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Hey. Just a quick update to say I finally got home safely. I'll put some ending stuff up this week.

:)

St. Nicolaos

Today is Saint Nicolaos' Saintday. He's the patron saint of Volos, so everything is shut down. As I passed by the large church I heard the most incredible singing. The church was so filled with music that it leaked out into a wide area around it. It was so wonderful.

Today I leave Volos. Tomorrow morning I fly home. I will update this blog again after I get home with pictures from the good-bye dinner and about my trip.

Thanks for stopping by.

December 5

Picture: My first day in Athens a long, long time ago in the National Gardens. From left to right: Will, Hilary, and Kyle.








My final presentation went very well, and our guests really liked it. They thought my concept was very original. I really liked seeing how everyone else's came together, too. Tonight is our going away dinner. It will be very bittersweet. We are all happy that our projects are done, but that also means that we have to leave Volos. Tomorrow Kara and I are going down to Athens. My flight is on Friday morning around 9:30. I get to change planes in Germany, go through customs in Philadelphia, and I get home around 8:30 Friday evening. That's 8:30pm home time. So it'll be early in the morning according to my body clock.
I can't believe that I'm leaving Volos tomorrow and Greece the day after tomorrow. I am really happy to be going home, but I can't really believe it.

Monday

Picture: Hilary and I in front of a Christmas tree on the waterfront
Today I learned that I received an A on my Greek final. I'm very happy with that result.

Yesterday we turned in our big, final projects. Mine ended up being around 25 pages. We are presenting them on Wednesday. Today the students in the Greek Culture and Place class are presenting their final class papers, so I get to take a break. Tomorrow we present our Mediterranean logbooks [thank God for spellcheck! I've been in the class the entire semester and still can't spell Mediterranean correctly!]. Mine is about Morocco and Casablanca. And on Thursday we have our exit interviews [not quite sure what those are about], and Kara and I will leave for Athens. Friday I fly home!

This is the end of the semester! Where did the time go?

Second to Last Week

This is our second to last week in Volos. It's almost time to go home! The semester has just flown by. Wasn't it just yesterday I was jet lagged in Athens wondering how I was going to get to the hotel? We're finishing up our FINAL PROJECTS. Mine is coming together really, really well. Today we turned in our Global Futures Final, so that is one more item I can check off my To Do list. I have completed my Mediterranean Cultures and Landscapes final even though it's not due for another week. :) All I have left to do is put my documents onto a CD-ROM for our Professor. My computer isn't letting me do that, so I'm going to find another computer to do that on. Our BIG final projects are due this Sunday, and we are presenting them next Wednesday. We will also be presenting them next semester at our home campus in America. The architects are working like maniacs on their designs. I am dotting the i's and crossing the t's. Everyone seems on track. I have started packing already so I can hopefully save some room by planning it out. Yesterday I was talking to my mom about what we're doing for Christmas. Wow. We're planning Christmas.
Kara said today, "I don't believe we're going home." It is hard to believe. It will be nice to go home. I miss home, but this was an experience of my lifetime. It has helped define the adult I am going to be.

Saturday night wedding

Last night while I was walking home past the large Orthodox Church on Ermou Street I noticed that all the stores were closing their doors which didn't normally happen. There was a marriage procession up the street. It was beautiful. I wish I had my camera, but I didn't. The bride wore a long, white dress with a train; and the bridesmaids wore dark green [short] dresses with a very short white fur jacket. I didn't get a look at the bride, but I saw her father as they walked up. All the guests were lined up in front of the church to greet the bridal party. It looked really nice.

Giving thanks

Picture: Before the feast
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner last night at Prof's apartment. A chef prepared traditional American foods including green bean casserole and mashed potatoes. Becci [the Administrator of the Drury Center] made pumpkin pies for us, too. It's just not Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie. We had a lot of food. Each apartment made something. It was really nice. Three students were traveling, so not all of us were there. We had a couple of our teachers come, too.

Finals and Thanksgiving

We have three weeks left [give or take], and our finals are starting to come up quickly. My first final paper is due on Wednesday. It's about the deciphering of Linear B. Next week we have a couple more final projects due, and on December 2nd the BIG PAPER is due.

This will be only my second Thanksgiving away from home. It will be my first real Thanksgiving away from home. My freshman year I got strep throat and sat in a reclining chair in my dorm watching Friends reruns all day. We are having a big, traditional dinner at the Prof's house on Thursday. It's going to be fun.

Meteora

Picture: Meteora
On Thursday our group took a day trip to Meteora, the second largest monastic society in Greece. We can't go to the biggest because they don't allow women. [Something about carrying 'the sin' or something] It was a horribly icky, rainy day; but we made the best of it. Meteora was once home to over twenty monasteries, but only six are on the World Heritage list. It is called Meteora [or "suspended in air"] because most of the monasteries are built on top of huge rock formations. We had to do some hiking to get to the top. In the rain. We went to Αγ. Στεφανου [St. Stephen's] first. It's the only cloister still working at Meteora. Then we went to the Grand Meteora which functions as a museum. We spent a lot of time there. Then we went St. Nicholas, which is one of the smaller ones. There was a beautiful view of the surrounding area, and we braved the rain to take some pictures. And then we found an open cafe and sat inside and had coffee and cocoa drinks.

Drenched cat

Picture: the Milko I bought. It's actually the GIANT sized one, a full liter. In the background you can see the watercolor I'm working on for a project. :)
Lately, ever since coming back from Barcelona, the weather has been a little... unpredictable. Yesterday we went on a day trip [post about that later], and it rained the entire time we were there. It caused a very different experience than other students who have been there before. So I've been here at the school building all day working on some important papers [the countdown to finals has begun], and it's about seven so I decide to have a little break. I went to Champions [the grocery store near us] and got a Milko [a wonderfully chocolaty milk drink] and a couple other things I needed for the weekend [cheese, bread]. As the cashier scans my first item, the sky falls down. It's a rush of wind and thunder and a torrent of rain. I'm watching it with horror knowing that I have to get back to the school building somehow. Usually it's not a very long walk, a minute or two, but in the rain that minute could stretch into hours. I hate being cold and wet. I don't mind a warm rain, and I know rain is important for our environment. I'm not anti-rain. Water is a rich symbol... but that doesn't mean I have to get drenched because I wanted a Milko. I waited outside the store underneath the overhang for a couple of minutes just to see if the rain stops. It didn't, but while I was waiting a drenched cat came skulking under the overhang from the bakery side. She sat down in the corner and just glared with her fur pasted down to her face by the rain. I didn't have my camera. I wish I did. The look on the cat's face was priceless. Then there was a break in traffic, and I figured it was as good a time as any to brave the rain and cross the street. I got back to the building, and a few minutes later some other students come in looking particularly wet. Will said that he had jumped the bushes in the median like they were hurdles, and he landed in a huge puddle. His entire front was dripping wet. That's why you don't do that.

November 9th

Picture: Juan marveling at the chocolate porcupines. Note the Barcelona hat.

Our free day in Barcelona. :) We found an International Chocolate Fair!! It was GREAT!

I went to the zoo in the afternoon thinking I would get to see Snowflake, the only albino gorilla in captivity. I paid 12 euro to get into the zoo. When I got to the gorilla section there was a nice plaque saying that Snowflake had died.

In 2004.

I was mad.

November Seventh

Picture: Hilary on the roof of Casa Battlo
Wednesday I saw all sorts of architecture stuff that I appreciate because it's pretty. :) If you want more details on the stuff we saw, ask an architect.
We saw Casa Amatller by Cadafalch, Casa Battlo by Gaudi, Casa Mila by Gaudi, Fundacio Juan Miro and la Sagrada Familia.





Picture: me in front of the la Sagrada Familia

Designed by Gaudi, going to be finished around 2030. AMAZING. Really interesting to see a new Catholic cathedral in the process of being built.

November Sixth

Picture: Kara posing outside of the Cathedral with Hilary off to one side taking another picture
We went to Barcelona's Cathedral. Unfortunately it was under renovation, so half the outside was covered in scaffolding. It was very interesting. All the shrines on the side of the main section were covered with railings.







Picture: Me at La Boqueria with an unknown fruit drink
We went to La Boqueria Market which was established in the 1840's. I have never seen so much good looking food for sale in my life! I stayed away from the seafood and meat areas. When I walked by one stand, the lobsters were moving slightly on their ice bucket. It gave me the jibblies. I bought a couple different fruit juices. I love the one I'm holding in the picture, but I don't know what fruit it was made from!



We also went to the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona except it was closed. We watched all the awesome skateboarders outside of it, though. Some guy was filming a documentary. One guy wiped out really hard. He got up ok, though, so it was funny.

We went through Museu Picasso. No Dames of Avignon, though. That's what I wanted to see...

Barcelona!

Picture: La Rambla with Glasgow fans
Once we got to Barcelona it was INCREDIBLE!! We stayed at the Hotel Atlantis which was right by La Rambla Street. We kept seeing people in soccer jerseys. Turns out that there was a HUGE game between Barcelona and Glasgow [funny how things turn out] on Wednesday. So there were a lot of people from Great Britain in the city. We saw a lot of really cool living statues on La Rambla. We were right by the street, so when walking to other places we were often on the street.

What actually happened

The plans given during the last post did not happen the way they were planned. Here's what actually happened.

We did get to Venice's Marco Polo Airport around midnight. There were no flights going out at that time. There was no representative from ClickAir or from Iberia to tell us what we needed to do. No one we talked to had any clue about our situation. The first flight the next morning for Iberia was at 8am, so we decided we would go to the airport at 6am to talk to someone at the counter. The only people around at midnight were security guards. We found a hotel [at 130 euros a night] and slept for a few hours. Then we went back to the airport and got onto a 9am flight for Barcelona.
So we got into our hotel in Barcelona on Tuesday, October 6th around 1pm when we should have been there over twenty four hours before that.

We are currently getting our money back for the hotel, etc. I am highly disappointed in both ClickAir and Iberia and will fly neither of them again. We were stranded in the middle of the night at a point in between our start and our destination with nothing. No word when we would get on a plane, no explanations, no lodgings, no food, no nothing.

stuck

Ok. I'm stuck in the Athens airport. Our flight was scrubbed, and our next flight doesn't leave until 10pm. We've been here since about 9am. It's been a long day and will be a long night. We're flying into Venice and then headed to Barcelona. We get in around 2am. ACK

Out of the country

I will be out of the country [Greece] from November 5th to November 10th. We're headed to Barcelona, one of my mother's favorite cities. It sounds like we'll be seeing a lot of important architecture stuff. Of course, the architects are really excited.
I've been hard at work the past few days on my projects. They are coming along nicely. I have been using my watercolors to paint some scenes from Volos. It's very hard to take the watercolors somewhere and paint there, so I've been taking pictures and painting from them. It's not the same effect, but it's the best I can do right now. If you're good while I'm gone I'll scan in some of my artwork and post it to the blog. I'm happy to travel again, although it means I have to pack again. I had to buy a new suitcase because I lost my duffel shoulder strap. I had to carry the duffel on a forty minute walk from the bus station to my new apartment. I'm not doing that again, so I found a small rolling suitcase for less than twenty euros. It's coffee colored. I like it.
We received our visa extensions, so we're set to get back into the country. :)
Oh, our washer is broken. :( But they're going to get it fixed while we are traveling, so when we come back our washer should be washing again. For now we're using the boys' washer. Since they live next door, it's not a big deal.
See you after Spain!

It's November?!

I can't believe that it's November already. I'm practically in shock.
I'm doing some harsh editing on my main project paper.
On Monday we're leaving to go to Barcelona for a week. We come back next Saturday.
I can't believe it's November.

Comme Ci, Comme Ca

Picture: Greeks walking up the street on O'hi Day.

I'm learning some interesting things in the past few days. Here are some of the highlights.

1. Amazigh is the language of the Berbers in Morocco. I'm waiting for the 'amazing' jokes to start.

2. "Comme Ci, Comme Ca" is a fun song performed by Cyprus singer Evridiki for Eurovision '07. Even though it's a fun song, it only ranked 15th in the semi-finals and didn't go on.

3. There are only two mosques in Morocco that non-Muslims may visit.

4. Eduardo Mendoza is one of the best modern Spanish novelists.

5. Greeks don't celebrate Halloween.

6. Edith Hamilton does not know everything about Greek mythology.

Midterms

So my midterms are finished, finally, but not without some hard work on my part. I guess that's what midterms are supposed to be. My main paper is now written in rough draft form, very rough. Today I'm editing it heavily, and tomorrow Prof is going to give me some good feedback on the paper. During my presentation of my midterm paper my classmates gave me some good ideas about how to make it better. I had a picture to upload for this post, but the site keeps giving me an error message. So no picture for you!

Today is October 28th, a holiday in Greece. "O'hi" Day, or "No" Day. It celebrates the Greek government's decision to not let Mussolini's forces just waltz in and take over strategic military points. The Greek dictator apparently just said "O'hi" and walked out. There were military men and women lined up at the large church in town when I walked by. I'm not sure what they were doing, and it didn't look like a time to just stand and watch.

So more hard work today! :)

Adventures in Scotland

Picture: Me and my parents overlooking Edinburgh
For Fall Break my parents, my aunt, and I went on a tour of Scotland. It was so cold! I LOVED IT! Even in late October it's still warm in Volos. The others got three nights in London. I only got one because of my school schedule [don't I just loved being ruled by class times?]. But we made good use of the afternoon, night, and next morning. We went to the British Museum [one of my life goals] and saw all sorts of really cool things. I picked up some nice pamphlets about the sculptures from the Parthenon that the British Museum houses. My Professor looked at it the other day and gave it back to me as he laughed. That night we went to see "Chicago", which is a musical I love. Mom and Dad didn't want to go see "Spamalot". I wonder why... Oh, well. I'm going to London in about a year and a half when I graduate anyway. It will probably still be running. "Chicago" was INCREDIBLE. I've never seen the caliber of acting/singing/dancing all at the same time. Well, at least from most of the cast. Kelly Osborn brought the show down a little bit, but luckily she played Mama Morton, so she was only a supporting character. Even Dad liked the show although he said he thought it was a musical review of the band Chicago. :) The next morning Mom and I went to the Victoria and Edward museum. In the afternoon we took the train to Edinburgh. On Sunday Mom, Dad, and I attended a service at St. Giles' Cathedral [not really a Cathedral, but it's really BIG]. The organ is very impressive.
The tour itself was really fun. We saw all sorts of cool things like the ruins of St. Andrews and St. Andrews Golf Course [which golf was invented or something], castles, sheep, Highland cows, men in kilts, took a boat ride on Loch Lamond, searched Loch Ness for Nessie, helped shear a sheep, cuddled a 10-day old puppy [see picture], went to a whiskey distillery, drank some locally brewed ales, tasted really good fish and chips, had lunch on the Isle of Skye, saw a Boarders inside a Grecian temple, did some sketching inside Glasgow Cathedral [and I wasn't the only one!!], heard a Gaelic a capella group, sent some postcards, and most importantly got to spend time with my parents and my aunt. I also bought peanut butter [thank God]. It's a lot easier to spend money in a country where you can read the labels of food.

Skiathos

We went to Skiathos on October 4th. We went by water plane which was interesting. The island was beautiful. Just beautiful. I couldn't take a bad picture. It was very relaxing. I'm just going to show you some pictures because no words can describe how pretty the island is.

Thessaloniki II

Picture: Me in St. James' crypt
Ok, on to Thessaloniki. We spent the first full day [Oct 2] walking around the old city. We saw a whole lot. We went to Agios Demetrios [St. James Church] which was built above the Roman baths where James was tortured and killed. Then we went to some Turkish baths which were a lot like the Roman baths. Then we went to Agia Sofia, the main church of the old city. Then we saw all the ruins left by the Emperor Galerius. The arch, the palace, the Rotunda of St. George, etc. Then to the Archaeological Museum and then the Museum of Byzantine Culture. The second day was less stressful. Everything we wanted to go see was closed, so some of us went shopping! It's not how we were supposed to spend the day, but I had a great time in the Greek culture.

Thessaloniki

Picture: Kyle and Hilary contemplating Dion

My group went to Thessaloniki on October 1st. It seems like a long time ago. First we went to the sites of Dion and Vergina [pronounced Ver-ee-na]. Dion is a famous Hellenistic city that is in the shadow of Mt. Olympus. Both Phillip II and Alexander the Great held great festivals at Dion to praise the gods for the great military victories they had. Dion is the first city to be built on a grid system with a central road down the middle of the town. The layout of the town is fairly well preserved along with some floor mosaics. Vergina is the final resting place of King Phillip II. No pictures were allowed in side the museum/site. I loved the fact that the tombs were surrounded by the museum. It was incredible. Phillip was cremated, so it wasn't even built to house his body. Just his urn. Alexander IV also has a tomb there. He's Alexander the Great's son. I was fairly impressed.

Honestly

Honestly, I have had internet almost all day today; but I am so tired from traveling that I decided not to update. There's just so much stuff that I haven't been able to update. I slept from about 8:30 last night to 10 am this morning. Luckily, I didn't have any classes today because our professors had to change their flights back. I've done some work on my projects today. Tomorrow our real schedule kicks back into place. It's only 6:40, but I think I'm going to head home.

Rundown

1. There is no internet at my school building. I'm at a bookstore on a time limit.
2. Thessaloniki/Skiathos was great.
3. Got back safely.
4. I am going down to Athens tomorrow night to catch a flight to London Friday morning.
5. I am meeting my parents in London for a vacation.
6. Grandparents and Aunt coming too.
7. We had to move apartments [more details later]
8. No pictutes because I'm on a public computer. Very sorry.
9. Might get internet tomorrow before I leave, but this is doubtful.
10. Schoolwork going well.

Traveling

Picture: Hard at work last Thursday
Hello, all! I just wanted to tell you that I would be traveling all this week, so there won't be any updates for a while. But when we get back, I'll have a lot of stuff to write about. We're going to Thessaloníki [second largest city in Greece] for three nights and to Skiathos [nearby Greek island] for three more.
I did some shopping yesterday, and I picked up a good looking book for beach reading this week. Skiathos is supposed to have some really great beaches.
Take care everybody! I'll be back next week!

Fun and Games

Picture: David contemplating his odds

Life in Volos isn't all fun and games, but last night it was...for the most part. Some of us got cleaned out very early in the Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament that was held in our apartment. That's why I'm not in the pictures. I sat around the table and debated who was going to win the thirty euro pot. Will won. He's the redhead in the second picture. He started very conservatively, but when a couple of us got knocked out he started betting high. He won a hand with an 8-3 when another player had pocket aces. He's really good. I just couldn't win, although I won the first hand so it made people think I was really good until I kept losing. Oh, well. I only lost 5 euro all together. We got our pocket change back. We don't have any poker chips. We can't find any... It was really fun for all of us, and it was a good game.

Picture: Justin [blue shirt] and Will [white shirt] with David as dealer. Will eventually won.

EiG:Canal

Here's the next episode! This took place on September 2nd. The Canal bridge was REALLY high, so I filmed from the edge of it after I crossed it. I didn't want to stop in the middle. :)

Cake

Picture: Prof's birthday presents. He shaved his beard yesterday, giving him a younger look than he normally sports.

There's been too much cake around here lately. I can't believe I'm saying this... There were two cakes yesterday for Prof's birthday, and today there's another one from a friend of his. I say "Too much!" Empty calories! Although it was a nice end to the school week to celebrate with a piece of cake. Not much going on this weekend. We're all concentrating on our homework because next week we'll be traveling again and won't have access to the materials we need for our projects. I have a bunch of reading to do and much research to continue. I have to give a thirty minute presentation on the "Great Islands" [Cyprus, Crete, Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica]. I have to choose a subject to focus on. I might just choose one of the islands to talk about, but I would prefer to include all of them in some way. The last group that presented talked about the traditional foods of their topic places. So I can't do food. Maybe I'll talk about music.

I am doing my second short presentation about Casablanca on the writer Abdallah Zrika. He's really cool. He was sent to prison for two years because his poems were deemed morally dangerous by the Moroccan government.

"Give me a glass
To sip this emptiness
And an arm
To measure this separation
Prepare for me a bed
Of glass
So that my nightmares slip on" Excerpt from "Black Candles" Pub 1998

Main Project

Photo: Matt and Will in front of one of the unused building in the Customs area

One of the courses I am taking is called "Global Studio", and I have sort of talked about some of the things we have been doing. Time to clarify. The Journal that I have been keeping since we started on that first day in Athens is a portion of the grade. It's much more important than a grade, though. It's the best record of our everyday life here in Greece. We had a check up the other day, and my Prof really wants me to draw more. If you remember, I'm in a program designed for Architecture majors. Our main project is centered around the Port of Volos where over the years buildings have become less and less used as the industry has shifted. Now at the west end of the Boardwalk [one of the most beautiful walks in the world] there is an abrupt change in the use of the buildings around the Customs House. Inside of a baby blue painted metal fence the Customs area has several old brick buildings with largely usable space that is vacant. The City officials have decided that they want to turn that spot into a cultural center, and they need ideas. Based on our majors, we're supplying some ideas. The Marketing major is coming up with a business plan for a microbrewery from Athens to open a new restaurant, the architects are doing stuff with architecture, our music therapy major is figuring out what the specific needs of the community are, and I am writing a history of the Port to further everyone else's goals. That's not the only thing I'm doing. [Thankfully] I didn't come all this way just to write another ten page paper [although I'm doing about five of those, too]. I'm also going to design an exhibit for the Port Museum that incorporates the unused space. My Prof turned down my idea for a living Bronze Age museum there. Apparently traditional sailing outfits would be distracting, but I say "hey, if there were more half naked men around more people would come to this part of the city!". Anyway, I won't be designing that until November; so I have some time to figure out what I want to focus on. There have been a lot of famous people who have come out of the Volos area. The guy who did the soundtrack for "Blade Runner" and "Chariots of Fire" is from Volos. So was Giorgio de Chirico, and plenty of more local celebrities worthy of some short biographies. Or maybe I'll focus on how important the Port was to the Ottoman Empire. It was said by a French Ambassador to Istanbul after he returned home that the city would collapse from starvation if the Port of Volos was conquered. Yeah. That's impressive considering the fact that Volos didn't build an actual port until the 1880's after independence, so everything before that was just using the natural port.
So there's a glimpse into my school life.
Here's a glimpse into my home life: I'm out of milk, and I bought milk on Saturday. They sell milk in liters here. One liter for something like 1.60 Euro that lasts for a day and a half. I didn't have a chance to go yesterday because of my school schedule. Allow me to show that to you.

Monday-Wednesday
9-10:15am Greek 102
Monday 10:30-1pm Culture and Place: the Greek Legacy
Tuesday 10:30-1pm Mediterranean Cultures and Landscapes
Wednesday 10:30-1pm Science Research
1-2pm Lunch
2-5pm Global Studio
5-6pm Global Futures

Thursdays
9-10:15am Greek 102
10:30-6pm Global Studio Charrettes [an assignment that is given at 10:30 and due at 6]

Friday, Saturday, Sunday Off

Now it may seem like a packed schedule, and it is. Remember that we're only in Volos part of the time. This is the third week we've had this schedule, and next week we're off of it again because we're traveling. Then another week on, and then a week off because of Fall Break. I don't think we have more than two weeks on this schedule at a time for the rest of the term. We travel a lot, obviously. I can't wait for Thessoliniki. It's going to be awesome. For now I need to concentrate on my other assignments. I'll write more about my other classes and Profs later.

EiG:Volos

The second webisode of Emily in Greece. These aren't in timeline order. Sorry.
This was our first day in our new home!

Birthday!

Picture: Kara and Juan laughing at something last night with Justin in white looking confused
Of all nine students, only one has a birthday this semester. So yesterday we celebrated Juan's birthday. We went to a Mexican restaurant [probably the only one in Volos] and had a great time! The food was really good, too, although the servers didn't speak any Spanish. A few in our group speak Spanish either fluently or very well. Now you may be saying "Why did they go out on Thursday night?" Well, we don't have classes on Fridays, so Thursday nights are like American Friday nights to us. So even though Juan's birthday isn't until Sunday, we celebrated last night. We lucked out and got an English-speaking server.

Other news...
Our computer labs are being used this week for a computer class that seems to be only half in English. The half I understand is pretty cool. I think it's a group of librarians learning a new application.
It got cold today. It's a good thing except that I haven't gotten a chance to spend any time at the beach since we got to Volos. I want to get warm for one more day then get cold again. I can deal with that pretty well.
All sickness has passed.
I'm doing several big projects this semester: history of Volos Port, big report on Casablanca and Morocco's effect on the Mediterranean, report on the deciphering of Linear B tablets, and the design of a museum exhibit. Looks like it's going to be a busy semester since we have to squish the classes in between our traveling weeks.
Picture: A really cool pic from our time spent in Dimini. I didn't take a good look at it until a couple of days ago. I love it.

EiG: Prison of Socrates

This is the first episode of my internet show Emily in Greece! Enjoy!

The guy in the shop

Picture: Kara drawing in her Journal during a break. There's a big ledge on the other side of the window, so she's not doing anything dangerous.

I'm in class for a long time every day, but we've had break time to eat and whatever. For the past couple of days I've walked down to a mini market that isn't far from the school. There's a really nice older shopkeeper who finds us Americans very amusing. He doesn't speak a word of English, but he always laughs when we speak in Greek to him. It's just one of those interesting things that happens here.

Yesterday we journeyed to Dimini [Neolithic fortress] and the Volos Archaeological Museum. Tomorrow we're going to Mt. Pelion. This will be interesting.

Sept. 8

Day 12 September 8 Saturday

It’s our first full day in Volos. Yesterday we had picked up some bread and jam from a store on the way home, so we had a bite to eat before heading to the school building. We have the key to get in anytime we need to, and that is the main point of internet access. I forgot my USB drive with all my blogs on it, so I’ll be putting all this up at a later date. The tech the Center hired was ill for a couple of days, so only three computers are fully working. The others are in the middle of being updated. I had to wait my turn to use the computer, and by the time I was done everyone else had left. A trio had gone to the beach, some others had gone out to lunch, and I got myself locked in the bathroom. I finally got myself out and went back to the apartment. I called my parents and talked to them for a while. I miscalculated the time difference and called them at seven a.m. their time. I walked to the store, called Champion, and bought myself enough food to last for a couple of days. I have a roommate who is very picky about buying her own food, and the stores aren’t open on Sundays. I went back to my apartment and realized that I had forgotten a couple of things. One of the girls I’m living with came back from visiting one of the boys’ apartments and said that she needed a couple of things at the store, too. We ended up at a German chain that’s kind of like a normal Wal-mart store. By the time I had gotten back to the apartment I had everything I needed to make a decent sandwich. It was getting dark, so the other girls wanted to get to the boys’ apartments before nightfall. I’m living with two other girls. One is dating one of the architecture boys, and the other is really good friends with the other business major of the group. I stayed here and did some laundry, made myself a samich, and did some stuff in my Journal. Have I explained the Journal before…? Here’s the rundown: The journal is the place where we write down our experiences and observations. It is a lasting public account of my journey, and I’m getting graded on the consistency of effort and quality of content. “It is a personal account with a potentially public audience. It is a monologue that may at any moment become a conversation. It is your portrait as a youth.” Every day of our trip around Athens and the Peloponnese we had an assignment or two, but we didn’t necessarily have to stick to answering the questions. A hard part of the Journal is that is has both written and graphic elements. I won’t be graded on how well I draw but on how I tried. [?] I think that’s right. Mostly I just sketch some basic stuff and fill the rest of it up with writing.

Sept. 7

Photo: Hot springs at Thermopolis

Day 11 September 7

We got to Volos today!! Finally! I am so ready to be here! We stopped at Thermopolis on the way here. Not much there. Apparently it’s right by some hot springs [hence ‘therm-opolis’ meaning ‘hot gates’]. Volos is a town of about 150,000 people. It is the third biggest city in Greece. Athens is the biggest with four million. Most people live in small villages. Volos is the place where the Argonauts launched from, but other than that there is not too much reason for tourists to come here. That is why we’re here. We like the tourist areas, but we want to learn about the real Greece. I am living in the “Anargyron” apartment so called because that is the street the apartment is on. We are only a couple of blocks from a grocery store, thankfully, and only about a ten or fifteen minute walk from our school building. We are also close to “Ermou” street which is the pedestrian shopping district and to the port. We can catch a bus and be to a really nice beach in a short amount of time. We met our Greek teacher, Yannis, and the administrator of the Center, Becci. Becci is an American. She lived in Florida and got her Masters degree in Art Therapy and came to Greece to take some art classes after she graduated. She fell in love and moved here. She’s been here two years and still hasn’t gotten used to the erratic driving of the Greeks. We finally got our stipend money [Whoo!]. After lugging our things into the apartment, all of us went out for lunch. Our science teacher couldn’t be there, but his T.A. Maria was. She is going to teach one or two of our sections because the main teacher will be at a convention. We went to lunch at a Tsipouradika restaurant that was right on the sea. In these kinds of restaurants all you have to order are these little bottles of alcohol and the waiters bring food to go along with it. They bring whatever they have in the kitchen, so it’s a bit of a luck of the draw situation. We got some really good food and a couple of things that I just couldn’t eat. The only thing we really had to order was liquor, some French fries, and a mushroom dish for the vegetarian in the group. I caught a glance of the bill as Prof paid. For the thirteen of us to eat a really good meal with two drinks each it was less than 80 Euro. Then the adults left us to our own devices. We took a look at one of the other apartments then walked back to our own. We walked down “Ermou” street. That’s going to be a fun place to shop. I’m turning in early tonight. I’m pretty tired.

Sept. 6

Photo: Temple of Apollo at Delfi as seen from the theater

Day 10 September 6

We spent most of the day on the bus. We were supposed to have stayed last night in Olympia, but because of the damage by the fires we stayed an extra night in Sparta. Along the way to Delfi [or Delphi] we stopped by the Trikoupis Bridge which is one of the biggest cable bridges in the world. Don’t ask me what that means, but our architecture majors were really impressed. Delfi itself is a very small town that seemed to have more tourists than residents. The Delfi museum is second only to the National Museum according to Prof. It is very big and very well explained. Some of the statues and monuments that were housed there are huge. Since Delfi was thought to be the center of the world, a lot of different cultures sent great gifts to the temple there. The temple itself is very big, but their theater is average sized from what I’ve seen. Sports were considered an art back in Ancient Greece and included in the large competitions that Delfi held every four years in the Pythian Games. Four cities rotated these games every year: Delfi, Athens, Corinth, and Olympia. Somehow along the way the poetry and theater got dropped and we are left with the Olympics as we know them. It was a long climb up to the top of the stadium, and when we got there we couldn't even get into the seats! We just had to walk around on the main level. Understandable because it's so old, but it still would have been nice to sit down after the climb.

Sept. 5

Photo: Monemevasia

Day 09 September 5

We went to the sparse Sparta Archeological Museum this morning. Lots of really good statues. Then we went to the Olive and Olive Oil Museum that resides in Sparta. I actually learned how to make soap out of olive oil. We spent the afternoon on an island called Monemvasia. The town is still inhabited even though it was built during the Byzantine Empire. We went to the ‘beach’ on the island aka the rocks with a ladder into the water. The Aegean is the most beautiful blue. It’s incredible.

Sept. 4

Photo: Me at the Convent at Mystras

Day 08 September 4

Today we arrived in Sparta. We stopped by at Tiryns, a prehistorical site, and Mystras which was a thriving town in the middle ages. Mystras was very cool. There are four or five churches in the site along with two working monasteries. I stumbled into one of the monasteries on accident. It was so beautiful. I got seperated from the group because I wanted to check out the churches and they wanted to check out the fortress. Then I couldn't find my way out. I kept going downhill thinking that eventually I would find the exit. I was a bit late to get onto the bus. We checked into our hotel in Sparta and then went to the ancient acropolis of Sparta. There’s not much there. There looked like there was a large portion of the acropolis that was still buried. We spent a long time talking about the reasons why Sparta hasn’t been excavated as much as some other sites. It’s very sad. The modern Sparta is surprisingly small.

Sept. 3

Photo: Nafplion Beach

Day 07

Today we visited a medieval castle near Nafplion named Palamidi Fortress. It has a long and complex history. It has been controlled by the Byzantines, Franks, Venetians, Ottomans, and Greeks. It was the first truly medieval structure that I have had the privilege to interact with. Some of it was difficult to get around in because the fortress is built into the side of a mountain. Then we visited Epidaurus which was the center for the cult of the Greek god of healing. It was also the first school of medicine. It also has the best preserved ancient theater in all of Greece. A couple of us performed there so the rest of the group could hear the acoustics. Our journal assignment was to reconstruct the site in writing and sketches back to its former glory. We learned some interesting things like in order to be treated by the doctors, a patient would be bitten by the sacred snakes and only treated when comatose. [that’s one way to do it] After an afternoon break at the beach the group met our Prof in the Syntagma Square of Nafplion. The Square is the heart of the city. We spent two hours figuring out why it was so important and describing the flow of traffic and various other things. Prof thinks the Square is a perfect example of an “Urban Room”.

Sept. 2

Photo: Corinth ruins

Day 06 September 2, 2007 10:00 pm local time Nafplio

Our bus was not at our Athens Hotel at 9 am this morning. There was a small snafu. We eventually got on the road, but we had to cut everything really short in order to get into Nafplio at a decent hour. We went to Corinth which was really interesting. Most of the recreation in the city is of the Roman Corinth and not the Greek one. And yes, there is a big difference especially when you’re expecting Greek statues and you get togas. The ruins were very extensive. Of course you couldn’t get anywhere near the most interesting parts because it was roped off. Then we headed to Mycenae which was the home of one of the most famous prehistorical societies. After the fantastic museum which included short explanations of the famous myths associated with the city [Perseus, Troy, etc] I hiked up the hill to the famous lion gates. Unfortunately, it started raining. It rained really hard. Then it began to hail. I was still underneath the gates with some other students and Prof. After I think a half hour of some people going out to test how wet they got, we decided to call it a day. We got ran and got back on the bus and came to our hotel in Nafplio. This city used to be the capital of the modern Greek state. The person who made that decision was assassinated about a year after that and his replacement changed the capital to Athens. The city is surrounded by ancient fortresses for us to see tomorrow, but for tonight we just had dinner and walked around the modern town. In the main square of the town we watched children play soccer for probably two hours. Good times. I had some really good pizza, too.

September One

Day 04 Sept. 1^st

Today is our last day in Athens. I feel so close to this city even though I’ve never been here before. I wish I could live here. Some things are strange, but almost all the experiences that I’ve had here have been positive. Since today was the hottest day of the month, we spent the morning in the National Archeological Museum. I saw statues that I had only seen in documentaries as well as plenty I could never imagine. It was so nice to finally see a good timeline of Greek art. The Museum is arranged in chronological order. I had been confused about that because sometimes Greek statues seem to be more Egyptian [that’s when they’re very old] and more Roman [because Romans ripped off the Late Classical stuff]. One of my favorite pieces I couldn’t take a picture of because the researchers haven’t published on it. I think my favorite piece was of the goddess Aphrodite about to whack Pan with her shoe. For lunch we went to a shopping mall. I prefer the Greek cafes. Prof was worried about the heat. We then went to the new Olympic Stadium. Very big. I preferred the museum. Of everywhere I’ve gone this week, I’m not sure what my favorite place was. Filopappos Hill, I think. I could really see how [hi]story effects me and how I effect it. Tonight all the students are headed to an Athenian microbrewery for dinner. Might be interesting. Tomorrow we’re headed off at 8 am to the Peloponnese. Whoo!

August 31st

Day 03 Aug. 31^st

Today we went to St. George Church which was built on the highest hill in Athens. From the top of it you could see everything in the entire city. It was an awesome sight. The café up there also charged five euro for a frappe which was a rip off, but it was nice to sit in the shade and sketch in my journal. After lunch everyone split off to go see another one of the Seven Hills of Athens. I went to Filopappos Hill which is right near the Acropolis except just higher. I had an incredible experience on that hill. It was the first time I had broken away from the group. I found the Prison of Socrates and several other monuments. I took a video of myself explaining everything that was going on. I’m going to upload that to YouTube and put the link up.

August 30th

Day 02 Aug 30^th

Today was incredible! I saw the Acropolis and the Agora and the Athens Sacred Way! All the sighs were so big and interesting, and all of them had wonderful museums that explained and gave examples of everything you were seeing. The Acropolis Museum was closed because they’re moving it to another location, but Prof gave us a really good run down of what we needed to know. I’m tired, so I’m going to bed.

August 29th

Day 01 August 29^th, 8:50 pm

First of all, you shouldn’t listen to word on the street. Second of all, I LOVE THIS CITY! I got to ride on a subway [or Metro here] for the first time in my life! It was so cool! And it only costs .80 euro cents for a trip! That’s like a buck to get to the other side of town! We ended up near the Acropolis for the entire day, but our mission objective wasn’t to focus on the ancient. We were to take in the sites, sounds, smells, food, and lifestyle of the native Greeks. Some of the streets I walked down were pretty touristy, but I feel like I’ve lived here my entire life. You can sit down at an outside table in front of a café, and people come up to you and ask you what you want to eat! And no one hurries you. For dinner [we ate early] we sat down, had a glass of water and decoded the menu until we found something that sounded good. I had a frappe to drink. Wonderful. So many of the people are just so nice.

Our first and foremost assignment is a travel journal in which we have to observe and sketch life. These journals and our projects will be on display to the entire college and public for about a month next semester. My sketches are… nothing compared to the architecture majors. [I’m ok with that.] However, I did sketch of a stray cat that turned out pretty well. We named her “Athina”. Tomorrow we’re actually going to visit the main archeological sites of Athens and study them. Today we just drank in the culture. I got lost a couple of times. Once by myself, and once with a group. We found our way eventually. It was really laid back. I got the cutest picture of some of my fellow foreigners on the Metro. Even though my back is drenched in sweat and my feet are throbbing, I am so happy. After we were totally on our own, four of us decided to head down to the harbor to attempt to find a beach to watch the sunset on. After about forty five minutes of walking we discovered there wasn’t a beach very close to the Metro station. So we came back to the hotel. It only took about forty minutes once we got on the Metro to get back from all the way across town. Then we walked a few blocks, but I feel so strong and confident. Tonight some are headed out for a real dinner, and some others [including me] are going to hang out around the piano bar in the main lobby and relax. I’m taking my journal because there’s so much to write about.

Mom, thank you for the day pack and compass. They both saved me. Also, thank you for the advice last night. You’re a lifesaver.

First Day

8:46 pm local time, 1:46 pm home time

I made it safely to Athens. The part of the airport that I saw was small, but I have a feeling it’s actually much bigger. I touched down, get through customs, and grabbed a taxi to my hotel. The taxi driver didn’t speak any English, but we made it here alright. He did charge me 10 euro above what the clicker said because he picked me up from the airport. I think I got taken for more than a taxi ride. As I was getting out of the cab, I saw three other people from my school in the lobby. It was a relief to know I wasn’t the first one. It was too early to check in, so we stashed our luggage and went exploring. We found a little bakery where we learned that cheese pie is not so good, and then we just started walking. We walked and walked and walked. Then we walked. I saw the American consulate and statues of important people I didn’t recognize. We found a great little park that was just beautiful. We walked through and took a rest at the farm animals’ pens. I got some great pictures. We also saw the changing of the Greek guard at one of the important-looking government buildings, but I didn’t get any good pictures of it. Fun to watch, though. Then we found the Old Olympic Stadium. It’s big, and from the large piece of ground in front of it we could see the Acropolis and the church that is the highest point in Athens. I think we’ll be visiting both of those before our trip is over. We’ll be coming back to Athens at other times, too. We found a TGI Friday’s to eat lunch at [around 2 o’clock]. That was weird. All the waiters spoke English, and the menu was in my native language as well [except for the drink menu]. I can drink legally here, but so far I haven’t. The drinks at the lunch place were over 6 euro! That’s like charging eight and a half dollars! Then we found our way back to the hotel after five hours of walking. Our clothing was soaked through. I got a touch of sun. It wasn’t as bad as I first thought, thankfully. After getting into our rooms and turning up the AC, most of the kids went to the pool. I took a nap. I felt a lot better after the nap. The flight was really long. Now most people have wandered off to see about dinner. I’m going back to bed after a snack and more water. I have had so much water in the past few hours, and I haven’t had to go to the bathroom. That’s how hot it is. My body will not let any moisture go. Tomorrow is our first meeting with our Professor, hereby referred to as ‘Prof’. He came around in the afternoon and handed out a sheet about our personal journals, a handwritten account of a youth’s journey through Europe. We meet tomorrow morning at 9 am aka midnight home time. Word on the street is that he’s going to dump up somewhere in Athens and we’ll have to find our way back to the hotel. Since I can’t find the hotel on my map, this will be interesting.

Airport

Day 00 August 27th
Because there is no free internet in DIA, this log will be uploaded at another time. For now, it is almost six a.m. and the sun isn’t up yet. Lucky sun. He got to sleep in. My parents, bless them, and I were up at 4 and got to the airport by five. It took about twenty-five or thirty minutes to check in and get through security. It took me another five or ten to get to my concourse which, of course, is the one furthest away from the main terminal. It was really hard to say goodbye to my parents. I love you guys. I would take a picture of me sitting in airport typing, but it’s just like any other airport. Now imagine me writing on my computer. Oh, and I’m in a skirt. It was an attempt to get upgraded for free. Not sure if I was… My flight just got bumped back by ten minutes. I have about a four hour layover on the East Coast, so it’s not a big deal. I forgot to ask the agent at the front counter if there was a later flight to Greece. Right now I’m on the 4 p.m. flight that lands at 9 a.m. Athens time [midnight to my parents if our calculations are correct]. Since I can not check into the hotel until at least noon or later, it would be worth it to get on a later flight and spend some extra time on the East Coast. In an airport. That probably looks like this one. C concourse of DIA looks like B concourse in Dallas. I fly a lot. I had a wonderful breakfast before I broke out my computer. It wasn’t on the heart-healthy diet I’m supposed to be on, but we’ll pretend like it was. I don’t think my doctor’s reading this blog. If you are, please know that I have stuck to that diet very well and that the non-sticking to this morning resulted from getting into the shortest line in the food court.
I’m strangely calm for a young woman about to cross an ocean. I have to cross a continent first. I still can’t believe that I’m actually going. I’m in total disbelief. It’s almost as though I’m just headed back for another semester at my college. I keep looking at the visa in my passport going… “I can barely read this language”. While in line for my wonderfully carb-full breakfast an older couple asked me where I was headed to. When I told them that I was going to Greece to study, they beamed at me and told me that I would love Greece. They went there for their honeymoon. The two of them are headed back home to Washington. My aunt said the same thing to me yesterday, “Don’t skip a thing”.

1:50 pm local time… 11:50 am home time
All the plugs in the Philadelphia International Airport are hidden. It’s like they don’t want you to charge your phone or use your laptop with a low battery because you were off-line blogging in Denver. I found a little niche that I’m hiding in. There are a pair of European boys [I think they’re Italian] stretched out on the chairs a few feet from me, and a couple American girls a row over. This seems to be the college age niche for kids who need a place to wait for their connecting flights. Airport security has passed by a couple of times and not said anything to me, so I’m going to keep writing and charging my laptop’s battery. I had an American lunch. It was small, so I’m probably going to get a snack before I get onto the plane. God only knows when they actually feed us and what it will be. I lucked out on the last flight. I was in the only row in the entire plane that wasn’t full. Of course, the guy on the aisle was really mean to the flight attendants. The movie was “Fracture” which I didn’t watch. I updated my travel journal which was about four days out of date and read a book on modern Greek history that my mother picked up for me before I left. PHL is really big. I was lucky enough to only have to go to the concourse right next to the one I flew into. They have a Liberty Bell made out of legos. [see picture] I’m facing an eight or nine hour flight…I’m still a little unsure of the time change. All I know is that it will feel like the middle of the night to me. Then I get to go through customs and stuff like that. For now, I’m going to continue people watching.

Airport

Day 00 August 27^th

Because there is no free internet in DIA, this log will be uploaded at another time. For now, it is almost six a.m. and the sun isn’t up yet. Lucky sun. He got to sleep in. My parents, bless them, and I were up at 4 and got to the airport by five. It took about twenty-five or thirty minutes to check in and get through security. It took me another five or ten to get to my concourse which, of course, is the one furthest away from the main terminal. It was really hard to say goodbye to my parents. I love you guys. I would take a picture of me sitting in airport typing, but it’s just like any other airport. Now imagine me writing on my computer. Oh, and I’m in a skirt. It was an attempt to get upgraded for free. Not sure if I was… My flight just got bumped back by ten minutes. I have about a four hour layover on the East Coast, so it’s not a big deal. I forgot to ask the agent at the front counter if there was a later flight to Greece. Right now I’m on the 4 p.m. flight that lands at 9 a.m. Athens time [midnight to my parents if our calculations are correct]. Since I can not check into the hotel until at least noon or later, it would be worth it to get on a later flight and spend some extra time on the East Coast. In an airport. That probably looks like this one. C concourse of DIA looks like B concourse in Dallas. I fly a lot. I had a wonderful breakfast before I broke out my computer. It wasn’t on the heart-healthy diet I’m supposed to be on, but we’ll pretend like it was. I don’t think my doctor’s reading this blog. If you are, please know that I have stuck to that diet very well and that the non-sticking to this morning resulted from getting into the shortest line in the food court.

I’m strangely calm for a young woman about to cross an ocean. I have to cross a continent first. I still can’t believe that I’m actually going. I’m in total disbelief. It’s almost as though I’m just headed back for another semester at my college. I keep looking at the visa in my passport going… “I can barely read this language”. While in line for my wonderfully carb-full breakfast an older couple asked me where I was headed to. When I told them that I was going to Greece to study, they beamed at me and told me that I would love Greece. They went there for their honeymoon. The two of them are headed back home to Washington. My aunt said the same thing to me yesterday, “Don’t skip a thing”.

1:50 pm local time… 11:50 am home time

All the plugs in the Philadelphia International Airport are hidden. It’s like they don’t want you to charge your phone or use your laptop with a low battery because you were off-line blogging in Denver. I found a little niche that I’m hiding in. There are a pair of European boys [I think they’re Italian] stretched out on the chairs a few feet from me, and a couple American girls a row over. This seems to be the college age niche for kids who need a place to wait for their connecting flights. Airport security has passed by a couple of times and not said anything to me, so I’m going to keep writing and charging my laptop’s battery. I had an American lunch. It was small, so I’m probably going to get a snack before I get onto the plane. God only knows when they actually feed us and what it will be. I lucked out on the last flight. I was in the only row in the entire plane that wasn’t full. Of course, the guy on the aisle was really mean to the flight attendants. The movie was “Fracture” which I didn’t watch. I updated my travel journal which was about four days out of date and read a book on modern Greek history that my mother picked up for me before I left. PHL is really big. I was lucky enough to only have to go to the concourse right next to the one I flew into. They have a Liberty Bell made out of legos. [see picture] I’m facing an eight or nine hour flight…I’m still a little unsure of the time change. All I know is that it will feel like the middle of the night to me. Then I get to go through customs and stuff like that. For now, I’m going to continue people watching.

Airport

Day 00 August 27^th

Because there is no free internet in DIA, this log will be uploaded at another time. For now, it is almost six a.m. and the sun isn’t up yet. Lucky sun. He got to sleep in. My parents, bless them, and I were up at 4 and got to the airport by five. It took about twenty-five or thirty minutes to check in and get through security. It took me another five or ten to get to my concourse which, of course, is the one furthest away from the main terminal. It was really hard to say goodbye to my parents. I love you guys. I would take a picture of me sitting in airport typing, but it’s just like any other airport. Now imagine me writing on my computer. Oh, and I’m in a skirt. It was an attempt to get upgraded for free. Not sure if I was… My flight just got bumped back by ten minutes. I have about a four hour layover on the East Coast, so it’s not a big deal. I forgot to ask the agent at the front counter if there was a later flight to Greece. Right now I’m on the 4 p.m. flight that lands at 9 a.m. Athens time [midnight to my parents if our calculations are correct]. Since I can not check into the hotel until at least noon or later, it would be worth it to get on a later flight and spend some extra time on the East Coast. In an airport. That probably looks like this one. C concourse of DIA looks like B concourse in Dallas. I fly a lot. I had a wonderful breakfast before I broke out my computer. It wasn’t on the heart-healthy diet I’m supposed to be on, but we’ll pretend like it was. I don’t think my doctor’s reading this blog. If you are, please know that I have stuck to that diet very well and that the non-sticking to this morning resulted from getting into the shortest line in the food court.

I’m strangely calm for a young woman about to cross an ocean. I have to cross a continent first. I still can’t believe that I’m actually going. I’m in total disbelief. It’s almost as though I’m just headed back for another semester at my college. I keep looking at the visa in my passport going… “I can barely read this language”. While in line for my wonderfully carb-full breakfast an older couple asked me where I was headed to. When I told them that I was going to Greece to study, they beamed at me and told me that I would love Greece. They went there for their honeymoon. The two of them are headed back home to Washington. My aunt said the same thing to me yesterday, “Don’t skip a thing”.

1:50 pm local time… 11:50 am home time

All the plugs in the Philadelphia International Airport are hidden. It’s like they don’t want you to charge your phone or use your laptop with a low battery because you were off-line blogging in Denver. I found a little niche that I’m hiding in. There are a pair of European boys [I think they’re Italian] stretched out on the chairs a few feet from me, and a couple American girls a row over. This seems to be the college age niche for kids who need a place to wait for their connecting flights. Airport security has passed by a couple of times and not said anything to me, so I’m going to keep writing and charging my laptop’s battery. I had an American lunch. It was small, so I’m probably going to get a snack before I get onto the plane. God only knows when they actually feed us and what it will be. I lucked out on the last flight. I was in the only row in the entire plane that wasn’t full. Of course, the guy on the aisle was really mean to the flight attendants. The movie was “Fracture” which I didn’t watch. I updated my travel journal which was about four days out of date and read a book on modern Greek history that my mother picked up for me before I left. PHL is really big. I was lucky enough to only have to go to the concourse right next to the one I flew into. They have a Liberty Bell made out of legos. [see picture] I’m facing an eight or nine hour flight…I’m still a little unsure of the time change. All I know is that it will feel like the middle of the night to me. Then I get to go through customs and stuff like that. For now, I’m going to continue people watching.

Airport

Day 00 August 27^th

Because there is no free internet in DIA, this log will be uploaded at another time. For now, it is almost six a.m. and the sun isn’t up yet. Lucky sun. He got to sleep in. My parents, bless them, and I were up at 4 and got to the airport by five. It took about twenty-five or thirty minutes to check in and get through security. It took me another five or ten to get to my concourse which, of course, is the one furthest away from the main terminal. It was really hard to say goodbye to my parents. I love you guys. I would take a picture of me sitting in airport typing, but it’s just like any other airport. Now imagine me writing on my computer. Oh, and I’m in a skirt. It was an attempt to get upgraded for free. Not sure if I was… My flight just got bumped back by ten minutes. I have about a four hour layover on the East Coast, so it’s not a big deal. I forgot to ask the agent at the front counter if there was a later flight to Greece. Right now I’m on the 4 p.m. flight that lands at 9 a.m. Athens time [midnight to my parents if our calculations are correct]. Since I can not check into the hotel until at least noon or later, it would be worth it to get on a later flight and spend some extra time on the East Coast. In an airport. That probably looks like this one. C concourse of DIA looks like B concourse in Dallas. I fly a lot. I had a wonderful breakfast before I broke out my computer. It wasn’t on the heart-healthy diet I’m supposed to be on, but we’ll pretend like it was. I don’t think my doctor’s reading this blog. If you are, please know that I have stuck to that diet very well and that the non-sticking to this morning resulted from getting into the shortest line in the food court.

I’m strangely calm for a young woman about to cross an ocean. I have to cross a continent first. I still can’t believe that I’m actually going. I’m in total disbelief. It’s almost as though I’m just headed back for another semester at my college. I keep looking at the visa in my passport going… “I can barely read this language”. While in line for my wonderfully carb-full breakfast an older couple asked me where I was headed to. When I told them that I was going to Greece to study, they beamed at me and told me that I would love Greece. They went there for their honeymoon. The two of them are headed back home to Washington. My aunt said the same thing to me yesterday, “Don’t skip a thing”.

1:50 pm local time… 11:50 am home time

All the plugs in the Philadelphia International Airport are hidden. It’s like they don’t want you to charge your phone or use your laptop with a low battery because you were off-line blogging in Denver. I found a little niche that I’m hiding in. There are a pair of European boys [I think they’re Italian] stretched out on the chairs a few feet from me, and a couple American girls a row over. This seems to be the college age niche for kids who need a place to wait for their connecting flights. Airport security has passed by a couple of times and not said anything to me, so I’m going to keep writing and charging my laptop’s battery. I had an American lunch. It was small, so I’m probably going to get a snack before I get onto the plane. God only knows when they actually feed us and what it will be. I lucked out on the last flight. I was in the only row in the entire plane that wasn’t full. Of course, the guy on the aisle was really mean to the flight attendants. The movie was “Fracture” which I didn’t watch. I updated my travel journal which was about four days out of date and read a book on modern Greek history that my mother picked up for me before I left. PHL is really big. I was lucky enough to only have to go to the concourse right next to the one I flew into. They have a Liberty Bell made out of legos. [see picture] I’m facing an eight or nine hour flight…I’m still a little unsure of the time change. All I know is that it will feel like the middle of the night to me. Then I get to go through customs and stuff like that. For now, I’m going to continue people watching.