γειά σου!
This means hello. It is pronounced "ya-sas". I know know how to say hello, hi, thankyou, sorry/ excuse me, so-so, bathroom, and the names of many of the nearby towns. I can't believe the amount of new things I learned today. I am starting to understand the Greek alphabet and it is getting easier to sound out the names of shops and signs.
This mornign we slept in (I'm tols it's one of our last opportunities to sleep late so I made it count). I got up in time for lunch and then after we headed on our first trip to Athens. We took a bus from Porto Rafti to Markovolo (1.40 Euro) then got on another smaller bus to Kariopi (1.60 Euro). Once there, we got tickets for the Metro bus (.50 Euro with a student ID). This train runs through a mountain and into the heart of Athens. We waited a very long time on the platform, but it gave us a good opportunity to talk and practice some of our Greek words. After riding the subway to the center of Athens we unloaded and walked out into a bustling station and then a beautifulthriving city.
With my rain jacket and waterproof shoes on (it was rainy and in th 50-60s today) we walked around Athens for a couple of hours. Here, we are warned, that there is a high risk of being pick-pocketed. I kept my bag infront of me with my hand on it the whole time, and I felt very safe. After finding our meeting place, we waled around the Plaka (an amazing street market with tons of cool shops). I can not wait to go back and get to explore all the shops! We walked for a while and even got to see the Acropolis lit up on the hill in the distance. We will be going there tomorrow for a more educational guided tour ( we will take notes for class). Then we headed back to the meeting place, Starbucks, and made our way back to the Metro station and back to The Artemis. It was so good to get off our feet and have lasagna for dinner. After dinner we set out tea and coffee, and some people watched a movie.
Tomorrow promises to be a very full and long day! We are set to leave on a bus at 8am and spend the whole day in Athens seeing the historical sites. And tomorrow night I will be eating at my first "Taverna" (No, it's not a tavern. more like a street vendor with gyros.)
Friday, January 21, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
It's all Greek to me... Literally.
I did not sleep Tuesday night. My parents and I drove to the DFW Airport at 4am. We went through the checking in process and then tearfully said our goodbyes. With no lines at security, I made it through in a little under 5 minutes from passport scan to pat down to putting my shoes back on. It was so easy and stress free, and for that I am thankful. I got to the gate with 2 hours to spare before loading. Believe me, with all the nerves consuming me that 120 minutes crawled by. I met my plane mate, Zack. We got to know each other, I got some breakfast, and then we boarded to plane to Newark, New Jersey. I slept for a few minutes on the plane and spent the remaining time talking to a nice woman from New York who kindly pointed out the Manhattan skyline through the fog during our landing. So now I can officially say that I have seen New York... This is the beginning of seeing so many new things!
When we landed in Newark at 10am we found our next gate and met our sponsors, the Thompsons. We were the second and third students to arrive in Newark, and all that remained to do was wait for the next 29 people to arrive. During the layover I had the opportunity to meet and get to know several new friends. I immediately hit it off with a few people and we had a great time talking about all the random things that come up in long airport conversations. I am very thankful for the bonds we formed in those hours sitting in New Jersey.
I boarded the plane for Athens at 5:45pm Eastern time. My new plane buddy, Jill, and I watched the Social Network as soon as the plane took off. During the middle of it we were served a chicken and rice dinner with a side salad and roll. I will not knock the airplane food, because I was starving and too tired to even care it it was good. As soon as the movie was over I fell asleep. According to my plane buddy, I fell asleep in the embarrassing way: head back and mouth wide open. Attractive, I know. No matter, it was worth it because I slept through the entire 9 and 1/2 hour flight. I woke up 30 minutes before landing feeling much more rested than many of my fellow Huggers (Harding University in Greece... HUG). We landed in Athens at 10:15 (we are now 8 hours ahead of y'all in Texas). We breezed through the passport stamping line, baggage claim, and customs. No one was searched and we had no problems. Once outside then airport we were greeted by the directors of the program, Mike and Beth James. It was so good to see them! I am definitely going to enjoy this semester with them. After boarding a charter bus and driving a quick 15 minutes to the small port town of Porto Rafti we pulled up in front of our home away from home, The Artemis.
The Artemis is the property that Harding bought in the 90s. It used to be a hotel for the tourists who flock to the area in the summers. After the economic downturn Harding bought it and changed a few things to make it a beautiful mini-campus. I am on the third floor living in an apartment with Victoria. Our balcony (yes we have a balcony) looks out over the front entrance of our campus. We settled in and unpacked everything. Then Fofi, our HUG cook, made the group lunch. We had a short info meeting about how things work around here and the rules. Then we had another info meeting about job opportunities. I signed up to be a Tea Time helper. My partner, Amanda, and I set out tea, coffee, snacks, fruit, and sometimes baked good every night at 9pm. It is fun and easy because we get to hangout with everyone in the dining room and play card or just chat. I have a feeling I will love having this time every night. After our meetings and tour of the Artemis we took a walking tour of the town of Porto Rafti. Everything is in Greek! It is a bit overwhelming to look around and not recognize anything (except the Ikea right by the airport and the Shell gas station down the street from us. We have learned several basic Greek words for common phrases. If I read them now I wouldn't be able to recognize them, but I do know how to say a few things... To say hi and goodbye you say "ya-su", thank you is "effhharisto" with the emphasis on the "sto", my name is spelled Really weird because they don't have a B in their alphabet. I will download the pictures I took later when we have some free time tomorrow. The best part about the walking tour was seeing the Agean Sea. It is the most beautiful place I have ever been, and I am looking forward to seeing so many more things! I can't even describe the beauty. Another cool thing about our tour is that there are street dogs that roam the area, and whenever HUG students are here they act as guard dogs. They walk along side of our group and protect us from other dogs, cars, and anything else they deam a threat. Right now they are sleeping at the entrance to the property and we are told they will stay there until the day we leave.
After exploring for a while and eating some delicious ice cream at a shop just down the block we went back to the Artemis for dinner, and a relaxing night watching a movie and playing cards. After tea time I headed up to my room where I am now writing this entry and I just got off of skype with The Mallorys :) It is 12:15am Friday morning as I write this. I am about to go to bed and rest up for a great day tomorrow. We will head to Athens in the afternoon and see the Parthenon and Mars Hill. Wow, I can't believe this is what the next 3 and 1/2 months will be like.
When we landed in Newark at 10am we found our next gate and met our sponsors, the Thompsons. We were the second and third students to arrive in Newark, and all that remained to do was wait for the next 29 people to arrive. During the layover I had the opportunity to meet and get to know several new friends. I immediately hit it off with a few people and we had a great time talking about all the random things that come up in long airport conversations. I am very thankful for the bonds we formed in those hours sitting in New Jersey.
I boarded the plane for Athens at 5:45pm Eastern time. My new plane buddy, Jill, and I watched the Social Network as soon as the plane took off. During the middle of it we were served a chicken and rice dinner with a side salad and roll. I will not knock the airplane food, because I was starving and too tired to even care it it was good. As soon as the movie was over I fell asleep. According to my plane buddy, I fell asleep in the embarrassing way: head back and mouth wide open. Attractive, I know. No matter, it was worth it because I slept through the entire 9 and 1/2 hour flight. I woke up 30 minutes before landing feeling much more rested than many of my fellow Huggers (Harding University in Greece... HUG). We landed in Athens at 10:15 (we are now 8 hours ahead of y'all in Texas). We breezed through the passport stamping line, baggage claim, and customs. No one was searched and we had no problems. Once outside then airport we were greeted by the directors of the program, Mike and Beth James. It was so good to see them! I am definitely going to enjoy this semester with them. After boarding a charter bus and driving a quick 15 minutes to the small port town of Porto Rafti we pulled up in front of our home away from home, The Artemis.
The Artemis is the property that Harding bought in the 90s. It used to be a hotel for the tourists who flock to the area in the summers. After the economic downturn Harding bought it and changed a few things to make it a beautiful mini-campus. I am on the third floor living in an apartment with Victoria. Our balcony (yes we have a balcony) looks out over the front entrance of our campus. We settled in and unpacked everything. Then Fofi, our HUG cook, made the group lunch. We had a short info meeting about how things work around here and the rules. Then we had another info meeting about job opportunities. I signed up to be a Tea Time helper. My partner, Amanda, and I set out tea, coffee, snacks, fruit, and sometimes baked good every night at 9pm. It is fun and easy because we get to hangout with everyone in the dining room and play card or just chat. I have a feeling I will love having this time every night. After our meetings and tour of the Artemis we took a walking tour of the town of Porto Rafti. Everything is in Greek! It is a bit overwhelming to look around and not recognize anything (except the Ikea right by the airport and the Shell gas station down the street from us. We have learned several basic Greek words for common phrases. If I read them now I wouldn't be able to recognize them, but I do know how to say a few things... To say hi and goodbye you say "ya-su", thank you is "effhharisto" with the emphasis on the "sto", my name is spelled Really weird because they don't have a B in their alphabet. I will download the pictures I took later when we have some free time tomorrow. The best part about the walking tour was seeing the Agean Sea. It is the most beautiful place I have ever been, and I am looking forward to seeing so many more things! I can't even describe the beauty. Another cool thing about our tour is that there are street dogs that roam the area, and whenever HUG students are here they act as guard dogs. They walk along side of our group and protect us from other dogs, cars, and anything else they deam a threat. Right now they are sleeping at the entrance to the property and we are told they will stay there until the day we leave.
After exploring for a while and eating some delicious ice cream at a shop just down the block we went back to the Artemis for dinner, and a relaxing night watching a movie and playing cards. After tea time I headed up to my room where I am now writing this entry and I just got off of skype with The Mallorys :) It is 12:15am Friday morning as I write this. I am about to go to bed and rest up for a great day tomorrow. We will head to Athens in the afternoon and see the Parthenon and Mars Hill. Wow, I can't believe this is what the next 3 and 1/2 months will be like.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Tomorrow, I leave...
Tomorrow, I leave for an amazing adventure abroad. I am starting this blog so my mom can follow my travels, stories, and pictures, yet I know a few others will stumble upon this and I hope you can enjoy something from my experiences. I am new to this type of forum, so please bear with me (also I may not have the best grammar on the planet, so forgive me).
For the next 108 days I will be spending the second semester of my Sophomore year in college on a semester abroad in Greece. Our group will live and study (yes we will have to study) in Greece just an hour outside of Athens. We take several trips, including a jaunt to Egypt, Israel, and the Mediterranean Islands. I have been looking forward to this trip for over a year. This Spring semester has consumed my plans (I am a major planner... OCD at times), it is all I talk about (sorry if it got old), and now that I leave in a little over 24 hours, I am still amazed by how blessed I am to have this opportunity. I know our itinerary, I have the packing lists, I have prepared and planned, and yet I don't know what lies ahead of me. Whatever happens, I aim to enjoy the journey, have too much fun, and learn a lot about myself along the way (and if I happen to meet a handsome Grecian man in the process so be it... just kidding... sort of).
I am finished packing except for a few minor things to be thrown in last minute, and believe me, it was a process. One 50lb suitcase, two carry on items, three trips to the store, a quadruple-checked packing list (yep OCD), and five hours later I am almost packed and ready to go on Wednesday morning at 4am... here is a picture of my packing process from start to almost finish.
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