Me Husband - You Wife

So our first Saturday began with a day of shopping.  The weather was beautiful – sun was shining so brightly.  First I made a glorious omelet with my fresh tomatoes and onions and ate on the balcony.  Shopping went well – no boots yet though.  We got lots of awkward looks from everyone.  See it is their winter right now so everyone wears big furry coats and gloves.  For us – it was hot weather so we had on light shirts and pants.  This old man even poo-pooed us for showing our skin in the winter.  But as Yanna (our Greek teacher) told us – who cares!  After shopping we were all so exhausted we came home and watched a movie.  I napped until about 11p and then it was time to get ready.  We went to Psiri to look for dancing.  It was an interesting adventure.  Not all of the roommates wanted to go out so it was just Corrine and I from our apartment.  It was a rainy night in Athens so we got a cab as soon as possible and headed over to Psiri.  It was a very crowded area with a lot going on.  Corrine and I decided to go on our own adventure.  We looked for places to dance and found a couple for a little.  We then decided it was pizza time.  We got a slice of pizza and were eating as we were approached by Indian men.  The Indian men sell flowers (and umbrellas when it is raining).  They got to talking to us and asked to come back to America he said he would be the husband and we would be the wife.  We declined the offer and took a cab back to Pangrati where we stopped in a place near us and met some locals.  It was a good night for an adventure. The rain continued until we got home and only got stronger so we were drenched.   

Tomorrow is Sunday so everything will be closed – good weather calls for an adventure to Piraeus but we shall see.

“4 by 4 Greek Grannies”

We began our day with another trip to the hospital to finalize our Greek Visas.

We got our own x-rays of our chests that they need to look at to sign the papers.  And we got to keep them!!!  Instant wall decoration.

After business, we took some time to walk around and shop downtown.  On our way back we got a stray dog.  He was adorable and in love with Corinne.  He followed us all the way to the market – crossing huge highways (looking both ways of course).  It was Friday – so the open air market was open near us.  It was amazing.  So many fruits and vegetables for so cheap.  For instance, 12 of the freshest oranges you could ever imagine for 1.50.  Just so amazing.

After our hectic morning, we had our classes.  We normally don’t have classes on Fridays because of all of the field trips we go on but this week was different.  In our archeology class it was so hard to stay awake; however, his quote above was about the discovery of idols with generous proportions.  He said the next time we see a 4 by 4 Greek granny to picture them without their clothes on and the idol will make more sense.  In our Modern Greek class we had our first quiz on the alphabet and some Greek words.  After classes I finally made it to the grocery store with Kathryn and got my necessities.  It was then nap time before our first night own on the town.  The girls all got together at our place before setting out to Gazi.  It was a great night with lots of dancing and fun.

Roommate Bonding Time

I had a very productive morning – woke up, ran, shower, laundry, breakfast, etc.   But I also had a very large epiphany.  I was in the shower and the showerhead doesn’t have much strength to it, so when you push it up to get under it slowly droops down until it is spraying the wall.  One time when I was pushing it up it kind of lifted up and this is when I realized that it comes off to hold it in your hands.  I was so excited that after my shower I ran out to the balcony where roomie was working out and told her.  Apparently everyone knew and I was the last to discover it.  Nonetheless – still exciting.  Then after getting ready I found out that there was a huge thunderstorm that I slept right through.  Living with freshmen for 3 semesters has definitely changed my sleeping habits.  After getting ready we had our Sanctuaries and Festival class, which went well.  In between classes Corrine and I took an adventure and found our way back to the Centre no problem – the city is getting much easy to navigate.  Then we had our first Archeology class.  I feel like it is going to be a good class that also includes tons of field trips.  After class the roomies and I wanted to go shopping to get some going out attire for Friday night when it started to rain.  We didn’t let that stop us; however, once downtown we realized that stores kind of have their own hours.  They take a break from around 3-5ish depending on how they feel that day.  

We got in a couple stores but nothing too great.  So no boots yet.  But hopefully soon.  We stopped into this adorable restaurant, Parliament House (we think that is the name) and had a wonderful first meal out together.  Here is all the wonderful food and drinks:

The food was all amazing and the restaurant was so nice to us.  They spoke some English so that helped and the food was amazing.  It feels weird not tipping a lot- I'll have to get used to that.  But eating dinner for 2 and a half hour was something I could get used to.

Meet the roomies:

After dinner we returned home and talked for hours getting to know each other but had to turn in early to get up to go back to the hospital to get our TB test read!!!

Rainy Day in Athens

So this morning we were forced to wake up before the sun – and it was a cloudy morning so the sun was already hiding – and get ready to meet to go to the hospital.  I was excited, obviously, because I really want to study Greek medicine while I am here.  We went to the wrong hospital first and it literally looked like every hospital in old movies – the Pepto pink walls, looked completely unsterile, you expect the nurses to come around in those little caps (they didn’t though).  Picture "The Notebook" when she is treated Lon. Cool in movies; kind of scary to think we were going to be treated there.  But it was the wrong one so we walked down the street and got into the right one.  A little nicer.  At the hospital we got a TB test – just like the States – and a chest x-ray.  The chest x-ray was a interested experience.  We had to be topless (alone in the room with the nurse – but still) which didn’t really make sense to me because it is an x-ray but nonetheless, I did it.  After that they just told us to get home.  We were told to take the 10 cable car and it would take us to the stadium.  Three of us finished up pretty early so we got a ticket (1 euro and is good for 1.5 hours after you validate it the first time) and went to the bus stop.  We waited and waited and waited.  505, 13, 7, 14, 95, 95X all passed by continuously but 10 never came.  One girl in the group went to ask the kiosk guy about it.  Even though the sign says that the 10 comes he said “14, 7, 505 – no 10”.  We found out later that the buses are going on strike tomorrow (public transportation takes turns going on strike here so we have to keep an ear out for when that happens) so we are thinking maybe the 10 just started early.  Anyway the rest of the group caught up and we took a different bus to the stadium and then took a walk to Syntagma square in downtown Athens where a LOT of shopping is located.  Here are some photos of the adventure:

A couple girls needed to go to the Bank; I wanted to get stamps.  We succeeded in that and then headed back to the apartment to get ready for class.  We had our Greek City State class again today and our Modern Greek.  During class our first Athens rain came through – it was nice though because the air had been humid all morning.  After class – and a quick trip for Gyros – we all ‘watched’ Zorba the Greek… I multi-tasked and finished up some homework but I’m trying to just participate in everything here… even the not so great stuff.  It is all part of the experience and so far it is amazing :-) We are going shopping tomorrow so hopefully I can find some boots to wear over the weekend!!!

Meeting Mary

I enjoyed my Greek morning to the fullest.  I got up, got ready, and enjoyed a breakfast on the balcony.  The first class of the day was the Sanctuaries and Festivals of the Greeks by PSU teacher Mary Lou.  It seems like it is going to be a good class.  It includes a TON of field trips, which will make the classes a lot more interesting for sure.  During my break I met with my Greek Language Partner – Mary.  We went up to the balcony – the sun was shining so beautifully – and the 2 of us chatted for a while.  She is in her second college studying English and gave me the low down on Athens nightlife and where to shop.  She also took the time to teach me numbers.  Once that was over, I got my first Greek salad, which included no lettuce but was amazing.  Our second class of the day was on Byzantine History.  The teacher for that is from the Athens Centre and seems like it is going to be a good time.  This course also includes a ton of day trips.  After classes it was a quick swing by the bakery for some cookies (our apartment is getting quite friendly with the bakery woman – we speak more and more Greek each day).  I cooked up the rest of my Greek salad for dinner, chose not to do my reading assignments, and just took some time to watch a movie (Dear John) which I (surprisingly) have not done since I’ve gotten here.  We had to turn in early because we were informed that it was an early morning trip to the hospital for a TB test and chest x-ray – more on that tomorrow!  No picture today… but it is all still beautiful, I promise. 

First Day of Classes

I decided that I wanted to have a very productive morning so it began with my first run in Athens.  Just a nice morning jog around the Olympic Stadium – that’s all.   

Then I got back and showered, washed clothes, did the dishes, made breakfast, ate on the balcony and got ready.  Class didn’t start until 1:45p so I had time to finally go get some hair products.  I remembered during our Pangrati tour there was a Sephora so I figured I’d probably have the best luck there.  I found it all by myself and got everything I needed.  Thank goodness I brought my face wash/lotion because it was over twice the price there in euros.  I relaxed a bit- reading a book and having a cup of tea.  Then it was class time.  We all left together to go to our first class taught by both of the PSU teachers – Mary Lou Munn and Mark (Marky Mark) Munn.  It is a course about the Greek City States and it is a role-playing course, my favorite! Haha, but it actually seems like it is going to be really fun because it is going to incorporate all of our field trips and probably help me understand everything a little better.  We got our first homework assignments, which require a ton of reading.  I think it is going to be a challenging but fun course.  After that we had a break where I took advantage of the free internet to catch up on some things, and then we had class again at 4:30.  This class is going to be awesome.  It is a Modern Greek course taught by Yanna of the Athens Centre.  I honestly feel that I will be able to speak Greek in the next month.  We learned so much yesterday including: the alphabet (which in case you didn’t know was ripped off from the Greeks giving that the first two letters are alpha and beta – alphabet), basic words, curse words, what gestures not to make (arm straight out with palm showing and fingers spread apart is equivalent to our middle finger – which makes things difficult when explaining how many of something you want because if it is 5 you have to be very careful), and how to pronounce the letters.  I literally feel like a little kid.  Our homework in that course was to rewrite the alphabet in upper and lower case and copy 3 lines of text.  It is going to be very beneficial though.  After class my roomie, Kathryn, and I got our 2 euro gyros and went home to do our homework.  Later in the evening a bunch of people from the program met at our place, and we went out for a little.  Class tomorrow starts at 12 (normally 11) so I decided to have a Greek morning.  Going to sleep in and have a slow start :-)

Downtown Athens

The day began early – I got up showered, enjoyed my breakfast on the balcony (I don’t think that is going to get old at all), and walked to the Centre to meet for our downtown tour of Athens.  But first there was a wonderful view to look at again – only this time with some of Athens’ wonderful smog.  This is the best that the air is in the year so we’ll see what happens in the future.  The tour was amazing.  It was such a tease though because I wanted to stay in all of the areas all day.  We got some time in the Athens square to get lunch where I got my first gyro – so good – and we walked through the flea market.  Here are some photos:

After he tour the Munns’ decided that hiking up a mountain would be exciting.  In workout clothes. I may have agreed, but in the jeans and Toms – it was adventure.  But so worth it.  Let the pictures talk:

After the hike we about died.  But made some time to get to the café and catch up with home and such.  I also did my first load of laundry in Greece – just washer, no dryer.  It went well haha… all of my clothes dried by the morning so looks like it will work just fine.  The rest of the night was spent relaxing and preparing for class!!!