YOLGOT

If any of you do not know the most phenomenal women ever, Arianne Smith, you are truly missing out.  She is an adventurous, godly, friendly, caring, always cares what you have to say, and an all around role model.  She is currently in the Peace Corps right now in Dominica, and doing the world good.  Although I miss her like crazy, I love that modern technology still allows us to stay in contact with one another.  In saying this, I wanted to address some of the questions she asked me that maybe of interest to some of you. 

            Do you enjoy the food?

            I honestly wish I liked the food ten times less than I do.  Coming on this trip I was worried that I would hate everything and had come to terms with the fact that I would be eating bread the whole time I was here.  Our professor asked us to study some menus before we came and I convinced myself that Greek people only ate fish and olives, two of my least favorite foods.  It is almost quite the opposite.  The bread here is extremely hard, one phenomenon that my roommates and I do not understand.  We have hypothesized that it may be due to the freshness of the bread, or the fact that it wont show signs of staleness as fast as soft bread would.  The only thing I have tried here that I have not liked it a dish called dolemades, which is a grape leaf, stuffed with meat and rice.  I have had them both warm and cold and have not cared for them either way.  They have a kind of bitter taste and soggy texture… not my cup of tea.  However every other dish is outstanding!  

The pita station

One of my personal favorites is the chicken or pork pita.  These are a type of greek “fast food”, if you will, that consists of a pita, the meat (which is shaved off of a hunk of meat attached to a metal rod that rotates in side of a light that cooks the outside of the meat), tzasiki sauce (a cucumber flavored yogurt combination that is flavored with garlic), optional tomatoes (I skip over these because I’m not a huge fan on tomatoes), and topped with onions and French fries.  One can purchase this masterpiece for 2 euros and 20 cents.  The chicken pita I had in Rhodes was one of the best things I have ever tasted in my entire life.  I just discovered a chicken pita stand in downtown Athens yesterday, which could be dangerous. On a side note, hummus is unheard of here… just a little fun fact.  When im cooking at home, I usually eat cereal for breakfast, a Panini for lunch (with cheese, pesto spread, and occasionally lunch meat), and pasta for dinner (because I can not understand the instructions to cook anything else).  Tonight we are having a “family dinner” so we will see what kind of delicious food that will produce.  We might attempt to make nutella cookies using a recipe from pinterest.

            Are the people friendly?

            It depends what your definition of friendly is.  Greek people are interesting.  Once you know them and earn their loyalty and trust, you are in their circle of friendship forever.  However, getting in that circle is a difficult task, one that is rare and unknown by many visitors.  They stare a lot here.  It is not meant to be creepy or mean but it can be kind of awkward at first, especially being an American.  For example, a couple of my friends and I went to a local bar/hangout for teens in our neighborhood of Athens to watch the Greece v. Germany soccer game.  Do not get too excited, I didn’t drink.  The looks we got from the locals made many of us really uncomfortable. I don’t think they realize that in our culture staring is weird and not really acceptable.  We tend to shift our gaze when someone else catches or stare, but the Greeks look at you like you have a third eye.  I just have to remind myself that it’s a cultural thing though.  Once you look past the cultural and language barrier, people are really sweet.  I went into down town Athens yesterday and as I was wondering around, I found myself in a jewelry store.  They have this really unique design here that is both a symbol of Greece and good luck/health.  Some of the rings I was looking at ranged from 16- 20 euros but didn’t seem to be made of the best material. 

My ring :)

As I was browsing in the store, I came across a beautiful ring, tried it on, and fell in love.  I looked at the price tag and saw that it was 58 euros.  The owner of the store came over, after helping a customer, looked me in the eye and said, “ You look like a nice young lady.  I was a student once myself and I understand what you are going through.  Let me make you a deal, 28 euros”.  I was so excited! Obviously I bought the ring! Its beautiful in my eyes and the hospitality of the man made it that much more special. 

            I’ve saved the most difficult question for last: “what’s the best part?”

            As you can imagine, this is a hard question to answer.  Honestly, as cheesy as it sounds, I am going to have to say it is the friendships I have made with the people on this trip.  Friendship, as a word, does not do our bond justice.  I have moved to a different country with these people, lived in close quarters with them, experienced things beyond explanation, and connected on a whole new level with them, and surprisingly, do not want to punch them in the throat.  It is hard to find a group of people so spontaneous and willing as the 20 or so people on this trip.  I never imagined learning so much from people my age, but trust me, I have.  It is crazy to see how kids my age are able to “leave cool at the door” so to speak, and have a dance party in the lobby with out a care in the world of what others think of them as they pass by.  Its hard knowing that soon this trip will just be a memory, a story I will tell my friends and family, an experience that will never be forgotten.  As elementary as it sounds, our quote for this trip has been YOLGO, a modified version of the ever-popular YOLO, meaning You Only Live in Greece Once. 

The closest thing I have to a group picture
(Sorry, I think you've already seen this one)

This acronym may seem insignificant to you all who read this in the comfort of your own home, but for us, honors students of UNF, (some) lovers of Jesus, sons and daughters of parents in different walks of life, sisters and brothers of kids back home, kids from different backgrounds, it is what keeps us going everyday.  This little phrase is what keeps us laughing, exploring, strong, experimenting, absorbing, immersing, digging deeper, loving harder, and living fuller. It is the motivation we need to wake up at 6:00 in the morning to walk around God’s creation in the blistering heat on our “weekends”.  It is what holds us together and what separates this group from any other I have been a part of.  So, if I had to put this relationship we share into a phrase it would be YOLGOT, because it explains it all, we are all living here, in Greece, a once in a life time experience that we all get to share Together. 

YOLGOT: You Only Live in Greece Once, Together.  There’s a quote that my sorority sisters put on a shirt that applies perfectly to this occasion, that I have modified a little: “You only live in Greece once, but when you live like us, once is enough.”

Getting into a routine

My days in Greece are beginning to slow down which is both a good thing and a bad thing.  I am getting into a routine:  I wake up, eat, get dressed, head to class, come home, eat, do random things for a couple of hours, homework, then bed. On one hand I am happy because I feel like I am actually living here and learning the ropes.  However, on the other hand, I promised myself I would do something spontaneous everyday, so that I didn’t pass any opportunity by.  I do not want to take my time here for granted and spend my days studying and sitting in my dorm room.  I am not a huge fan of routines; they allow the days to fly by unnoticed with no specific memory to hold on to.

            On a different note, I was curious to see what my friends and family wanted to hear more about.  From the people who responded, I was asked to talk a little bit about the weather and the “political riots” in Greece.  The weather here is awesome, today was an especially pleasant day.  Usually I cannot find one cloud in the sky and there is a constant breeze.  Summers here are not the rainy season, so we have had nothing but sunshine!  Temperature wise, it is typically in the mid to low ninety’s which can be a little warm for my taste at times, but it is truly quite pleasant (the breeze helps a lot).  As for the political uproar Greece is in with the riots in the streets and people going on killing sprees over the new political party in office, it is pretty calm here.  Honestly if I did not know about the election, I would not have been able to tell by peoples behaviors.  The riots and uproar probably won’t become too prevalent until after some of the rules and regulations of the new party are put into place.  I have not seen any type of crisis; in fact the only instance of negative behavior I have seen is between two kids fighting over a soccer ball. 

            As I have said many times before, the group of people on this trip is unbelievable.  I have laughed, danced, walked, explored, and gotten lost more here with these irreplaceable individuals more than I have in a long, long time.  

Our note card collage

My wonderful crepe

  My room mates and I thought of the ingenious idea to keep record of the hilarious things people have said by writing the quotes down on highlighter-colored note cards and taping them to one our the main walls in the kitchen area.  I took a picture of some of the things we have so far.  I do not know if you will understand the hilarity behind them but they serve as a constant reminder of our good memories together, carefully hung with a strip of off brand adhesive.  Hopefully I can try to explain some of the scenarios and stories behind any of these that strike your interest.

The menu

After classes were over today, a group of us headed to the Platia which is the "Town Square" so to speak.  We had attempted to go to a crepe place that neighbors one of the most amazing gelato places, for some time now, but every time we tried to go it was closed.  After deciphering the greek on the door, we came to understand that the restaurant did not open until six.  being the punctual people we are, out group of six showed up right on time and placed our orders.  I got the number 105 which was a "salty" crepe stuffed with ham, gouda cheese and bacon. 

 It was so delicious, as most of the food is proving to be here.  against my stomachs will, I indulged in the number 206: a dessert crepe with carmel praline spread (like nutella but a different flavor), bananas, and cinnamon.  i could not have thought of a better dinner for tonight! it was amazing and i even had a conversation with one of the workers, (in english though, don't get too excited), and assured him that we would definitely be back!

 Let me take a moment to explain to you room 304’s new found obsession with both Nutella and the off brand nutella, Fundelina (which tastes like brownie batter) and Merenda (which tastes exactly like nutella but is like .2 euros cheaper).  I do not know what it is about this phenomenal concoction of hazelnut and chocolate but, like the black-eyed peas say, I just can’t get enough.  This is the closest I have been to experiencing the symptoms of an addict; when im not eating nutella im thinking about it, when im running low I get worried that I need to buy more, when I eat anything, I crave its hazel-nutty goodness.  I admit that most of what I just said is extreme, but it gives you an idea of what I, and the inhabitants of room 304, am going through. We learned that in WW2, the chocolate supply was low in Europe.  The country found a solution in cutting the chocolate with hazelnut, making chocolate last longer as only half of the amount was being used per container.  The spread became an identifying factor for Italy, as most things do in times of starvation and war.  It is because of this that we have the nutella we know and love today.

I know this post was a little random but, it was a quick update of the random stuff in my life!  Please let me know if you are curious about anything going on in Greece and again thanks for reading my blog!  I love hearing from you guys and would love to Skype anyone! Ya sas! (That’s goodbye in Greek!)

First day of school, First day of school!

Many of you are probably wondering when we were supposed to start classes.  I have had a couple of people ask me, “you look like you’re having an amazing time but I thought this was a STUDY abroad trip, not a month long vacation.  When do you start learning things?”  As of yesterday, Monday the 25^th of June, I attended my first official class in Greece.  It would please many of you to know that I not only went to one class but three.  In fact, my entire day was spent in the classroom, from 9-4:30.  The first of which being Dr. Kaplan’s class, which our honors professor and the leader of this trip, in which we talked about the book Dinner with Persephone by Patricia Stone, and related some of our own experiences to that of the main character.  I love her class and it seems to fly by because it is more discussion based versus solely based on lecture.  I appreciate this kind of environment because it allows me to stay interested in the class, but also allows me to see things from different points of view as my classmates explain things as they see it. 

Some of my notes for the Survival Greek class

After this class finished, we walked as a big group over to the main campus of Deree for our second class, survival Greek.  

This course encourages us to learn enough of the Greek language to survive here.  We started by learning the alphabet and the sounds that the letters made, just like kindergarteners.  Next our teacher showed us the combinations of consonants and vowels that made a different sound than you would expect.  For example, the Greek letter “m” placed next to the symbol pi creates a “b” sound.  We sounded out another hour or so worth of letters, combinations, and simple words, then began the hilly trek to the last class of the day. 

Our "first day of school" posses

We all chose one of two classes for the most part, Modern Greek history or Art History.  I chose to take the Art History class because I thought it would be interesting to learn the history behind all of the amazing pieces I encountered.  I walked in the classroom, picked my seat, took out my notebook and waited for the professor to begin. 

The first words out of his mouth were “Right-o.  Let me know if any of the rubbish I say becomes confusing to any of you”.  HE WAS BRITISH! If any of you have seen the series “Lie to Me”, the main character is here, in Greece, teaching my Art History class.  After the surprise factor diminished, I realized that I still had another hour and fifty-seven minutes of jam-packed lecture to take notes on.  I was grateful for his dry sense of British humor, as it made the lesson a tad more bearable. 

Brianna buying fruit

I packed up my things once again and headed home with a fried brain.  As a tradition of the study abroad trip, every room is asked to prepare one dish to share with the group.  We decided Monday would be the best day to have the potluck because a farmers market is set up literally right outside of our dorms!  The food there is so fresh and the smells as you walk up and down the street are so wonderful!  The products range from every type of fruit you can imagine (strawberries, apples, apricots, figs, pears, bananas, pineapple, peaches, kiwi, and others that I cannot even identify), to fresh fish, veggies (potatoes, zucchini, carrots, peas, ect.), assorted nuts, honey, clothing, onions, garlic, and some other things that I am forgetting.  Our room decided that we would make a type of potato dish here that calls for potatoes (obviously) cut into thin slices, covered in olive oil and a culmination of various spices, and finally topped with cheese, and roasted for 45 minutes.  Everyone brought something different.  We had Tatziki soup, fruit salad, our potatoes, a pasta type dish called pastitsio, bread, pita burgers, and the two boys on the trip graciously cut and warmed up the fruit bread that was provided to us a couple weeks ago.  Needless to say, I left the meal satisfied. 

            A little spontaneity goes a long way on this trip.  After about fifteen minutes of allowing our food to digest, a couple of my friends decided it was the perfect time for a dance party.  I swear I have danced (if you can even call it dancing) more on this trip than I have in my whole life combined.  We jammed out to songs from Nsync, to Barbie girl, to head banging music, and everything in between.  The other students walking in and out gave us weird stares then realized that we were having more fun than they were and walked away.  We even pulled Mrs. Dr. Kaplan in for a couple minutes and one of the older students on the trip who claimed, “dancing was not her thing” but ended up dancing the night away with us.  After a full two hours of doing the cha-cha slide, the tango, and various made up dances such as the jelly fish, the grandma dance and the “typical girl dance” according to Jimmy, many of us were too tired to go on.  This was the end of yet another successful day in Athens.

I just wanted to take a second and thank all of you who are keeping up with my blog posts! It really means a lot to me to know that people are keeping up with me! I miss my friends and family at home, but this is truly the opportunity of a lifetime.  I love hearing from you all that you enjoy seeing my pictures and reading what I have to say.  I constantly check the “stats” section on my profile which tells me how many people have viewed my posts that day and I always get excited to see how many of you care enough to read about my life.  Please feel free to leave comments with feedback or let me know if there is something I have not talked about that would be interesting to you! Thanks again guys, it really means a lot!

The Acropolis

The Acropolis 

Greece is known for it’s countless acropolises (or is it acropoli?), the most popular being the one that sits a top a mountain overlooking the city of Athens.  There is an acropolis in every major city and it usually consists of some type of building that sits on top of the highest mountain in the city.  These were prime places used if the city was ever under attack because it is the hardest part to seize, naturally.  As you can imagine, the view was stunning!

 It was wild to see things that I have only seen on post cards or on slides in history classes in person.  Although it was truly amazing to see these timeless pieces of history, the fun had only just begun. 

My Random Greek lady-friend

In our exhausted, over heated, overwhelmed, state of delirium a group of us decided to take on the identity of professional photo bombers, making it our mission to “enhance” any and every picture we encountered.  The positions we practiced varied from different takes on the original Sasquatch walk, to awkward faces, to a solid “two thumbs up” stance behind a couple posed holding hands as if they had just won a dance competition. 
 Also as a part of this top-secret mission, we decided to take as many pictures as we could with random people.  My friend Nicki took an amazing picture with an extremely attractive Irish man with a beautiful accent while I sat extremely close to an old Greek woman on a bench as “nonchalantly” as I possibly could. I took up my own personal goal to see how many pictures I could take for other people and got up to eight. The situation was definitely a memorable one and made all of us laugh so hard.  I am sure I have said this a million times, but I honestly could not have asked for a better group of people to share these memories with.

The amazing Greek style food

            After an hour or so of carrying on this mischief, we met or group at the bottom of the acropolis and headed back into down town Athens.  One cannot truly appreciate the height of the acropolis until you hike up and down it that is for sure. When we hit the bottom the Kaplans asked us a very difficult question, if we wanted to eat a lunch that was on them at a typical Greek restaurant, or if we wanted to continue walking in the blistering heat with growling tummies. 

As you can imagine, we took up the offer of indulging in a free meal.  We had no idea what was about to hit our taste buds.  Our table of six got to choose 14 dishes to share, do not judge us, they were appetizer sized.  This is the traditional way to share a meal with your family for Greeks.  We chose fried cheese, calamari, Greek salad (that no one touched haha), two different hummus type dips, beans, meatballs, tziki sauce, sausage, fries, dolmades, pork, mousaka, and fried zucchini.   Not going to lie, it was probably some of the most amazing tasting food I have ever eaten.  After this tasty stop we headed into the “downtown” portion of Athens to the flea market that is open on Sundays.  All I could think about was how much my little brother, Dallas, would love being in this environment.  There were so many cool pieces taking over the street, all with different personalities and stories to tell. 

After wandering around for a good hour or so, it was finally time to head home.  Unfortunately, I got lost… again.  I feel like I should have accepted the fact, by now, that I am just no good with directions and am bound to get lost anytime I stray away from the norm. A group of four of us got on the correct metro, got off on the correct stop, got on the correct bus, and got of on the completely wrong bus stop ten or fifteen blocks away from the stop we should have gotten off at.    Being the bright college students we are, we figured it would be in our best interest to walk to our dorms, not knowing the distance we had in store for us.  Long story short, we hiked up and down streets using our internal compass to direct us on our journey, finally stopped after 20 minutes and decided to wait for a bus due to the fact that we had seen three or four pass us in our time walking.  Once we found the bus stop, we waited for another twenty or thirty minutes, which felt like hours, for the bus to finally come.  I may be acting a little dramatic but just give me a couple sentences to rant.  After hiking up to the acropolis, around the Parthenon, down the acropolis (which remember is the highest point in the city of Athens), around the flea market, and through shops, the last thing I wanted to do was walk twenty blocks in the blazing hot sun to get back to my dorm.  I was running out of water and the little water I had left was warm.  I was desperate for something, tried to eat an orange out of the trees that grows in the middle of the streets (which is a whole story in itself), only to find that it was bitter and full of seeds, and on top of that a cat kept meowing from behind a bush the entire time we were waiting for the bus.  Ok, sorry but I just needed to give you the full effect of my experience.  At least I know that in the two or three times I have gotten lost, I still managed to find my way back.  I hate admitting this but that night I indulged in my roommates fundelina (knock off brand of nutella) with the biggest spoon our dorm had to offer.  After all, I figured I deserved it after walking more that ten or eleven miles that day. 

My amazing room mates

One of the best parts of this entire trip, hands down, is my roommates.  No matter what kind of day we have had, we some how always find a way to build each other up.  I cannot think of one time we have been together that I have not been in tears from laughing so hard about the memories we have shared together.  That Sunday night was no exception.  I’m not sure if it was the fifteen hour day or the fact that we had been in the sun for a good portion of that time but that was the hardest I laughed in a really long time.  We kept recalling events from earlier that day and reminding each other of the hilarious photo bombs or conversations that were shared.  This trip has really taught me spontaneity (as ironic as that sounds) and how to live life to the fullest.  We jokingly tell each other “YOLO” as a reminder that we only have one life to live so why not throw yourself a dance party or talk to complete strangers. I think John Lennon says it best: “Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans”

Delphi, shmelphi

Delphi shmelphi…I have resorted to this beginning for my blog because I have literally attempted to find an adequate introduction for the past twenty minutes, and this is all I can come up with.  Creative right? 

            We kicked our Saturday morning off with a two-hour bus ride into Delphi at 7 am, and as you could probably guess, this resorted to “nap time” for our group of college students who are unaccustomed to waking up at such an ungodly time.  About half way into the trip we woke up to Mr. Dr. Kaplan informing us about a pit stop we were going to make that had bathrooms and food.    Little did we know that we were about to be submerged in as much Greek culture that one could pack into a gas station-sized store on the side of the road.  The “90 café” served a variety of pastries, coffee, and probably 20-30 different types of traditional Greek items.  Our bus was the first to arrive at this little shop and was immediately followed by four or five busses of Greek men and women.  If you do not know the stereotype of a Greek individual, let me take this time to inform you that they are loud, pushy, and have no idea what a “personal bubble” is.  Picture me having just woken up and thrown into this type of environment.  I’m sure you pictured the correct scenario in your head; I was completely overwhelmed and almost angry at the fact that I could not move or even function in this mad house!  I felt as if I could not even control my own thoughts due to the cacophony of Greek voices flowing in and out of my ears.  I finally decided to stand outside for a bit and collect my thoughts.  After some consulting with some of my peers, three of us decided to man up and buy some pastries! I felt like I was Chuck Norris walking into an ally way ready to fight, the wind was blowing my hair back and I put on my “don’t mess with me” face, walked right over to the pastry lady and I ordered my baklava, dang it! I was not even hungry, I just wanted to prove to myself, and the rest of that 90 café that I could hang with the Greeks if I wanted to.  I walked out of that place a changed individual.  I boarded the bus with my pride, dignity, and a hurt tummy after forcing down my victory baklava.  Nonetheless, I knew that I would remember that experience for years to come.

            Needless to say, we continued onward to Delphi.  As we traveled the bus filled with the unmistakable stench of fresh fertilizer, and the views from my window were unlike any other.  Farmlands, mountains and enormous windmills flashed by for the next hour or so.  Our bus climbed the winding mountain of Parnassus, which is the second highest mountain in Greece, after Mt. Olympus. 

            A little history lesson: Individuals would take a pilgrimage all the way from Athens, to Delphi seeking advise from the oracles that inhabited some of the temples.  When they finally arrived, they would go through a series of rituals, the first of which was to take a bathe in a spring in order to cleanse and purify them before seeking wisdom, from Athena.  So naturally, this was our first stop.  After a quick wash, we walked around the ruins atop the mountain.    Everything is was so beautiful and its mind boggling to think about how sacred of a place this once was, and all the history that can be told through a few beaten down columns.  I was able to act as the “stand in oracle” as my classmates and friends asked me for “advise” to solve their troubles.  

The Bellybutton

After taking some goofy pictures, we hiked up the very strenuous path to the stadium where some of the first Olympians competed in foot races.  We all joked that the first part of the competition was making it up to the stadium itself.  We also saw the “belly button” of the world.  Supposedly, Zeus wanted to find where the center of the world was so he released two eagles that flew until the met in Delphi, where the “naval” was placed.

            Next we found ourselves at the temple of Athena, which is one of the most photographed places in Greece.  It was so beautiful and again, words cannot begin to describe the scenery.  

Me playing "oracle"

The roommate picture

In the monastery

Temple of Athena

            At this point I hope you can understand that our days are jam packed of activities.  In saying this, we boarded the bus yet again and made our way to the monastery in Delphi.  Out of respect, the girls were asked to wear long skirts that covered our knees.  The original paintings on the walls were still intact and I could just feel a huge emotional wave engulf me.  It was amazing to just stand and stare and all of the originally beauty this place had to offer.  PS: sorry my pictures are awkward... ive been fighting it for a while.

No Regrets

“You do not know what you have until it is gone.”  

We take so many things for granted and it is hard to understand this until your comfort is taken away.  Some of you are probably wondering where I’m going with this… two words, grocery shopping.  We were fortunate enough that the college stocked our fridge with enough food to make it through the first couple of days in Athens.  Let me back track by saying that the dorms we are in are really nice.  They were built for the Olympians to stay in as they were competing in the 2004 Olympic games.  I have four of the best roommates I could have ever asked for, Brianna Sigman, Corey Burke, Maddie Miles and Hannah Davis.  The rooms come equipped with various pots and pans, a stove and oven, microwave, Panini maker, sink, dishes, silverware, beds, sheets, shower, toilet, Wi-Fi, a beautiful marble balcony and a view that I could get lost in for hours.  Anyways, to get back on track, the five of us girls (and Chase), went to explore the local markets that surrounded our dorms.  We decided on going to the “ The Discount Bazaar” due to the fact that it was located conveniently across the street from an ATM.  Once inside, it looked like your average grocery store with the fresh fruit and veggies on the right hand side and a couple small aisles stocked with random foods. 

My Groceries

It was not until we actually started to shop that we realized we were way out of comfort zone.  The simplest task such as picking out laundry detergent became harder than solving chemical equations.   Luckily after staring at the wall of product for what seemed like ten minutes, we came across the familiar brand Tide, and decided that would be our best option.  I picked up a couple of other familiar looking items such as pasta, apples, powdered sauce (which would later prove to be a disaster as I could not understand the directions on how to mix the spaghetti powder with the correct amount of water), olive oil for the dorm to share, a coke, some jelly, and what I thought were cookies but ended up being a less salty version of a saltine cracker.  I failed to find items, other than the pasta, that I could truly make a meal out of and will hopefully get the opportunity to buy more things tonight when we go out. 

I had experienced a mentally straining time so naturally it was time for a physically straining one, right?  Late last night we received an email from Mr. Dr. Kaplan asking if any of us wanted to watch the sunrise from a mountaintop near by.  He mentioned that the group last year had attempted to get to the top and challenged us to make it all the way up this year.  Many of us agreed to join him despite the report time of 5:30 am, not knowing what we were about to get ourselves into.  At first it started off easy, a pretty steep climb up a winding road.  After about a mile or so of a calves-burning hike, things took an adventurous route to say the least.  We went off-roading, scrambling over loose rocks at an even steeper incline.  The whole group started breathing heavier, a result from both the work out of the whole excursion and the thinning air of the atmosphere.  

Our victory shot

We would get excited thinking that we had reached the summit of the mountain only to be challenged by yet another peak, even higher than the previous.  I began wondering if we were ever going to reach the top. Then after two and a half hours of continuously straining and the steepest incline I had ever experienced, we finally had reached the top!  It was so rewarding and liberating knowing we had accomplished something so massive.  We could see the entire city of Athens from the summit it was unbelievable.  After yet another photo-shoot (seems to be a reoccurring theme), we had to face the treacherous down hill journey.  I wont bore you with more details about the rocks and a battle scars, but my toes are still sore (12 hours later).  We found ourselves back at the dorm and showered before 9:30.  

The Group

So just to recap, that a solid 5.5 miles, 14430 steps, mountain top view of Athens, summer solstice, photo-shoot, and hot shower all before 9:30.  If you know anything about me, you’d know that I am the farthest thing from a morning person as one can be so saying that we accomplished that much so early is rare, but awesome.

After a quick nap and the unfortunate occurrence of our power being shut off, I got bored of sitting around the dorm with no Wi-Fi.  So, as if the morning did not consist of enough walking, three of us decided to take a walk around the city to see what there was around our dorm in terms of entertainment, food, and bakery type items.  Little did we know that the streets surrounding us were fashioned into a sort of New York style neighborhoods, with huge apartment buildings and hardly anything else.  However, we decided to keep walking, and walking, and walking, until we finally found ourselves in what seemed to be down town Athens and completely and utterly lost.  Again, if you know me you’d know that I have no sense of direction or distance and neither did the other two girls I was with. 

Us after we got back
Maddie, Lauren, Me

So basically, the three of us walked around in an unknown area, wondering aimlessly to wherever our hearts desired; it was a recipe for disaster.  It was just a matter of time before we would realize that we had no idea where we were.  We decided it would be in our best interest to walk back in towards the neighborhood, as that is where we had originally started.  We attempted to ask random people walking on the streets to point us in some kind of direction to the college but had no luck because of the language barrier between the locals and us.  I don’t know if it was pure luck or a miracle by the big man Himself, but we found our way back to the gate! It was so so wonderful and the three of us took a sigh of relief and this victory picture.

It’s hard to tell where the day will take me but as of now, I have no regrets.  As frustrating, tiring, straining and all around miserable something may seem in that exact moment, I would not trade the memory for the world because it is in those moments that we learn what we are capable of and can surprise ourselves with our unknown and untouched abilities.

            

 The Rhodes less traveled by

            Oh where to begin... I guess I will start by saying words can not even begin to describe the journey and experiences I have had over the past couple of days, but I will do my best to fill you in.

The trip started with an hour and a half drive to the Jacksonville airport where we met some of our trip mates for the very first time.  We boarded the plane and headed to Philly where our whole group met and finally took off on an exhausting ten-hour flight to Athens. Everyone was beyond tired because at that point, most of us had less than am hour of sleep for the combined two days of travel. We zipped from the airport to our dorms at the American college of Greece (known to the locals as Deree), where we had just enough time to unpack some of our clothing, take a much needed twenty minute nap, and walk around down town. Running on pure adrenaline alone, we grabbed our carry-ons and boarded a bus that took all twenty of us to the ferry.  For most of us, that Friday night was the best sleep we had gotten in days.  We woke up to the sounds of alarms going off, grabbed a shower and reported to the deck at 11 am just to find out that the ferry was running on “Greek time” and we would no actually board for another hour or so. 

On the ferry:

            Rhodes took my breath away constantly. Although we all thought it was a little odd that we had to pay 6 euros a night for air conditioning, we could not have asked for a more beautiful spot to stay.   Our hotel was right across the street from one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen and came with a pool and one of the most amazing people I have ever met.

By the pool

Who would have known that one could learn so many life lessons in Rhodes, sitting on a bar stool, in a hotel, listening to the bartender.  Over the course of two days, this man went from being a bartender to a true friend who would do anything for us.  We stayed up late talking to him about his hardships moving from America when he was twelve (because his father died), to Greece where he practically had to raise himself.  He told us about his years of being a bartender and how they taught him how to understand people by looking into their eyes and listening to them.  He told us over and over “Silence is Golden” and not to judge people.  Although I had heard these bits of advice from many others, I had never truly understood the importance of them.  When it came time to say our final goodbyes, some of us could not help but cry knowing that had met someone who was willing to fly to any part of Greece to help us out.  He looked us all in the eye individually and said, “When ever you need anything do not hesitate to call me.  Athens is only 40 minutes from Rhodes. If anyone gives you trouble I am part of the national guard and have 200 bullets.” Then we all laughed and he continued “ but seriously know that you have a true friend in Greece.  Now get to bed”.  It was moments like this that make the trip.  Who would have guessed that me, a good Christian girl would become so close and learn so much from a middle-aged bartender?

From left to right:Hannah, Corey, Mano, Me,Brianna, Charlie

            Our first excursion took us to Lindos.  We hiked a solid half of a mile in the scorching heat to the top of the Acropolis of Lindos.  The views were unbelievable and indescribable to say the least.  The ruins were beautiful and it was so awesome to see something so old with so much history in person.  I had never experienced something so beautifully aged.  Our small group of friends ate atop a restraint that overlooked the city of Lindos.  We ended our day wondering through the various shops that lined the walkways surrounding the acropolis. 

At the restaurant. Left to right:  Jimmy, Brianna, Allison, Me, Corey,
Shanna, Katy.

            We headed back to our hotel, enjoyed the pool, showered and headed into town.  We took Mano’s recommendation, the bartender, and ate at a place called Mezaz for dinner.  I had Lahmantzoun, which is spicy minced meat on a type of pastry pie.  I thought the white stuff that was served on the pie was sour cream, but it turned out to be a type of yogurt.  The restaurant generously gave us a dessert that was “on the house”, pronounced “sargli”. 

It was probably one of the best tasting things I had ever had.  Later that night we went to watch the Greece v. Russia game.  Chase wanted to witness the game in the Grecian “atmosphere” so we headed to a bar down a lively street that we would later fondly name “scary street”.  Every bar had some attractive man or women that would aggressively approach our huddled group to try and convince us that their bar was the best, offering free shots and a good time.  We dodged each person carefully as we elbowed our way down scary street finally making it to the end where we found ourselves in a quiet bar surrounded with TVs.  It was so amazing to see how the streets lit up with fire works and proud Greeks as they pulled out an unexpected win. 

            The next day, Sunday June 17^th, we walked to old town.  Again it was so beautiful and crazy to think that we were walking down medieval streets that had seen so much history throughout their existence. 

The group in old town

Where we got "lost"

In our attempt to get back to the hotel, Mary, 

Charlie, Katie Anne, and I found ourselves lost within the city walls of the castle.  We all agreed that if one was going to be lost, this was the way to do it.   That night for dinner we went to a place called the “blue lagoon” which consisted of tacky pirate decorations, mediocre food, and the best dancing experience I have ever had.  If you know me, you know imp no dancer but with a little encouragement from my friends I danced my heart out and could not have had more fun doing so.  We all pulled out the lawn mower, sprinkler, and the beloved twist.  Laughing and singing along with the most random mash up of American songs I had ever heard.  We wandered down scary street again to a crepe place and finished a beautiful day with my first crepe that I filled with novella and bananas.

            Our last full day in Athens we spent visiting new town ate the most inexpensive and delicious chicken pitas ever and had an impromptu photo-shoot on a graffiti wall.  It was so relaxing and liberating to walk the streets of Rhodes with out an adult or someone telling us where to go or what time to meet somewhere, but I guess that college for you .

The delicious chicken gyros

I shared this glorious day with some fabulous people (Allison, Corey, and Brianna), and I'm so excited to have these girls as my friends! 

The Girls and the Grecian sunset!

We walked close to 10,000 steps all over Rhodes.  Although it was a perfect day, the sunset that night was my favorite part of Rhodes.  I am a sucker for sunsets and this one was the most majestic thing I have ever witnessed.  The perfect ending to a perfect day was having yet another photo-shoot with these beautiful ladies.  We found a rock out in the ocean and it should come as no surprise that we took full advantage of its positioning.  This is one of those moments in your life that is hard to explain to someone who wasn’t there to witness it for him or herself, but I can honestly say that I will never forget that moment for as long as I live.  God is truly good. 

 The next day we woke up bright and early and stuffed ourselves with the free breakfast as any good college student would do.  And just like that we were off again.  We hit the Archeological museum in old town first.  It was full of recovered statues and monuments, pottery, and items from the Bronze Age.  Next we went to the temple of Athena and the big cross.  Our next stop was the ancient ruins of Kamiros.It was really amazing to see the outlines of the old houses that used to stand in the same spot we were.It was weird to thing that someone once lived on the opposite side of the wall I was sitting on

Archeological Museum

Lastly, we went to the valley of butterflies, which ironically is where a species of moths flock to because it is colder than surrounding areas.   It was so beautiful! Sorry I keep using the same adjectives but its so hard to describe the beauty of the island Rhodes. The next day we woke up bright and early and stuffed ourselves with the free breakfast as any good college student would do.  And just like that we were off again.  

Temple of Athena

We hit the Archeological museum in old town first.  It was full of recovered statues and monuments, pottery, and items from the Bronze Age.  Next we went to the temple of Athena and the big cross.  Our next stop was the ancient ruins of Kamiros.  It was really amazing to see the outlines of the old houses that used to stand in the same spot we were.  It was weird to thing that someone once lived on the opposite side of the wall I was sitting on.  Lastly, we went to the valley of butterflies, which ironically is where a species of moths flock to because it is colder than surrounding areas.   It was so beautiful! Sorry I keep using the same adjectives but its so hard to describe the beauty of the island Rhodes. 

Kamiros

The Big Cross

            

Valley of the Butterflies

Back to the ferry it was.  We weren’t as exhausted as the first time but it was pretty close.  Most of us fell asleep pretty quickly knowing that we had to get off the boat by six the next morning.  As I am writing this now, I can still feel the boat moving.  crazy to think that these experiences are all just memories now, moments in the past that are never to be forgotten.  I am excited to see what the coming weeks have in store for us.  I went to Rhodes expecting to check one thing off my bucket list but checked so many unexpected things off in the end, living out some of the most amazing moments in my life this far.  Delphi theater, you’re my next check, here I come!