American Adjustment

This picture of the Parthenon is one of my favorites I took this trip. It doesn't even do it justice though.

Well I'm back on American soil! I got back home late Monday night after a long day of travel including screaming toddlers and one cancelled flight. It was so nice to take a shower in my shower and sleep in my own bed! I forgot how much I missed those little things.

Some things were a shock: understanding EVERY conversation around me in English (it was so loud!), green trees and lawns, signs in English, ice water, tons of fast food restaurants, normal bathrooms, that sort of thing. Some things I miss: my friends, our cozy apartment, the yummy food, the beautiful views, those kinds of things.

But, I'm trying to look at my return as just another part of my life. I want to be neutral on the subject, not pessamistic or overly excited. One of the things I learned while in Greece is that life is really just a series of events, like chapters in a book, and what makes those events important are the people you share them with and what you learn from them.

I have learned much more than the archeology of Greece and the history of antiquity while abroad. I've learned some things about myself: the people I like to surround myself with, how I function in a large group or alone, and how much my life here as made me who I am. I've conquered challenges physical, emotional, mental, psychological, and social.

I have said in earlier posts how the theme of this summer has been juxtaposition: the ancient ruins next to modern cities, the beautiful blue ocean next to dead arid land, I have to add one more and that is my American self and my Greek self. I believe I could succeed in both countries but I have found that my home and my choice is here.

So now, as I continue living in central Illinois surrounded by the American college culture found nowhere else, I will learn to look at it differently. Whenever I walk past academic buildings with columns, Niros late night gyros, or sorority and fraternity houses proudly displaying an odd collection of Greek letters, I will be taken back to a summer where I truly and fully lived a chapter of my life.

Roommates are off!

At dinner. from the bottom left: Anita, Andrew, myself, Sam Bruni, Justine.

And then there was one. Last night was a great last night. We had dinner with Kate, Jill and Ann Marie from our class. Andrew came and so did Katie's friend from the Paros class Brie. Sam Bruni also joined us so we were a big happy group! It was delicious as always and we stayed for quite sometime. After dinner we decided to go to Mao one last time and say goodbye to Costas, the owner who loves us. He gave us all hugs and kisses (even Andrew) and sent us away with business cards.

We then walked back to our apartment and got in bed and talked about our favorite memories. There was a bit of tears and lots of hugging. I can't believe how unbelievably close I've gotten with these girls. I will miss them so much. But we changed our reunion to October 24th for Justine's birthday weekend! Turns our the day of the Illini game is Initiation for the house and since I'm VP I have to be there.

So the Sams and Justine left at about six this morning for their Turkey/Egypt/Island 10 day trip. Then Katie and Anita left about 8:45. So it wasn't a great night of sleep. After they all left I just sat in my bed for awhile processing. Then I made a solo trip for a frappe and croissant eating at a cafe. I explored a bit and came back to start packing.

I decided to go into Plaka, the square by the Acropolis and finish some shopping. I got my silver and mother of pearl bracelet I've wanted forever! It's beautiful and exactly what I pictured. Then I took the bus to Andrew's hotel for some pool time. I was so proud of myself navigating around this foreign city! Yes I've been here 2 whole months but I have a TERRIBLE sense of direction (it's backwards) and I've never gone anywhere alone before! I feel you can't truly know a city without some solo exploring.

The pool was beautiful! We laid around for about three hours before heading to his room so he could get some work done. He's an intern for a Greek/American shipping stock market thing? He tried to explain it to me today but it's confusing. He takes some work home and he was looking through the past two years worth of a specific kind of boat's money made. There were tables and graphs and things like that that I don't understand. I watched Greek MTV and occasionally helped him.

Then we went to his favorite gyros place in his neighborhood where they spoke no English! He knows how to say "one chicken gyros" so we were good. We walked around a bit and then parted ways so we could shower and he could finish more work. He's coming over soon and he's staying in one of the extra bedrooms because I feel a bit uneasy staying alone.

It's been a good day but a hard one. These girls I will love forever and will always have a special place in my heart. I know more about each of them than a good number of people I've known my whole life. This experience has been completely challenging and changing and it's bittersweet to see it end. Last day tomorrow :(/)

Last Big Night

This is one of my favorite pictures from the trip. We took is last night before going out: myself, Katie, Anita, Sam, and Justine.

Well, today's our last day together :( It all of the sudden hit me while walking back from an afternoon gyro. So sad. I can't even imagine life here (for 2 days) without them!

Last night we made pasta but still went out for a Greek salad and wine at this pretty restaurant in our neighborhood. Then we got back to the apartment, Andrew came over and we had a cocktail hour before heading out. We laughed so much and took lots of great pictures. Then we went to Mao for another drink and then to a club called Villa Mercedes. It was a great night.

This morning Sam and I went walking to a fresh weekly market to try and get olive oil and olives but they only had some fresh so it wouldn't travel well. The market was beautiful though. The most colorful fruits and vegetables I've ever seen! And even some weird foods I've never seen before.

Then we walked back and had our farewell lunch at CYA. Our professor sat at a table with Sam, Katie and I and we had nice visit. He was telling us all about how he wound up in Greece. He's been married twice, both Greek women, and has a 42 and 18 year old son! Talk about an age difference.

Then we came back here and the girls packed while we talked some more. Our friend Sam from the first class came back from the class in Paros so it's nice seeing her again. They're leaving tomorrow at 5:00 am for Turkey and Egypt :( Tonight we're going to this great taverna for a 10 euro college special that's delicious!

Pictures!

Peloponnese pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=181159&id=590541644&l=9470397c56
Back in Athens pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=183303&id=590541644&l=b77005a29a

Last Day of Class!

The Hephaisteion at the Agora (one of my favorite temples)

It's a hot one today. The heat of the day (a half hour ago) was 100!

Last night Andrew came over and we chatted for a bit and then went to get a drink at Mao, our favorite place. Came back after an hour or so to go to bed for our last day of class. This morning we did the Agora again. We went upstairs in the museum to look out at the view which was only one story up but very beautiful. I liked getting that perspective.

After the Agora we did a little shopping around Monostriaki and Plaka before heading to CYA for lunch. After that we came back to our apartment, took a siesta and then attempted to go get coffee with our old Professor Nicola but she had already left for the day. We'll see her tomorrow though!

Tonight we're making the rest of the pasta we have left and then going out to a taverna for something small. Andrew's coming over after he gets off and so are the other girls after they eat dinner. We're all going out tonight for a celebration/going away night. Should be fun.

I'm starting to have mixed feelings about this whole leaving in 3 days thing. I'm going to miss these girls SO MUCH. We're already planning our reunion, the U of I game at Michigan the first weekend in November. And they'll come down to U of I for Unofficial. They're really not that far away and with all the technology now I'm not worried about it. It's just strange because we've spent so much time together.

But I'm ready to be home. I'm ready to see all of you and my friends. I'm ready for ice water and toliet seats. I'm ready for mornings to sleep in and showers that actually make me feel clean. I'm not ready for missing my new friends or being so far from the ocean. I'm not ready for no Greek salads or gyros. I guess it's just a point in my life that I'll have to take.

Acropolis

We got to witness the raising of the flag today on the Acropolis because we got there so early. Like I mentioned before, this is very important to them because of the whole Nazi-flag-on-the-Acropolis thing. Plus we heard a story from Diamant about how one heroic Greek snuck up to the Acropolis in the middle of the night and tore down the Nazi flag and put up the Greek one! And he is still alive today. Greeks have A LOT of patriotism.

Last night Sam, Katie, and I went to a nearby taverna and drank wine to cheer Katie up, it worked! These past couple of days I've got to have some alone time with each of the girls and it's really nice. It's nice to get to know them without the rest of the group, I feel like we have all gotten really close to each other individually so that's nice.

This morning we did the Acropolis again and focused on the Erecthion. It was weird having our last trip up there! Then we shopped a bit, hung out at the apartment for a bit and then went to lunch at CYA. After I took a nap and worked on the outline of my 2nd paper.

We all walked around for a bit together before dinner. We ate at McDonalds, I got nuggets and they weren't bad! Then we stopped and got some wine for tonight. Andrew just got over here and we're thinking about going out for drinks later. Last day of class tomorrow!

Brauron Round 2

View of Brauron

Sad news to report tonight: Katie got her wallet stollen at H and M tonight :( She was even being responsible! She had her purse in front of her AND it was zipped. Somehow they unzipped it and got it out. Luckily she only had 100 euros and some cards. Also they didn't take her passport or phone or camera so we're looking on the brightside.

Last night we attempted to go get Indian food at this place CYA suggested but it was closed so we went to this yummy Italian place called Armoa. I had probably one of the tastiest things I've had here. I got grilled aubergines with tomatoes, onions, garlic, with feta on top. Sooooo good. We then walked back and hung out before going to bed. I laugh so much with these girls, I'm starting to realize how much I'm going to miss them.

This morning we drove to Brauron to look at the Temple of Artemis there. We had already been but it is beautiful so it was nice to go again. We had to hike up this brambly path up to see the view though and it was a bit unpleasant. I was scared because it was so steep and slippery I was worried I would fall and I have scratches all over :( But we saw a shepard down below in the valley with a bunch of sheep with bells on, just like a movie! Then we talked about the temple and all of that stuff.

We went back to CYA and had lunch there before getting a freddo and going home. I finished my first paper, the only one that's due before I leave and plan on starting the 2nd one tomorrow. I'm not that worried about it because I have about 50 days to finish it. Then I took a bit of a nap before heading out shopping with Katie and Sam.

We went to a bookstore that had books in English so I could be sure I would have something for the plane ride. Popi, the housing director, got back to me and said I could stay in the apartment until Monday morning so that's settled. Now we're hanging out and we may take Katie out for a drink to cheer her up. Luckily her parents were able to go straight to the bank and take care of everything and she had a backup credit card so it's not so much of an inconvience. Plus she has to get a new license anyway!

Acropolis again tomorrow!

World Cup and the Acropolis

This is at the Venetian castle we visited in the Peloponesse in one of our last days, it was so beautiful!

Well, the end is near. We have nearly every day and night planned out for the rest of the week :( I'm excited to come home but will be very sad to leave the city I now love and all of my new friends. I've decided to stay in a CYA apartment Saturday and Sunday night instead of a hostle. It's easier and I feel that it's safer so I won't have to worry about people going through/stealing my stuff. Luckily Andrew will be here so I won't have to be alone when all my other roommates leave Saturday morning. There's also another girl in our class who's staying until Monday as well in an apartment so they may put is in the same one, who knows!

Yesterday after a painful two and a half hours at the Acropolis museum we decided to go straight to dinner because we were starving. We ate at this restaurant in Plaka that we've been to a couple of times. Andrew met us there and we all split saganaki, gyros, and wine. After we finished eating and chatted for awhile we went into Monostriaki to find a place to watch the World Cup finals. We found a great table at this little taverna, got a beer, and watched the game.

This may come as a surprise to many of you but I think I've found a sport I actually like to watch besides wrestling! I never knew it could happen. I was not bored at all! Soccer is really easy to follow and it's insane who intense it is. People were falling left and right and getting fouls all over the place. One guy even got literally kicked right in the heart! So intense.

We left around 11:15 but it was still 0-0 so there was another half an hour until overtime. We left because we had to be at the Acropolis at 8:00 in the morning and we had a pretty long walk back home. We got home and chatted a bit more while in bed. I love how our rooms are set up. Sam has her own room back in the back but us four sort of share a room. There's a pull out door in between Justine and Anita and Katie and I's rooms so we're sort of always together. It's really nice though because we all face each other. We have lots of good conversation and laughs before bedtime each night.

This morning was tough, we were pretty tired. But we were at the Acropolis which is always fun. We only had an hour and a half there! I think Diamant's realizing the pace of this class is really fast so we were thankful for more free time. We sat and had a freddo (this yummy coffee/slushy thing) and then walked back to the apartment. We had lunch and now we're back in the apartment again. I think I'll try and write my paper this afternoon. We decided to get Indian food tonight, I'm so excited!

Free Time in Athens

This is the roommates minus Anita at Mao. From the left: Justine, Andrew, Sam, myself, and Katie.

Hello! Didn't write yesterday because there wasn't too much going on. When we got back Friday we just hung out and made dinner. Andrew came over when he got off and I fixed him something to eat while the other girls continued getting ready to go out. All of the sudden, the power went out. We flipped the fuse box switch and still nothing happened. So we called the emergency number and they called Poppy, the housing person at CYA. It was getting dark so we were getting a little anxious. Poppy couldn't find any electrician because it was Friday night (and Greece) so she came herself to help! She got directions from the owner of the building and fixed it. We were very thankful.

We had invited some other people from our class over for a cocktail hour before going out so they came a little after our power was back on. Ann Marie, Kate, Nancy, Jill, Salah (only other boy), Alexis, Dominique, and Alexis. It was really fun! We headed to Mao after about an hour and a half and were dancing there for another two hours. Justine, Andrew, and I were pretty tired so we decided to head back while the other girls went to another club.

We got to sleep in, it was so great! When we woke up we just decided to stay and bed all day. And we didn't feel guilty about it! We left for food a couple of times but just stayed and talked and watched tv or movies on our computers. It was so nice to have a break from class.

This morning we had a lecture from 9-11:30 and then we got lunch at the bakery. It's Sunday so nothing else is really open anyways. We came back, ate, I worked a bit on our paper, and napped for a while. We have to go to the Acropolis Museum at 4 for another bit of class. More tomorrow!

Delphi Round 2 and back to Athens!

I found a bomber in Delpih!!! Slightly different insides, I checked.

We are back in Athens! I feel so at home here, it's strange. It feels so good to be back in our apartment again!

Yesterday we did the lower temple at Delphi for about 2 hours. It wasn't bad because it was so cool! I was actually chilly, I didn't know that could happen here. I brought my rain jacket because the forecast said it could rain so I put that on. There was a lovely breeze as well.

After that we showered and went to dinner at this beautiful restaurant that is literally built inside a mountain so you get the most amazing view of the mountain range. We watched the sunset and ate our delicious meals, I got a real salad (with lettuce!) with avocados, radishes, cheese, pine nuts, and pomegranete seeds! Then we just walked around the town before we collapsed into bed.

This morning we had breakfast and did the museum and the upper temples at Delphi. Hotter today but still not anything like what it could have been. It was interesting but a lot of it I knew from the first session. Got on the bus, drove 2 hours and stopped at a little oasis for lunch. Got back on the bus and drove another hour to Athens!

We're just lounging now waiting to cook dinner. We're going out tonight with a couple other girls in our class and Andrew. Probably clubbing because we finally have a free day tomorrow! Can't wait!

Olympia

Part of the pediment on the Temple of Zeus at Olympia

Well no internet in our Delphi hotel so this will be a day late! Yesterday after our break we went to the Olympia museum for two hours or so. I actually enjoyed it a lot. My favorite piece was the pediment from the Temple of Zeus. A pediment goes on top of the temple and is the shape of a triangle and consists of a collection of sculpture that often tells a story. The temple of Zeus pediment is of particular interest because the two sides of it are so different.

The east side is a depiction of Pelops and King Oinomaos about to start their chariot race in which the prize is the Princess’ Hippodamia hand in marriage. It shows the scene right before they begin their race with Zues standing in the middle. The myth of Pelos is one of the founding myths for the Olympic Games. King Oinomaos heard a prophecy that one day is son-in-law would overthrow him and take the kingdom. He thought he could beat his fate so whenever suitors came to court Hippodamia he would challenge them to a chariot race which they could never win. King Oinomaos had magical horses that could not be beat. He would let the suitor get a head start and then would decapitate them, while Hippodamia was riding with them, when he caught up to them.


Pelos knew this so he bribed the chariot maker to replace the pins in the wheels of King Oinomaos chariot with wax instead of metal. So while King Oinomaos was just about to kill Pelos the wax melted and he was thrown from his chariot, fell into the river and drowned. Thus beginning the games at Olympia.
The west side depicts the battle of the lapids and centaurs after a wedding reception got a bit out of hand. A god figure in the middle is said to be Apollo but no one knows for sure. This side of the pediment has much more movement and emotion whereas the east side is much more vertical and placid. They are equally beautiful and very interesting, I would have loved to see them on top of the Temple still.

After the museum we decided to stay into town and get dinner. We got gyros and tzatziki and I got a diet coke as dessert. We walked back towards hotel and the night was beautiful. As we were close to the hotel we became aware of someone following us, it was a little boy probably about 7 with the smallest kitten I have ever seen. It had the pattern of a cat already but it was so tiny! He held it out to me and I surprised myself and took it. It was purring and trying to cling to my clothes, it was adorable. I don’t particularly like animals so I congratulated myself on overcoming another challenge of experience!

He ran along and we continued back to the hotel. We hung out for a bit, chatting and playing on our computers waiting for the World Cup game to start. It was Spain versus Germany, I was rooting for Germany because I’m German and they had the cuter players. Once down there we realized we were surrounded by Spanish people decked out in jerseys so we decided to just sit quietly and not react to anything.

It ended up being a very intense and exciting game with Spain winning 1-0 close to the end. They were freaking out! Everyone was screaming in Spanish at the TV, it literally sounded like a riot was breaking out. I’ve never seen anyone get into a game as much as these people. It really fascinates me how Europe and the rest of the world are so into soccer and the US still doesn’t really care. It’s actually entertaining and I could definitely become a fan! I’ve seen this all summer with the World Cup. I’ve been to restaurants where they clear a table and bring out a huge plasma screen to watch the game and the waiters completely ignore you until it’s over.

Then we headed to bed and got nine hours of sleep, it was glorious! We had breakfast and left for Delphi. We drove about an hour and a half to a little town for a two hour lunch and beach break. Justine, Sam and I just grabbed something at the bakery and sat at the beach for awhile. It was surprisingly cool and windy so we didn’t even need to get into the water! Then we got back on the bus for another hour or so ride to Delphi. We get a little break and then we do half of the site tonight at 5. Hopefully I’ll learn something new today!

Site of Olympia

A picture of us in start position for the stade, one length of the stadium. It was the first event at the ancient Olympic Games and stayed the only event until the 14th Olympiad. From the front: Justine, Katie, myself, and Alexis.

Today we got up early and headed to Olympia, the actual site. Fortunately it wasn't too crowded or hot when we got there but after about two hours the heat and the crowds were rising. We started off at the River that flows to Mount Cronos, the moutain where Cronos (Zeus' father) was supposedly born. Then we headed to the temples of both Zeus and Hera.

The temple of Zeus housed the "greatest sculpture in ancient Greece". It was sitting on a throne, altogether 15 feet high, and made entirely out of gold and ivory. Pretty ostentacious if you ask me. We talked about the mythology and architecture associated with each temple as usual.

The stadium was very neat to see, however it was different that I imagined. It had no preserved seating. Apparently having marble seats is a Roman design and the Greeks had seats terraced into the landscape so they wouldn't last very long. We talked about the chronology of the events and descriptions of them. I knew a lot of the information because of my paper so it wasn't as interesting to me.

We then grabbed a snack at the little kiosk there and headed back to the hotel for a swim. The pool is very nice but it was pretty hot out so I just stayed out for an hour or so. We have another museum visit in an hour so we have a little time to relax indoors. Tomorrow we don't have to leave until 10, sleep in!

Olympian Adventures

This is taken in front of the ocean by our hotel in Sparta. From the left: Sam, Anita, Justine, myself, and Katie.

Today was a busy day! We started out early and went to a Venetian castle near Sparta. I'm not sure exactly why because it isn't really what we're learning about but it was actually one of my favorite sites because he let us wander around and explore for ourselves. It was so magestic looking, built entirely out of stone and streched out along the coastline. There was an area of rocks before the water turned clear, it looked like something right out of a medival movie. Unfortunately I left my camera on the bus so I'll have to wait and take someone elses pictures once they're put up.

There was a church on the property that we wandered into and no one else was in there. It was even more beautiful than the other ones were. This one had better preserved paintings because it was more recent and they were just glorious. You experience so much emotion looking at the iconography, it's wonderful.

I hate to use the word "religious" because it sounds so ritualistic and impersonal but that's the best way I can describe this country. There are Greek churches everywhere, you can just feel the influence the church has on the people. 98% are practicing Greek Orthodox, it is the state religon: you can pracitce other religions but it is illegal to try and convert people. Every single restaurant or store you go into has at least one cross or icon. I admire their faith even if some is insincere. I've seen about four or five instances of older men or women who cross themselves continuously when they see a church and they continue to until they pass it. I feel so proud to be a Christian here and appreciated, it's much easier here than in America.

We then drove back to Pelos to sit by the ocean and listen to a short lecture on the battles of the Peloponnese. He always gives us short 15 minute breaks but I've come to realize that our professor only does this so he can have a smoke break...how very Greek of him. We then had about an hour drive to a site called Nestor's Palace, the capital of the Myceanean state there. We did that for a bit and then had a longer drive to a beach town where we swam in the ocean for a bit and ate lunch by the water.

Then yet another drive to Olympia where we went to the Olypmic Games museum. Unfortunately it was not what I expected, nothing on the modern games at all, just the ancient ones. I knew a lot of the information because that's what I wrote my paper on so I felt proud about that.

Then we drove to our hotel and it is very nice, I'm surprised CYA is putting us up here! It has a beautiful outdoor pool where all of us girls went immediately after the bus finally got back around 5:30 where we had head stand contests for an hour or so. I then decided to borrow Sam's running shoes (even though they were a size and a half too small) and go for a run. I haven't been for about six weeks but it turned out better than I thought! I really needed it and it felt so good. Once we get back to Athens I'm going to go everyday.

Then we all showered and I washed my running clothes in the sink because I'm running out of clothes. We headed into the town of Olympia, about a 15 minute walk to eat at a gyros place. Our waiter, who may have been the owner, had his little boy out at the table next to us, probably about one and a half. He was so adorable and waved and blew us kisses the whole night. Greek men are much more affectionate with their children, I've noticed I've probably seen more men with their kids than women.

We then headed back to our hotel and just chatted in our room for a while. Now off to bed! We have another long day tomorrow but Thursday we get to sleep in until 9 because a museum will be on strike! Love Greek rights of assembly.

Continued Tour of the Peloponnese

This is me standing at the top of the fortress at Mystras we climbed this morning 15 minutes outside of Sparta.

Last night we took a bus ride out to a tiny restaurant next to natural springs for dinner. It was a beautiful night and the scenery was very picturesque, it even had a mini waterfall and many spouts where you could fill up your own waterbottle! We ordered family syle again and got mini cheese pies, tzatziki, greek salad, and pasta carbornara. Once again, delcious.

This morning we got up and took a bus ride to a settlement called Mystras that was occupied in the 12th century AD by the Byzantinians. This was very interesting to me because many of the buildings and the castle were very well preserved so you could actually see what it looked like! We hiked up to the top and looked out at the beautiful view and then made our way down looking and being lectured on the different architecture.

My favorite part was the churches we saw. They are Byzantine Greek Orthodox churches and they are quite different from Western churches. Just about every square inch of the insides were painted with many iconographic scenes. We learned the layout of a Greek Orthodox church is supposed to resemble a cross with a large dome in the middle of the two pieces.

The scenes painted included the crucifixtion, Jesus' baptism, birth of Jesus, the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus, raising of Lazarus, the reserection, doubting Thomas, etc. The side walls of the church are painted with the different saints in temporal order going clockwise around the inside. There are three sections in the church: one for the unbaptized, one for the baptized, and one for the priests. You are only allowed in the section to which you belong.

Something else that I found interesting were these mini silver and gold offerings people would leave when they are awaiting healing. This comes from the ancient pagan practice of leaving mini pottery pieces in the shape of the body part that ails them. They would leave it as an offering to Asclepius, the god of healing. This tradition continues today but it is for Jesus. The churches were just beautiful and it was a very emotional experience seeing the many painted scenes. There are still active nuns that live at the site but unfortunately we didn't see any :(

After we were done we got on the bus and drove about an hour to eat at this tiny little restaurant up in the mountains. This restaurant had no menus, the waitress just came out and told us what they had. It was very different than anything I've experienced but I liked it! I got my staple Greek Salad and an ice cream bar for dessert. Then we got back on the bus and drove to Pylos, where we're staying for the night.

Not sure what our plans are for the evening but I'm sure exploring is in our future!

Birthday Celebration

Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera out with us and no one put pictures up yet so I can't show you how cute we all looked! This is a picture of Sam and I in Santorini watching the sunset.

Yesterday after I wrote Katie and I went into town to do a little shopping. Sadly it started to pour so we got pretty wet. We went into a couple of stores and I found this beautiful sundress that I love! It's such bright colors and patterns, usually not my style but I'm trying to challenge myself in every way this summer :) We were running around in the warm rain together laughing and this man invited us into his restaurant to watch the World Cup game even though they were closed! Very sweet.

We went back to the hotel to freshen up some before dinner. We ate a delicious dinner to kick off Katie's birthday. We decided to eat family style which worked out really well. We got tzatziki, saganaki, greek salad, chicken fillet, pasta carbornara, and vegetarian pasta. And the most delicious rose wine I've ever had. The taverna was outside under these beautiful hot pink flower/trees.

After dinner we went back to our apartment for some drinks before heading out in Nafplion. We then walked along the water and checked out a couple bars. People were very friendly and bought us drinks because Katie was wearing a birthday tiara and sash her mom sent her in the mail before we left. We met a lot of nice people and stayed out until about 1:30 until we made our way back home.

While walking home we heard people speaking English, with English accents! We stopped to stay hello and chatted about our program and their vacation. When we told them we were heading home because we had to be up at 7:30 one of the boys responded: "I thought American girls were supposed to be fun and know how to party, I guess I was wrong." Clearly we took this as a challenge and felt it necessary, on the day of our great nation's and Katie's birth to live up to the American standard. So, we rallied.

We took cabs (there were three girls and three guys in their group) and went to this awesome club that has another location in Athens called Villa Mercedes. It was unbelievably fun. We were a bit tired on the way over there but once we started dancing and hearing American music we came alive again. We danced for a good 2.5 hours and finally left at 4:30. Back to the hotel room by 5 and up again at 7:30.

I surprised myself and wasn't that miserable today. We got freddos in the morning for a little caffeine boost before class so it wasn't terrible. It was worth it, Katie had a wonderful birthday and we got to experience the Euro-club scene at it's finest.

This morning we went to a museum in Nafplion and two settlements at Tyrins and Lerna. Not very well preserved but the views were beautiful. After that we got lunch back in Nafplion at this pizza place that had THE best Greek Salad I've ever had! IT was so delicious. After that we started the drive to Sparta. The times I was awake for had beautiful scenery. It's much more rural than Attica and had more lush vegetation. We even saw a herd of sheep with a shepard! It was so great.

Our hotel is probably the nicest one we've been at so far. It even has a large shower, a shower curtain, and a tub so the water doesn't spill anywhere; heaven! We had a thiry minute lecture on Spartan history and their intense Army state culture that is so well illustrated in 300 (I think, anyway). We're all going as a class to a Taverna for dinner tonight for more celebration of Katie's birthday!

This. Is. Sparta.

Epidaurus and Franchthi Cave

The heat has returned unfortnately. This morning wasn't too bad but it was very humid last night and our walk to the cave was rough.

Last night we did a walking tour of Nafplion as a class and he pointed out some historical buildings/spots. Then we got dinner at this little taverna he suggested where you go into the kitchen and pick out what you want to eat. We decided on the saganaki, fried eggplant, and Greek Salad. It was delicious, as usual. Then we got gelato at that Italian place I went to three times the last weekend we were here. I got white chocolate and strawberry this time.

We went back to the hotel for a bit to freshen up and then we tried to find a place for drinks but everything was so expensive! So we ended up just going to a different taverna by the water and getting wine, only 2.50 for half a liter! We walked around a little more and then headed to bed.

This morning we went to Epidaurus, it was cool but again I was underwhelmed because a lot of it is either reconstructed or just piles of rocks on the ground. The theatre was really cool though. It is acoustically perfect (which interests me because I'm a nerd). You could hear someone rip a piece of paper and drop a coin all the way from the top! It was designed off of the golden ratio to be that way.

We then got into the bus and headed to Franchthi Cave where we had a picnic. They provided bread and we brought an avocado and some fruit to split. I also had some chips left over from the day before. This is when it got really hot. We had to walk 45 minutes there and back to the cave along the water but full of brambles. I was sweating everywhere. But when we got there it was shaded obviously so we got a break.

He offered us the chance to climb some of the rock into the cave and I did it! I felt like I needed a physical challenge and it felt great. I was a little worried because my birkenstocks are a bit slippery but it turned out fine. It was so cool to see where basically caveman had lived at some point. And our teacher loved showing off because he was one of the first to excavate there.

Well tonight we are beginning our celebration of Katie's birthday, she turns 21 tomorrow! I'm awfully sad about missing 4th of July at home, it's one of my favorite holidays. I trust everyone will have fun at home and want to hear everyone's plans!
More tomorrow!

Pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=181159&id=590541644&l=9470397c56

Mycenae

This is me with the original Death Mask of Agamemnon found at Mycenae where we went today.

It was so great talking to/seeing everyone last night! I hope you guys enjoyed the rest of your day and that MC did well at the swim meet. After we finished that Andrew came over, we fed him dinner, and we hung out and just caught up some more. Then we headed to Mao just for about an hour for drinks.

This morning we left at 6:30 for our Peloponnese trip, our first stop was Mycenae. It was cool! We explored the many tombs found there, hiked up to the settlement, and climbed down into the ground through this passage way that was used as a water cistern. Everything was pretty well preserved but the tombs smelled very musty so that was unpleasant.

Mycenae is sort of in the middle of nowhere so we had to walk along this road to get there but it was enjoyable. When we went down to explore the underground cistern we each got a candle to use as light because it was so dark. It was cool going down there but that smelled too and there were little bugs everywhere that were attracted to the light. It was gross.

We saw the liongate and the two grave circles where the vast amount of gold and other treasure was found. The history of the dig there is filled with controversy and I find it very interesting. The site was first found by Heinrich Schliemann in 1876-1877.

Many things about this dig were questionable including:
-he was not a trained archeologist and made many mistakes on his excavations
-he married a Greek woman whose parents worked with gold
-the death mask of agamemmnon he found do not look like any other of the masks and it looks a lot like him, including the mustache
-he failed to report his finding of the agamemnon mask until months later
-there is no way to date gold, only pottery which he did not do correctly

There are many other things that are questionable about his doings, also some interesting things about his character. He was crazy. He named his daughter Andromache and his son Agamemnon. He was obsessed with himself. He claimed to have known at the age of 8 that he was going to discover Troy. He told everyone he had read the Iliad and the Odyssey but that was later proved as false.

I think all of this scandal and controversy is very interesting and adds to the romanticism of archeology. We'll never know I guess because there's no way to know for certain. We can only make educated guesses about the past that we know so little about.

Athens Day 2

This is me in front of my favorite kind of building in Greece. Taken at sunset in Santorini.

Well last night Anita, Katie and I decided to go to Eclipse at the outdoor theatre while Justine and Sam hung out with Andrew back at the apartment. It was a great movie, it was a warm night, we laughed a lot, got some wine, and relaxed. It was another one of those perfect evenings I've been having a lot of recently. After the movie we headed back to the apartment and then headed to our favorite bar, Mao.

Sam says she is still in pain, that much hasn't changed, but she did some walking around today. She didn't go to class so she could rest because sitting down is the worst thing for her and we had to sit down a lot today. First we went to the National Archeology Museum again and then we went to the classroom to look at slides Professor Diamant took in the 70s while excavating a site we're seeing in the Peloponnese tomorrow. I had never those old fashioned slides before so that was funny.

We're cooking dinner at home tonight again, we're starting another week long trip to the Peloponnese. We leave at 6:30 tomorrow morning so it will be a chill night.

Oh and DD, thank you so much for the package! Everyone's jealous of my magazines :)

Here are pictures from Crete: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=180251&id=590541644&l=fc5e4deeeb

Here are pictures from Santorini: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=180400&id=590541644&l=a76289ac7c