HAR HAR HAR

So you know how people in not-America buy shirts with American words on them? And they usually make no sense? Well today my Greek teacher was wearing this shirt. On it was a large star, formed of silver....things. I don't know. Within the star was the word "GAS" spelled with silver metal letters. I couldn't even believe it. Jason actually had the courage to say "What...does your shirt mean?" and she said "I don't know, what does it mean?" and he started saying "Well, gas is something that we all produce..." and I was getting really uncomfortable until she said "There used to be another letter at the end, but it fell off. It was a P. What does that mean?" So we explained to her what GASP meant, and I'm just so glad that a letter falling off didn't render the shirt un-wearable. Because now she's wearing a shirt that says GAS on it. Which is hilarious.

Thank You, Europe!

So the thing is, the stores here in Greece are fairly bursting with colors. Great great bright colors (yellow is so in). And despite that being all that is featured in stores right now, the Greeks continue to wear black. Black black black. So I've decided, rather than blend in with these Debbie Downers, I will take advantage of this veritable rainbow at my fingertips. And I did. Look what I bought!



I just can't resist a romper. Especially a denim one.


They're not really shiny, but they are GREAT safari shorts.


I love these so much. I need some black suspenders, please.

A Day at the Pictures

Today I was utterly delighted by the prospect of going to see Spiderman 3.


He was so pensive. What an emotional rollercoaster!

The thought of going to a movie theater, somewhere familiar, was very attractive. The theater did not dissapoint; it turns out that in Greece, while so many things are different, the tacky splendor of the American movie theater is embraced.

It was funny though to see the slight differences. My friend and I bought beers at the concession stand to drink, unimpeded by law, in the comfort of the theater. The seats were assigned!! And a large popcorn and a beer only cost 4 euro, instead of a whopping...like, 11 bucks in the US.

The biggest difference, though, was the movie theater etiquette. There was talking throughout the previews -- that's acceptable, of course. But instead of dying down as the movie started, it continued at equal, if not a louder, volume. It seems the Greeks like to keep a running commentary on the movie. Furthermore, not only did cell phones ring during the show, but they were answered and full conversations were held! There was no furtive whispering of "I'll call you later, I'm in a movie." It was very very strange.

None of this really bothered me. Probably for the most part because it was all in Greek, so I could tune it out easily to watch the movie. It was simply interesting to see this situation that I hadn't imagined could vary so much, and how different the social conventions were. Cell phone conversations! It would NOT fly in the US.

My popcorn did not have enough butter, either.

Simply Delightful

Today I discovered that Edmund was really onto something when he demanded Turkish delight from the White Witch. We went to Meteora, an area of cliffs jutting out of the middle of nowhere upon which are perched a number of monasteries. These were built as long ago as the 14th century...I think the monks just realized how awesome it would be to have their homes be like a mega-version of a tree house.

More importantly: for some reason the nuns tempted us with trays of Turkish delight at each monastery we visited. While we actually only visited two monasteries, I had upwards of 5 peices due to my mooching off of people who didn't really like it. In Greek it is called loukoumi (λουκούμι). Picasso enjoyed it very much.



It's so gooey and subtley flavored (of rosewater and lemon -- how delicate!) and I managed to utterly spoil my appetite for lunch (which I still managed to not only eat, but I smuggled pieces of bread away in my purse as well.) I'm determined to learn how to make this wonderful little dessert.



What a dream, right?

Whoa!

So, after that whole dip into the world of horoscopes, I've got a daily one coming to me via email. Here's the last line of today's:

"Acceptance is like music that can soothe the savage beast inside you."

I just....don't even know what to think!! Goodness.

I Ruin their Photos....

...because they like to smile so pretty.

Beloved Bullshit

Every few months or so, when I'm feeling particularly bored, I fall back on the tried and true pick me up of a horoscope update. This inevitably leads to my spending upwards of 2 hours looking at Chinese horoscopes, numerology charts, tarot readings,compatibility meters and general personality reports from various online sources. Every time they spew the same stuff, but it feeds one's narcissism so well....you're not obsessing over yourself...you're LEARNING. "Oh my goodness" I declare, "They're right! I DO observe the right side of peoples' faces when they're talking to determine their emotions, and I ALSO use my left ear when listening at doors! Man, how do they know this stuff?" I become overwhelmingly tempted to buy my 100 page personality report....I mean, 100 pages of this stuff! Only $39.95 for 100 pages bound book-style, mailed withing 2 weeks!

So, I'll leave you with this:
My strongest point: My curiosity about a variety of interests.
My weak point: Distracting myself from what is most important.

HOW DO THEY DO IT?!?

Me Rikey!

Riv and I are in Rondon! It is pletty and coor. I rove it so much.

Language Barriers are Funny

I've noticed a lot of poor translations from Greek into English, even in official-ish documents and on museum displays. The funniest I've found yet, though, was when I was looking for a notebook to use for my classes. I had to get it.



I thought that Molly and Liv would like this in particular. If you don't, whatever, that's ok.

The Climate Challenged, Caves, and Doggies

Aye aye aye, I've been very busy taking naps and eating food, so I haven't updated as much. We have arrived in Ioannina and are settling in nicely. Have I said this already? Anyways, we arrived at 4 in the morning on Sunday, and at the time it was something like 32 degrees outside. While this is, of course, quite chilly, during the days it's been around 60 or so...and most of you know that 60 is kind of the key temperature for Seattleites. Reach 60, and you've reached t-shirt weather. So all of us Amerikis are walking around in jeans and t-shirts, while the Greeks are wearing boots, down coats with fur hoods,and scarves. Needless to say, we are getting looks. I don't know if we are in the right, or they are. I get hot easily though.




Today we went to the Cave of Perama, which is just outside of town, and which you can see above. It was discovered during WWII when husband and wife shepherds were looking for shelter from the bombings of the city. The cave was then fully exploredby spelologists during the 50s. It's 2 million years old and has all sorts of stalactites and stalagmites. I was very pleased to be inside it because I felt like Bilbo wandering around, or maybe Gimli, Son of Gloin. It was really magical.

Another thing that is very magical is the number of doggies on campus around here. While some of them are pretty mangey looking strays, a lot of them are very cute strays, that manage to make everyone forget about their probable diseases with their cuteness. Tonight I met the cutest of all, this lil guy:



He was outside and would bound over to us with his floppy lil paws and whine because he has no parents or food. I love him very much, and hope to see him again. I also hope I don't get diseases from hugging him, but I simply couldn't resist. I'm like that priest who was great friends with all the lepers in Hawaii, guys.

American Roadblocks

Oops, I napped frmo 8pm to....nope, I don't know what time it is, but I have a suspicion it's like, 2 in the morning? 3? I don't know, but everyone else is asleep and I'm wide awake, so I'm just cruisin' the net, chuknow? Oh Godddd, I'm hungry too. I'd go out for a little snacky, but I don't know if I'd be killed on the streets of Athens and left to be feasted upon by the of stray dogs that hang out here. Seriously though, they just lay on the sidewalk and look dead.

In a similar fashion, I feel that we (my group) clog up the sidewalk in much the same way as these poor lil babies, though we're not laying in the gutters. I just get this feeling that wherever we go, we're in the way. Maybe it's the fact that there's six of us and we don't really know where we're going, but we are constantly being looked at, yelled at, or physically moved aside by angry Greeks. And while I would like to think I look a little more Euro than some, because I'm wearing skinny jeans and not a UW sweatshirt and flip-flops (booooo), we all stick out like sore thumbs and it's very strange. I think, too, that we beat the tourist season, because I feel like we're the only Americans in ALL of Athens. That's right....get us a trophy up in here.

Toilet Paper and Dream-catchers

Alright, something that will certainly take some time to get used to is the fact that in Greece, one does not flush toilet paper down the toilet. No folks, that stuff goes right into the garbage can placed conveniently near your feet. Of course, the whole paper-to-toilet action is something of a reflex, and accidentally put it in the toilet once. On the risk of flooding the whole hostel, I flushed anyways, and it was fine. It makes me wonder if even in really nice hotels etc. this is the way, or if they try to up their standards in more elite establishments. Either way, it was the same in the airport and a cafe we went to tonight.

So today we ventured out by means of the Metro, which is suprisingly easy to navigate, into the city center, called the plaka. We wandered around, the Acropolis in full view above us the whole time, and found a flea market. This place was huge, basically covering a really wide network of alleys, with all sorts of things for sale. One item I noticed above all others was the dream-catcher! Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm under the impression that the dream-catcher is a North American Native Indian art...either way, I saw more beautiful dream-catchers here in Athens that I've ever seen in the U.S. I decided to not buy any of the cheap stuff from teh flea market and save my money for the rest of the trip, though goodness knows I may have to pick up a dream-catcher on the way out of here.

The Europe Smell, Flip Flops, and Purple Hair

Hello from Athens! I have arrived safe and sound with 5 fellow travelers, and we are now sharing a very tiny room in Hotel Zorbas (though we do get our own shower). We took showers and then walked around the square and surrounding streets a bit.

Something that is the same here as in all the cities in Spain I visited is the smell. I don't know what it is, but it's a smell that doesn't quite exist in the U.S...it's kind of gross but kind of cool, because it's like "Hey, I'm in Europe."

Before leaving, our group got to talk with some students who went on the program last year, along with a native Greek student. We discovered that people simply do not wear flip-flops in Greece. Being nervous already about fitting in, I have no intention of wearing flip-flops. Two girls though wore them out tonight as we wandered around, and they were stared at by literally every man we walked by. I didn't notice if women gawked as well, maybe seeing the toes is like seeing boobs? Who knows.

Europeans look different. Once we got into Germany for a layover, anyone would have said we were in Europe even if they didn't know. Here is what I noticed:
Glasses almost always square, with either cool-colored frames or none at all.
Sideburns are thinner.
Mens shoes are sporty-chic
Women really love that red-purple hair color. I saw it everywhere.

Leaving on a Jet-Plane

Tomorrow at 7:20 am, I will be on my way to Greece!



This is how it will go:
5 hour flight to Washington D.C.
3 hour layover
8 hour flight to Munich
4 hour layover
2.5 hour flight to Athens

These are my current fears:
I will throw up on the plane
I will throw up off of the plane
My baggage will not arrive in Athens
We will be unable to navigate the subway system to our hostel
We will be humiliated by our inability to speak Greek
The Greeks won't like my clothes

Wish me luck!

Problem

I know that the look and feel of this thing is going to cause me major issues. I spent quite awhile trying to find a color scheme I liked. At the time, I did. Now when I sign on, I don't like it at all. Maybe it just needs to be white?

It's like every time I paint my nails, I chip it off almost immediately.

Prologue

When I go to Greece I'm going to post an interesting observation daily. That's that.