Trip 3: Rome, Italy

So, after our exhausting flight to Rome, we were there! We landed around 9 am, and we wanted to try to get to the hostel and get going on things. We wrote down directions, but they weren't very clear. Where we were staying, which is outside of Rome, actually in Ciampino (where the airport is). We didn't realize this though, and thought it was in Rome. We got on the bus that it said to, and got off because we didn't know exactly where to go, and it dropped us off at the bus transfer. We asked some cops if they could help us (so hard, because they didn't speak English). They told us to take the metro into Rome, and so we did. It was hard not to laugh, because they had the stereotypical Italian accent, especially pronouncing "Di'Assissi", which was the name of our street. We got into Rome, and asked the Info desk at the Metro to help us to our hostel. She even looked it up on the map, and told us what bus to take and then we would find it. We got on the right bus, asked the driver to help us get off when we needed to (she wrote down directions to what stop to get off at). And he did, so we thought we were almost there around 11 am, finally. We were so relieved, just had to get off the bus and look for the place. We literally walked around for another half and hour, asking many, random Italians that could maybe help? A couple of times people told us there was no street named "Di'Assissi" in Rome. Finally, we found a hotel and asked for help. The lady told us we were supposed to be in Ciampino, where we just were. We had no idea what to do. Finally, we were so tired (literally exhausted, running off a few hours of sleep) and hungover, that we took a cab. The cab was expensive, but so worth it. We were done trying to find our way around this town. We found the hostel, grabbed something to eat, and I made Natashya get going on our Rome adventure, since there was so much to do. We literally didn't even have enough time to shower, so we (sadly, and grossly) walked around in our head scarves, dirty hair & face, all day....

We grabbed food from a place across the street from our hostel. The guys that worked there were Egyptian I think, but they couldn't speak english. There was a guy in there (their friend I think) that helped us out though. He, of course, started out by trying to guess our race, the normal throughout this trip. (It's not often you see an Asian and a Sri Lankan together in Europe). We got to talking, and he actually ended up working at the hostel that we were staying at. So, once he started work, we got ready and he told us where to go. He gave us his map, and we did his day guide of what to do. Because we weren't exactly in Rome, we were outside, we had to take the train in everyday to get to the city. It wasn't too bad, like a euro ticket and a 15 minute ride in. We just had to make sure that we got up in time to catch it, for some reason it barely left between 1 pm and 2 pm.

We rode the train in, and took the metro to the coloseum. There's people walking around trying to get you to do a tour with a guide, but I just figured it was a rip off. We can figure it out ourselves...So after a long line and no student discount (that sucked), we got into the coloseum. Sadly, the first thing I thought of was the movie Jumper. But, it was really cool other than the rain here & there. It was weird that they would literally just watch people try to fight animals, and kill others, etc. there. Kind of creepy that people go there to look at it. On the way to the Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II we walked by a bunch of ruins that we had no idea what it was. Guess it was the Roman Forum, don't make fun of us. We had no idea what half of the stuff we were seeing. The Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II we didn't know it was called that either. It was this huge building in the middle of a roundabout. It had huge statues, a couple military men standing guard over a memorial it looked like. We then walked around, into some random churches here and there. We went into one church, and there was a guy outside pretending to take donations for the church, but was obviously some bum. He literally like yelled at me in Italian for walking by him withouth giving him something...I felt bad. More scared than bad though. Afterwards we went to the Pantheon. It was closed when we went, but we were outside for a bit. They have horses that can pull you in a carriage, and we decided to go pet them. The one horse did not like Natashya very much though, it literally ate at her shirt. Literally, hole in shirt. We stayed away from that horse after. Natashya hated it, but i found it entertaining! Next was the Piazza Novana. We actually just kind of ran into all of these piazzas, not realy know what was what. But, this was definitely my favorite place of all time (and I repeated this to Natashya the whole trip). Something about the setting was just perfect. It was a big square with two fountains at the end of each in the middle. All around were restaurants (pretty expensive) and in the middle there were plenty of artists & their paintings. It was beautiful. There was accordian music heard all around, artists drawing more, and people buzzing. We had dinner around the corner of the Piazza, where we shared salad, pasta, and of course some wine. Traditional Italian? We took the train home, showered, and slept like babies that night. We were so exhausted after having like 5 hours of sleep and walking around all day.

The next day we decided to dedicate to the Vatican City. First we went to the Piazza Espana. That's where we saw a bunch of the name brand stores--things we can't even imagine ever going into. Oh well, a girl can dream? I saw this store Hermes, that Brandon and his roommate were looking at online once. Literally like 100 euros for a sweater, right? Anyway, on the way to the Vatican. Then, because we didn't have any tour guide/etc. we got lost...a lot. First off, we didn't know what anything we were looking for looked like. So, that made things a lot harder. We literally walked outside around the Vatican Museum...the WHOLE museum. We gave up trying to find the entrance, so we went to the Piazza San Pietro, and walked up the St. Peter's Basilica. It was such close quarters. Literally only one person could go up/down the steps at one point. It was crowded, no windows, with a bunch of never-ending steps. It was almost as bad as going up the Eiffel Tower just because you were confined to such a small space. Either way, we made it. After we were done looking from above (from the inside of the church, at the top, and the outside) we walked back downstairs into the church. We went back to the Piazza Novana, because it was my favorite, to eat some gelato. We noticed some Italian lady, her friend, some guy & a son staring and laughing at us. Not laughing at us, but like to us. We finally figured out it was because her son had a littel crush. He came up to us, very shy, and started speaking to us in Italian. He was about five years old, and the cutest thing on the planet. The guy translated for us as we flirted with this little boy. We told him we'd come back in 15 years for him. He even gave us some kisses on the cheek, such a sweetie! After we got directions from the guy that spoke English, we headed to the Fontana di Trevi. It was getting a little dark, but everyone says to go there when it's dark because it's beautiful. There's a bunch of guys with instant cameras that try to get you to buy their pictures. They even offer to take pictures of you with your own camera. We got this one guy to, but we felt bad taht we didn't buy antyhing from him. I made a wish, best wish of my life, until some guy told me I did it wrong. I guess you're supposed to throw with your right over your left shoulder? Thanks for the warning everyone...I looked like an idiot. I definitely redid that wish. It was a mixture of my 11/11/11 at 11:11 wish with a twist...just a hint. After the trevi fountain we grabbed some pizza, where we found the BEST pizza in Italy. It was thick crust, had a trillion choices, and was delicious. We headed back home, trying to figure out what to do with the rest of our Rome trip for the next day.

 We decided we needed to see the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel, so we headed back there right away. It took us like 45 minutes to try to find the entrance, when it was where we started...we're idiots. We finally got in, and took a look around. The place was huge. We literally ran through the whole museum because everyone said how long it takes to get to the Sistine Chapel. So, we ran through the museum to get there first. It didn't take long at all (maybe beacuse it was like a Wednesday when we were there?) You had to be quiet, no pictures, etc. The walls looked like they were 3d, we stood there trying to figure out whether it was a real ledge or not at the top. Still haven't decided, but I'm convinced it's just some good artwork tricking us! After we saw that, we slowly went through the rest of the museum looking at everything. It was weird, in The Louvre there was this sculpture of a kid having a swan in a headlock (don't ask why we remember this?) but we saw it again here in the museum. Like, which one is fake? Why is this stupid sculpture so popular? Someone has to know these answers. Obviously one of them is fake, and if it is, why have a replica? After the Vatican stuff, we decided to see the rest of the Rome "attractions" that we had never heard of...We went to Campo di Fiori, where I bought some Limoncello. It was just a huge fresh air market selling lots of food (which I did not need!) in the piazza. Then we went to the Circo de Massimo, which was a little further from everything else. We didn't really know what it was. But we saw it. We rode the bus back into the center of Rome. We decided to go back to the Piazza Novana to have a picnic outside since it was still light out and we wanted something cheap. We grabbed some peach liquor (Natashya's pick, it was gross) and some cheese and bread to have and sit in the piazza. We got yelled at (after about half an hour of the cops watching us eat) because apparently "no picnic", in their exact words. Didn't really matter since the cheese was gross anyway, I don't know what kind it was, but gross! Even the bread was bad, how do you screw up bread? Oh well. We walked to the Fontana di Trevi to drink the rest of our liquor, and watch cute couples be cute in front of the fountain. We found the guy that took our picture from the night before, and since I was pretty drunk, I bought a picture from him. Too bad the picture sucks, it's literally just a picture of me and Natashya, you can't even see the background, it's pitch black. Whatever. The guy then gave us some story about how he gave up drinking (after seeing we were clearly drunk) beacuse he has a daughter. Then he showed us a picture of his daughter. Hmm, cool? We went back to the pizza place from the night before to eat more of the delicious pizza. I also told plenty of people outside how this was the best pizza place (although, worst service). We headed back to the hostel, got some good sleep before leaving for Cinque Terre around 11 the next morning.

As I've mentioned a trillion times, the Piazza Novana was my favorite. The Fontana di Trevi is cool and all, but who decides what fountain is gonna make your wish come true? Americans throw coins in everywhere to make wishes, who decides what's "magical" and what's not? (Okay, I sound like Stefanos now). But still. The Piazza Novana just had the perfect feel to it, had beautiful artwork that I had to pry myself away from, and beautiful music and scenery. It was the perfect Rome picture. Rome was such a touristy place, and I felt overwhelmed by everything that I wanted to see. We got lost a lot since it was just a bunch of piazzas everywhere. There were signs telling you how to get to every attraction, yet we still got lost. Rome was beautiful, such an amazing, big city, I can't imagine if I would study there. I mean you would never run out of things to do, but at the same time, it's not much of a unique experience since there's always tourists there. Going to all the big tourist places over spring break made me happy that I studied in Thessaloniki, it's the second biggest city in Greece, yet there's hardly any tourists. I got a real feel of "Greece".

Spring Break Trip 2: Barcelona

Okay, first off, I have to tell everyone that my camera is now gone forever. Lost in the Aegean Sea....WITH ALL MY SPRING BREAK PICTURES! :( There is a drunk boat (the Reggae Boat) that we went on, and my friend dropped it in the sea...none of my pictures were uploaded onto my computer yet either. So...they are lost. I cried at the time...but I'm getting over it (slowly, but surely). I figure, I hardly ever look at my pictures from Korea, I mean, I will get over it. It's sad, but pictures are pictures. Besides, everything looks so much cooler in real life...Oh well....trying to stay positive! Nothing I can do about it now.

Anyway, so we left Barcelona and arrived around 9 pm Thursday night. First people we run into when we get off the plane to take the train into town are some people from our college! Such a small world, we didn't plan it together at all, but I knew they were going to be in Barcelona at the same time as us. It wasn't too hard to get to our hostel this time, a lot of people spoke English and we ended up just asking the cops where to go. We stayed at Hostel One, which our friend said to stay at. They had dinner every night, although we only ate it like twice (kind of weirded me out having a dinner at a hostel? I don't know). We decided to go to a bar and wait for our friend Craig, his girlfriend Kathryn & his friend Eric. They got in around midnight and we met up to go out to some club that Kathryn's friends were at. We were not prepared to get all dressed up...blah. We were supposed to try to get there before 1:30 am, to not have to pay to get in, but we didn't make it in time. We thought we would be really sneaky and try to get in from the back which faced the sea. We thought we made it, we climbed over couches & snuck in an open door & literally 2 seconds in the club we were escorted out. It was worth a try though, right?! The security was so into their job...they had headphones and everything. Natashya heard him say "Indian, asian, blonde" on the way out. Probably to have them keep an eye out for us...oops. Wasn't too bad of a night though, we ended up just drinking on the boardwalk.There were guys selling shit everywhere, mostly beers for 1 euro. Crappy, 1 euro beer. Natashya and I went to go try to find a bathroom & we went into a casino, but since I didn't have my ID on me they wouldn't let me go in to pee. Like really?!

The next day we woke up around 11 and went out to explore. We grabbed breakfast around the corner, and headed out to a place that overlooked the city, Guell. They had America's Next Top Model Runway show there once, that's how I remember that place...haha. Then we walked around Las Ramblas around all the shops - expensive & not expensive. There's a bunch of street vendors & entertainers. There's guys that try to sell you these weird noise thingys. I guess what they do is try to distract you with what (annoying) noise they're making in your mouth while some guy steals stuff from you. Luckily, I may add, nothing was stolen on this trip! There was the fresh air market there, which is 10x cooler than the one in Thessaloniki. They had a bunch of fresh fruit, meat & vegetables. They had awesome smoothies, which we bought for 2 euro when we found some later that were like 1 euro...if only our fatasses could've waited 2 minutes. We also went to La Sagrada Familia. It is this huge church designed by Antonio Gaudi. It's like no other building in general that I have ever seen. It looks like it's melting from the top. We sat there deciding what 50 things it looked like - melting chocolate ice cream, upside down baseball bats, etc. They have like fruits on top of the pillars. It's been in construction forever, and still isn't finished. It was a really cool building, they say you either love it or hate it. I, personally, loved it. Something different, literally nothing I've ever seen before. Mind blowing. Later that night we went out, and made the cover so we didn't have to get kicked out again...haha. We went to one of the clubs on the beach. It was weird though, you're not allowed to smoke inside there, which I didn't realize. I got yelled at for lighting a cigarette inside...oops. (In Greece they let you smoke literally anywhere. LITERALLY anywhere...) I don't usually smoke, only when I'm drunk (and in Greece) mom. We had a good night, and somehow made it back home.

The next morning we had a laid back day. We walked around a lot, went to the beach (even though it was cold out). Natashya and I split paille (I don't know how to spell it) and sangria. I forgot how grossed out I get by seafood. I made her split open my shrimp and other things. It was delicioius, but so gross to look at. Then we went to walk around, we found this little cart that was selling head scarves. We decided that was a really good idea & made us look extra ethnic (even Kathy who is blonde, haha). We had the lady tie them on our heads and everything. We thought it was the best idea. Perfect for a bad hair day, which we all had from the night before. We went to the beach, ate some fresh strawberries, coconuts & our champagne. We didn't realize that you're not allowed to sit on the chairs unless you paid for them. Screw that, we just sat on the sand. Then some guy (Han) came up to us and asked if we wanted Henna tattoos. We couldn't say no after the head scarves, they went together so perfectly! Too bad they were sucky, mine barely stayed on the rest of Spring Break. Oh well, he was a cool guy and he sat and talked to us for awhile. Then we went to the Magic Fountain of Montjuic. It was this beautiful fountain show. What Natashya & I noticed (and talked about the whole time of the show...now that I think of it) was that they didn't have normal neon colors, but nice, pretty pastel colors. Anyway, it was really fun to watch. We went back to the hostel to take a nap (we were all finally in the same room!) and got ready to go out. We decided to take it a little easy (so we thought) & went to a place to get a fishbowl. The fishbowl is where you share a drink together, ours was 6 liters of vodka and orange soda (did I just say soda? I've been around my eastern friends too much, this is ridiculous!). Between five of us, we finished it, along with the free shot that we got. We were still a little thirsty, so we got another 2 liters of sangria. By the end of that, we were all just wasted. Me, Natashya & Eric had to leave early to catch our flights though (mine and Natashya's was at 6 am & his was at 7 am, so we just went there together). It was horrible though. We got back to the hostel around 3 am and slept until 4 am when we got up to get everything together and leave! We took public transportation there too, which was horrible. We walked down to the bus stop, and Natashya slept on the (20 minute?) ride to the airport. Then we went through security and everything & slept again until our plane was ready to board. It was the worst experience of our lives. We were so drunk/hungover/tired. Waking up and falling back asleep, dirty & gross & tired. I don't think being in the air helped at all. Honestly, this flight was such a blur. But, we made it safe and sound! Off to Rome we were, and I was determined not to miss a thing in Rome!

Spring Break Trip 1: PARIS

I'm going to have to split up my posts about spring break, since I travelled so many places, did so many things, and took literally 1,000 pictures. It is going to take me FOREVER to upload my pictures, blog about everything, and catch up on my journal about everything. There is not enough time in the day! Not only that, but I have plans almost every weekend from here out! Can't believe how fast this semester is going by. Today is my 2nd full day of school since April 5th! (I went to one full day last week, skipped Monday this week & we had yesterday off). So, it's really hard getting back into the swing of things!

First off, literally everywhere we went it rained at least one day for a little bit. My boots are pretty much destroyed by now, but oh well. Getting back to Greece was awesome because we came back to literally 80 degree sunny, beautiful weather!

My first stop was Paris Sunday morning. I was really worried about finding the public bus to the airport, but I figured it out alright. It only leaves 2 times every hour, and they don't tell you when, so you kind of just have to chance it. Luckily, I only had to wait a couple minutes before it came. The check-in for my bag wasn't too bad. It was overweight, but the lady told me to just put on an extra sweater & I would be fine. They are so laid back here! Three girls from my program ended up being on my flight, so weird!

I got into Paris around 10:30, and I checked my facebook on my ipod and saw that I had a message from Natashya telling me to meet her somewhere around midnight (the bus from the airport to the city was about an hour and a half). So, I went there to meet her and midnight, and she wasn't there! I knew if I didn't message back right away this would happen. So, I was lost in Paris right away. Luckily, there was this kid that was waiting by the metro & I got up the guts to ask to use his phone. How lucky am I that he spoke fluent English too?! (He happened to be half American). Thank God. He waited with me there for a bit, until his friend met up with him. Natashya got there about half an hour later. It wasn't scary or anything, just freaking cold out!! We went to my hostel and I checked in. Then we went to walk around the city til like 4 am. She came to sleep with me for a bit until the metro re-opened for her at 5:45 am. She came to meet me the next day (she said) around noon. I got kicked out of my hostel around 12 (they have to do cleaning and crap), so I waited outside. She didn't get there until 1:30. I sat waiting outside my hostel by myself & this creepy, old man came up to me. He started speaking french & I just kinda laughed it off, saying I didn't speak French. Then he leaned in (I was thinking he was going to try to whisper to me or something?) & he tried to freaking kiss me!!!! I flipped out. He literally walked by like 3 more times until Natashya came. He would not leave me alone! But, I didn't wanna try to move otherwise I'd miss Natashya somehow. It was so hard to try to contact Natashya with no phone, no internet, etc...became a pain!

We finally met up around 1, and went to The Louvre. The line for it was so long just to get a ticket! But, some guy came up to me & asked if I wanted his since he was leaving and it was an all day pass. Lucky me! We walked around and saw all the art. I liked the Greek art...of course ;) The place was huge, so easy to get lost in. Of course we went to go see the Mona Lisa. Literally everyone was crowded in there taking pictures. And, like I had heard, it was a letdown. It's so small compared to everything else they have in there! But, I mean whatever. I saw it. We went to Notre Dame afterwards. It was raining and gloomy, so unfortunately the stained glass wasn't lighting up the church! But, it was beautiful inside. Afterward, we went to the Galleries Lafayette, aka the fancy mall. It was beautiful, it shouldn't be a mall! All of the designer brands, it hurt to look at the price tags.

The next day we went to Versaille. It was King Louis decided to have the biggest, most extravagant kingdom. It is..everything is gold! It was beyond amazing. I wish I lived there...It was huge! You had to either get a golf-cart or bike or walk to get from one section to the other. Natashya and I decided to rent a tandum bike because we were in a hurry. Ps, I am now in LOVE with tandum bikes! It was hard at first to get going, but I love it now!

The next day we went to Arc de Triomph and climbed to the top. Such a long walk, but little did I know it was going to be the shortest of all the walks on this trip! First off, we were idiots and tried to walk across the street (it's a big roundabout that connects 12 streets! Like we were going to get across without being honked at...) instead of using the underground tunnel that you're supposed to use. Oh well, we weren't alone, other tourists did it! From the top, you could see the Eiffel Tower, and all the streets that connect to the center. Later on, we went to, of course the Eiffel Tower! We climbed to the 2nd level, until there were no more stairs (669 I think it was?!). That was my workout for the trip....! The sun was setting and it was beautiufl up there. I was just waiting for someone to propose up there! So perfect! When we got back down, we watched the light show. It sounds so lame, but the Eiffel Tower is so much better at night! The light show is just a bunch of sparkling, but it's literally enchanting. Probably one of my favorite parts of Paris.

I really think all of this is out of order, I don't even remember what days we did what, etc. But, that's the gist of it (I don't know how to spell gist? I don't think it's even a word. Oh well, this is MY blog, I can do what I want). So, throughout the whole break, I would get really excited to talk to other Americans. And, me, being my friendly self always say hi! This guy was in the souvenir shop head-to-toe in Michigan attire. I said hi to him & that my boyfriend lives in Michigan. Then I said that I was from Minnesota. He goes, "The friends I'm travelling with are from Minnesota actually!" So, of course I had to go meet them to see if they lived by me or anything! It just so happens, two of them are really good friends with my friend Craig from high school. I told them we were actually meeting up with Craig in Barcelona on Thursday, and he goes "I'll be in Barcelona Thursday too!" Small, small world. We ended up seeing him again in Barcelona!

We left for Barcelona around 6 pm Thursday, the 12th. We didn't figure out the bus situation on how to get there and everything until later, Natashya literally had an hour to pack everything and to get going. We were running late, and we literally ran to the metro, from the metro to the bus stop, from the bus stop to the terminal. I think we literally had about 5 minutes to spare before the gates closed. All of this, and Natashya had to pee for like 2 hours straight. I don't know how she held it....!!! But, we were finally on the plane, ready to go.

My overall experience in Paris was good. I was expecting a lot more out of this "romantic city", but I just found the metro and the whole city really dirty and icky (maybe it didn't help that it was rainy?). Yes, girls were always dressed up and such, but I still think that Greek girls are prettier, French girls may just dress nicer. The French are kind of stand-offish and don't really care to talk to Americans, which was what I was expecting. It was different being in a city that was literally all tourists, and such diversity. There were many races, all speaking French still. It's not the same here in Thessaloniki where everyone is Greek and speaks Greek. People literally stare at me in Thess because I'm obviously not Greek, but in France I was just another face in the crowd. It was a plus, and a con. I kind of like standing out sometimes...

FINALLY SPRING BREAK!

Cannot believe it's already here! I feel like I've been waiting for this day forever! I finally have all of my stuff together, printed out all of my confirmation letters (TWICE!) & have my passport, copies of my passport, etc.! Also, my chargers for my phone/camera, my ipod, the essentials. Everything I need hopefully. I've been trying to pack & surprisingly it's going pretty well for only bringing a carry on. I even have extra room so I can bring things home! Can't wait! I won't see anyone from Thessaloniki for 2 and a half weeks, so weird!

Anyway, so here are my plans:

Friday morning (tomorrow!) I'm going with my friend to Halkidiki (it's supposed to be the beautiful beaches close to Thessaloniki) because I'm not leaving for my real spring break until Sunday & everyone else will be gone, so we decided this would be a good idea. Plus, he has a house there & it's only about an hour drive. Plus, I'll get some sun before spring break!

Sunday, I leave for Paris around 10:30 am. I arrive in Milan at 12 & have an 8 hour layover...so I'm gonna have to do something to occupy myself (guessing that won't be too hard!). Then I leave for Paris around 8 & arrive around 10. I will be staying in a hostel (by myself...ugh) because Natashya is staying with her host family. I'm just going to try to make her come stay with me a couple nights...I mean my hostel has a bar. Just saying. She also has classes still while I'm there, so some of it I will be exploring myself, but she is gonna skip a day to show me around too.

We both leave Thursday night around 8 pm for Barcelona! We get to Barcelona around 9:30. We are meeting up with our friend Craig & his girlfriend & his friend. We leave Sunday at 6 am. Yes, I said 6 am....so I'm thinking we're just going to pull an all nighter? So much easier...

Sunday we leave 6 am and head to Rome. We'll get there around 7:30 am. This is definitely one of the cities I'm most excited for. There's so much to do and see in Rome, I'm going to go crazy! It'll be just me & Natashya from here on out...wish us luck!

We leave Wednesday morning at 9:45 for Cinque Terre by train & we will get there around 1:45 pm (after 2 stops I think it is). Not many people have heard of this, but it's supposed to be everyone's favorite place to visit. Literally, I've talked to like 5 people & they all said hands down this is the best place. It has 5 villages all in walking distance & supposed to have some good hiking. We'll see if we get around to that...otherwise it has beautiful scenery. Only problem is that it's kind of hard to get to. We get dropped off from Rome at La Spezia Centrale & then we are supposed to try to find a local train into Cinque Terre. I'm hoping someone will be able to help us when we get there. It better be worth it!

We leave Cinque Terre Saturday by train at noon & arrive in Venice around 6 pm. Long train ride with 2 transfers...Thing I'm most excited about for Venice? Gondola. I'm making Natashya do a romantic ride with me, I don't care!

We finally leave Venice by train Tuesday around 8 pm. This is giong to be an awkward way back, but there are no (cheap) flights from Venice to Thessaloniki. So, we are taking the train to Milan (we will arrive there around 10;30) then we have to leave Milan at like 6 am for Thessaloniki. I think we're just going to stay out all night instead of getting a hostel (just thinking about saving money mom!) We will finally arrive back in Thessaloniki around 9 am, just in time for me to run back home & catch a bus to my classes (well, depending on how long it takes I might miss my first class).

Natashya is going to stay with me until the weekend I think then. I'm not sure what her plans are yet. But, I'm excited to show her around & to be reunited with my roommate for 3 full weeks! Unreal! After spring break, I have 2 weekends back in Thessaloniki, one in Amsterdam, one climbing Mt. Olympus & then the last weekend in Thessaloniki & I'm off to the islands for 13 days & finally back home. Can't believe how fast this trip is going. From here on out, it's going to fly by!

I am not bringing my iPad with me, it's too delicate to try to carry around with me all day & I would not dare leave it at the hostel (in a locker or not!) So I'll have my iPod to quickly update my facebook to tell my sister I'm alright so she will hopefully relay the message to mom. I have a free-text app too that I'll probably be frequently letting my mom know I'm okay. If you don't hear from me every 3 days though, call someone! Just kidding! :)

Delphi & Athens

So Friday we left bright and early at 9 am for Delphi. Friday was pretty much a whole day of travelling, with lots of pit stops (I don't know why we stop so much?). But we finally got to Delphi around 6. There was supposed to be this beautiful pool, which we were all expecting to get into as soon as we got off the bus, but it was empty! So disappointing...So we relaxed a bit. Then, we started playing games around the hotel (like 8 year olds). We played Sardines (which didn't work out too well because Dimitris, Stefanos & Alex didn't understand the point of the game...we found Dimitri who was supposed to be hiding & when he saw us he ran...haha). Most of the time we just played cops and robbers, which was surprisingly just so much fun. We were such dorks. After that we went to the village of Delphi and grabbed something to eat. We went back to the hotel & just drank some wine and watched TV (which was in English!). We had to wake up at like 7 am the next day so we didn't feel like going out...plus Josefina and I went out Wednesday & Thursday & were kind of tired.

We woke up bright and early the next morning to leave for the museum of Delphi. I was actually really into the museum because there were so many things that I have been learning about in Greek History that I finally got to see in person! But, mostly just a lot of naked men sculptures. My favorite was the Dioskouri of Argos because we literally just learned about it in class the day before we left. Then we went to the archaeological site, which by the way was such a hike. Delphi is supposed to be the site of the Delphic oracle, and where the Greeks would praise the god Apollo. It's best known as being the "navel of the world", meaning they thought it was the center. It's the point where 2 eagles were released by Zeus met. They also had this huge stadium at the top for their track and field. After Delphi, we left for Athens and arrived around 6 pm. We went straight to the Acropolis Museum. There they had all of the findings of the ruins in Athens. It was weird because so many things were broken apart, that you'd see an arm & leg, but missing a body, and so forth. The museum was so cool, it was very futuristic. You walked on glass so you could see below you the ruins. There were little dots on the glass to focus your eyes, and the whole building had that "dot" style. It was just so cool to look below you and see the ruins of the Greeks. What I still find amazing is the fact that they could find so much after everything Athens has been through. The Persian empire set it to fire, and you would expect nothing to be left of it, and yet there's so many sculptures and remains that are there. I mean the Parthenon is still standing & it was literally attacked! After the museum we went to our hotel, went out to eat, then went out in Athens. We weren't in the center of Athens because of some incident that had happened last year I guess. We only went to one bar then just went back to the hotel and drank on the steps...pretty lame. But, Josefina and I decided that since we're leaving for our island hopping from Athens, we should just spend a night or two there before we actually leave for the islands, to get the real Athens! It's supposed to be really fun!

The next morning we woke up around 7 am again....so hungover I may add. We left for the Acropolis. We had a short tour, then had like 45 minutes to look around and take pictures. 45 minutes was definitely not enough time, I could've stayed there forever. The Acropolis is the highest point of the city, and it overlooks everything. Athens is so huge and packed together so tightly, it was nuts looking down on the city. The Parthenon was under construction, which made some of my pictures look stupid. They're trying to reconstruct it to what it looked like inside. In my opinion, I feel that they should just leave it alone. It's one of the oldest sites still standing, and it has overcome so much. I say let nature take its course, it's come this far. But, that's my opinion. Then we went to go watch the changing of the guards in front of the Greek Parliament. The soldiers have to stand there in front of the building for an hour. They change the soldier every hour each day. They were wearing the funniest uniforms, honestly I think they look kind of Russian? They walked really funny too, what's with European armies walking weird? And dressing funny. They had like little taps on the bottom of their shoes & did little dances (okay, not dances, but in my eyes it was like tap dancing). The first thing I noticed was that they all looked really tall. Most Greeks here aren't that tall (like 6 feet at the tallest), but these guys were huge. Their legs were so long & I had never seen so many tall Greeks in one place. I asked Stefanos about that and he said that there's a height requirement of like 185, which I think is like 5'11? He said that they also have to be 100% Greek and "good-looking". His words, not mine. Not sure what he meant by that, but the one guard I have a picture with had blonde hair and blue eyes....not sure how that's 100% Greek?! Haha, I asked him and he goes "Well....I guess that can happen? Rarely...." Haha! After the changing of the guards, we went to Panathinaiko, where they held the first Modern day Olympics. Then we headed home, finally! It was about 8 hours total to get home, but we stopped twice and also stopped to eat for an hour. Everyone talked about how sketchy Athens is, but I didn't think it was any worse than Thessaloniki. Then again, we didn't go into the center as much as I wanted to, which maybe is a good thing?

Every day we had a free lunch, which was so delicious. I literally ate my weight in food this weekend, there was so much food everywhere! So much good food! I forgot what it's like to get good food and not just pasta everyday! Ate way too much bread too. One guy that owned the restaurant said "Bread will make women fat, and pretty". Not sure how you can be fat and pretty, but I think I would rather be skinny and ugly. I need to stop with the bread!! When we stopped to eat on the way home from Athens for lunch, there were fishermen fishing. I decided to take a picture, but he turned around and saw me and posed! Then we talked to him for like 10 minutes, he was so confused when we said we were from America. But, I mean a Greek, a blonde, a Spanish, and an Asian altogether is usually a weird concept to understand. He was funny though, and very nice. Well, now I have a paper/presentation due Tuesday, a test Tuesday, and a paper/presentation due Wednesday. Way too much if you ask me. And, of course I haven't started any of it...not like I'm going to tonight, I got home around 8 pm, and it's already 12:30 now. I skyped Natashya, Clair, and Holly finally! It was so nice to catch up with them! Can't believe that Clair is leaving us...and that I'm not there for her last semester! I will be so jealous if she moves to New York, ever since I got to Thessaloniki, I've changed my mind, and want to live on the east coast for sure. It's calling my name! I'm nervous that I'm going to go back to Minnesota/Wisconsin and just be so bored...it's nothing compared to Greece. Only things I do miss are sushi, my wardrobe that I had to leave behind, and maybe my family/friends/boyfriend. Only maybe.

I leave next week for Spring Break! Still can't believe it!!! I'm supposed to be registering for classes over spring break, but I'm not quite sure how I'm going to do that. For right now, I'm leaving it in the hands of Brandon (someone please help...). But he has the same major as me, and should know roughly the classes that I need. Besides, I literally change my class schedule five times within the first week of classes. So, I'm not too worried. Anyway, here are some pictures from this weekend:

 Dioskouri of Argos. 

 Symbol of the center of the world.

 Stadium in Delphi

 Parthenon!

 Lawrence's head ruined it. But so did the construction....

 Full Parthenon.

 Tell me this doesn't look like a postcard!! Beautiful!

 Overlooking Athens.

Change of Guards, this is how they were walking.

 

 Overlooking Athens again, love the panoramic on my camera.

Change of Guards.

Familiar Face

This weekend my friend Craig & his friend Jack came to visit me here in Thessaloniki. It was so great to see a familiar face! Luckily my roommate was gone too (to Istanbul) so it was nice to have them over & just hangout. First thing we did once they got here was get a frappe by the waterfront. Had to show them the true Greek way. Then we went out to dinner at Mangio's, which is this delicious Greek restaurant that I've been to like 3 times now. The owners are really nice and they know the Americans pretty well. Plus they always give us a free desert (although I was so full, I didn't even eat mine). After that we went to the White Tower to drink a bit while we were trying to figure out how to get back to Sin City. Craig, Jack& I took a taxi to Sin City together, which means of course we'd get lost. I mean it's me...I had the exact address of the place& called like 50 people to figure out how to get there. After walking around Valeritou & asking literally every Greek person (in Greek I may add! Yes!) we found our way. Actually somehow Craig found the way & he hadn't even been there for a whole day yet. Embarrassing. Craig & Jack have this thing about doing pushups when they're drunk. I decided to pretend like I didn't know them instead of trying to explain why they do that...Jack actually ended up knowing one of the girls in the study abroad program from a cruise he took a couple years back! So random! We literally went to bed around 5 & woke up around 1 thinking it was like 9 am...First thing to do in the morning was to go get a gyro! I couldn't finish all of mine, it was soooo much. But delicious as always...We went to go get their train tickets & walk around the center for awhile after that. There was some concert thing that was going on at the White Tower. I think it was for their independence day (the 25th of March). They had a lot of little carts selling food (it reminded me of Istanbul). I got some corn, yummmm. Then we went back & showered (I had to nap, of course). Oh, the boys liked the gyros so much they got another. Gross...Then we started playing some good ole American beer pong. We took them to the club Vogue that night, because that's where all the Americans went. Plus, it's such a European club I figured they needed to see it. They had to leave for the train at like 6 am, and since we lost an hour, the night went by quickly. All of a sudden we had to leave & they had to take a taxi to get home instead of taking the bus, didn't realize it was that late! It was so nice to have them here, my friends loved them, and I was just so happy to have friends! See you guys (well Craig) in Barcelona!!!

I feel like those guys have traveled so much & they only have like a month left of school it's crazy! I technically haven't even been in Greece for half of my stay yet! I still have like 11 and 1/2 weeks. But, I only have 3 weekends left here in Thessaloniki, the rest I'll be travelling & such! It's crazy to think about! 11 weeks seems so long, but it'll fly by! This weekend we don't have school (or the Americans get an excuse at least) for a trip to Delphi and Athens. I'm very excited to finally get to Athens! Although I've heard a lot of sketchy things about it. But, I'm sure we'll be fine since we will be with people. The weekend after that I start my spring break! So so happy! I'm just realizing that I will only be bringing a carry-on, which means I can't bring a lot of things, like will my foundation be okay to bring on a carry-on? These are the important questions. Is my backpack gonna fit as a carry-on? I know I can't bring hairspray, so I might go crazy. I'm still very nervous for Natashya & I to be travelling by ourselves in Europe...I can't stress enough to you how much I rely on Emily to get us places (even in Istanbul she knew where she was going! Like, what???) Ps, my pizza making skills were a success. Only thing I've eaten for the past like week.

Need Spring Break!

15 days until spring break. I've officially started a countdown! I got my ticket to Paris, leaving Sunday, April 8th! It was only 50 euros! Then again, I have an 8 hour layover in Milan Bergamo...but I decided I'm just going to explore Bergamo a bit while I'm waiting. Still worth it. My friend Josefina and I also planned our trip to Amsterdam! May 9-14, I'm missing 4 days of class...but for the prices that were given, it's worth it. Plus, we have connections in Milan, so we are going to just stay and explore Milan for 2 days (the city, not just Bergamo!). I'm super excited. It will probably be the only trip I take other than my spring break plans and my island hopping at the beginning of June (yeah, you can be jealous now).

Last weekend was fun, we went to Sin City, where there were 1 euro shots. I think that explains the night the best...there's all these weird professional photos from there. It was just a bar, not even a club. It's weird going "clubbing" but that's what Greeks (and Europeans in general) do. Just different from my Water Street scene. I also had the weekend to myself because my roommate was gone in Germany. It was nice to not have to announce when I'm changing, to turn the lights on and off whenever I wanted, to make a mess, and to skype whenever. Friday night we stayed in and had a family dinner (me, Kosta, Vaggelis, Josefina & Emily). The next day we started drinking around noon. Beer pong, jello shots, shorts. It was the standard American celebration until we got our gyros! Yummmmm. The most unattractive thing to eat in general, now just picture me trying to eat it while I'm drunk...yeah. Then we went to get sit by the waterfront for a bit and pet the skylos (dogs) that were walking by. Don't worry, we only petted the actual pets, not the strays with rabies! We went home to take a nap, then went to the Irish bar that was near the white tower. It was super fun, with weird Irish music. But, I liked it. It was a different scene, and with different people. Then we made our way to Valeritou...The next day sucked. That's about all I can say.

We are finally getting nice weather here, yesterday it was up to 70. It feels so much warmer than that though. It's so hard to study when the sun is out. Today, we went by the waterfront and studied for a bit. So gorgeous. Except for the fact that it smelled like fish...it's so easy to point out the Americans here, we're all in shorts, flip flops, tanks, etc. while the Greeks are still in their winter jackets (literally!). I just can't wait for the warm sun & the beach! I'm sure once it gets nice out, I'll be complaining though.

I'm starting to get really sick of having to cook for myself (well getting sick of eating just pasta because that's the only thing I can eat). I also feel like I don't have any clothes here. I keep thinking of things I left at home that I wish I had here...upsetting. Other than that, I'm still in my regular routine, just stressed with all the things I have to do before spring break. Oh well. I can't wait to meet up with Natashya, we have 3 weeks together! It's going to be great...! And us two together in Europe...we're bound to get lost.

I'm going to attempt to make a pizza now. I'll let you know how that goes....bye!

Gunshots in Thessaloniki

So two days ago we heard at least 3 gunshots outside of our window at Alexandrias when I got home around 5 until 8ish pm (like one every once in awhile). We didn't hear any chaos going on outside, so we weren't sure if it was a gunshot or what it was. But, all of us here were freaking out. I closed my blinds & hid in my room for the rest of the night. I texted my "RA" (he's not really an RA, but he's supposed to be in charge of us over here, even though he's in the other building and we can basically do whatever the hell we want and they would never know). Later that night, I found out some guy had been working on the powerlines & they kept going wrong. Haha, sorry for the title, but I thought it'd catch your attention?

The last weekend/week has been the usual. During the week I do my routine, class, run, eat, watch tv, attempt to do homework. While the weekend was the same, very hungover. I literally didn't wake up until 4 pm on Saturday, and didn't actually shower until 8 pm or so...I skyped Brandon around 6 pm, and he was wondering why I was still hungover, haha. Sunday I layed around all day. Literally. Just watched TV and cleaned. Yesterday was gorgeous out, finally! I know all of you back home have the best weather, but we've had a lot of rain and cold. But yesterday it was around 55, all bright and sunny. I came home from class and went straight to my balcony with a blanket and some wine. It was perfect.

Within the next two weeks I have so much schoolwork that's due. I have 3 midterms, 3 papers, and 2 presentations. So, knowing me, I won't even start them until the day before. I would like to point out, however, that I handed in my works cited page of my paper that was due 2 weeks ago yesterday, and I got a 90%. So, I'm not really that worried about all of this crap. This weekend is St. Patty's day, and unlike the good ole USA, Greece doesn't celebrate...which sucks. I was going to try to plan a trip to Ireland this weekend, but I heard they take it seriously...which sucks. So, instead, my roommates (the rest of my building) decided we are going to drink all day Saturday, get some jello shots, and celebrate like true Americans. This is one of my favorite holidays if you know me well, this and Cinco de Mayo...two holidays which cannot be further away from anything Korean, but I don't care. Any reason to drink all day I will gladly agree to. Sunday, I have a "host family dinner" with the Dean of Admissions at ACT. I'm really excited to get some Greek homecooking! I'm also nervous though...but I'll have my friend Karen with me, thank God!

Well tonight we are going out to a club called "Sin City". I need to get going, I haven't showered or ate, or anything.I like being lazy so much better.

Pozar Hot Springs

This weekend was so much fun. Our new weapon of choice (Mom,you'll like this,I'm savng money) is 2 euro liter of wine, that comes in a carton. Literally, a carton like for milk. It is so dry, but it gets the job done. I have also startd a new love for Ouzo, the Greek drink. It tastes like black licorice (which, I hate black licorice, but I love Ouzo).

We went out Thursday to a bar called "Ice", which we have never been to, but everyone else abroad apparently had. Best part of that night was when the bartenders gave you plates to break on the ground...you can only imagine the field day I was having! Opa!! Fridy night we went to a salsa place! Josefina was so excited, and I loved it! Guys would just grab you and salsa, and yes, I'm a dancer, but I cannot figure out this salsa thing for the life of me! But the 3 euro tequila shots definitely helped...Afterwards we went to 8 Ball which is a dance club that doesn't open until later. It always plays the most random music! They played songs from "Grease" & the "YMCA", yet I still danced to it...embarrassing. Everyone in the study abroad group was very drunk there, and so funny to watch. The next morning we were going to go the White Tower museum with the rest of the study abroad group, that way we would have a tour guide, the Art History teacher at ACT. But, me, Emiy, Kosta, and Josefina were not up in time...whoops. It was so gorgeous out, we couldn't waste the day,so we went downtown to have a frappe by the waterfront (like true Greeks) and walk around. It was the most beautiful day, and I had such a great time, just talking and drinking some coffee with my parea (Greek for close friends). We walked all the way home from the center, which was about 40 minutes. I didn't mind, I loved just being out in the sun, FINALLY! Saturday, we went to Club Vogue, which is a club that we've been to a couple times. My first time was Valentine's day, and I don't remember much of it. Friday night was by far the most fun.

Sunday, today, we left a 9 am for Pozar Hot Springs. I didn't get home until 5 am, and then (like a dumbass) decided to eat and watch bridesmaids until 6 am. So, I was very tired, very hungover, on the bus ride (which was an hour and a half). It's alright, everyone was in their sweatpants. The hot springs had these gorgeous waterfalls, and one of them was naturally warm, it stays that temperature year-round. Supposedly, it's healing water. I hope so, because the other waterfall is FREEZING and we kept jumping back and forth from the hot to the cold, so hopefully I won't get sick!

The hot pool was full of gross, old, hairy men. A lot in speedos too....yeah if I had to look at it, I'm going to give you a mental picture, it's only fair. I was super grossed out, plus there were naked babies in there. Yuck. Then,we just laid in the sun for a bit and went out to eat. Here are some pictures of today:

My first Greek frappe, delicious.

Waterfall

We drank that whole liter of water...so hungover.

This waterfall was FREEZING!

I promise, I did go in he cold one....kinda.

The warm waterfall, that one was easy.

Tequila shots, I promise they weren't all for me mom.

I get so sleep-deprived over the weekends, we don't get home until 6 am or so, and I wake up around 11 to get my day going. Yet, I still decide to just go on facebook until 1 am (which is the time now) instead of sleeping...Oh well.

Just a Few Pictures.

Just a couple of pictures from Istanbul:

Hagia Sofia

Rumelihisarı

Hookah bar (trying to blow smoke out of my nose, didn't work)

I bought a hanging lamp that I'm so obsessed with! The guy that sold me it...

The cistern underground.

Blue Mosque.

Blue Mosque, pictures won't ever do it justice!

Don't worry, I will defintely show you all of my pictures and talk about my trip for about another year! But, if yu want, you can go on my facebook & look at them! Mom, you can just add me!

ISTANBUL

We left Thessaloniki Friday night at 10 pm, and arrived in Istanbul after a long 10 hour drive around 8:30 pm. Honestly, I don't think it would've taken so long if we didn't have to stop at the border, it took forever just to check our passports! Also, we had to pay $15 for a visa to stay 2 nights?! Oh well...on the way we also stopped like 3 times to pick up people in other cities. The bus ride wasn't too bad, the only thing that really sucked was that it was SO HOT on there for some reason! I was getting crabby...but we finally made it!

As soon as we got off the bus, we asked for directions to our hostel. There were plenty of people willing to help, although they wanted money for it! So weird. Plus, we got lost like 5 times trying to listen to their directions! After awhile, a guy stopped to help us, and even called the hostel for us for directions. He was so nice, and didn't want money or anything, just a nice guy! Lucky we ran into him otherwise we would've been lost for like 5 hours instead of 45 minutes...The hostel was pretty nice, pretty clean for 7 euros a night. There was a bunch of tourists there, a lot of families too, which I wasn't expecting. We shared a room with 2 other American girls, and one French lady. One very crabby, very rude, French lady. So we got to our hostel around 10, but couldn't check in until noon. We decided to get breakfast, walk around a bit, and exchange our money. 1 euro converted into like 2 liras, which is awesome! So much better than converting dollars into euros...! We checked into our hostel then left to explore.

First place we went was the Grand Bazaar. We didn't even go there on purpose, we were just walking around and happened to stumble upon it! (We didn't even know we were there until we asked where the Grand Bazaar was & they told us we were there...must have thought we were real dumb Americans!) It was so nuts there, people just yell any words they know in English to get your attention, I swear. They loved saying "Oh, pretty Americans, come here!", flattery won't help you sir! Some of the pick up lines were pretty funny though. I, personally, got super annoyed by the end of it. I hate people yelling at me to come to their shop, all the things are literally the same. There you're supposed to haggle for everything you get. I don't know if you know this, but I SUCK at haggling, and/or negotiating anything. Luckily everything was pretty cheap anyway.

After that we went to the Blue Mosque. It is this gorgeous, HUGE church in the middle of the city. I can't imagine if you lived there. They had services running there, but we didn't get there in time for one, plus we had to wear a long skirt, something over our head, and take off our shoes. I have some pictures from there I will eventually put up. Across the street was Haghia Sofia, which was considered the greatest church in the Christian world. Now it's just a museum, and we didn't go inside. But, the outside was huge. It is supposed to be better than the Blue Mosque, but personally, I liked the Blue Mosque better. Both churches played music during church service times, and it filled the city. Gave it such an ancient feeling, I don't know if that's the wording, but I don't care, you know what I mean.

We tried getting to Taksim Square (like an outside shopping mall I'd say?), but we were so confused. Another American guy (like 30ish?) was trying to figure out how to get there too. We asked a local Turkish guy, and he helped us there. He was super nice, most people in Istanbul were really nice and helpful, actually. Probably better than Thessaloniki. We found somewhere to eat, and drank a bit. My feet were killing because the night before we went out, and I had to wear Josefina's shoes (which are size 8...I'm size 6) because I locked myself out of my room. Actually, I really blame Kosta for locking me out because I thought he was still in my room when I left. So, really, not my fault. Anyway, got reasonably drunk. The drinks were about 10 lira, which is like 5 euro, which is still not as expensive as Thessaloniki! Kosta ended up getting the girliest drink that night, I forgot what it was called, but it was hilarious. He chugged it down before anyone could see he was drinking a pink fluff drink.

The next morning we woke up bright and early to go out again. We went on a ferry for 10 Liras to Bosphorus, in other words I ended up going to Asia too! Luckily the weather was gorgeous out. We passed Rumelihisarı, known as the "fortress of Europe". From far away, one of the towers looked just like the White Tower in Thessaloniki, except that it ended up having like 5 towers, and looking like a castle. It was so pretty.

After the boat tour, we walked all the way back to our hostel. It was a long walk, but it was so pretty out, and we stopped a lot on the way to look at stores and such. Right off the boat it smelled so gross, like fish everywhere. I couldn't handle it! Yuck. We walked through a park, which I don't know the name of, but it must have been like the biggest park there. It was so pretty out too. We were going to go back to the Grand Bazaar that day, but apparently we didn't get the memo that it was closed? We ran into the guy that called the Hostel for us that day too, small world! He said he rememberd us because of my face...I'm not sure what that means, haha! Later that night we went back to Taksim Square to eat, and hookah. The hookah was huge, and the guy that worked there was really weird, but I'm not sure what you're expecting from a hookah place? As we got back to our hostel, I heard Kosta scream like a little girl as we opened the door to the hostel. A rat literally fell on his face from the building. It was disgusting, and definitely the highlight of our trip! So gross, I was so nervous for rats in the hostel after that!

We left Turkey at 10 am the next day, while it rained the whole bus ride back. Couldn't have been more perfect timing. I couldn't believe how excited I was to hear Greek again, so much better than Turkish (which I couldn't understand a word of it). We got back around 9 pm last night. I got my care packages today from Brandon and my mom! My mom sent me my computer charger (YES!!! INTERNET!! And I can finally upload my pictures! And watch tv!) and some girl scout cookies, YUM! Thin Mints, of course! Brandon sent me some socks (I was running out, I needed them...haha), some chocolates & some movies! Thank you both of you! I end up getting a bunch of junk food the day I decided I was only going to eat fruits and vegetables, guess that's not gonna happen!

Oh, one last thing, Mom I got a 47/50 on my quiz last week! I only missed one multiple-choice question, which is so stupid that every question is 3 points. But whatever, I did good.

Spring Break Stress

Trying to book my spring break is getting so stressful. Thessaloniki's airport doesn't go out to many main places (aka, Paris, where I need to go!) But, so far our plan is: Monday, April 9-Thursday, April 12th, Paris with Natashya (she still has classes). Then April 12-15 Barcelona with Natashya, Craig & Craig's friend. After that the details Natashya & I need to figure out still! But we know Cinque Terre next probably, then Rome. Then, home for me & Natashya is gonna visit me in Thessaloniki for awhile! Can't wait! It's just so hard trying to figure out what's cheapest. My flight to Paris is about 36 euro so far, not too shabby!

There's so many other trips I'm trying to plan too. A weekend trip my friends and I are going to go to Amsterdam, just trying to find out what weekend is cheapest, again! I also want to go to London, Germany, Croatia, and maybe Crete. So many places, so little time. I think the two weeks I'm staying after classes I'm going to island hop with my friend Josefina, it will be gorgeous then!

Tonight we are having a family dinner with all of the study abroad kids. Then, we are going out to a club. Hopefully I'll make it to class this time, last Thursday when we went out I was NOT about to get up for class the next day. Promise mom, I'm keeping up with school still. I did good on my quiz today! Tomorrow we leave for Istanbul at 10 pm, and will get back Monday at 10 pm! I can't wait, I feel like it will be a lot different than here in Greece. A bunch of people from my study abroad group are going, but I'm just going with 3 friends in my building, Josefina, Emily & Kosta.

Anyway, I will be without internet access (like I haven't been for the past 2 weeks...). Thought I'd post some pictures on here so Erin doesn't have to hack into my facebook to show mom my pictures again?

Here is a picture of the monasteries in Meteora.

This is the monastery that we had to walk about 200 steps, but had the most gorgeous view!

Here is a picture of Carnival, where we all dressed up.

Me, Kosta, Josefina & Emily

More Carnival, these are all the girls from UWEC

Me, Karen, Jacki & Rachel

Here's the arch where all the protests go on usually.

Well that's about all I have to say for today. Hopefully I can upload my pictures soon! Have a good weekend, I will update you on my Istanbul trip!

Fried electronics

I can't believe I haven't blogged about this yet, because it's the one thing that is making Greece so frustrating. I have fried pretty much all of my electronics already, I'm horrible with technology. I let my friend borrow my router for wifi in his room, but he didn't convert it, he only adapted it...so that one isn't my fault. He bought me a new router but as I said, I'm horrible with technology. So I've tried setting it up like 50 times, but it's not working with myipad. It will work with my computer, but hey, next thing that fried. I don't even know what happened, I unplugged it from my computer and my whole room went out. So that was donezo. Then I forgot to change my adapter to converter when I plugged my straightener in, so that literally melted. So, I have no Internet access unless I borrow someone's computer, their charger, or if I'm on campus. Hoofta my mom sent me a new charger, so hopefully that will be here soon so I can put up pictures from this weekend!

First we went to ionnina, we left at 745 am, it was horrible. 3 hour ride, but I slept the whole way. When we got there, we went into the caves. They were all naturally made, it was so cool in there. I was expecting it to be freezing there too, but it was humid, the caves stay at a regular humid temperature year round. Then we went to stay in metsovo for the night. It was this cute little (I mean little!) town in the mountains. It was so pretty there, and so romantic, haha. We went out to eat together as a group that night, i had sausage that was apparently bred and made there. Kind a grossed me out thinking that I ate a pig that they knew and slaughtered...We left for meteora the next morning, only an hour and a half drive (eau Claire distance from home, so I'm used to it). Driving up the mountains was so scary, such a large bus with such narrow, winding roads! Props to the bus driver for not going off a cliff...the first place we went to I had to pee so bad, and all they have at the monasteries are Turkish style bathrooms...aka you squat over a hole in the ground. It was disgusting. And hard, considering we had to wear skirts there (no pants allowed for girls). The view from there was beautiful, I wish I could live there! The nuns that live there have 8 hours of free time (pretty much sleep!), 8 hours of work, and 8 hours of praying, so with a life like that, they deserve a gorgeous view! The monasteries looked like they were floating on top of the world, it was amazing. We had to walk up 200 or so steps just to get in. They also keep all of the bodies of the old monks there, aka, all their skulls are kept in a room. Gross.

Anyway, that's my trip. Now I'm going to get my bus ticket for Istanbul this weekend. I'm trying to research info about Istanbul, so I know where to go and everything!

It's only been 2 & a half weeks?

I can't believe I've only been here 2 and a half weeks, seems like a month. I'm starting to become better friends with some girls in my building, thank God or I'd go crazyyyyy! We went out the past weekend together, I know the bar spot pretty well now, valeritou, the water street of thessaloniki. I like it. Haha. My friend Emily and I went out Tuesday night to a club called vogue. It was amazing, I loved it. It was huge! I somehow made it to class the next day too, don't worry mom. Tonight starts the carnival, which is like the mardi gras of Greece. So, we are dressing up and going out tonight to a club with a bunch of people from the act group! Can't wait!

This weekend we are going to meteors and ionnina, the first overnight field trip. I hope it's nice out because I had my jacket stolen last weekend at the bars....blahhhhh. Luckily, I brought another one. Too bad it's not a very warm jacket. The weekend after that we have Monday off, so a couple of us are going to instanbul! It was not a place that I had on my top list, actually it was not a place I would have ever really thought to go. But, I like the idea of going somewhere not many people have been. Plus it's gonna be less than 100 euro for transportation and hostel!

As far as classses and everything else here goes, they go by so slow. Because I have such a long break between my class and the free bus shuttle, I usually go up to the gym to workout a bit. Too bad the gym sucks, the treadmill and bikes and most of the weights don't work...but I run on the track for a bit. Pretty proud of myself, trying not to gain the freshman 15 again...I've also been stretching a lot, I miss dancing so much already! Can't wait to get back into that.

For my meals, I've been eating pasta like crazy. I can't cook a lot...but my roommate is pretty good and so is my friend jacki, so we have family dinners every once in awhile. But I'm slowing becoming a pro chef of pasta and salads (yeah, I'm eating salads here! Desperate...) can't wait to get back home for my mom to cook for meeeee!!!!!!

Ok, class time!

Residence Permits Suck

So, because I will be in Greece for more than 90 days, they have this stupid rule that you have to get a residence permit. With this permit, you have to do a lot of stupid, annoying things like depositing 500 euro in a Greek bank (although you don't have to spend itor anything, just deposit it), get a TB test and chest scan, and pay a bunch of money to Greece because they are poor. Well, yesterday I had to get a TB test at a public hospital. It as the worst experience of my life.

First off, public hospitals here look like they're ancient. I'm already freaking out because they're gonna stick a needle in me, then the first thing I see is a cold, creepy building with lots of random Greeks in it waiting to be seen. First thing I hear too? A crying baby. Not just crying, but like screaming bloody murder like it was in so much pain. Then we had to walk to another building (there's apparently a lot of them for the one hospital) to get the TB test. Of course they have to go in alphabetical order by last name, so guess who was towards the end? Everyone said it was just a prick, but I didn't believe them. I hate needles, and the building was so scary, I was geting nervous the whole time. Yes, I've had 2 tattoos, and a 2 piercings, but none of that is like a shot from a doctor with a language barrier. Everyone came out fine fromthe shot, then they finally called my name. I told the doctor I'm not good with needles, so he tried just asking me questions while they did the shot. He asked, "How old are you?" & I yell "TWENTY ONEEEEEEEE!!!!". Everyone waitng outside (aka, half my study abroad group) heard. I was so embarrassed, but at least it was over with! Then, we went to antoher building to ge a chest x-ray. I had to get completely topless for teh test. Luckily though, I ha a woman nurse. So, I didn't feel that weird about it.

So, I found 2 books from some friends that have taken the courses before. I just need to buy, or share, or not buy, 2 other books. I guess I'll have to buy them since I don't want to fail (yeah, my mom e-mailed me the next day to say she saw what I said about my grades this semester, don't worry I'm not going to fail!)

The last week in February I have a 3 day weekend (I guess there is some Greek holiday? I'm not sure, I tried asking my friend Demetris, but I didn't really understand other than they fly a kite for a reason?). I want to try to go on a trip tha weekend, my friend Karen might be going to Milan, and I'm really considering it! I just hate trying to book things, I have no idea how to do the whole hostel thing. I dont want to end up being in a shack!

Tomorrow is finally Friday, I go back to the hospital fr the doctor to see if I have TB or not. At least no shots this time! Then I will be drinking all night. Bet you're proud to see me say that, huh mom? And, just to clarify, my computer is overheating and skipping letters because I type too fast. I'm not that horrible at spelling, I promise.

First Two Days of Class

Yesterday was my first day of classes. They went alright I guess. We have a free shuttle to and from the school for free, but they only pick up at 10:20 am and drop you back home at 5:45. This means a long day on campus, or taking the city bus home for 90 euro. I took the city bus home the first day, just so I knew the route in case I did want to go home early anyday. It was ver interesting to say the least. I had a very old, smelly man keep getting closer to me. He had so much space yet decided he needed to be literally on top of me...I moved ASAP. My friend and I were talking in English & an old lady completely stops her conversation and turns around to STARE at us. Very noticably stare & awkwardly. We couldn't help but laugh. I also had a random guy stare at me for at least 15 minutes. I think he finally got the courage to try and speak English, and he asked me "China?", followed by "Japan?", and finally "Korea?". It was interesting, but I got home a lot earlier than 6 pm!

Classes here are so small. My first class, History of Ancient Greece, was all students from our study abroad group and there was only 6 of us. The second class was Human Resource Management, and there was about 18 in the class. I only had 2 other study abroad girls with me. They definitely separated themselves from us, except for the few local greeks that knew us already. The campus is so small, I had nothing really to do for the 4 hours I needed to wait for the free shuttle. My second day I had International Business with about 12 students, half greek, half american. Then I had Organizational Behavior, with 6 people. The classes are so small, I don't know how I feel about it yet! But, for the most part they seem pretty easy.

Apparently all of the books are like 40-60 euro, which I don't want to pay for! I got my Org Behanvior book for free from the teacher because my roommate & I are going to share, so that's one down! I'm asking a few ACT students from Greece if they have any old books they'd be willing to sell me or lend me. Otherwise, there is a rental service for old books other study abroad students left behind, for 5 euro for the whole semester. Hopefully I'll get lucky looking there.

I'm trying to clean up my room a bit, and make it look a little more homey. It's not going very well, I don't want to spend money on things I will most likely leave behind. But, I put up my Greece flag, and have some candles. My friend Becky studied here 2 years ago and suggested grabbing some Greek posters off the street (they're literally everywhere!) and putting them up in my room. I'm definitely going to do that as soon as it stops raining...But my room is so gross with hair everywhere. Mostly mine, of course. I shed like crazy.

Last, but not least, I went to the street market early today before class. It seems like a good place to go. We got instant soup stuff for 1,50euro & it looks like it'll last awhile! There's also homemade tortellini sold there. I'm giong to get that next time!

Vergina Field Trip

Today was the last day of "orientation". We went on a trip to Vergina, which is about an hour away from Thessaloniki. There, we went to a museum where King Phillip II was buried (Alexander the Great's father). I'm usually not into history at all, but Greece has so much more history (and so much more interesting!) than the states! There was a bunch of gold things in there, I loved it! Unfortunately we couldn't take pictures, but it was amazing down there. The tomb was covered for centuries, and I guess people used to watch soccer from it, thinking it was just a hill. Can you imagine if you were sitting on top of Alexander the Great's father? Weird to think of. Anyway, when I said I wanted a gold crown for my 21st golden birthday, this is what I was talking about mom:

This wasn't even the largest of them all, it's all 22k gold. There was a huge one with leaves, but this one I really liked. Now, since I didn't get it for my birthday, I would like to have it for my wedding. Just saying.

Today was the first day I went to get some souvenirs. I got a big Greek flag, that I love. I also got a jewelry box and shot glass. I'm thinking a jewelry box for one of my sisters? Or both? Or myself. I don't know yet. I have no idea what souvenirs to bring home for everyone, so if you have a suggestion, please let me know! I know I'm gonna get something for my mom from Croatia? If I get my butt over there! I also got a post card from Efi, who is in charge of our program here at ACT. She is a giant Greek woman, with jet black hair and bright red lipstick all the time. She is so cute, and so happy about everything! The front of the postcard is so pretty, I will have to send it to someone home when I get the chance.

So, I start class tomorrow. But, a bunch of use are going to watch the superbowl at a local bar. The superbowl is played here at 1:30 am-5:30 am. Yup, I'm gonna do it. Even though I hate sports, I wanna watch and just hangout. I doubt I'll make it until 5:30 a.m. Next week there is a field trip to Ioannina to see monastaries, museums, and caves. It's a 2-day trip for 70 euro. I really want to go, and I know a bunch of people want to. So, I think I'm gonna try to sign up for it right away tomorrow! Can't wait.

Well, other than the trip to Vergina today, Friday night we went out to eat with everyone, including the President of ACT, after the orientation. Everyone got profusely drunk off of unlimited wine, and ridiculously full from the endless amount of food. So, it was heaven for me. We all danced to the live Greek band, and threw paper napkins all around in celebration (apparently they are not allowed to break plates anymore? Which is a bummer for me...). Afterwards, most of us went to a bar. Drinks are so expensive here, literally like 7 euros for a drink. I'm not going to pay that much, so I chugged some more wine before going out! Then, on the walk home, I got a beer from the kiosk. They sell beer straight off the street? Haha, so weird.

Well, I've been having fun in Thessaloniki so far, unfortunately classes are starting up. Oh well, I'm not really aiming for A's this semester....hope mom didn't see that. I promise I will pass still!