So a few things I keep forgetting to reference in this blog.
1. THE PHILLIES ARE IN THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!!!! Being as I am expert in baseball after this summer, one can only assume my heartbreak of not being to watch the games. I just checked the world series schedule, all the games take place while I'm in Egypt and Turkey. I'll have to figure something out.
2. The Marines were a bust. I've had more fun with the Greeks and British that I've met.
3. LEAVING FOR EGYPT IN 5 DAYS!!!!!!!!!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Molly Malones, Soccer & Greek Cemetery
This week has been an interesting one thus far. It is only Friday so I am sure there is more to come. There are a few things worth noting. Monday night Liz, Leslie, and I were invited to go watch the James Joyce (our Irish Pub) soccer (football.. whatever) team play. They are part of a pick up league and there team is a hodgepodge of bartenders and customers. The goalie is a 250 pound Greek man who loves Guinness. He's not so good at stopping the ball but ya know minor detail.
Anyway, Rony, the bartender from James Joyce who we have befriended picked the three of us up. We headed to another Irish pub, Molly Malones, for a quick drink before the game. Molly Malones was nice. Much more low key then the James Joyce. It was in a completely different section of town that is more foreigners who live and work and Greece. Rony obviously knew everyone. Everywhere we go its always like that. So we left the pub for the game, which was held at what I would call old basketball courts that had been converted in to mini soccer fields.
The game was fun. James Joyce lost to a much younger and more athletic team but according to the goalie "its alright at least we enjoy ourselves." Rony and Tom (the owner of the James Joyce who also plays on the team) were not as easygoing with the defeat. According to them the other team got lucky. That always how it works right?
Tuesday night Liz was invited to grab "a quick drink" with this British man George, whom we had met a week earlier. Not wanting to go by herself, Liz invited me along. We met George by the Polytechnico (University of Athens) and grabbed a beer at this really cool bar. It was definitely a much younger crowd then the James Joyce. More college students, Greek obviously. George is a consultant, used to be a professor and spends his time between Athens and London. He invited us to the garden party he is hosting. Date to be determined.
Also on Tuesday my Ethnography class went on an outing to the 1st Cemetery of Athens. This is where all the famous people in Athens are buried. Anyway, we had just spent an entire class discussing Greek Orthodox death rituals so that was the reason for our visit. Nothing like anything I have ever seen in the states. Everything is in marble and the graves are not marked by a simple headstone. Some have Greek style temples (huge), some have statues, some are hand carved by famous sculptors. Graves are elaborate to say the least. Plus it is common practice to visit your family grave once a week to keep the space filled with flowers, plants, oil, candles, etc. You do not feel like you are in a cemetery as you walk through the grounds.
Later that evening I went to a Greek Orthodox mass as part of my religion class. Umm no one goes to Church except the widows. The scripture is read in Ancient Greek so not even the Greek people understand it and the inside of the Church is mind blowing. Every inch of every wall is painted..depicting religious scenes or just asthetic. There are pictures of icons all around the Church and it is common practice that when you enter you kiss the icons. Oh yeah and the widows who do attend mass talk the whole time. That would not fly with the nuns. We were not allowed to speak in homeroom an hour before we even had mass. Overall, mass was not very interactive. The priest read and chanted but there was no participation by the congregation.
All for now.. met some U.S. Marines last night that work at the embassy. We're supposed to go out with them tonight. We shall see.
Anyway, Rony, the bartender from James Joyce who we have befriended picked the three of us up. We headed to another Irish pub, Molly Malones, for a quick drink before the game. Molly Malones was nice. Much more low key then the James Joyce. It was in a completely different section of town that is more foreigners who live and work and Greece. Rony obviously knew everyone. Everywhere we go its always like that. So we left the pub for the game, which was held at what I would call old basketball courts that had been converted in to mini soccer fields.
The game was fun. James Joyce lost to a much younger and more athletic team but according to the goalie "its alright at least we enjoy ourselves." Rony and Tom (the owner of the James Joyce who also plays on the team) were not as easygoing with the defeat. According to them the other team got lucky. That always how it works right?
Tuesday night Liz was invited to grab "a quick drink" with this British man George, whom we had met a week earlier. Not wanting to go by herself, Liz invited me along. We met George by the Polytechnico (University of Athens) and grabbed a beer at this really cool bar. It was definitely a much younger crowd then the James Joyce. More college students, Greek obviously. George is a consultant, used to be a professor and spends his time between Athens and London. He invited us to the garden party he is hosting. Date to be determined.
Also on Tuesday my Ethnography class went on an outing to the 1st Cemetery of Athens. This is where all the famous people in Athens are buried. Anyway, we had just spent an entire class discussing Greek Orthodox death rituals so that was the reason for our visit. Nothing like anything I have ever seen in the states. Everything is in marble and the graves are not marked by a simple headstone. Some have Greek style temples (huge), some have statues, some are hand carved by famous sculptors. Graves are elaborate to say the least. Plus it is common practice to visit your family grave once a week to keep the space filled with flowers, plants, oil, candles, etc. You do not feel like you are in a cemetery as you walk through the grounds.
Later that evening I went to a Greek Orthodox mass as part of my religion class. Umm no one goes to Church except the widows. The scripture is read in Ancient Greek so not even the Greek people understand it and the inside of the Church is mind blowing. Every inch of every wall is painted..depicting religious scenes or just asthetic. There are pictures of icons all around the Church and it is common practice that when you enter you kiss the icons. Oh yeah and the widows who do attend mass talk the whole time. That would not fly with the nuns. We were not allowed to speak in homeroom an hour before we even had mass. Overall, mass was not very interactive. The priest read and chanted but there was no participation by the congregation.
All for now.. met some U.S. Marines last night that work at the embassy. We're supposed to go out with them tonight. We shall see.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Argolid: Field Trip to the Peloponnese
Leaving for our second field trip on Saturday morning was not a good move on CYA's part. Everyone went out Friday night and was not functioning at maximum capacity until Saturday evening. Anyway, going on three hours of sleep because well that is just how things turned out, I boarded the bus to the Argolid.
Our first stop on Saturday was in the town of Epidaurus, which contains the sanctuary of Asklepios. It is where people came in ancient times to be healed. The structure was large enough to act as a really old hotel. People also traveled to this site because there was a gymnasium on the site where athletic competitions took place. What is really cool is the stadium, which is almost completely in tact, has such great acoustics that you could be sitting in the top row and hear someone rip a piece of paper on stage. We know, we tried.
After a decent CYA box lunch experience we left for Tiryns, the site of a Mycenaean fortress. An interesting site that just showed how military obsessed the Mycenaean people really were. Plus, you can not beat the view from the top of a fortress that overlooks the city / countryside beneath it.
We checked in to our hotel in Nauplion, the first capital of Greece and headed out on a walking tour of the city. We got the brief run down of important political figures and saw some of the more well known structures of the historic city. Nauplion was my favorite part of the trip. It is where we stayed for the weekend so we had plenty of time to explore the shops, the best gelato I have had to date, and experience a smaller city. It is what you think of when you imagine old cities in Europe with the small side streets, the hand painted store front signs, a common square where everyone congregates for their evening coffee. Much more my speed then Athens.
We had the evening free so I met up with my roommates for dinner and gelato. We did some window shopping but called it an early night because none of us had slept the night before. Sunday morning our first stop was the Argive Heraion, or better known as the Temple of Hera. Three tiers high, the site offered a breathtaking view and even more history. Used to offer sacrifices, the temple was a major point of civilization.
After climbing around the temple we got on our bus only to be dropped off 5 minutes later. We were headed out on a 2 1/2 hour hike to lunch. Along the way we were going to visit ruins along the side of the road and take the original Mycenaean road. The hike was beautiful. We left the paved road and headed in to the mountains, where we wound our way up and down through the valleys. Our trusty professor got us turned around twice so what was supposed to be 2 1/2 hours turned in to 4 hours. Despite the mix up, it was worth the walk. We overlooked the lush greens of the valleys and got to breath clean air (which does not exist in Athens). Plus, it was so much better then being on a bus for that long and it was nice break from the archaeological ruins. A nice way to check out, clear your head and just enjoy the journey. We came down the mountain with a great view of palace of Mycenaean. A cool head shot that most people and no other groups from our program got to experience. Oh and another note about the air, as we were hiking the trail as well as the greenery was filled with olive trees and thyme bushes. So, the whole atmosphere smelled of fresh Thyme..wonderful.
At the end of our hike we did eventually eat lunch at a cute little taverna. I got stuffed tomatoes, which were a-m-a-z-i-n-g. I am loving this Mediterranean diet, so much fresh food. That evening we ate at one of the little tavernas in Nauplion. Fabi and I split stuffed vine leaves, delicious. I got mussels in wine sauce and rice, also memorable. After our very filling dinner, we headed back to the gelato place (obviously : ) and then just took our ice cream and sat on the steps of the church in the main square. We watched the kids play an intense game of soccer, couples stroll hand in hand, and just kick back and enjoy the atmosphere. Perfect end to an exhausting day.
Monday morning we headed to the Palamidi fortress. It sits at the top of the city of Nauplion. Situated on the water, on side looks down on Nauplion and the other two out to the sea facing Argos and Astros (two other adjacent towns). The Palamidi was last occupied by the Turks, who had over taken it from the Greeks. They slaughtered massive numbers of civilians and even built a prison on site, which we got to walk down in too. I had to squat in order to get down in to it and that was only the entrance, you still had to go down another level. Basically these people being held were a good 3 feet underground. Scary.
Our last stop of trip was the famous site of Mycenae. It contains both grave circle A & B, which are our mains sources of information on the Mycenaean. Complete with a massive courtyard, hundreds of rooms, a Temple to Athena, Artisans' quarter, and the infamous lion gate. (See Pictures). The first thing you see when you arrive on site is this grandiose entrance of two lions on either side of a column. This is a large stone structure that shows a connection with the near east. It is a way to show prowess and decoration, nothing else. To end our tour of Mycenae, we got to walk down in to the ancient cistern. About 7 people at a time we took flash flights and headed down the slick steps (probably about 5 ft underground) in the pitch black. When we eventually reached the bottom we all turned off our flash flights and stood in the darkness. Probably the darkest place I will ever be.
All in all a great trip. I liked it better then Crete, mostly because I really enjoyed Nauplion. Next weekend is my last weekend in Athens until finals weekend. I will be either traveling for pleasure or for school from now until finals, which is exciting. Time is flying by faster then I would like. I am hoping May 2009 does not get here as quickly...
Our first stop on Saturday was in the town of Epidaurus, which contains the sanctuary of Asklepios. It is where people came in ancient times to be healed. The structure was large enough to act as a really old hotel. People also traveled to this site because there was a gymnasium on the site where athletic competitions took place. What is really cool is the stadium, which is almost completely in tact, has such great acoustics that you could be sitting in the top row and hear someone rip a piece of paper on stage. We know, we tried.
After a decent CYA box lunch experience we left for Tiryns, the site of a Mycenaean fortress. An interesting site that just showed how military obsessed the Mycenaean people really were. Plus, you can not beat the view from the top of a fortress that overlooks the city / countryside beneath it.
We checked in to our hotel in Nauplion, the first capital of Greece and headed out on a walking tour of the city. We got the brief run down of important political figures and saw some of the more well known structures of the historic city. Nauplion was my favorite part of the trip. It is where we stayed for the weekend so we had plenty of time to explore the shops, the best gelato I have had to date, and experience a smaller city. It is what you think of when you imagine old cities in Europe with the small side streets, the hand painted store front signs, a common square where everyone congregates for their evening coffee. Much more my speed then Athens.
We had the evening free so I met up with my roommates for dinner and gelato. We did some window shopping but called it an early night because none of us had slept the night before. Sunday morning our first stop was the Argive Heraion, or better known as the Temple of Hera. Three tiers high, the site offered a breathtaking view and even more history. Used to offer sacrifices, the temple was a major point of civilization.
After climbing around the temple we got on our bus only to be dropped off 5 minutes later. We were headed out on a 2 1/2 hour hike to lunch. Along the way we were going to visit ruins along the side of the road and take the original Mycenaean road. The hike was beautiful. We left the paved road and headed in to the mountains, where we wound our way up and down through the valleys. Our trusty professor got us turned around twice so what was supposed to be 2 1/2 hours turned in to 4 hours. Despite the mix up, it was worth the walk. We overlooked the lush greens of the valleys and got to breath clean air (which does not exist in Athens). Plus, it was so much better then being on a bus for that long and it was nice break from the archaeological ruins. A nice way to check out, clear your head and just enjoy the journey. We came down the mountain with a great view of palace of Mycenaean. A cool head shot that most people and no other groups from our program got to experience. Oh and another note about the air, as we were hiking the trail as well as the greenery was filled with olive trees and thyme bushes. So, the whole atmosphere smelled of fresh Thyme..wonderful.
At the end of our hike we did eventually eat lunch at a cute little taverna. I got stuffed tomatoes, which were a-m-a-z-i-n-g. I am loving this Mediterranean diet, so much fresh food. That evening we ate at one of the little tavernas in Nauplion. Fabi and I split stuffed vine leaves, delicious. I got mussels in wine sauce and rice, also memorable. After our very filling dinner, we headed back to the gelato place (obviously : ) and then just took our ice cream and sat on the steps of the church in the main square. We watched the kids play an intense game of soccer, couples stroll hand in hand, and just kick back and enjoy the atmosphere. Perfect end to an exhausting day.
Monday morning we headed to the Palamidi fortress. It sits at the top of the city of Nauplion. Situated on the water, on side looks down on Nauplion and the other two out to the sea facing Argos and Astros (two other adjacent towns). The Palamidi was last occupied by the Turks, who had over taken it from the Greeks. They slaughtered massive numbers of civilians and even built a prison on site, which we got to walk down in too. I had to squat in order to get down in to it and that was only the entrance, you still had to go down another level. Basically these people being held were a good 3 feet underground. Scary.
Our last stop of trip was the famous site of Mycenae. It contains both grave circle A & B, which are our mains sources of information on the Mycenaean. Complete with a massive courtyard, hundreds of rooms, a Temple to Athena, Artisans' quarter, and the infamous lion gate. (See Pictures). The first thing you see when you arrive on site is this grandiose entrance of two lions on either side of a column. This is a large stone structure that shows a connection with the near east. It is a way to show prowess and decoration, nothing else. To end our tour of Mycenae, we got to walk down in to the ancient cistern. About 7 people at a time we took flash flights and headed down the slick steps (probably about 5 ft underground) in the pitch black. When we eventually reached the bottom we all turned off our flash flights and stood in the darkness. Probably the darkest place I will ever be.
All in all a great trip. I liked it better then Crete, mostly because I really enjoyed Nauplion. Next weekend is my last weekend in Athens until finals weekend. I will be either traveling for pleasure or for school from now until finals, which is exciting. Time is flying by faster then I would like. I am hoping May 2009 does not get here as quickly...
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Cultural Observations Thus Far
Before delving in to some of my more insightful cultural observations I’m going to recap the concert. Check out the pictures and if you’ve got Facebook you can check out the videos I posted of some of the R.E.M songs. Anyway, the concert was a great time. MTV was launching a specifically MTV Greece channel, hence the free promotional concert. With the main MC of the night being an American VJ, most if not all of the commentary was in English. In fact the only Greek spoken was done by the first singer, C: Real, who is a Greek pop star. Other then that, no Greek was spoken.
So, the concert opened with C:Real who the Greek teenagers around us seemed impartial too. They were not standing up and singing along, more just listening to her as background music. After her came Gabreilla Cilmi, who seemed semi-popular with the crowd. She is a 17 year old Aussie superstar that has some big hit at the moment. Next up were the Kaiser Chiefs, a rock band from the U.K. The crowd loved them. The pit was going nuts, especially when the lead singer decided to climb the stage frame and perform while hanging on to the metal frame. R.E.M was last and definitely the most well received. For the first time all night the teens around us were on their feet singing along and dancing. This is obviously totally different then any concert I have been to in the states where you stand from the moment the main act comes on until the end of the encore. Anyway, seeing R.E.M. perform was just a really cool experience. I am not a big fan but I do know their hits (It’s the End of the World, Losing My Religion, and Man on the Moon), all of which they played. All in all, a great night.
O.K. so my first cultural observation comes to via my Catholic / American upbringing. Here in Greece, the Greek Orthodox Church works very closely in connection with the State government. There is no official separation of church and state. Thus, religion is a part of public education and the clergy are even paid by the state. In fact the two are so intertwined, that Greeks often associate being a Greek citizen with being Greek Orthodox. The official numbers are somewhere up to 95% of the Greek population is Orthodox. There is a growing number of Muslims in the country as well as in Athens, yet due to the Orthodox strong hold Athens is the only major city in the EU that does not contain a Mosque.
Anyway, a few years back there was a huge uproar over including a person’s religion on their I.D. card (similar to our drivers’ license). Up until this point, one had to include their religion on their card. The law was changed due to pressure from the EU, but not without a huge uproar in the Church. The Church argued for it, saying it was a way to keep track of how many Greek Orthodoxy’s there were in the country. Those opposed simply said it was a means of profiling.
This leads to my next observation, one of race. Greece is currently experiencing a large immigrant influx from Albania. These individuals are highly discriminated against and most often described as criminals. From what we have been told in class and from my own observations, Greece as a country has never had a conversation about racism. Unlike in the United States, where we have grown up talking about it in school, in the media, with our peers, such things have not yet happened in Greece. For example, when we met the Canadian model, Anthony the other night, we were with the Greek guys we had met previously. Anthony introduced himself to us because he heard us speaking English. When he extended his hand to the guys we were with they refused to take his hand. Feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable, I waited until Anthony excused himself to ask the Greek guys why they refused his hand. Their response: “you can not trust the blacks”. When I asked my anthro professor about this in class this morning the only connection she could draw was to the Albanians.
I understand that immigration is a big issue here, as it is in the States. However, I would say that America is more “politically correct” when it comes to racism. We have learned and in some cases are still learning from our past and because mainstream society today does not accept it. Since there has never been a national conversation about race there is no political correctness.
When we asked Anthony about it at the beach he said that in the both times he has been to Greece he has experienced it about a handful of times. He did say that earlier this week he was stopped by the police when he was walking home and asked to show his passport. It strikes me as odd that in a country that is so liberal, compared to America, that there is not a great sense of acceptance.
So, the concert opened with C:Real who the Greek teenagers around us seemed impartial too. They were not standing up and singing along, more just listening to her as background music. After her came Gabreilla Cilmi, who seemed semi-popular with the crowd. She is a 17 year old Aussie superstar that has some big hit at the moment. Next up were the Kaiser Chiefs, a rock band from the U.K. The crowd loved them. The pit was going nuts, especially when the lead singer decided to climb the stage frame and perform while hanging on to the metal frame. R.E.M was last and definitely the most well received. For the first time all night the teens around us were on their feet singing along and dancing. This is obviously totally different then any concert I have been to in the states where you stand from the moment the main act comes on until the end of the encore. Anyway, seeing R.E.M. perform was just a really cool experience. I am not a big fan but I do know their hits (It’s the End of the World, Losing My Religion, and Man on the Moon), all of which they played. All in all, a great night.
O.K. so my first cultural observation comes to via my Catholic / American upbringing. Here in Greece, the Greek Orthodox Church works very closely in connection with the State government. There is no official separation of church and state. Thus, religion is a part of public education and the clergy are even paid by the state. In fact the two are so intertwined, that Greeks often associate being a Greek citizen with being Greek Orthodox. The official numbers are somewhere up to 95% of the Greek population is Orthodox. There is a growing number of Muslims in the country as well as in Athens, yet due to the Orthodox strong hold Athens is the only major city in the EU that does not contain a Mosque.
Anyway, a few years back there was a huge uproar over including a person’s religion on their I.D. card (similar to our drivers’ license). Up until this point, one had to include their religion on their card. The law was changed due to pressure from the EU, but not without a huge uproar in the Church. The Church argued for it, saying it was a way to keep track of how many Greek Orthodoxy’s there were in the country. Those opposed simply said it was a means of profiling.
This leads to my next observation, one of race. Greece is currently experiencing a large immigrant influx from Albania. These individuals are highly discriminated against and most often described as criminals. From what we have been told in class and from my own observations, Greece as a country has never had a conversation about racism. Unlike in the United States, where we have grown up talking about it in school, in the media, with our peers, such things have not yet happened in Greece. For example, when we met the Canadian model, Anthony the other night, we were with the Greek guys we had met previously. Anthony introduced himself to us because he heard us speaking English. When he extended his hand to the guys we were with they refused to take his hand. Feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable, I waited until Anthony excused himself to ask the Greek guys why they refused his hand. Their response: “you can not trust the blacks”. When I asked my anthro professor about this in class this morning the only connection she could draw was to the Albanians.
I understand that immigration is a big issue here, as it is in the States. However, I would say that America is more “politically correct” when it comes to racism. We have learned and in some cases are still learning from our past and because mainstream society today does not accept it. Since there has never been a national conversation about race there is no political correctness.
When we asked Anthony about it at the beach he said that in the both times he has been to Greece he has experienced it about a handful of times. He did say that earlier this week he was stopped by the police when he was walking home and asked to show his passport. It strikes me as odd that in a country that is so liberal, compared to America, that there is not a great sense of acceptance.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Irish Pubs: International Meeting Centers
This weekend has by far been the most fun I have had since arriving in Athens. We stayed put for the weekend because of the bad scheduling of our doctor appointments for our visas but it was probably a real good choice.
Thursday night we (liz, fabi, leslie, and I) made our way to this Irish pub, James Joyce, that everyone keeps talking about. We arrived to find a packed house, good music, and a friendly crowd. After ordering our beers, we were approached by a street vendor selling roses. He handed us each a rose, compliments of the gentleman down the other end of the bar. Smooth moves haha. We made our way down to say thank you and strike up a conversation. Of the group of 4, 3 were Greek and 1 was British. The British guy works at the British embassy in Athens. Anyway, they seemed to know the bartenders so we started our night of free drinking. We left the Irish pub and proceeded to bar # 2 where these guys also seemed to know everyone. It was fun just to go out and meet no-CYA students or other Americans for that matter.
Friday we went to the Hard Rock Cafe to watch the VP debate that they had recorded from the night before. Hosted by Democrats abroad, the top 2 floors of the hard rock were packed with Americans and Greeks. Of the young people there, most were female. It was just an interesting dynamic..to be in a foreign country and listening to other citizens opinions of our government. Joe did really well and Palin , well just does not seem intelligent to me. How bout Joe's response about Chenney abusing his VP power while in office? He was so heated!
Sad news: Friday night, our one roommate was walking home from another apartment and was mugged. Three guys, about our age, took her bag and shoved her to the ground. She was pretty scratched up and her head was cut open. She filed a police report and all but the likelihood of anything coming of it is pretty slim. Still scary though. Definitely shook us up because it is one thing to be robbed but another to have 3 guys come at you from behind while you are by yourself.
Anyway, Saturday we met up with our friend Anthony, a Canadian model we met out the other night. He is in town for a week doing casting calls and all by himself so we invited him to the beach with us. It was a gorgeous day and the sea was relatively warm. Saturday night we planned to meet back up with Anthony but his phone died so we headed up the street to the James Joyce, where we had planned to meet him. Anyway, our Greek / British guys were there again. We had a beer with them and then headed out to this dance club with the bartender from the pub. It was very different then your typical American club. A drag queen was dancing on the bar in her skimpy pleather outfit. Lots of techno tunes, less hip-hop but a cool experience none the less.
Tonight we are going to a free MTV concert being put on at the Olympic stadium next to my school. R.E.M. is playing along with a few other bands and it looks like its going to be a pretty sweet setup! Also, we're going to the Argolid next weekend so I'm looking forward to that! More later :)
Thursday night we (liz, fabi, leslie, and I) made our way to this Irish pub, James Joyce, that everyone keeps talking about. We arrived to find a packed house, good music, and a friendly crowd. After ordering our beers, we were approached by a street vendor selling roses. He handed us each a rose, compliments of the gentleman down the other end of the bar. Smooth moves haha. We made our way down to say thank you and strike up a conversation. Of the group of 4, 3 were Greek and 1 was British. The British guy works at the British embassy in Athens. Anyway, they seemed to know the bartenders so we started our night of free drinking. We left the Irish pub and proceeded to bar # 2 where these guys also seemed to know everyone. It was fun just to go out and meet no-CYA students or other Americans for that matter.
Friday we went to the Hard Rock Cafe to watch the VP debate that they had recorded from the night before. Hosted by Democrats abroad, the top 2 floors of the hard rock were packed with Americans and Greeks. Of the young people there, most were female. It was just an interesting dynamic..to be in a foreign country and listening to other citizens opinions of our government. Joe did really well and Palin , well just does not seem intelligent to me. How bout Joe's response about Chenney abusing his VP power while in office? He was so heated!
Sad news: Friday night, our one roommate was walking home from another apartment and was mugged. Three guys, about our age, took her bag and shoved her to the ground. She was pretty scratched up and her head was cut open. She filed a police report and all but the likelihood of anything coming of it is pretty slim. Still scary though. Definitely shook us up because it is one thing to be robbed but another to have 3 guys come at you from behind while you are by yourself.
Anyway, Saturday we met up with our friend Anthony, a Canadian model we met out the other night. He is in town for a week doing casting calls and all by himself so we invited him to the beach with us. It was a gorgeous day and the sea was relatively warm. Saturday night we planned to meet back up with Anthony but his phone died so we headed up the street to the James Joyce, where we had planned to meet him. Anyway, our Greek / British guys were there again. We had a beer with them and then headed out to this dance club with the bartender from the pub. It was very different then your typical American club. A drag queen was dancing on the bar in her skimpy pleather outfit. Lots of techno tunes, less hip-hop but a cool experience none the less.
Tonight we are going to a free MTV concert being put on at the Olympic stadium next to my school. R.E.M. is playing along with a few other bands and it looks like its going to be a pretty sweet setup! Also, we're going to the Argolid next weekend so I'm looking forward to that! More later :)
Sunday, September 28, 2008
The Island of Crete
Let me first preface this entry by saying, Crete is the largest island in Greece. Way back in Ancient times, the Minoan civilization developed and thrived there. It was a completely different civilization then that which developed on the mainland of Greece. Also, because of its position it was dominate power in the Aegean. Ok, enough with the history lesson. Though it will help you appreciate the pictures of our trip because we spent most of our time exploring Minoan ruins.
We arrived in Crete via overnight ferry. I bunked with 3 other girls who are alphabetically right next to me. That was cool because the 4 of us had never met. Anyway, our first stop once in Crete was the town of Heraklion, which also happens to be the capital and the 3rd largest city in Greece. We took a walking tour of the ancient walls, which was basically to show us the Venetian dominance of the culture. My tour guides; none other then Nigel Thornberry and his wife Stephanie. Sidenote, Nigel read us limericks during our extensive bus travels and wore a safari hat while on site.
Next we visited the Palace of Knossos, the most famous site in terms of Minoan history. It is comprised of more then 150 rooms, multiple courtyards, the oldest road in Crete, etc. This was supposed to be the big horrah of the trip and it turned out to be a downer. There were soooooo many tourists that it made the experience much less enjoyable. Anyway, we had lunch in a cute town of Archanes, which is known for their wine. So obviously I purchased some.
Our next stop of the day was the cemetery of Phourni. What used to be a barb wire fence surrounding the grave site, turned in to a full fledged metal gate since last year when CYA had been there. So, we did some breaking and entering and hoped the fence.
After spending the night in Heraklion, we headed to the town of Eleutherna, where we visited a hellenistic fortress. It sat on top of the town, so we got to overlook the city, which was really cool. We visited the University of Crete's ongoing archaeological site to see actual skeletal remains of the people wiped out during the massive earthquake in 365.
We left Eleutherna for a small town called Margarites, where we had lunch. Known for their hand crafted ceramics, most of CYA spent a good deal of money on a lot of pottery. Our next stop was an old monastery. It resembled the Alamo in style and architecture and was just a gorgeous place to see. I had to put my skirt on over my shorts so as to not be showing too much skin.
We spent the night in a really cool town called Rethymnon, which sits right on the water, has a cape cod esque jetty, and lots of good seafood restaurants. They are known for their homemade thyme honey, which I tired. Delicious. This was probably my favorite town that we visited in all of Crete because of its shopping and size. Athens still seems so big to me.
On day 4 of our exploring Crete we visited a Venetian fortress. It was used by the towns people if the town were ever to be under siege. There was also a mosque on site, which was built originally by St. Nikolas as a church. Next, we visited the town of Aptera and explored its ruins, as well as its heavy Roman influence. There were huge Roman style baths and cisterns, as well as a monestary on site.
With the afternoon free in Chania, we new roommates from trip and I went to the fresh market, where we ate lunch across from the butcher. Lovely. It kind of reminded of Nassau with all the touristy stuff in one main area. After that we headed to the beach, which was about a 15 minute walk from our hotel. Had dinner by the beach that that night with my roommates and a few new people.
The last day of the trip was my favorite. All of CYA (160 strong) met at the top of the Agia Irini Gorge and spent the morning hiking down the gorge. It was an 8km hike, which they deemed about 4.8 miles. The weather was perfect. We carried our backpacks because at the end of the gorge we were headed to the small town of Sougia. It took us about 3 hours to complete and we spent of the rest of the afternoon on the beach.
Crete was interesting, not just the ruins or of the daily field trips but the modern culture. We were approached by Gypsy children about 5 times offering to sell us trinkets. I have never seen this in Athens but do remember it from Paris. The landscape is covered with mountains and everything is still green here. So, to say it was picturesque is an understatement. I also liked Crete for the social part of it. CYA did not do a good job introducing us all to each other so I got to meet and spend time with people I had never met before, which was cool. It also made seeing my roommates (during our gorge trek) that much more fun because we all had different experiences to bring to the table. Lastly, I have found my new favorite breakfast ... Greek yogurt and honey. I have been living off of Greek yogurt but tried it with honey on this trip and well I am never going back.
Planning on going to area known as the Peloponnese this weekend to explore one of the old towns, which we have heard is really neat.
We arrived in Crete via overnight ferry. I bunked with 3 other girls who are alphabetically right next to me. That was cool because the 4 of us had never met. Anyway, our first stop once in Crete was the town of Heraklion, which also happens to be the capital and the 3rd largest city in Greece. We took a walking tour of the ancient walls, which was basically to show us the Venetian dominance of the culture. My tour guides; none other then Nigel Thornberry and his wife Stephanie. Sidenote, Nigel read us limericks during our extensive bus travels and wore a safari hat while on site.
Next we visited the Palace of Knossos, the most famous site in terms of Minoan history. It is comprised of more then 150 rooms, multiple courtyards, the oldest road in Crete, etc. This was supposed to be the big horrah of the trip and it turned out to be a downer. There were soooooo many tourists that it made the experience much less enjoyable. Anyway, we had lunch in a cute town of Archanes, which is known for their wine. So obviously I purchased some.
Our next stop of the day was the cemetery of Phourni. What used to be a barb wire fence surrounding the grave site, turned in to a full fledged metal gate since last year when CYA had been there. So, we did some breaking and entering and hoped the fence.
After spending the night in Heraklion, we headed to the town of Eleutherna, where we visited a hellenistic fortress. It sat on top of the town, so we got to overlook the city, which was really cool. We visited the University of Crete's ongoing archaeological site to see actual skeletal remains of the people wiped out during the massive earthquake in 365.
We left Eleutherna for a small town called Margarites, where we had lunch. Known for their hand crafted ceramics, most of CYA spent a good deal of money on a lot of pottery. Our next stop was an old monastery. It resembled the Alamo in style and architecture and was just a gorgeous place to see. I had to put my skirt on over my shorts so as to not be showing too much skin.
We spent the night in a really cool town called Rethymnon, which sits right on the water, has a cape cod esque jetty, and lots of good seafood restaurants. They are known for their homemade thyme honey, which I tired. Delicious. This was probably my favorite town that we visited in all of Crete because of its shopping and size. Athens still seems so big to me.
On day 4 of our exploring Crete we visited a Venetian fortress. It was used by the towns people if the town were ever to be under siege. There was also a mosque on site, which was built originally by St. Nikolas as a church. Next, we visited the town of Aptera and explored its ruins, as well as its heavy Roman influence. There were huge Roman style baths and cisterns, as well as a monestary on site.
With the afternoon free in Chania, we new roommates from trip and I went to the fresh market, where we ate lunch across from the butcher. Lovely. It kind of reminded of Nassau with all the touristy stuff in one main area. After that we headed to the beach, which was about a 15 minute walk from our hotel. Had dinner by the beach that that night with my roommates and a few new people.
The last day of the trip was my favorite. All of CYA (160 strong) met at the top of the Agia Irini Gorge and spent the morning hiking down the gorge. It was an 8km hike, which they deemed about 4.8 miles. The weather was perfect. We carried our backpacks because at the end of the gorge we were headed to the small town of Sougia. It took us about 3 hours to complete and we spent of the rest of the afternoon on the beach.
Crete was interesting, not just the ruins or of the daily field trips but the modern culture. We were approached by Gypsy children about 5 times offering to sell us trinkets. I have never seen this in Athens but do remember it from Paris. The landscape is covered with mountains and everything is still green here. So, to say it was picturesque is an understatement. I also liked Crete for the social part of it. CYA did not do a good job introducing us all to each other so I got to meet and spend time with people I had never met before, which was cool. It also made seeing my roommates (during our gorge trek) that much more fun because we all had different experiences to bring to the table. Lastly, I have found my new favorite breakfast ... Greek yogurt and honey. I have been living off of Greek yogurt but tried it with honey on this trip and well I am never going back.
Planning on going to area known as the Peloponnese this weekend to explore one of the old towns, which we have heard is really neat.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Broken Toilet, Drunk Americans, and Great Food
This weekend I opted to stay in and around the Athens area. One because there is stuff I still want to explore around the city and two because our whole school is leaving for a week long trip to the island of Crete this coming Tuesday. So, it is a fair trade off.
Thursday our toilet broke, along with our shutter, and our oven. Needless to say CYA is not very happy with us at the moment. It has been fixed so no worries there. However, the toilet deserves further mention. The Greeks do not believe in putting your used toilet paper in the toilet. They fear that the old pipes will burst and it will literally be a shit show (… I know I am so funny). Well, being as since the time I was potty trained I have been told that toilet paper goes only in the toilet this has been a difficult cultural adjustment. Mostly because I just do not even think about it. As a result, my roommates and I spent the better part of Thursday running back and forth to campus to use the bathroom. We are slowly adjusting to putting our used toilet paper in the trash can. Hey, at least its better then what Chris encountered in China.
Thursday night we decided to find the Irish pub that everyone keeps raving about. Sidenote: Greece is much more of a café or club atmosphere, there are very few what we would deem “bars”. Prior to going out we decided to all try the famous Greek drink, ouzo. Personally, it was OK but not something I would drink on a consistent basis. It tastes like black jelly beans aka Mom would love it. So we were unsuccessful in finding the Irish Pub but instead found a quasi Greek bar called 7 jokers. It was a fun atmosphere, stayed for awhile and then decided for a change of scenery.
We left 7 jokers and ending running in to a group of Americans who were there on business. They were a few years older then us and their company was paying for their “training”, which for some reason was taking place in Greece. I did not get the whole story because they were quite intoxicated. Anyway, after hooking up with the Americans we ran in to some Germans. The Germans joined our quest to find a new bar and so we wandered. I stopped to ask a Greek where the closest bar was and he proceeded to take this an invitation that I wanted to go to a bar with him. The other Americans and Germans continued on as my roommates and I were being offered a ride to go have drinks with these Greek men. After profusely declining the ride we decided to end our quest and just head to the crepe place up the road.
Friday, myself and two of my other roommates went to the fresh market to stock up on fresh fruits and veggies. It put Winter Park’s farmers market to shame. I went with the intention of buying fresh fish but unfortunately they only sell them as whole fish...scales, heads, tails.. the whole nine. This not only creeped me out but I also have no experience in gutting fish.
Saturday was blah and rainy so I did homework, how awful is that ..doing homework in Greece? On the upside, I probably had the best meal I have had since I have been here, for dinner that night. Combining all things fresh from the market we had corn on the cob, an awesome salad, baked eggplant, and some watermelon for dessert. Speaking of food.. I have become quite fond of the bakery up the street from us. Yesterday I bought what look like mini éclairs but are better.. filled with what I liken to chocolate mouse and have this delicious almond flavor. Na-Na… you would love them. My intention is to stock up before I leave.
All for now… I am really looking forward to Crete. It is apparently a really rustic island, with a lot of cultural history. Sidenote: they did tell us that people in Crete love guns…like for instance their child gets baptized; they shoot their guns in the air, wedding, soccer game … same thing. Should be interesting.
Thursday our toilet broke, along with our shutter, and our oven. Needless to say CYA is not very happy with us at the moment. It has been fixed so no worries there. However, the toilet deserves further mention. The Greeks do not believe in putting your used toilet paper in the toilet. They fear that the old pipes will burst and it will literally be a shit show (… I know I am so funny). Well, being as since the time I was potty trained I have been told that toilet paper goes only in the toilet this has been a difficult cultural adjustment. Mostly because I just do not even think about it. As a result, my roommates and I spent the better part of Thursday running back and forth to campus to use the bathroom. We are slowly adjusting to putting our used toilet paper in the trash can. Hey, at least its better then what Chris encountered in China.
Thursday night we decided to find the Irish pub that everyone keeps raving about. Sidenote: Greece is much more of a café or club atmosphere, there are very few what we would deem “bars”. Prior to going out we decided to all try the famous Greek drink, ouzo. Personally, it was OK but not something I would drink on a consistent basis. It tastes like black jelly beans aka Mom would love it. So we were unsuccessful in finding the Irish Pub but instead found a quasi Greek bar called 7 jokers. It was a fun atmosphere, stayed for awhile and then decided for a change of scenery.
We left 7 jokers and ending running in to a group of Americans who were there on business. They were a few years older then us and their company was paying for their “training”, which for some reason was taking place in Greece. I did not get the whole story because they were quite intoxicated. Anyway, after hooking up with the Americans we ran in to some Germans. The Germans joined our quest to find a new bar and so we wandered. I stopped to ask a Greek where the closest bar was and he proceeded to take this an invitation that I wanted to go to a bar with him. The other Americans and Germans continued on as my roommates and I were being offered a ride to go have drinks with these Greek men. After profusely declining the ride we decided to end our quest and just head to the crepe place up the road.
Friday, myself and two of my other roommates went to the fresh market to stock up on fresh fruits and veggies. It put Winter Park’s farmers market to shame. I went with the intention of buying fresh fish but unfortunately they only sell them as whole fish...scales, heads, tails.. the whole nine. This not only creeped me out but I also have no experience in gutting fish.
Saturday was blah and rainy so I did homework, how awful is that ..doing homework in Greece? On the upside, I probably had the best meal I have had since I have been here, for dinner that night. Combining all things fresh from the market we had corn on the cob, an awesome salad, baked eggplant, and some watermelon for dessert. Speaking of food.. I have become quite fond of the bakery up the street from us. Yesterday I bought what look like mini éclairs but are better.. filled with what I liken to chocolate mouse and have this delicious almond flavor. Na-Na… you would love them. My intention is to stock up before I leave.
All for now… I am really looking forward to Crete. It is apparently a really rustic island, with a lot of cultural history. Sidenote: they did tell us that people in Crete love guns…like for instance their child gets baptized; they shoot their guns in the air, wedding, soccer game … same thing. Should be interesting.
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