Tired.

I am beyond tired right now, but I figured I should write on this before I forget some things that have happened already! So, I landed in Thessaloniki at 4:30 today...after 2 layovers in London and Dusseldorf. I'm stupid, and unlike the rest of the my group (there are three girls that I travelled with from Eau Claire) I didn't get my boarding passes for my connecting flights. So....each layover I had to reclaim my baggage, and find the departures to check my bag in again & get a new boarding pass, oh and more SECURITY. London was the worst, but luckily a girl from my group took my carry-ons for London & all I had was my jacket (thank you Jackie!). I didn't sleep on either flights. My first flight was 7 hours and 40 minutes...which I can't stand sitting still that long unless I'm sleeping. I was stuck inbetween two large, old men, who couldn't speak a bit of English. Also, they smelled. It was a long flight...But at least the worst was over. I was surprised that I got a meal on each flight...even though from London to Dusseldorf was only an hour & a half. I had the best time on my flight from Dusseldorf to Thessaloniki because all of my group got to sit together & there was hardly anyone on the plane. Oh, aand the view was GORGEOUS. There were mountains & snow & you could see all of the towns below. I took a picture on my iPad, I will have to put it on facebook.

As soon as I arrived in Thessaloniki, two guys (I was expecting the ACT coordinator, Efi something?) grabbed us cabs and translated to the drivers where to go. Once we arrived to our apartment, we were greeted by 4 other people. Thank God two of the guys helped us with our bags...I had way too many & was sore from travelling. Then they gave us 15 minutes & told us to meet downstairs. We were showed around by 2 girls (I'd say a couple years older than me?) and 2 guys. All four were fluent in Greek, and pretty darn good at their English! They also attend ACT, and are living in the building as me. There were two other girls, from Iowa and Indiana that were being showed around the town too. The "tour" wasn't that great, they pretty much walked us down the main street, and showed us how to get to the other apartment building where the other girls from Eau Claire were staying. Their place is so much better.

My apartment is very small, with cold tiles & it's freezing in here! Luckily the people before us left their plates/bowls/silverware & lots of hangers. Unfortunately, we still need cups, pots & pans & oh MOM we forgot to pack my sheets that we bought from Walmart for $5! Oh well, gonna hve to buy them here. Anyway, I'm gonna try to attach pictures onto here of what my apartment looks like. There is a beautiful porch though, but it's pretty cold to just sit out there! The other apartments have wifi, a dryer (we don't) & their heat is so much better! I'm so jealous. Plus, they have about 30 other kids studying abroad living in their apartments. I feel jipped. Whatever. I do have my wifi for our room only because Brandon gave me his old router & it was already set up. It's working well so far, thank you Bran!

Roommate's bed & our desk

Hallway--kitchen to bathroom

small bathroom--ps gonna wear flipflops in the shower...

my bed-notice no sheets & a bunch of wifi shit in the corner.

Well, we went out to dinner around 8 with the other apartment people that are here so far, and I didn't get back until 11:30. I was so tired that I was gonna go straight to bed, but then I got distracted putting pictures up on facebook & I felt like I should write on here. Tomorrow & Wednesday we have "free" days to kind of wander the city. My roommate and I plan to go grocery shopping, check out the waterfront & center. It's supposed to be really cool.

Okay, I need to get to bed, it's 1:41 a.m. here! I'll try to update more later, goodnight!

Finally in Greece!

This is a short post, because I need to get ready for dinner in an hour, but I'm FINALLY in Greece after 17 long hours of flying...I'm so confused with the language & everything, but am so excited to be here. Although, I cried constantly on the way over.

Keep you in touch & I will put some pictures up of my cozy little apartment! (Which by the way the other building is way better...ughhhh).

Five Days To Go

Since I have five days until I depart for Greece for 4 & 1/2 months, I thought it would be a good idea to start a blog for everyone back home about my travels. I will be studying at the American College of Thessaloniki (ACT.edu if you wanna check it out!) for business. Thessaloniki is a fairly touristy place, from what I've heard. Hopefully not too many riots, I've heard at least 30 of my relatives tell me to stay away from those! I know, I know! While I'm "studying" abroad, I plan to travel...A LOT! I can't wait to. The main places I wanna hit are Romania, Germany, Ireland, U.K., Spain & France. My roommate, Natashya, will be studying abroad in Paris, so I will definitely be visiting there! 

We are leaving here Sunday around 9 a.m. to get to the CHICAGO airport by 3ish. I decided to just leave from Chicago because the ticket prices are literally $1,000 less just to fly out from there. Might as well make the drive...again! (Had to make a day trip to see the consulate in Chicago, which took 12 hours to drive there & back for a 30 minute appointment...ridiculous). I luckily got onto the same flight as all of the other kids from Eau Claire going to Greece too. So, I won't be alone! I'm lucky my mom is willing to drive me again, although she will be a bit lonely on the way back. My boyfriend, Brandon, might be coming for the ride, but I'm not sure yet.

As soon as we arrive in Thessaloniki, we are meeting with someone from the ACT school to bring us to our housing. I will be staying in student housing, in a building called Alexandrias. The rooms consist of 2 (twin size...) beds, a kitchen & bathroom. I just found out my roommate a week ago, her name is Rachel, and she is also from Eau Claire. I'm a little nervous because with the e-mail sent of the housing list, my building doesn't have as many students in it. I'm not sure if that means the rest of the building are locals, or what is going on. But either way, I am excited! 

I can't believe Greece is so close, I'm getting nervous! I hate flying on airplanes, let alone a plane ride with two stops, making it a WHOLE DAY until I get to Greece! Oh, well it will be worth the fly!