highlights about life in Athens. The main question I have been hounded with is what are we eating? We actually have been eating very well and we pretty much have made dinner every night the past couple of weeks. The weekends we splurge a little but during the week we are pretty good about staying in. There is a small grocery store, Bazaar, that is nearby so we go there several times a week. It is very common to go to the store every day or every other day here. Also we have figured out the places to go to get specific things. We don't buy our fruits and vegetables at Bazaar because they are much cheaper and fresher at the little markets all around us. But certain ones have better quality things, so one place we go for fruit another place we go for spinach and greens and then we go to another place for eggs. It is kind of a pain but once you get used to it you realize that you really don't over buy things. Back home you could go to the grocery store and spend way too much money but here you only buy the things you need for a couple of days. It's wonderful because everything is so fresh. There is an open air market in Omonia (it's not so bad during the day) that has everything, meat, fish, fruits, veggies, etc. for very cheap. It is about a 20 minute walk so I haven't made it over there but hopefully this week I'll venture out there.
Sometimes though when we aren't in the mood to cook we venture into Plaka (the area of Athens we are in) and get a gyro or souvlaki from one of the stands. They are only about 1.70 euros which is about $3, so they are perfect to grab on the run. We have also discovered all the gelato places around us as well. Gelato is actually more expensive than gyro's but they are a pretty good combination for dinner.
As far as laundry goes we only have a washing machine so the drying is left up to the drying racks that we have outside. However for the girls out there that know how much we like our jeans to shrink in the dryer it has been an obstacle. Last week I decided to try out the dry cleaners that also functions as a laundry-mat and it was definitely worth having my jeans fit. I also got my coat dry cleaned and it wasn't that expensive. They also give us a nice discount since we are with the school and it is right down the road from the school. It is definitely a nice place to have close by.
As far as other everyday living things it isn't really that different. We figured out how to make the movable shower head stay in the holder so our showers are normal now. We had to figure out what the conversion was from Fahrenheit to Celsius for the oven temperature and for the heat as well. It wasn't too bad going from having my own room and bathroom to sharing a room with two people and a bathroom with 3. It is like being at camp, or back to living in a dorm all over again. Most of the girls here still live in on campus housing so they are still used to roommates and shared bathrooms. We had to adjust to not throwing toilet paper down the toilet and not having a dishwasher. But everything is going really smooth in the living department.
On Wednesday (2/27) we decided to check out the roof of the school since we aren't allowed on the roof of our building. We got frappe's to-go from Coffee Break (we have deemed this our new hang out and for those Saved-By-The-Bell fans out there we call it our "Max") and snuck them in the building past the security guard. When we got up to the roof we looked up and right there in front of us is the Acropolis, it still amazes me that everyday I look up and see it in front of me. It is crazy to think that something so old and historic still stands and I have the privilege of witnessing it in my daily life. After being so sneaky and using a paper bag that Dina (our program director) gave us (she is pretty cool for helping us break the rules) we get up to the roof and the wind blows over one of the frappes. So not only are we up there with drinks we even managed to spill them within 2 minutes of being up there. Oh well a few trips to the bathrooms solved that problem and we relaxed for a couple of hours taking in the view.
Thursday (2/28) we went to classes as usual but that night in particular we had something exciting to look forward to. Our university was having a party. Since this isn't a common thing in the states I will explain it to you as it was explained to me. The universities in Greece are mainly commuter institutions, meaning there are no dorms and the students travel from great distances (up to over an hour) to get to school. Therefore they don't have time to socialize with each other like we do in the states from dorm room to dorm room or in dining halls, etc.
Instead the school arranges an "event" with a local club and lets them know that the school is planning on having people show up. The club arranges tables and gives the students a reduced cover charge and this way the students all socialize together.
My last class goes until 9 pm on Thursday nights so after class I went with a few of the students in my class to Coffee Break to have a beer after class. It is so crazy to walk to the bar/coffee shop after class and order a beer without any issues. I sat with a few of the guys who are on the student council that originally took us on one of our walking tours our first couple of days. We chatted about the differences between Greece and the States and some other various topics.
Then I came home to get ready for the big party. We had the party at a club in Psiri (our favorite hot spot) called Salon de Oro. It was decorated pretty fancy and unique so we really enjoyed the atmosphere. There were also pictures of Southern Comfort bottles everywhere, and they had about 100 bottles of it in glass panes under the bar. Interesting to see So.Co. in Greece but kind of made me feel at home. We had a great time and ended up staying out until 4:30 am or so.
Problem with staying out this late (still early for the Greeks - all the American students left way before the Greeks even thought about leaving) was that we had to be on a bus to go on our first excursion at 8 am. So after the walk home and a quick packing of the bag I got to bed and woke up about an hour later. We made it to the bus in time, looking lovely I might add. However the boys weren't awake in time so Owen had to go and wake them up and they got onto the bus looking pretty rough.
We had about an 1 1/2 hour ride before we got to our first stop so the bus was pretty silent for the first leg of the trip. Our first stop was the Isthmus in Corinth. I had already seen this sight (along with several other places on our itinerary) but took a few new pictures for photo albums and scrapbooks.
We got back on the bus, or "our home for the next 3 days" as we called it and drove a short distance to see the ruins at Ancient Corinth. I had never been here so it was pretty interesting to see the remains of an ancient civilization but it is quite hard to pay attention to a tour guide on 1 1/2 hours of sleep.
We got back onto our mobile home and drove towards the Peloponese (the western peninsula of Greece). We stopped at the new cable bridge and took pictures and sat along the water. We stopped in Patras and had lunch, believe it or not it was the same cafe where I stopped the last time I was in Greece with Ionian Village. It is right in front of St. Andrew's church in Patras. So I went inside and was pleasantly surprised to see that the scafolding that once was there had been removed and the dome of the church was finished. After a quick lunch and quick look around the church we got back on the bus and headed towards Olympia.
We arrived at our hotel Olympion Asty and found a small futball (soccer) field outside of the rooms. We put our stuff down into our rooms and some of us took a walk down the mountain a little ways while some of the U-Indy boys (they all play soccer for the University of Indianapolis home campus back in IN) picked up a game of soccer with the local Greek boys. While they were playing the rest of us stood on the sidelines and watched and were especially amused by one of the kids who was wearing a soccer player named "Henry's" jersey. He wasn't very good but was saying the funniest things. He told one of the guys that he doesn't drink water when he plays he only smokes cigarettes. He couldn't be more than 16 so this was quite entertaining for us to witness. He also invited us to his house, his exact words, "you, me, my house, big party, Greek music." We never made it to his house but instead we ate dinner at the hotel then watched The Departed in our hotel room, Saturday was another early wake up call.
Bright and early Saturday morning we got up and ate and headed towards Ancient Olympia. I had already been here as well so it was hard for me to pay attention once again to the tour guide who was very informative but told us a few too many details. Like the history of the parking lot where our bus would be parked - yes this is not an exaggeration she did this at the Theatre we saw on Sunday. We walked around Olympia and when we got to the track, Tim struck up a conversation with a couple of Chinese people and he comes running up the track telling us that they have the 2008 Olympic Torch with them.
Turns out that they were a camera crew with a Beijing TV station and they were filming the "road to the Olympic torch." The torch will be lit in Olympia on March 24th and begin its trek to Beijing. They told us that we could hold the torch so we all gathered around and had a photo shoot with the torch. Then they recorded us greeting the Beijing TV viewers, we even learned a new Chinese phrase, "Ni hao Beijing" (Hello Beijing). So who knows maybe when you are watching coverage of the games this summer you might see a group of Americans waving like idiots at the camera.
After Olympia we had lunch at a local restaurant. We were instructed to be at the bus at 1:30 by 2:00 the people at the table started looking at their watches and I had to explain to them that we were on Greek time so this was typical. By 2:45 we were on the buses and ready to go. We drove almost 4 hours to Tolo a seaside town in the Peloponese and arrived at our hotel, John & George Hotel, around 6 pm.
We ate dinner then walked around the town and went out to the beach and stood on the dock for a while. We headed back to the hotel and sat around the pool, a couple of the U-Indy boys actually braved the freezing water and unfiltered pool and jump in. The rest of us sat back and enjoyed our drinks that the bartender made especially for us.
The next morning we got up bright and early again and made our way to the Theatre at Epivadros. The theatre was built with perfect accoustics. We tested it when Clara and a couple of other girls sang while we all stood around the upper rows of the Theater. Amazingly without any microphones or speakers we could hear her perfectly. Then like typical American tourists we defaced the historical monument by singing the theme song to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
We drove a little while to Nafplio, another seaside town, to stop for coffee and pictures. Afterwards we headed towards Mycenae and saw one of the oldest civilizations. It was breathtaking on top of the hill and provided for beautiful pictures.
We loaded the bus after a delicious lunch and finally arrived back at "home" that evening. As we were walking past all the tourist agencies near our apartments one of the men shouted, "Welcome to paradise," since we all looked like "tourists" with our bags and bookbags he just assumed we were here to visit. However Jaclyn corrected him by saying, "we live here."
As we settled back into our apartments we all fell back into our normal routines. Today (Monday 3/3 - and Reece's Birthday!!) we laid out on the roof of the school and got a little sun, it was 75 degrees outside. Had lunch at Coffee Break did a little grocery shopping and made dinner. Typical evening in our apartment. We also booked our hostel in Prague (we leave a week from Wednesday) and looked into our upcoming trip to Italy. To complete the night we went to our favorite gelato place and had a little treat.
Sorry for the novel but like I said the past couple of weeks have been busy. Hope all is well back home. I miss and love you all!! Until next time...
Me agapi (with love),
Yianna
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Xioni...Snow??
So we have had an exciting weekend here in Athens...I'll begin where I last left off.
Last Thursday was Valentine's Day so we all agreed that we would get all dressed up and go out as each other's valentines. We got all dolled up (including the boys) and trekked into Plaka to a traditional Greek Taverna, Stamatopoulos. We walked up to the door with 22 people and the man at the door almost passed out. I explained to him that we would be willing to separate and so they accomodated us at two tables. We ordered all the typical appetizers, delicious meals, and a couple of bottles of wine too. We were celebrating!!
After our meal we decided to immerse ourselves in the culture and that included Greek dancing. So Rena, the my roomate and the other Greek-American, and I dragged some willing participants onto the dancefloor (about 4 ft by 4 ft). We danced and laughed and showed the Greeks that we knew what we were doing. This was all well and good until someone's foot got stepped on by a high heel, all the Greeks reading this knows what that feels like. The waiter was so cute and brought ice and bandaids for the poor victim.
Once everyone was bandaged up we split up and about 15 of us went to Club Envy. We had so many of us that we got VIP tables. In Greece this means that you turn in your drink ticket that you automatically recieve with your coverage charge and combine them and they put a bottle of any kind of alcohol on the table complete with ice, coke, club soda, and other mixers. We had 4 tables and we only had to pay around $20 (US dollars) for pretty much unlimited drinks, pretty good deal. We danced the entire time and had a blast! We left around 4:00 am, which to the Greeks is very early. Next time we decided that we wouldn't eat dinner so early (10 pm) and wait until around 11 pm. The dancing did us in and several of us girls needed piggy back rides back from the club by our generous gentlemen schoolmates.
The next day was Friday and we had to meet some of the staff members from the University for lunch so we dragged ourselves out of bed and managed to get showered and dressed by noon. Pretty impressive for 8 girls and 2 bathrooms, and about 4 hours of sleep. After a quick lunch some of my roomates and I went with Owen (grad assistant) to Carrefore a HUGE grocery store. We all took empty bookbags and got on the Metro then walked a couple blocks to end up at a 2 story Greek Style Walmart. It was very chaotic (especially for a Friday afternoon) and we walked around in awe for a few minutes then realized that we only had 90 minutes to shop. The metro has this new ticket that is a 90 minute two way ticket. Instead of paying .80 euro for a one way ticket you can purchase a 1 euro ticket that lasts for 90 minutes two ways. So we immediately started shopping. We have a grocery store close by but we wanted to get cleaning supplies and larger items here because the prices are a little bit cheaper. The first floor has all the toiletries, cleaning, electronics, home items, etc. Then you go to this escalator ramp (because you have these huge carts and you have to get them downstairs somehow) and go to the lower level which has all the food.
It is very similar to Sam's or Costco because as soon as you get downstairs they are stuffing samples in your face. We had Amita juice (a delicious Greek juice), chocolate (the woman even let us take some home with us), turkey, ham, and several other things. They also hand out coupons for the items so you eat and save money all at the same time. We looked like typical Americans trying to read labels and running into people but we had a good time nonetheless. The funniest encounter was at the deli-counter. Yes, they have coldcuts in Greece. We all agreed we would get some turkey so we could have sandwiches for lunch. After discussing the weight issue with Owen we agreed that since there were 8 girls in the house and the boys come over a lot we should go ahead and get 1 kilo (2 lbs.) of turkey. Since I'm the Greek I had to order the turkey over the counter. When I asked the woman for 1 kilo of turkey she looked at me like I was insane. She immediately said that it was too much. Then the woman next to me, who thought I didn't understand, told me that it was too much. I explained to them that there are 8 of us but they didn't let up. Finally she cut the turkey and reluctantly handed me the 2 lbs of meat. Greeks hate to waste food I suppose. Funny thing is - it's Tuesday night now and most of the turkey is gone.
Checking out of a grocery store in Greece is pure chaos because you have to bag your own items. On top of that we had 5 minutes before our metro passes were supposed to expire. So we are grabbing things and shoving them into our bookbags and pocketbooks and hoping that nothing leaks or spills on our way home. We got home without any major catastrophes, thank goodness.
After we unpacked our groceries we hung out in the apartment then some of the girls decided to go take a walk in the National Gardens (only about a 5-10 minute walk from our apartment). I however stayed back at the apartment because I was going to meet my thea (aunt) Stavroula for cafe. Stavroula although she is really my aunt is a year younger than I am so she is more like a cousin. We met in Syntagma Square and walked, arm in arm - like they do in Greece, to Kolonaki. This is the ritzy area of Athens where all the celebrities live, except we didn't see any. We sat outside at a cute coffee shop, Jackson Hall - yes it was in English. We talked 1/2 Greek 1/2 English and actually communicated quite well. She speaks almost perfect English so if my Greek wasn't enough she compensated. Then her friend Bobby came and met us. He is taking English classes and is embarassed to speak, kind of like me and my Greek. Once he got there I let them talk and I just sat back and listened. I loved being in Kolonaki because it wasn't as touristy as the Plaka area is so I really felt like I was in Greece. All around me people were walking by with the shopping bags or stopping and sitting down to visit with friends. It was so exciting just to sit back and take it all in.
Friday night we ended up being lazy after our Valentine's celebration and went to the guy's apartment and watched a movie. Saturday morning we got up and got ready to go to Glyfada (a seaside town about 45 minutes from Athens) however it was FREEZING outside and it was extremely windy. So a couple of us decided to stick around and just do some shopping on Ermou St (large shopping street in Syntagma). We shopped for a little while then found a restaurant with a fireplace and had coffee and a nutella and banana crepe which was absolutely to die for. After being in the shop for almost 2 hours we decided to head back home. When we walked outside we saw the first snowflakes start to fall. We took pictures and played a little while then went inside to warm up. When we got ready to go out to the guy's apartment it had started to pick up and by the time we left the guys apartment after hanging out it was starting to stick. We took lots of pictures then came home and got some sleep.
On Sunday we woke up to a winter wonderland in Athens. This is extremely rare and from what everyone keeps telling us the last snowstorm to hit Athens was at least 5 years ago. We got up Sunday and braved icy and snow covered roads to attempt to find a place to get food to make dinner with. Everything seemed to be shut down, not only because it was Sunday but because of the snow as well. Finally we found the supplies for dinner and made a huge spaghetti feast with salad and bread. We fed about 15 people and after dinner we realized we needed desert. So we got bundled up and trekked down the road to try and find someplace that was open. We walked by a place we had already been several times and decided to try another place that someone had mentioned. When we got there they had a limited and very expensive selection so we walked back to the first place and it had closed. We had been there just 5 minutes before, but I guess they were ready to go home. So we settled on a local taverna and told them we only wanted desert. He said that would be fine and as we walked into the restaurant in our heavy coats and sweatpants (we were bumming it that night) everyone got quiet and just stared at us, we didn't look like American tourists at all. We ordered ice cream, apple pies, and other goodies. Afterwards with our stomachs full we came home.
When we got home we started talking about our travel plans and we found relatively cheap tickets to Prague and decided to book them. After we all called our parents and convinced them that once we got to Prague everything would be cheap, at the least the beer there is supposed to be $.50 each. We all sat around with our laptops and credit cards and booked our flights for March 12-16th. Everyone is so excited and we have a good size group going so we are looking forward to our first trip!!
Monday we woke up and realized that school was cancelled for the few people that have Monday/Wednesday classes this was good news, for the rest of us it didn't really affect us. Turns out that many of the northern suburbs of Athens are completely snowed in and it is extremely difficult for those people to get into the city, and much of our staff at the University lives in these areas.
Monday we started to go shopping in Omonia at the flea market but halfway there realized it was later in the afternoon and that more than likely the shops would be closed for siesta hour and for the snow. Some of them continued to local market but three of us got hungry so Tim, Courtney and I decided to skip out on the shopping and get some lunch instead. Since much of the city was still closed we had a hard time finding a place to eat and finally ended up at a coffee shop near our apartment. We had tost and frappe's and sat for 2 hours just being like Greeks. The bartender/waiter brought us a "little alcohol kind of sweet" as he said for us to taste on the house.
After lunch we came home and did our homework for the next day, write the alphabet in Greek twice both capitals and lowercase. 30 seconds later we attempted to read our Greek history book but instead we found ourselves sitting around the kitchen table munching on a few snacks and just talking. Everyone, especially within our apartment, is getting along so well, which makes the experience even better.
We decided to run to the grocery store to buy some things that we needed around the house and went to the Bazaar the grocery store closer to our apartment. We desperately needed laundry detergent because we bought two bottles of fabric softener without noticing it. So while we were in the laundry aisle trying to figure out which was which I attempted to pick up a bottle that said Tide on it and as soon as I reached for it the cap flew off and the bottle flew out of my hands and onto the floor. Detergent went everywhere and after a few failed attempts we finally managed to pick up the slippery bottle and put it back on the shelf. We were laughing so hard and partly in shock and embarassed that we just left it. We are such terrible Americans - ooops. We are making the other roomates shop at Bazaar for the week so we don't have to show our faces.
For dinner we went to Noodlebar, an Asian style restaurant that we had attempted to eat at several times before but it was either closed or packed full of people. Courtney, Ashley, Ivy, and I went together and enjoyed a meal similar to what we would have eaten back home, it was a nice change of pace from spanakopita and pastichio. We came home and headed to bed relatively early because we had class the next day.
We went to classes on Tuesday and learned the basic greek phrases for introducing yourself. This was amusing to me and my roomate, Rena, who knows some Greek as well. But we do give the other students credit because Greek isn't an easy language to learn and so far they are doing well. The rest of the day classes went well. Greek history continues to be very interesting, and in our Socio-Political Forum class we had the Hungarian Ambassador come and speak to us. In my Business Law class I am the only Odyssey (name of my program) student in the class. So the rest of the class are Greek students, one of them Stephanos, knows that I am Greek and always speaks to me before class begins. The girls next to him, Eleni and Popi, looked at him like he was crazy then they all realized I spoke Greek so they started talking to me also. Hopefully being around them will help my Greek as well.
Tuesday night, since we don't have class on Wednesday, we planned to go out. Also the Greek soccer team, Olympiakos (the red and white team) was playing England's Chelsea team in Athens. This was a big game so we went to a local restaurant to watch it. We were in the back corner of the restaurant and were probably upsetting the fans because we were being loud and obnoxious but we were having a good time. Afterwards a few of us went to Liquid to see our favorite bartender, Demetri. We hung out there for awhile then ended up at Soul a new club we discovered. We will definitely be going back, it was a Tuesday so things were slow and we were the only ones in there but I'm sure on a weekend if it gets packed it would be a really good time.
Wednesday we had lunch with the Vice President of Student Affairs from the University of Indianapolis (the American campus). He is here visiting the campus and learning about the program so it was nice to meet him and we introduced ourselves and gave him some feedback about the progam. So now here we are, the snow has finally melted and it is a beautiful day outside, all the people from the North in the program are in their flip flops, they don't realize that 50 degrees isn't warm though. It doesn't look like there is any snow in the forecast and hopefully the cold is over and we are going to warm up this week. Hope all is well back in the states. I'll write again soon.
-Yianna
Last Thursday was Valentine's Day so we all agreed that we would get all dressed up and go out as each other's valentines. We got all dolled up (including the boys) and trekked into Plaka to a traditional Greek Taverna, Stamatopoulos. We walked up to the door with 22 people and the man at the door almost passed out. I explained to him that we would be willing to separate and so they accomodated us at two tables. We ordered all the typical appetizers, delicious meals, and a couple of bottles of wine too. We were celebrating!!
After our meal we decided to immerse ourselves in the culture and that included Greek dancing. So Rena, the my roomate and the other Greek-American, and I dragged some willing participants onto the dancefloor (about 4 ft by 4 ft). We danced and laughed and showed the Greeks that we knew what we were doing. This was all well and good until someone's foot got stepped on by a high heel, all the Greeks reading this knows what that feels like. The waiter was so cute and brought ice and bandaids for the poor victim.
Once everyone was bandaged up we split up and about 15 of us went to Club Envy. We had so many of us that we got VIP tables. In Greece this means that you turn in your drink ticket that you automatically recieve with your coverage charge and combine them and they put a bottle of any kind of alcohol on the table complete with ice, coke, club soda, and other mixers. We had 4 tables and we only had to pay around $20 (US dollars) for pretty much unlimited drinks, pretty good deal. We danced the entire time and had a blast! We left around 4:00 am, which to the Greeks is very early. Next time we decided that we wouldn't eat dinner so early (10 pm) and wait until around 11 pm. The dancing did us in and several of us girls needed piggy back rides back from the club by our generous gentlemen schoolmates.
The next day was Friday and we had to meet some of the staff members from the University for lunch so we dragged ourselves out of bed and managed to get showered and dressed by noon. Pretty impressive for 8 girls and 2 bathrooms, and about 4 hours of sleep. After a quick lunch some of my roomates and I went with Owen (grad assistant) to Carrefore a HUGE grocery store. We all took empty bookbags and got on the Metro then walked a couple blocks to end up at a 2 story Greek Style Walmart. It was very chaotic (especially for a Friday afternoon) and we walked around in awe for a few minutes then realized that we only had 90 minutes to shop. The metro has this new ticket that is a 90 minute two way ticket. Instead of paying .80 euro for a one way ticket you can purchase a 1 euro ticket that lasts for 90 minutes two ways. So we immediately started shopping. We have a grocery store close by but we wanted to get cleaning supplies and larger items here because the prices are a little bit cheaper. The first floor has all the toiletries, cleaning, electronics, home items, etc. Then you go to this escalator ramp (because you have these huge carts and you have to get them downstairs somehow) and go to the lower level which has all the food.
It is very similar to Sam's or Costco because as soon as you get downstairs they are stuffing samples in your face. We had Amita juice (a delicious Greek juice), chocolate (the woman even let us take some home with us), turkey, ham, and several other things. They also hand out coupons for the items so you eat and save money all at the same time. We looked like typical Americans trying to read labels and running into people but we had a good time nonetheless. The funniest encounter was at the deli-counter. Yes, they have coldcuts in Greece. We all agreed we would get some turkey so we could have sandwiches for lunch. After discussing the weight issue with Owen we agreed that since there were 8 girls in the house and the boys come over a lot we should go ahead and get 1 kilo (2 lbs.) of turkey. Since I'm the Greek I had to order the turkey over the counter. When I asked the woman for 1 kilo of turkey she looked at me like I was insane. She immediately said that it was too much. Then the woman next to me, who thought I didn't understand, told me that it was too much. I explained to them that there are 8 of us but they didn't let up. Finally she cut the turkey and reluctantly handed me the 2 lbs of meat. Greeks hate to waste food I suppose. Funny thing is - it's Tuesday night now and most of the turkey is gone.
Checking out of a grocery store in Greece is pure chaos because you have to bag your own items. On top of that we had 5 minutes before our metro passes were supposed to expire. So we are grabbing things and shoving them into our bookbags and pocketbooks and hoping that nothing leaks or spills on our way home. We got home without any major catastrophes, thank goodness.
After we unpacked our groceries we hung out in the apartment then some of the girls decided to go take a walk in the National Gardens (only about a 5-10 minute walk from our apartment). I however stayed back at the apartment because I was going to meet my thea (aunt) Stavroula for cafe. Stavroula although she is really my aunt is a year younger than I am so she is more like a cousin. We met in Syntagma Square and walked, arm in arm - like they do in Greece, to Kolonaki. This is the ritzy area of Athens where all the celebrities live, except we didn't see any. We sat outside at a cute coffee shop, Jackson Hall - yes it was in English. We talked 1/2 Greek 1/2 English and actually communicated quite well. She speaks almost perfect English so if my Greek wasn't enough she compensated. Then her friend Bobby came and met us. He is taking English classes and is embarassed to speak, kind of like me and my Greek. Once he got there I let them talk and I just sat back and listened. I loved being in Kolonaki because it wasn't as touristy as the Plaka area is so I really felt like I was in Greece. All around me people were walking by with the shopping bags or stopping and sitting down to visit with friends. It was so exciting just to sit back and take it all in.
Friday night we ended up being lazy after our Valentine's celebration and went to the guy's apartment and watched a movie. Saturday morning we got up and got ready to go to Glyfada (a seaside town about 45 minutes from Athens) however it was FREEZING outside and it was extremely windy. So a couple of us decided to stick around and just do some shopping on Ermou St (large shopping street in Syntagma). We shopped for a little while then found a restaurant with a fireplace and had coffee and a nutella and banana crepe which was absolutely to die for. After being in the shop for almost 2 hours we decided to head back home. When we walked outside we saw the first snowflakes start to fall. We took pictures and played a little while then went inside to warm up. When we got ready to go out to the guy's apartment it had started to pick up and by the time we left the guys apartment after hanging out it was starting to stick. We took lots of pictures then came home and got some sleep.
On Sunday we woke up to a winter wonderland in Athens. This is extremely rare and from what everyone keeps telling us the last snowstorm to hit Athens was at least 5 years ago. We got up Sunday and braved icy and snow covered roads to attempt to find a place to get food to make dinner with. Everything seemed to be shut down, not only because it was Sunday but because of the snow as well. Finally we found the supplies for dinner and made a huge spaghetti feast with salad and bread. We fed about 15 people and after dinner we realized we needed desert. So we got bundled up and trekked down the road to try and find someplace that was open. We walked by a place we had already been several times and decided to try another place that someone had mentioned. When we got there they had a limited and very expensive selection so we walked back to the first place and it had closed. We had been there just 5 minutes before, but I guess they were ready to go home. So we settled on a local taverna and told them we only wanted desert. He said that would be fine and as we walked into the restaurant in our heavy coats and sweatpants (we were bumming it that night) everyone got quiet and just stared at us, we didn't look like American tourists at all. We ordered ice cream, apple pies, and other goodies. Afterwards with our stomachs full we came home.
When we got home we started talking about our travel plans and we found relatively cheap tickets to Prague and decided to book them. After we all called our parents and convinced them that once we got to Prague everything would be cheap, at the least the beer there is supposed to be $.50 each. We all sat around with our laptops and credit cards and booked our flights for March 12-16th. Everyone is so excited and we have a good size group going so we are looking forward to our first trip!!
Monday we woke up and realized that school was cancelled for the few people that have Monday/Wednesday classes this was good news, for the rest of us it didn't really affect us. Turns out that many of the northern suburbs of Athens are completely snowed in and it is extremely difficult for those people to get into the city, and much of our staff at the University lives in these areas.
Monday we started to go shopping in Omonia at the flea market but halfway there realized it was later in the afternoon and that more than likely the shops would be closed for siesta hour and for the snow. Some of them continued to local market but three of us got hungry so Tim, Courtney and I decided to skip out on the shopping and get some lunch instead. Since much of the city was still closed we had a hard time finding a place to eat and finally ended up at a coffee shop near our apartment. We had tost and frappe's and sat for 2 hours just being like Greeks. The bartender/waiter brought us a "little alcohol kind of sweet" as he said for us to taste on the house.
After lunch we came home and did our homework for the next day, write the alphabet in Greek twice both capitals and lowercase. 30 seconds later we attempted to read our Greek history book but instead we found ourselves sitting around the kitchen table munching on a few snacks and just talking. Everyone, especially within our apartment, is getting along so well, which makes the experience even better.
We decided to run to the grocery store to buy some things that we needed around the house and went to the Bazaar the grocery store closer to our apartment. We desperately needed laundry detergent because we bought two bottles of fabric softener without noticing it. So while we were in the laundry aisle trying to figure out which was which I attempted to pick up a bottle that said Tide on it and as soon as I reached for it the cap flew off and the bottle flew out of my hands and onto the floor. Detergent went everywhere and after a few failed attempts we finally managed to pick up the slippery bottle and put it back on the shelf. We were laughing so hard and partly in shock and embarassed that we just left it. We are such terrible Americans - ooops. We are making the other roomates shop at Bazaar for the week so we don't have to show our faces.
For dinner we went to Noodlebar, an Asian style restaurant that we had attempted to eat at several times before but it was either closed or packed full of people. Courtney, Ashley, Ivy, and I went together and enjoyed a meal similar to what we would have eaten back home, it was a nice change of pace from spanakopita and pastichio. We came home and headed to bed relatively early because we had class the next day.
We went to classes on Tuesday and learned the basic greek phrases for introducing yourself. This was amusing to me and my roomate, Rena, who knows some Greek as well. But we do give the other students credit because Greek isn't an easy language to learn and so far they are doing well. The rest of the day classes went well. Greek history continues to be very interesting, and in our Socio-Political Forum class we had the Hungarian Ambassador come and speak to us. In my Business Law class I am the only Odyssey (name of my program) student in the class. So the rest of the class are Greek students, one of them Stephanos, knows that I am Greek and always speaks to me before class begins. The girls next to him, Eleni and Popi, looked at him like he was crazy then they all realized I spoke Greek so they started talking to me also. Hopefully being around them will help my Greek as well.
Tuesday night, since we don't have class on Wednesday, we planned to go out. Also the Greek soccer team, Olympiakos (the red and white team) was playing England's Chelsea team in Athens. This was a big game so we went to a local restaurant to watch it. We were in the back corner of the restaurant and were probably upsetting the fans because we were being loud and obnoxious but we were having a good time. Afterwards a few of us went to Liquid to see our favorite bartender, Demetri. We hung out there for awhile then ended up at Soul a new club we discovered. We will definitely be going back, it was a Tuesday so things were slow and we were the only ones in there but I'm sure on a weekend if it gets packed it would be a really good time.
Wednesday we had lunch with the Vice President of Student Affairs from the University of Indianapolis (the American campus). He is here visiting the campus and learning about the program so it was nice to meet him and we introduced ourselves and gave him some feedback about the progam. So now here we are, the snow has finally melted and it is a beautiful day outside, all the people from the North in the program are in their flip flops, they don't realize that 50 degrees isn't warm though. It doesn't look like there is any snow in the forecast and hopefully the cold is over and we are going to warm up this week. Hope all is well back in the states. I'll write again soon.
-Yianna
Thursday, February 14, 2008
H mera tis agapis...the day of love...Valentine's Day
Happy Valentine's Day from across the Atlantic!
Ok here is another update on life in Athens...
Tuesday we had our first day of classes. First thing in the morning (10 am) we have Greek 101 with our teacher, Yianna, imagine that? She is this adorable little Greek woman who actually lived in the Clearwater FL area for a while, while she was in the states. She is very upbeat and her favorite words are, "kala," "bravo," and "siga siga" (or for the redneck Greeks - "shiga shiga"). She is very nice and extremely friendly, especially after 1/2 the class walked in late because we are all have frappe's and cafe at the coffee shop (Coffee Break) across the street. We have been told several times and even witnessed it ourselves that time is very lax here and many students enter the class 10-15 minutes late without being reprimanded. So I guess we are fitting into the Greek way of life if we were late to our first class.
After our first class we came back for a quick nap because we have a good 2 hour break before our next class. There are several of us that have the same classes so we stick together and walk to and from the apartments to the school often. It's only a couple of blocks so we can be at school in less than 5 minutes, depending on how many mopeds and smart cars we have to dodge on the way. It really is true that Greeks don't yield to pedestrians, nor do they yield to other cars.
Our second class of the day is Modern Greek History. This teacher was a little more stern than our fun Greek teacher but nonetheless she is very educated and we are all looking forward to the class and further discussions. Because our first class is Greek 101 we were the only students, all American, however in our history class we have several Greek students and even some from other countries such as Russia and Serbia. Not only do we have college age students but also 65 year old woman who is very knowledgeable in the subject as well. While we were discussing "what modern Greek history can be defined as" we all sat back in amazement as the class discussed the topic. Many of them being Greek knew the history very well and we all felt like complete outsiders, knowing very little if anything about what they were talking about. Also it is amazing that these students can speak fluent English and learn in a language that is a 2nd language to them. After class we discussed whether they think in Greek or English or a combo, also how difficult it must be to think in Greek then have to translate into English what you have to write for your notes.
After history we got a group to go eat at a typical restaurant in Plaka. We ordered spanakopites (spinach pie), saganaki (flaming cheese), and krasi (wine) for the table and then we each ordered an individual meal. Everyone was picking off each other's plates and trying each other's food, very Greek style meal. Got to love being able to drink wine between classes!!
With a slight buzz (just kidding...well kind of) we walked off to our next class, our Socio-Political Forum. This class isn't in the main school building but at the school's Cultural Center which is a 5-10 minute walk through Plaka. The center also contains our library and a wonderful rooftop which you can see most of Athens, and happens to be right at the foot of the Acropolis. This is an interesting class because it isn't a lecture based class from a textbook. Instead, the ambassadors from different countries come and speak to us about topics of their choice. We are encouraged to ask questions and engage in the discussion while they are speaking. We have been instructed not to dispose the name of the ambassadors that are coming. So therefore I won't publish it online where anyone could stumble across it but if you want to know shoot me an email and ask and I might let it slip. :) Our professor in this class is a typical Greek man but he is a very educated man and spent many years in the States putting himself through undergradurate, masters, and doctoral degrees. He also served the United Nations and now teaches as part of his retirement. This should be a very interesting class that will allow us to broaden our horizons and "American" ways of thinking.
After class I have a longer break because I am not taking the Greek Mythology class with many of the students so I have an almost empty apartment to myself which is a nice break. Afterwards I have my Business Law class. Not much to report, professor is a pretty funny guy who is extremely sarcastic. Probably will be one of the least interesting of my classes but it is a requirement for my Business Minor at Clemson.
To celebrate our first day of classes we went to our favorite bar, Liquid. We had a good time and met some other Americans and even some Spainish guys. Surprisingly everyone warned us about the Greek ones trying to hit on the girls but these guys did their fair share of flirting also. Demetri our favorite bartender hooked us up once again and we had a very good time. We got home around 2:30 then because we are still half on American time we stayed up until almost 5 just hanging out and talking.
Wednesday we slept in because we had been up so late and in the afternoon we continued our walking tour around Athens and we went to the Metro Station in Syntagma Square (the large square closest to us, a major hub in the city). We went into the Metro however we did not actually ride it because there was a huge strike. All of the public sectors (buses, Metro, post offices, etc.) were closed. The workers were striking for better wages, more benefits, and other things. The Metro ran for only a few hours but everything else was closed. It didn't affect us too much but this is a common thing in Athens for people to go on strike so we have been warned to stay away from the rallies that are often associated with the strikes because sometimes they can get out of hand.
After our Metro tour we walked with Owen (the graduate student assistant) and got all kinds of tiropites (cheese pies). It is one of his favorite places and it is right off of Ermu (one of the large streets in Athens with all the good shopping). It is very close to our apartments and I am sure we will be there often, especially since it is only 1.70 euros for one pita. They have many varieties including chicken, spinach, olives, zucchini, leeks, and even sweet versions as well.
With our stomachs full we started walking towards Gazi an area that has incredible graffiti art. However on our walk I received a call from my theo Panagiotis and so I left to group to wait for him to come and pick me up and take me to his house for the afternoon. He lives on the 3rd floor of the building while his sister (Ioanna) lives on the 2nd with her two daughters, and his parents (Thea Maria - my papou's sister and Theo Angelos) live on the ground level. This is a very common living situation for families in Greece. When we arrived at the house we first visited with Thea Maria and Theo Angelos. It has been 8 years since I have last seen them so it was nice to catch up and I am looking forward to being able to spend time with them while I am here.
Afterwards we went upstairs to meet Ioanna's daughters, they were a little shy because the last time I met them they were much younger and I am sure that they don't remember. They both play the piano so after they played a few songs for me I did my best attempt to play something from memory for them. The girls had to go to English School (like we went to Greek School) and so we went upstairs to meet Panagioti's wife, Theodora (Dora) and the new baby (Angelos). Also Dora's sister Dina was there as well so we all sat around and talked for several hours.
We had cafe (coffee) and torte (cake - Black forest cake actually - Dina's birthday was the day before). When the baby woke up we were able to play with him all afternoon. He is precious!! He will be a year old in March so I have been invited to come over for his birthday celebration. After Ioanna came home from work she and the girls came upstairs and we all visited together.
Finally we ate dinner at Thea Maria's and she had artichokes (don't know the Greek for this one yet) and potatoes. She was so embarassed that she hadn't fixed a larger meal, but my visit was unexpected so she didn't have enough time to prepare. They were already planning the next meal for when I visit again. Theo Angelos insisted on having pizza but then Panagiotis reminded them that I have pizza at home in the States and that while I am here I should eat Greek food. It is so nice to know that they are so accomidating, I guess that is what family is for.
Around 9 pm I got home to find a large group of fellow students gathered around in our kitchen discussing traveling plans. We found a great deal to Italy, a round trip ticket from Athens to Milan for only 138 euros. We told our director, Dina, today and she said a one way ticket should usually cost that much so we should book it as quickly as possible. We figured out the dates we wanted to go (around March 19-24th) and decided to fly into Milan then travel by train to Florence, Venice, and Rome. This weekend is actually American Easter so we might be in Rome during Catholic services and celebrations.
Today, Thursday, is our second day of classes and so far so good. Our Greek class is going well, however today after reviewing the alphabet the entire period my roomate, Rena, who is also Greek, and I discussed with our teacher a plan in which we did some of the additional chapters in our Greek book so that we might advance ourselves at a quicker pace than the class. Because we both speak it and can understand it we need more grammar and extra practice compared to the class. Our teacher was willing so we will see how quickly we can learn some new things.
After class we had frappe's (iced coffees) and tost (ham & cheese panini type sandwiches) at a little cafe near school. They are so quaint on the inside, because they are all like loft apartments with an upstairs sitting area. We all gathered on couches and comfy chairs and had a late breakfast. To celebrate Valentine's Day we have decided to go out to eat as a large group so we had a few recommendations of restaurants from Dina and so we went exploring to find them. We found some cute little streets and great photo opportunities on our way.
We got back just in time for our Greek history class which turned out to be surprisingly very very interesting. After class we actually gathered outside and talked about how much we enjoyed the class and how we are looking forward to learning more about the subject. It isn't often that a bunch of college students can discuss positive things about their lectures so that was quite refreshing.
While we were in our class one of the students from Greece asked us if we had felt the earthquake. To which we responded, no. There had been an earthquake measuring 6.7 about 140 miles from Athens. We however did not feel it so looks like we all survived our first earthquake. Needless to say all of our parents, family, and friends have been trying to get in touch with us all day but we are all well and accounted for.
In the afternoon we all attended our socio-political forum class together and after class when we went to discuss with our professor that we would be out of class for our trip to Italy we were unpleasantly surprised to find out that the days we have picked to go happen to fall on the class period when the US Ambasador is coming to speak to the class. This may be an issue seeing as if 15 + US students are not in class on that day. Hopefully this will all work itself out.
As for now I am off to my last class, sorry for novel but this is the easiest way to let everyone know what I'm up to without personally calling or emailing everyone individually. Hope all is well back home and I hope that it is warmer than it is here because it is FREEZING here. Today was the first day we had sun all day. But they are calling for snow on Saturday so we will see. That's all for now. More to come later...
-ya
Ok here is another update on life in Athens...
Tuesday we had our first day of classes. First thing in the morning (10 am) we have Greek 101 with our teacher, Yianna, imagine that? She is this adorable little Greek woman who actually lived in the Clearwater FL area for a while, while she was in the states. She is very upbeat and her favorite words are, "kala," "bravo," and "siga siga" (or for the redneck Greeks - "shiga shiga"). She is very nice and extremely friendly, especially after 1/2 the class walked in late because we are all have frappe's and cafe at the coffee shop (Coffee Break) across the street. We have been told several times and even witnessed it ourselves that time is very lax here and many students enter the class 10-15 minutes late without being reprimanded. So I guess we are fitting into the Greek way of life if we were late to our first class.
After our first class we came back for a quick nap because we have a good 2 hour break before our next class. There are several of us that have the same classes so we stick together and walk to and from the apartments to the school often. It's only a couple of blocks so we can be at school in less than 5 minutes, depending on how many mopeds and smart cars we have to dodge on the way. It really is true that Greeks don't yield to pedestrians, nor do they yield to other cars.
Our second class of the day is Modern Greek History. This teacher was a little more stern than our fun Greek teacher but nonetheless she is very educated and we are all looking forward to the class and further discussions. Because our first class is Greek 101 we were the only students, all American, however in our history class we have several Greek students and even some from other countries such as Russia and Serbia. Not only do we have college age students but also 65 year old woman who is very knowledgeable in the subject as well. While we were discussing "what modern Greek history can be defined as" we all sat back in amazement as the class discussed the topic. Many of them being Greek knew the history very well and we all felt like complete outsiders, knowing very little if anything about what they were talking about. Also it is amazing that these students can speak fluent English and learn in a language that is a 2nd language to them. After class we discussed whether they think in Greek or English or a combo, also how difficult it must be to think in Greek then have to translate into English what you have to write for your notes.
After history we got a group to go eat at a typical restaurant in Plaka. We ordered spanakopites (spinach pie), saganaki (flaming cheese), and krasi (wine) for the table and then we each ordered an individual meal. Everyone was picking off each other's plates and trying each other's food, very Greek style meal. Got to love being able to drink wine between classes!!
With a slight buzz (just kidding...well kind of) we walked off to our next class, our Socio-Political Forum. This class isn't in the main school building but at the school's Cultural Center which is a 5-10 minute walk through Plaka. The center also contains our library and a wonderful rooftop which you can see most of Athens, and happens to be right at the foot of the Acropolis. This is an interesting class because it isn't a lecture based class from a textbook. Instead, the ambassadors from different countries come and speak to us about topics of their choice. We are encouraged to ask questions and engage in the discussion while they are speaking. We have been instructed not to dispose the name of the ambassadors that are coming. So therefore I won't publish it online where anyone could stumble across it but if you want to know shoot me an email and ask and I might let it slip. :) Our professor in this class is a typical Greek man but he is a very educated man and spent many years in the States putting himself through undergradurate, masters, and doctoral degrees. He also served the United Nations and now teaches as part of his retirement. This should be a very interesting class that will allow us to broaden our horizons and "American" ways of thinking.
After class I have a longer break because I am not taking the Greek Mythology class with many of the students so I have an almost empty apartment to myself which is a nice break. Afterwards I have my Business Law class. Not much to report, professor is a pretty funny guy who is extremely sarcastic. Probably will be one of the least interesting of my classes but it is a requirement for my Business Minor at Clemson.
To celebrate our first day of classes we went to our favorite bar, Liquid. We had a good time and met some other Americans and even some Spainish guys. Surprisingly everyone warned us about the Greek ones trying to hit on the girls but these guys did their fair share of flirting also. Demetri our favorite bartender hooked us up once again and we had a very good time. We got home around 2:30 then because we are still half on American time we stayed up until almost 5 just hanging out and talking.
Wednesday we slept in because we had been up so late and in the afternoon we continued our walking tour around Athens and we went to the Metro Station in Syntagma Square (the large square closest to us, a major hub in the city). We went into the Metro however we did not actually ride it because there was a huge strike. All of the public sectors (buses, Metro, post offices, etc.) were closed. The workers were striking for better wages, more benefits, and other things. The Metro ran for only a few hours but everything else was closed. It didn't affect us too much but this is a common thing in Athens for people to go on strike so we have been warned to stay away from the rallies that are often associated with the strikes because sometimes they can get out of hand.
After our Metro tour we walked with Owen (the graduate student assistant) and got all kinds of tiropites (cheese pies). It is one of his favorite places and it is right off of Ermu (one of the large streets in Athens with all the good shopping). It is very close to our apartments and I am sure we will be there often, especially since it is only 1.70 euros for one pita. They have many varieties including chicken, spinach, olives, zucchini, leeks, and even sweet versions as well.
With our stomachs full we started walking towards Gazi an area that has incredible graffiti art. However on our walk I received a call from my theo Panagiotis and so I left to group to wait for him to come and pick me up and take me to his house for the afternoon. He lives on the 3rd floor of the building while his sister (Ioanna) lives on the 2nd with her two daughters, and his parents (Thea Maria - my papou's sister and Theo Angelos) live on the ground level. This is a very common living situation for families in Greece. When we arrived at the house we first visited with Thea Maria and Theo Angelos. It has been 8 years since I have last seen them so it was nice to catch up and I am looking forward to being able to spend time with them while I am here.
Afterwards we went upstairs to meet Ioanna's daughters, they were a little shy because the last time I met them they were much younger and I am sure that they don't remember. They both play the piano so after they played a few songs for me I did my best attempt to play something from memory for them. The girls had to go to English School (like we went to Greek School) and so we went upstairs to meet Panagioti's wife, Theodora (Dora) and the new baby (Angelos). Also Dora's sister Dina was there as well so we all sat around and talked for several hours.
We had cafe (coffee) and torte (cake - Black forest cake actually - Dina's birthday was the day before). When the baby woke up we were able to play with him all afternoon. He is precious!! He will be a year old in March so I have been invited to come over for his birthday celebration. After Ioanna came home from work she and the girls came upstairs and we all visited together.
Finally we ate dinner at Thea Maria's and she had artichokes (don't know the Greek for this one yet) and potatoes. She was so embarassed that she hadn't fixed a larger meal, but my visit was unexpected so she didn't have enough time to prepare. They were already planning the next meal for when I visit again. Theo Angelos insisted on having pizza but then Panagiotis reminded them that I have pizza at home in the States and that while I am here I should eat Greek food. It is so nice to know that they are so accomidating, I guess that is what family is for.
Around 9 pm I got home to find a large group of fellow students gathered around in our kitchen discussing traveling plans. We found a great deal to Italy, a round trip ticket from Athens to Milan for only 138 euros. We told our director, Dina, today and she said a one way ticket should usually cost that much so we should book it as quickly as possible. We figured out the dates we wanted to go (around March 19-24th) and decided to fly into Milan then travel by train to Florence, Venice, and Rome. This weekend is actually American Easter so we might be in Rome during Catholic services and celebrations.
Today, Thursday, is our second day of classes and so far so good. Our Greek class is going well, however today after reviewing the alphabet the entire period my roomate, Rena, who is also Greek, and I discussed with our teacher a plan in which we did some of the additional chapters in our Greek book so that we might advance ourselves at a quicker pace than the class. Because we both speak it and can understand it we need more grammar and extra practice compared to the class. Our teacher was willing so we will see how quickly we can learn some new things.
After class we had frappe's (iced coffees) and tost (ham & cheese panini type sandwiches) at a little cafe near school. They are so quaint on the inside, because they are all like loft apartments with an upstairs sitting area. We all gathered on couches and comfy chairs and had a late breakfast. To celebrate Valentine's Day we have decided to go out to eat as a large group so we had a few recommendations of restaurants from Dina and so we went exploring to find them. We found some cute little streets and great photo opportunities on our way.
We got back just in time for our Greek history class which turned out to be surprisingly very very interesting. After class we actually gathered outside and talked about how much we enjoyed the class and how we are looking forward to learning more about the subject. It isn't often that a bunch of college students can discuss positive things about their lectures so that was quite refreshing.
While we were in our class one of the students from Greece asked us if we had felt the earthquake. To which we responded, no. There had been an earthquake measuring 6.7 about 140 miles from Athens. We however did not feel it so looks like we all survived our first earthquake. Needless to say all of our parents, family, and friends have been trying to get in touch with us all day but we are all well and accounted for.
In the afternoon we all attended our socio-political forum class together and after class when we went to discuss with our professor that we would be out of class for our trip to Italy we were unpleasantly surprised to find out that the days we have picked to go happen to fall on the class period when the US Ambasador is coming to speak to the class. This may be an issue seeing as if 15 + US students are not in class on that day. Hopefully this will all work itself out.
As for now I am off to my last class, sorry for novel but this is the easiest way to let everyone know what I'm up to without personally calling or emailing everyone individually. Hope all is well back home and I hope that it is warmer than it is here because it is FREEZING here. Today was the first day we had sun all day. But they are calling for snow on Saturday so we will see. That's all for now. More to come later...
-ya
Monday, February 11, 2008
Yassas apo tin Athina - or something like that...
So here is it my second evening in Athens so I thought I would update everyone on the past couple of days...
My flight over was fine, not a full flight so lots of room to spread out and sleep. I chose to curl up in the back corner of the plane and actually got a fair amount of sleep. One of the girls in my program was on my row so in the morning after we slept some we chatted and did the whole, "where are you from? where do you go to school?" etc.
We arrived in Athens around 10 am Greece time (3:00 am on the east coast). Owen Hunt (a graduate student at the university and an assistant to the director of Student Affairs, Dina) greeted us and we met a few of the other students coming in. Originally the plan had been to stay at the airport until 2:30 when the majority of the students would arrive. However, they took pity on us and allowed us to leave the airport around 11:00 after about 6 of us were already there so that we didn't have to sit in an airport for another day.
Problem with leaving the airport was my theo/cousin/older Greek relative, Panagioti, works near the airport and came to say hello but after he paged me several times he found the other students and they informed him that I already left. Oh well, I'm sure I will see him soon.
We got settled into our apartments fairly quickly, and unpacked most of our things. Our apartments are beautiful. Tall ceilings, wood floors, clean bathrooms, all the necessities. After we got unpacked we went to eat lunch at a typical Greek outdoor restaurant, complete with pushy old men begging you to eat at their place. Since I was the designated Greek-speaking guide I told them that we weren't ready to eat and that we were going to keep walking. Eventually we found one and enjoyed mousaka, pastitchio, salata, and spanikopita.
In the afternoon everyone else got here so we all hung around the apartments and got to know everyone. At 6 pm we walked to our school, only a couple of left turns, less than a 5 minute walk, for our orientation. Afterwards we all had dinner together at a local restaurant.
That night, since it was our first night here, we went out to a bar called Liquid. After agreeing to only go out for an hour, we ended up having a blast and staying out until 2:30.
After fighting the alarm clock all morning and the construction outside, we finally got up and moving. We went to the electronic store and bought blowdryers and other girl things. Then we went to the phone store and bought cell phones. I get free incoming calls so if you want to get in touch with me buy an international phone card and call my cell.
This afternoon we went on a walking tour of Syntagma Square (the main square in Athens) and learned where many of the mainstream stores, restaurants, and other things were. After the walking tour we stopped to eat at a restaurant called Everest. An interesting salad/sandwich shop where you can get made to order items.
Next we met up with our Student Government and they gave us a tour of Monastiraki and other areas. They were all typical Greek and European guys, cutting up with each other and picking on one another. I struck up a conversation with one, thankfully they all spoke English farely well, and eventually it came out that I was Greek. Then he got all embarassed when he realized I could understand what he was saying and he told his friends to be careful what they said around me. They told us about a few bars and clubs so hopefully they will take us out sometime soon.
This evening we went to the grocery store nearby and made dinner. Psari (fish), vegetables, psomi (bread), and of course feta. Afterwards a group of us went walking and found a place to sit and get some glyka (sweets/desert).
Now here it is 2:30 am and we are all still awake, even though we all have class at 10 am. Oh well, when in Greece do as the Greeks do I suppose.
My flight over was fine, not a full flight so lots of room to spread out and sleep. I chose to curl up in the back corner of the plane and actually got a fair amount of sleep. One of the girls in my program was on my row so in the morning after we slept some we chatted and did the whole, "where are you from? where do you go to school?" etc.
We arrived in Athens around 10 am Greece time (3:00 am on the east coast). Owen Hunt (a graduate student at the university and an assistant to the director of Student Affairs, Dina) greeted us and we met a few of the other students coming in. Originally the plan had been to stay at the airport until 2:30 when the majority of the students would arrive. However, they took pity on us and allowed us to leave the airport around 11:00 after about 6 of us were already there so that we didn't have to sit in an airport for another day.
Problem with leaving the airport was my theo/cousin/older Greek relative, Panagioti, works near the airport and came to say hello but after he paged me several times he found the other students and they informed him that I already left. Oh well, I'm sure I will see him soon.
We got settled into our apartments fairly quickly, and unpacked most of our things. Our apartments are beautiful. Tall ceilings, wood floors, clean bathrooms, all the necessities. After we got unpacked we went to eat lunch at a typical Greek outdoor restaurant, complete with pushy old men begging you to eat at their place. Since I was the designated Greek-speaking guide I told them that we weren't ready to eat and that we were going to keep walking. Eventually we found one and enjoyed mousaka, pastitchio, salata, and spanikopita.
In the afternoon everyone else got here so we all hung around the apartments and got to know everyone. At 6 pm we walked to our school, only a couple of left turns, less than a 5 minute walk, for our orientation. Afterwards we all had dinner together at a local restaurant.
That night, since it was our first night here, we went out to a bar called Liquid. After agreeing to only go out for an hour, we ended up having a blast and staying out until 2:30.
After fighting the alarm clock all morning and the construction outside, we finally got up and moving. We went to the electronic store and bought blowdryers and other girl things. Then we went to the phone store and bought cell phones. I get free incoming calls so if you want to get in touch with me buy an international phone card and call my cell.
This afternoon we went on a walking tour of Syntagma Square (the main square in Athens) and learned where many of the mainstream stores, restaurants, and other things were. After the walking tour we stopped to eat at a restaurant called Everest. An interesting salad/sandwich shop where you can get made to order items.
Next we met up with our Student Government and they gave us a tour of Monastiraki and other areas. They were all typical Greek and European guys, cutting up with each other and picking on one another. I struck up a conversation with one, thankfully they all spoke English farely well, and eventually it came out that I was Greek. Then he got all embarassed when he realized I could understand what he was saying and he told his friends to be careful what they said around me. They told us about a few bars and clubs so hopefully they will take us out sometime soon.
This evening we went to the grocery store nearby and made dinner. Psari (fish), vegetables, psomi (bread), and of course feta. Afterwards a group of us went walking and found a place to sit and get some glyka (sweets/desert).
Now here it is 2:30 am and we are all still awake, even though we all have class at 10 am. Oh well, when in Greece do as the Greeks do I suppose.
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