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