Santorini: Day 1

Early Friday morning the 17th, 18 of our group caught a ferry to the island of Santorini. We left at 7:35am, and arrived on the island at around 3:30. We hadn't made any arrangements regarding where we were going to stay, since we had been assured there would be plenty of people there to offer us rooms. Since it is the off season here, everyone is more eager to have any business for their rooms, and to get rid of unwanted merchandise in the stores. Very good for bargaining :) When we first arrived, we saw many people with signs, but assumed they were waiting for friends or relatives. It turned out they were waiting for us. Several people came up to different members of our group, and kept offering us different locations, different prices, different options. It was very exciting. Finally one man led us off to the side, and offered us a price. As other representatives came over to speak with us, he would start shouting at them (loudly) in Greek - I assume to tell them to get away from us... that we were his customers. He ended up lowering his price per person by 3 euro while we stood there and debated, and took us in vans up to his little hotel near Fira. His name was Artimis, and he and his sister Maria run this small hotel. (Where, by the way, Nia Vardallos has stayed several times, and has become friends with Maria). There was much confusion and bustling about as they tried to figure out where to put us all. Splitting up 18 people into a comfortable room situation is a bit tricky when you have people who want to stay together etc. Somehow I ended up being in a room by myself, so Artimis took me upstairs and gave me a single room which should have cost 70 euro. I definitely got a deal! I was on the top floor, had my own balcony, and a view down to the sea. It was beautiful. There was a pool, which was apparently very cold, and beautiful flowers climbing all the way to the balcony.

In the afternoon, Kaitlyn, Lauren and I all walked up towards Fira, stopping just short of the actual town, and then walked back to meet the rest of the group for a lovely dinner close to our hotel. I love the fact that meals take longer here in Europe, and one can feel free to just sit and enjoy a meal. I will probably miss this when I get back in December. After this Lauren, Kaitlyn and I walked around a little bit, and tried to get a fairly early night before our full day on Saturday... which will be coming later!

Classes

I have four classes at the City University of Seattle Athens site, one is modern Greek, the other three should all count for my Communication major at Messiah. I have one syllabus so far... classes started last Monday, but apparently it's not that big of a deal here :P It's also quite an ordeal getting books, but I should have the books for all four classes as of 4-5:00 today! Amy and I gave a half hour presentation in our Tuesday night class last night, after having one class, with no syllabus, and not having gotten the book until Thursday afternoon. Oh, by the way, when I asked the professor what he wanted from the assignment he said, "have a power point, and write a summary for me". That was about it. It's a good experience for me to have to wing it a little bit more here, compared to my obsessive compulsive preparations at Messiah!!

Classes are interesting, however, and I'm slowly adjusting to the different format -- where students have had heated arguments with each other and the professor in the middle of class and people talk and get up and walk around before the professor has said the class is done. Strange for me! But it's fun to have the full experience since in most of my classes I'm the minority and the majority are Greek students. And I'm so grateful to God that I got all the classes that I needed! Which is really miraculous if you truly understood the changes that have been made to everyone else's schedules!

Missing you all but having a marvelous time!
~Joanna

Olympia

We headed to the site of Ancient Olympia, where the Ancient Olympic games were held, and Kaitlyn was almost shaking with excitement! (She proudly sported her Messiah track and field t-shirt.) Stella led us through the museum, which included the Nike of Paeonios and the statue of Hermes of Praxiteles, the latter of which in particular is in excellent condition. Obviously there were many beautiful pieces, but those were probably the two highlights. Stella then took us down to the actual site of the ancient Olympic games, and we saw the remains of the large guest house, the temples to both Zeus and Hera, as well as the reservoir built by Herodes Atticus. Just in front of the reservoir, there is a small rock alter which was for Hera originally, but is now the place where the torch for the modern Olympic games is lit, and where the journey starts from. There is a special ceremony, and the first runner is given the torch, once it is lit on the alter, and they run to Athens. (which is a long way, ps). We then went to find the original Olympic stadium! Kaitlyn ran first, the 200m to the end, and the 200m back. Then Amy, Lauren and I all ran down and back, which was awesome. Kaitlyn, Rich and Courtney all had a BCA race, Rich taking the "gold", Kaitlyn "silver" and Courtney "bronze". We had made a laurel wreath for Rich, and had a mock ceremony :) We enjoyed then walking back through the ruins... we unfortunately enjoyed walking so much that we just missed seeing the new prime minister who was very recently elected. Some of the kids from BCA saw him and shook his hand, but we were nerds, and read plaques and missed him :( Oh well.

Then we drove all the way back to Athens... which took a few hours, but I enjoyed listening to my iPod... I had listened to Mahler's 9th symphony the day before, and chose to shuffle the iPod on the way back to Athens. Napping was also a must on the way back :)

Missing you all! I'll give you a brief update about the start of classes soon!

Mistras and Sparta

On Saturday, after our wonderful day Friday, we drove from Monemvasia to Mistras, which is a ruined Medieval town in the foothills above Sparta. Stella again gave us a brief historical backdrop, and left us to our own devices to explore the ruins. We hiked up to the top, where the ruins of the castle are, which was tough, especially after our Monemvasia climbing! The views were, however, gorgeous and worth the weariness of our legs! We climbed down, and I was again impressed by the vastness of the ruins! Imagining what it would have looked like in its heyday was slightly overwhelming and very impressive. Some of us got a little lost on the way down... I managed to get confused only once, which I thought was pretty good actually, and then met Diomidis and Napoleon (who had decided not to climb to the top) and Stella at the bus, which took us down to Sparta to see the statue of Leonidas and eat some lunch. The bus transported us in the afternoon/evening to the other side of the Peloponnese to Olympia, which is located in a comparitively flat area. It is also quite close to the sea, and we were treated to truly excellent views from our bus windows. When we arrived at our hotel, we saw huge tables set up with glasses, and hotel staff placing what seemed like close to a hundred candles on the entrance to the lobby. Using our excellent logic, we concluded that there was to be a wedding reception at the hotel that night, especially taking into consideration that it was a Saturday. (It seems as though ALL Greek weddings are on Saturdays!) We had dinner at the hotel, which was very entertaining, including discussions about our pets (a popular topic amongst many of our students). Kaitlyn, Lauren, Amy, Erin and I all retired to one of our rooms for about an hour of the iPod game (which was hysterical), and then headed out to see modern Olympia. The Greek national soccer team was having a playoff game against Latvia, so after doing some late night window shopping we settled down with various coffees (I've become addicted to cappacino fredo) and watched the game from our outside couches :) We watched the Greeks score 3 goals, and had a marvelous time celebrating quietly with the Greeks in the cafe. It was another lovely day!

More information to follow shortly about Olympia (I hope) :)

Corinth and Monemvasia

So this is likely to be a long post, due to the fact that it was a long and eventful day!

The BCA group, plus Diomidis and his friend Napoleon, met our guide Stella (whom Aphrodite hired to take us since she is still restricted to her apartment with her broken leg) at the Hilton hotel at 7:30, to head off on our 3 day trip to the Peloponnese. We stopped first at the Corinth canal which is 4 miles long and links the Ionian and the Hadriatic seas (I think). Roman Emperor Nero actually began construction on the canal, but work was abandoned at the time of his death, and the modern canal was not completed until 1893. It was only another 10 minutes to the site of Ancient Corinth, where the apostle Paul spent a good deal of his time. It was here that he is supposed to have written the earliest book of the New Testament, 1st Thessalonians. We saw the remnants of the temple to Apollo which is one of the few remnants from the Greeks, due to the vicious invasion by the Romans. The Romans had great respect for Apollo (he's the only Greek god not to have a Latin name as well), hence why the temple was left intact. An earthquake left the temple in ruins, unfortunately, and the rest of the ruins are from the Roman reconstruction of Corinth at the time of Julius Caesar. We saw the place where Paul was taken to the Roman tribunal at Corinth, which was so amazing it can barely be described. The place itself wasn't hugely impressive - an ancient Roman wall -but the fact that it was where Paul was taken to face the Roman tribunal was so crazy. We walked on the main road of Ancient Corinth from the Roman period, and all I could think of was that maybe Paul walked here. After our visit we climbed back in the bus and drove a long time down through Sparta to...

...Monemvasia! Stella installed us in our hotel, and then we took a bus to the foot of Lower Monemvasia. Monemvasia is essentially a huge rock island, connected to the peninsula by one narrow bridge. Monemvasia is the remains of a fortress left from the the medieval times. Stella told us a little about the history of the place, and then left us on our own until dinner time. We all started up the mountain, which was... so tough! There were so many steps, and the steps were uneven, and the rocks were slippery, and I was so glad that I had worn my sneakers! I took a break about halfway up to take some pictures (and catch my breath) so ended up arriving at the top without the rest of my group, who weren't in sight. I walked to the right, towards the monastery and away from the castle (which is at the very peak of the rock). It was absolutely beautiful, but unfortunately locked up due to vandalism. I noted out to my right an expanse which held more ruins, which begged to be explored. After finding a path (?) I trekked out to the ruins, which actually led to another path which led to another peak with more ruins. These were built right up to the edge of the cliff, which is a straight drop off several hundred feet down to the beach and water. There was a magnificent turret, which I went to climb into and then discovered there was a large opening down off the cliff to the water. I climbed in anyway (very carefully) and tried to take some self-portrait photos with varied success. After enjoying this for a time, I wandered back through the wind and the sun (which was priceless) and hiked up to the remains of the castle, where many from our group were already. We asked a couple from Switzerland to take a picture of us all, and I took a picture of them, after randomly speaking with them in German :) As I said before, I have a magnet! We then all climbed back down to where I had been before, and then after more exploring there, we headed back down and across the bridge for dinner!

Monemvasia = one of the best places in Greece so far for me. Aegina, Meteora and Monemvasia are battling it out in my heart right now... not going to lie! It's a good fight to have!

Miss you all!

Delphi/dinner/and Hydra

Again, I apologize for not keeping you better informed... the internet has been particularly hard to come by in the last week.

Last Sunday we stayed home after our wonderful day at Aegina on Saturday. I felt very domestic - doing laundry (in the bathtub) and mopping the floors of our bathroom, kitchen, hallway and foyer.

Monday we took a day trip to Delphi - the Sacred Oracle of Apollo. Stella took us up the Sacred Way, where we saw what remains of the treasuries and monuments, the remnants of some Roman additions, but were unfortunately stopped about half way up, even before the temple because of some falling rocks :( We also visited the museum, were we saw a beautiful statue of Antinoos and the famous Charioteer. I have decided I love museums and love taking pictures of statues and sculpture.

On Tuesday we had lectures for 7 hours :( and a meeting with the registrar, who informed me that I was able to take the three classes that I needed as all of them were being offered! What a blessing! Wednesday we had a slow morning, coming down to the University to check for internet, and Amy and I spent a very pleasant afternoon wandering through Monastiraki doing some window and actual shopping! I found some good bargains, and walked into an 11th century church which I have kind of fallen in love with, just sitting in the middle of one of the streets down into the Monastiraki area. Inside I met up with a young German tourist (I think I have a magnet) and we spoke briefly about Greece and Germany etc. etc. etc. Later on Wednesday night, all of the BCA students met up with Deo, his friend Napoleon and the boys' other roommate Ludo, and went to dinner at a restaurant in the Plaka with traditional Greek folk dancing! It was great fun, and we were even allowed to use a few of the steps we had learned at our Greek dancing lesson up on stage. I felt very educated in my Greek music as I knew probably four or five of the songs that they played from a CD collection Lucy and I once bought for our parents. I think I have probably used it the most now :)

Thursday morning, after very little sleep :( Kaitlyn, Lauren, Amy and I all got up early and again took the Metro down to Piraeus, to take a flying dolphin to the island of Hydra. Hydra took about an hour and a half to get to, and we arrived a little after 9:30. We ending up just wandering along the port, past boats and donkeys. Hydra is almost completely motor vehicle free, with only an occasional trash truck, and donkeys (and I believe a saw a few mules as well) are the only form of transportation. Many of the shops were closed, as not many of the in and out tourists do not arrive until later on in the day, so we wandered all the way up to where there were a few windmills, tremendous views and gorgeous blue water and sky. The largest windmill was actually the one that was restored for the 1957 movie Boy on a Dolphin with Sophia Loren and Alan Ladd. We wandered down along the coast for a while, climbing many stairs up into the back part of the town, and then came back down to the port. We were all feeling a little hungry, so stopped in a marvelously quaint bakery at the end of a dead end street. After finding a bench, across from a stand of donkeys, we ate our various pastries while watching some Greek kittens. We were also treated to the influx of tourists at around 10:30, who flocked into the shops which opened up for the occasion. The man with the donkeys across from us yelled every now and then at the tourists saying "donkey, yes?" and something in Japanese to the Japanese tourists. When we had finished our mid-morning snack, we did some shopping, (I found a beautiful set of worry beads, which I have been testing out for the past 2 and a half weeks, and met with a friendly French shop owner who spoke 5 languages. We asked her what to do on the island, and she recommended a small village just to the left of the actual town of Hydra. We followed her advice, finding that we had already walked almost to the village in our previous excursion, but discovered a pebble beach where we stood in the surf for almost half an hour. We all agreed that we could probably have stayed there for much longer. We walked back into town, (which took around 30 minutes) and walked over to the opposite side of the port, where there is a large statue of famous Greek general from Hydra, and a large type of turret with cannons. Here we rested and watched the sea for around 30-45 minutes... I spent a significant amount of that time lying on a cannon (which was awesome). Around 3:30 we went to go find lunch, and ended up at a gyro and souvlaki shop over by the windmill, which was fantastic. They had two tables outside with a bench, where we sat and ate happily and in peace, looking out at the harbor, and watching the owner play fetch with a cat. Our flying dolphin back to Athens left at 4:25, and we had to say goodbye to the lovely island with donkeys and the "Sophia Loren windmill".

Aegina!

We returned from Meteora on Friday night, and four of the girls from my apartment, myself, Amy, Kaitlyn and Lauren (we do a LOT together) all decided that with our approaching two days off, we should do something interesting and exciting. We explored the options for ferries to the nearby islands, and finally settled on trying to get to Piraeus (the port) early in the morning to catch an 8:00 ferry to one of the islands on Saturday. I got up at 5:45 :( and we started to walk to the Metro. It was raining, which made us all a little nervous, however we all proclaimed that the weather on the islands would certainly be better. Every time it rains in Athens, however, I feel as though I'm going to kill myself. All of the sidewalks (or at least most of them) are marble or a very smooth stone, which means that I usually slip and slide, and almost face-plant about every 5 steps when the sidewalk or path is wet. So after a treacherous walk to Megaro Moussikis (metro) we successfully made it down to the port by 7:30. We were able to get ferry tickets to the island of Aegina for just under 10 euro, and hopped aboard the 8:00 ferry. It was also slippery on board... and it took the four of us about 5-10 minutes to find the E deck (which is outside with benches, as opposed to cushy chairs inside)! But after a few minutes of travel away from Athens, the sun broke through the clouds is a beautiful manner, which really encouraged us as to the weather on Aegina.

We arrived at Aegina, and before starting our tour, we checked on what times the ferry left for Athens, and the last one left at 6:30. We wandered up along the sidewalk to the left, and discovered an archaeological site/museum, and the ruin of a temple to Apollo. The museum was very interesting, and included pottery from 2,500 BC... which is 4,500 years ago! I suppose coming from a country where our history (even before we were a country) only dates about 500 years, everything here seems all the more ancient to me. I think I actually enjoyed the ruin of the temple to Apollo even more than the Acropolis, because the Parthenon is covered in scaffolding, and you can't really even go that close to it, whereas at this ruin on Aegina, you can walk all over the site, and stand directly next to the column that survives, and I at least felt it was a more authentic experience than it was when we went to the Acropolis. Maybe it was also the fact that there were four of us as opposed to twenty-five... I don't know. But it was wonderful. I also met a lovely German lady from Koeln, and we enjoyed speaking about our experience so far. I love taking the opportunities to practice my German :D

The four of us then continued on, doing a little window shopping, and stopped for a bite to eat. (I had an apple croissant and a cappacino fredo (iced) which was AMAZING!) We asked one of the shopkeepers in a place we stopped what else we should see on the island, and she recommended the Temple of Aphea Athina. So we went and (with difficulty) figured out the bus system, and bought tickets to head to the other side of the island - only a twenty minute drive - to see the Temple of Aphea. The bus ride was extraordinary... my first in Greece so far, and I described it while speaking to my dad as being a sketchy bus making tight turns around sharp corners at seemingly high speeds. We held on for dear life and made it safely! This temple was built in the same style as the Parthenon, with Doric columns, but is still largely intact. Obviously it is still in ruins, but is quite well preserved. The views of the sea were marvelous, and after looking over the site, we waited for around an hour for the bus to come pick us up at 3:00. The ride back was similarly eventful to the trip there, but we again made it safely. We were all feeling a bit hungry again, so picked out a picturesque little restaurant on the waterfront with white tablecloths and blue chairs, and had a delicious and large lunch. Chicken kebabs with lime is truly rather divine when one is hungry :) We had a long lunch, enjoying the sights and the sounds of the island, and having a good conversation about lots of different things! After lunch it was time to buy the tickets for the last ferry, and we had enough time to walk up and down along the line of boats one more time before walking aboard.

Because of the timing, the sun was just beginning to descend when we got aboard, and the sight as we left the island was truly beautiful. I was absolutely entranced as we continued our journey back to Athens as the sky slowly turned pale orange, and pick and slowly deepened into darker reds and purples. The other girls went inside after a while because it was a bit chilly with the wind, but I couldn't leave. I took a picture probably once every 3 minutes, because the light kept changing, and getting even more and more beautiful. By the time we reached Athens, the moon (which was close to full, if not already) had risen on the left hand side and the sky was dark, and the sea was a deep navy, just with the light of the moon in a line, and then the sky slowly turned to a deep purple, and then lavender and then down into the deep red behind the mountains as you looked to the right. It was truly magical... and I felt as though there was nothing more important that I could have done with that hour than just sit there and listen to music and watch the sunset. I think Greece may be slowly teaching me that every now and then it is just as important to do not much of anything than to do something in particular.

Meteora

So, I apologize for being out of touch for so long. It's been pretty busy around here in Greece, and the internet at my apartment has been patchy at best. Last week, shortly after I last wrote, the BCA program students took a two day trip to Meteora. My parents had told me that it was wonderful, because they went during a trip back in the early 1980s, but I didn't quite expect it to be quite as wonderful as it was! We had about a 5 hour bus ride, but a couple of good friends, and my iPod (and some brief naps) made it quite a bearable trip! We arrived at the hotel where Aphrodite had arranged for us to stay, which was very nice, clean and comfortable. I appreciated very much the fact that you couldn't feel the springs in the bed (as opposed to the beds in my apartment). Aphrodite hired a tour guide named Stella to guide us around the monasteries, because obviously she couldn't do it with a broken leg. We were impressed by her bravery even to come. So Stella took us to the first monastery, that of St. Athanasios or the transfiguration, which is obviously high above everything else. Meteora is the name of a group of monasteries built up on the extremities of rock formations. Pillars of rock literally shoot up from the ground, creating a marvelous and unusual sensation. I was struck with awe at how difficult it must have been to construct these beautiful churches hundreds of feet above the ground, when stairs were only introduced recently. It was magnificent. The first monastery was truly beautiful, and I felt as though every direction I turned I wanted to take another picture! Which I did, usually :) After this, our very impressive bus driver took us down to a scenic lookout point, where we took more photos, and climbed on some of the rocks. I never cease to be amazed when I am in Europe at the more relaxed attitude about guard rails or fences. I have the sense that in America, I never would have been allowed to climb up on the top of one of these rocks, and stand around a foot from the edge of a several hundred foot drop! Which was very exciting and very fun... but felt distinctly un-American! We were sent down a flight of steps that was so long I sent up a thank you to God that I didn't have to hike UP the flight of stairs to reach the top of the rocks, and we came to another smaller monastery, which I unfortunately do not know the name of. After more pictures of the flowers and the rope ladders, we trekked down to the bottom of the stairs, where Stella and the bus were waiting for us. We had dinner at the hotel, and decided to take a walk after to enjoy the town of Kalambaka, where our hotel was located. Many students got ice cream, but I avoided... the dinner had been so large and filling. It was great because all of the cafes were filled with Greek men of various ages, watching a football (soccer) game on the TVs. Because it's already the beginning of October, the tourist season seems to be winding down at least a little, which means it's slightly easier to get the "feel" of the community. Obviously without living there, one can't really get the sense of that, but I felt as though we were treated at least to a small taste of what life in Kalambaka might be like, at least on the night of a football game!

The next morning Stella, (who reminds me a little of the father in My Big Fat Greek Wedding with her enthusiasm in pointing out the Greek origins of MANY English words, and also calls us all her "little darlings" or "dear little ones") took us to two more monasteries, that of Varlaam, (a saint about whom apparently practically nothing is known) and the nunnery of Saint Stephen. Both were beautiful, and many more pictures were taken at both places. I was shocked to find that when I loaded these photos onto my computer when we returned, I had taken over 200 photos. Beware if you ask to see my pictures when I get home, everyone!

So after these two monasteries, we returned to the hotel, picked up Aphrodite, and drove the 5 hours back to Athens. The trip was marvelous, and Greece just keeps getting better and better! I will be writing again soon to catch you up on things after Meteora... but want to keep everything organized in regards to the posts! Miss you all! Ya sas!

Beach!

Just a brief note to let you know that the beaches in Athens are gorgeous. All of the BCA students took the hour tram commute down to Piraeus yesterday, where there are multiple beaches! We spent about four hours on the beach. The sea was BEAUTIFUL! Much more peaceful and calm than the Jersey shore. There were sail boats out on the water, and the sun was gorgeous. I spent most of my time just walking along the beach listening to my iPod - so relaxing! - and did nap for a while as well. I'm a little sunburned, but not too bad, and have a very slight wristwatch tan ;-)

This morning we had a very brief summary of Greek history, and a lecture on the high points of Greek literature. Then we had to take a survey for the study abroad program, and now all of the students are checking the e-mail and internet before heading off for the afternoon.

Unfortunate news is that our fearless leader Aphrodite has broken her leg! She fell, apparently, on our way down from the Acropolis on Saturday which caused the break. I am so sorry that this has happened to her, especially while she was bravely leading our group around the sights. :-( Hopefully we will still be able to take our trip at the end of this week to Meteora!

Ancient Agora, Acropolis, Parthenon!

Kalispera (good evening) or rather Kalimera (good morning) for most of you! This morning Aphrodite took our whole BCA group to the Ancient Agora and Acropolis. We took the metro down to the Monastiraki station and walked to the Agora (marketplace) which is where all the important men of Athens would have gathered in Anicent times. The famous Greek philosophers (Plato/Aristotle/Socrates in particular) would have gathered to discuss their ideas. I never knew before meeting Aphrodite that so many English words come from the Greek... the Dad in My Big Fat Greek Wedding was right... maybe not about the Windex, but definitely about the Greek words.

We stopped first by the Temple of Hephaistos (or the Theseion) which is beautiful and large... but only around half the size of the Parthenon. We had 45 minutes to wander by ourselves around the Agora, to see as much as possible and take pictures which was fantastic! We stopped in the Agora museum which had things from the 5oos BC. We then proceeded to walk up to the Acropolis - high place is right! it was quite a walk! - and stopped at Mars Hill which is where the Apostle Paul spoke to the Athenians. Then up to see the Acropolis. Not only is the Parthenon present (named for Athena Parthenos - which means the Virgin Athena), but also the Propylaea (the main gate), the Temple of Athena Nike, the Erectheion, and the Parthenon. Absolutely amazing. Words could honestly not describe it all... you'll just have to see pictures later!

Amy and I then walked from the Acropolis down to the Syntagma area, bought an inexpensive lunch... mine was a twisted spinach pie (AMAZING) and we ate them on a bench in Syntagma Square. Then back to the apartment. I can't believe I'm living in Athens! Yay!

Brief dinner/market/classes update

Hello again...

Just to keep you up to date :-) I wanted to tell you about yesterday afternoon and today. Yesterday, instead of taking an immediate siesta after orientation, a couple of girls from the apartment and I all went walking down into the Monastiraki district as planned for later, and explored some of the narrow pedestrian streets (beautiful) which felt more like Europe to me. Somehow the large city and cement buildings doesn't have the same kind of Europe feeling! We found the cathedral (have to dress up to go in later) and other charming small churches and shops. We also had our first viewing of the Acropolis, which was awesome (it is indeed indicative of its name - Acro means high point, and polis means city or citadel). We then went back and had our siesta. All of the BCA students went out to dinner at a taverna in the Monastiraki district (in view of a lit Acropolis) and we had a really good time. The food was excellent, and our host not only pleasant but entertaining! They gave all of us free desert of yogurt with honey, which was amazing. I never knew yogurt could be so amazing! Absolutely delicious.

Anyway, enough about the food, it was an enjoyable evening, and it feels very nice to be assured that it is safe to walk in Athens, even after 11:30, which it was by the time we were walking back. We all try to walk together for security, but so far it hasn't been scary at all. Aphrodite has warned us many times to be careful, but so far I don't feel as though security has been an issue. Obviously I'm not running around being stupid and obviously foreign and oblivious. So... she warned us of places we shouldn't go... so I'll avoid those for three months and it should be just fine. :-)

This morning the same four girls from my apartment, Amy, Lauren, Kaitlyn and I all went to the open-air market in our area (which is called the Hilton area, because the Hilton is there... shocker) and had a wonderful time looking at all of the fruits, vegetables, herbs, olives, fish (bleh) etc. that were offered. I bought 5 bananas for about half the price they were in the small supermarkets, and conducted the entire purchase in Greek! Granted, this involved me saying a grand total of about 3 words, but still. It was in Greek.

We tried to register for classes today, but the lady was giving us a small problem about taking 3 extra classes. *sigh* I'm hoping it will all work out... but please pray that it will work okay! Thank you!

I think that's all for now... the Acropolis, Ancient Agora and Pantheon tomorrow! So excited! Addio! (Bye!)

Athens: City University and Orientation

Hello friends and family! Ya su! After departing from Washington Dulles on Monday afternoon, we arrived in Paris very early Tuesday morning, and then flew to Athens, arriving around 5:00 local time. I was very grateful for having managed to fit all of my things into one suitcase, a large backpack and my messenger bag, as trying to get off the large bus which transported us all into downtown Athens and get all of our luggage out without being able to pull over onto a side road was quite entertaining. My good friend Amy Skinner and I were able to do some rearranging as to be in the same apartment, and are sharing a room this semester in Athens!

After dropping off our luggage, our program director, Aphrodite, took us to dinner in a typical Greek taverna. The food was amazing! The tsatzeki was probably the best I've ever had, as was the feta cheese, tomato, onion and green pepper salad for starters. I think everyone slept well the first night, since we were all so tired. Yesterday, the 23rd, we had our first day of orientation, with crash Greek phrases, and tips about how to live successfully in Athens.

The walk to the University takes me around 35 mintues... hopefully this time will be cut later on in the semester when I've been walking more! Today all the girls from my apartment walked down for orientation together, arriving 5 min early ;-) and we had a few more hours of orientation. Amy and I at least are planning on walking back to the apartment for a siesta, and then exploring the monastiraki area this afternoon/evening. We received our food allowance yesterday, and I am trying desperately to live off as little food as possible so I can travel as much as possible! All the girls from our apartment went shopping last night... unfortunately I had to use some of my food money for shampoo and body wash, as I'd only brought travel sizes of those basic items. Oh well...

Plans to visit an open air market near our apartment tomorrow morning before orientation... fresh fruits and vegtables, flowers etc. Miss you all! Hope all of you are well.

By the way, if you want to send anything to me, (preferably just letters, as apparently packages are quite an ordeal to receive over here) I have an updated/better address.

Joanna Barnhouse
City University of Seattle
1 Karitsi & Kolokotroni str.
Syntagma, Athens
105 61 Greece

Stay tuned for more info!

Preview #4 - Orientation

Hello friends-

Just to get you as excited about the 1 week count down to my departure, I thought I would give you a little hint about what I'll be doing for the first part of my time in Athens. I arrive in the afternoon of the 22nd of September, after a flight from Washington D.C. to Paris and from Paris to Athens. That evening our program director will be taking us to dinner in a Greek taverna (yes!) and then I suppose we'll be dropped off in our apartments. The next few days we'll be spending in orientation, some talks, health info, meeting with the registrar etc. On Saturday the 26th we'll be taking an organized visit to the Acropolis, if I haven't already managed to make in there in one of my earlier evenings. Starting on Monday I'll have two three hour lectures on Greek Literature. Other lectures include the Evolutions of International Criminal Law (Sounds awesome!), Greek Religion, and others. On Wednesday the 30th in the evening I'll be participating in a 3 hour Greek Dance Class which makes me extremely excited!

During the first two weeks, we'll be taking trips to Meteora, Delphi, Ancient Corinth, Sparta, Ancient Olympia, and Mycenae. Classes officially begin on Monday, October the 12th, but I won't know what I'm taking until I meet with the registrar on the 25th of September.

Packing is also progressing... if slowly!

Hope you are all doing well, and enjoying the changing of seasons which has begun!

~Joanna

Preview #3: Address

Just in case you want/need to send me anything while I'm abroad, here's my address in Athens:

Joanna Barnhouse
City University, Syntagma
Athens, 10561, Greece

And if I don't have your current address, please feel free to comment with your address, or send it to me via message or e-mail!

Preview #2 - Visa edition

Good news! I just spent two days in New York City, visiting Lucy and picking up my passport and visa. I have my passport back, and was granted a visa for studying abroad. They only gave me a single entry visa, but apparently I can ask for it to be adjusted for multiple entry once I'm there at the University. Saying goodbye to friends and some family even during the past week has been tough, but it's really feeling as though I'm getting ready to go with the packing lists and having the visa in hand etc.

12 days 'till the flight out!

~Joanna

Preview #1

Welcome Friends!

My plan, rather than updating everyone by annoying messages to their inbox, is to send out e-mail journals to those not interested in blogs or facebook, and write updates on my blog instead of the messages. I'll be attaching photos hopefully to the blog and the facebook group.

Exactly two weeks until I leave! Get excited! I am :-)