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[greektravelblog]

Day... whatever?

Y'all thought I was slacking on my last post.

Weelllll

Alright most of you know I had covid and had to quarantine for five days, and I thought I was going nuts quarantining in my house two years ago when I was exposed.

This. Sucked.

I was stuck in a 20x20 room, thank god with a balcony, and the only bright spot was that I didn't have to share a bathroom with anyone. Although I have been released from my tiny room, I still have to wear an N-95 mask until Sunday. It sucks but I am just so thankful WHO changed the quarantine requirements. Otherwise I'd be bored to tears. So not much to talk about for those days.

I finally got out yesterday and went to my classes. Nothing spectacular for the day, nor today most likely, but I did learn some cool things.

So my art class is easily my favorite, the professor is descriptive and gives us more than the technical view of ancient Greek art, she provides us with the classical stories and events that influenced it as well. We discussed this piece below:

So, this piece is located in Delphi and was a statue dedicated for their panhellenic games. It's made of bronze (ya girl was the only one to answer that question, dad) and it's obviously missing a few pieces. It would've had horses as well! We have very very few bronze statues left because they were often melted down to make new statues, weapons, or currency. But the rarity and material isn't why I love it.

IT HAS EYELASHES

LIKE THESE SUCKERS ARE MADE OF BRONZE TOO!!!!11!1

AND THE EYES? NOT BRONZE!

THEY"RE STONE

LIKE THE MASTERY AND BEAUTY AND SKILL REQUIRED FOR THIS!

The eyes are a mix of white and brown stone and provide a beautiful contrast to the rest of the piece. The statue would've been decorated with gold and silver as well, since silver remnants were found in place of his headband!

(Also the man has freaking sideburns, this is just a masterpiece on every level!)

Anyways, I took my midterm so I'm praying that that went over well. I'll get my results by monday.

Not much else happened yesterday, other than seeing this lil guy (he ain't little though lemme tell you.)

My second class was another reality check into just how much the western world has screwed over the Middle East. Like, Lord it's no wonder some of them hate us. WWI consisted of the British and the French forcefully drafting Arabs into fighting a war they wanted nothing to do with. Not only that, but the Ottoman Empire were friends with Germany. Germany was the only western country to actually create a friendship with them and a mutually beneficial relationship that treated each party fairly. So when the war came, Muslim was fighting against Muslim and around 60,000 of them died by disease (brought by the invading Britain and France) and frostbite alone. The professor for this class isn't the best, and he's obviously extremely biased whether he realizes it or not, but the documentary he's showed us is wonderfully informative. More so than him.

Today will consist of me cranking out my midterm paper for my Middle Eastern History class. It's not too bad, only 2000 words, and I will be doing so in the library. Hopefully next to that rad fish tank they got. I'll let yall know if something cool happens, but today is likely to be chill. Tomorrow, though, I'm going to the Acropolis museum again with my class so I'll likely have more to share.

See y'all later!

Things I've taken away from today:

Greeks don't cut down trees if they can help it. They build around them.

I love art history when it's taught with competence

I'm increasingly angry about the treatment of the Middle East by the western world.

(Don't take that to mean I'm not supporting women. But since I don't live there and it's not my religion, it is not my place to begin the movement that may not be wanted or needed. It IS my job to support those of that culture who start it and ask for help.)

I'm pissed at myself for forgetting to pack tylenol cold.

Greek people are intimidating, but all of them are nice. (Looking at you, Mr. Barista at Starbucks. Thanks for remembering my exact order even after not being here for a week)

[greektravelblog]

Day 12, 13, and 14

Y'all I know what you're thinking.

"She's slacking on the updates!"

And you're right.

But to be fair: I am sick. Woke up with a sore throat on monday and yesterday with a fever. Today, I think my fever broke during the night, but now I can't speak. Just ask my mom. I was grunting on the phone.

Anyways I brought two self testing kits with me for covid, took both, and both showed negative results. I contacted my RA's asking about medication, which spiraled into a whole thing with the school. Apparently, self testing kits are illegal here. Not "you're gonna go to jail for ten years" illegal but "We don't recognize those as valid despite it being CDC approved" illegal. So, I was forced to walk down to the pharmacy, which normally wouldn't be a problem, except I had a fever and almost passed out. Not to mention the crazy bouts of vertigo I've been having. And so I made the trip, only for that result to turn out negative too.

Yeesh

So I woke up early this morning after tossing and turning, and went down to the RA info desk to set up a doctors appointment. Went bright and early at 8 only for the hours to be 10-10. Ugh. So I went back upstairs and passed out again and woke up to a phone call. My RA, who I've become friends with, called asking if I still wanted to make an appointment. I grunted out a yes and she told me that if she couldn't get one soon, I'd be headed to the ER. AN hour later, with no news, I texted her.

Turns out doctor offices don't open until 3pm here.

So I'm currently in bed, having finished lunch, and I decided to update you all. Hopefully I'll have something more exciting next time.

Things I've taken away from today:

Every car in Greece is a stick. Even the busses

The only chicken noodle soup you can get is Ramen from a Chinese or Japanese restaurant.

Don't ever room with sorority girls

My loop air buds can, in fact, help me fall asleep.

[greektravelblog]

Day 10 and 11 (Part 2)

Once we got home, I took a shower and ordered sushi! The soy sauces here at this one restaurant are shaped like little fish!! It was delicious and I definitely ordered more the next day. 

 Day 11 started with me waking up on my own accord. (Thank God for sleep!) And I took my time getting ready and watched some tv to avoid the hottest temps of the day. After a taxi ride into the city, I visited the flea market! Which was amazing! Since it was sunday, only tourists were in the city, and I loved the calm-ish nature of the city. The first thing I spotted was a vendor who had things that would be perfect for my dad. I picked out two, and then realized I didn't have cash on me. I asked him if he would hold onto them for a bit and he told me "No, you go. I trust you. You go." He refused to take them back so I assured him I'd be right back. After finding a fiver in my wallet I had forgotten about, and buying a 2 dollar magnet in order to pull cash from my account, I went back as fast as I could and handed him the money. He smiled when he saw me and said "See? I knew I could trust you. I look at people and I know. I know when I can trust. Thank you." I thanked him for trusting me and he proceeded to say, "Thank me? Thank you! Enjoy our city, and come back to see me, yes?" I nodded and made my way back down the street. 

Several stores later, I came across another that seemed to hold a bit of everything. Yknow those antique stores that are filled from ceiling to floor with stuff, yeah that was this. I asked the owner if he had something my dad would like, and we spent twenty minutes pouring over different choices before I decided on something. He even included some free pieces for me and when he said it was cash only, I told him I didn't have enough and would run to grab more, he refused and took my card anyways. After thanking him, I made note of the store and realized that that area was filled with antique vendors and stores. It made me miss my dad. I miss going to antique stores with him and mom and having a bunch of history lessons even if it was about stuff I didn't particularly care about. 

Don't tell him I said that. 

I'm not completely home sick yet, but those older shop owners reminded me of my dad and his car buddies that I'd see at Berryville or other car shows. 

Today, I'm not doing much. I'm taking a day off to rest and recoup before going back to classes. So I also decided to use the time to update you all. 

Things I've taken away from today:

Evil eyes are big in Greece, despite it being a Christian country. They believe in positive energy and karma. 

Just like WV, you can, in fact, fine really good sushi here. 

You will not be able to open your eyes underwater here, it's too salty.

Shop owners treat you like family and all Greeks love to talk to you. Even the taxi drivers. 

Mango and Passionfruit slushies slap

If there's no boats coming in, you can jump off the port and no one will yell at you. 

Tiny churches are everywhere in Aegina. 

Nothing will beat fresh pressed OJ, baguettes, and macarons from here. 

Greeks who don't know english will ask you for names of items, and teach the greek equivalents in return. 

Despite the driving being worse than NYC, Taxi drivers are relatively calm.  

More later!

[greektravelblog]

Day 10 and 11 (Part 1)

So we woke up wayyy too early for my taste, 6:30am, and M and I shuffled to pack everything we'd need for the day. Once again we were hoping for it to just be a small group of us, but it wasn't. Once on the bus, we drove to Piraeus port, which, by the way, is over 2000 years old, in order to catch our ferry to Aegina Island. (Pronounced: I-een-ah) The drive there had me falling asleep but it was too short of a ride to completely pass out. We got our tickets from our tour guide, and we were ushered onto the boat. What took us by surprise, however, was the fact that we watched the buses load onto the ferry as well.

(Our ferry, the Antigone)

The ferry ride was an hour and a half long, with beautiful views of the islands. M and I sat outside on the balcony, which was definitely a mistake because it became very crowded with smokers and by the time we wanted to move, everything was packed and there was nowhere to move. So we baked for an hour and a half and tried to not fall asleep so we didn't miss our stop. Once we got to the island, we waited for our buses to deboard and we all climbed on.

So, Aegina is apparently known for their pistachios. They're translated to "Aegina peanut" a lot of the time, even though they're not a legume. Pistachio trees are quite literally everywhere. I had never seen a pistachio tree before this day and man they're not what I was expecting. Before they're ready, the pistachios look like tiny red and orange flowers and grow in bunches on the trees. We drove for a while, seeing some beautiful Byzantine churches along the way.

We got to the Temple which was a temple for a goddess named Aphaia and Athena. Our tour guide wasn't the greatest, so I didn't get the history that I wanted, but I'm sure the others didn't mind. The Temple had a stunning view of the ocean and the rest of the island.

One cool story I heard, was the cistern that the Greeks had dug, was so deep that it reached the sea because when you dropped a stone into it, you couldn't hear it hit the bottom. (It's true, we tried).

There was an adorable little store there where I bought a present for a friend and bought myself some delicious strawberry gelato.

While taking a break, M pointed out a cat she claimed was mean. She hates cats so I kinda took it with a grain of salt, but she insisted she saw it hiss at someone. I walked over, and saw one of the guys on our tour petting it. It obviously needed vet care, but when I reached down to let it sniff my hand, she pressed her head into my hand with no hesitation. The poor thing had scabs all over its face and ears, and was so desperate for attention, it was obvious it hadn't felt love in a while. My heart really does ache for that cat and I hope someone on that island takes her in. Every time I tried to walk away, she'd rub against my leg, asking for more attention. I'm going back with mom in a few weeks, so hopefully I can see her again and giver one last pet.

We drove back down the mountain, to this little beach area with the most beautiful water I've ever seen. A small restaurant was placed right on the beach, literally only a foot from it, and we left our things there while diving into the ocean. The sea was so salty, it was easy to float, and most of it was quite shallow. We all swam for an hour, and got to know one another. Found out one of the guys who was in my really crappy Middle Eastern class dropped it because even he, a white frat boy, knew how incorrect it was, and didn't want to stand for that. I met two more girls who have very similar interests to mine and we began to talk about our favorite books together.

Only one of us got stung by a sea urchin, and to be fair he couldn't see it amongst the black seaweed. It wasn't a poisonous spine so he was fine luckily. After an hour, we all gathered back to the tables and dried off, ready to eat. After a simple salad and lunch of chicken kebobs and fries, they served us a small slice of orange cake. Dad, you know how you like lemon pound cake? Man you would've loved this. It wasn't overpowering, it was mainly a honey soaked cake with candied orange peels on top. It was so good, and surprisingly not too sweet. We had some free time to roam around the port city, so M and I went shopping! I found more trinkets for my friends and a few things for myself. Including slides for the beach, a fan, pistachios, and an adorable oil perfume. The top is oil and the bottom is cream based perfume. It smells heavenly and the vase is adorable.

M and I got more gelato from this adorable patisserie and we stopped by a few pistachio stands. Headed back to the port, we all gathered by our designated meeting spot. Unfortunately, the port is completely uncovered, and we were all baking. Our tour guides told us to meet them there by 5:15 but they didn't show up until much later than that. Suddenly, M and I looked over to find the boys from our tour jumping off the dock into the water out of pure desperation. Many others followed, and we were close too when the bus driver said we could sit on the bus.

without AC

So we stood in the shade of the bus, dying, when the bus driver came back up to us and said "Come, come." He proceeded to open the storage compartments of the bus and told us to sit. So we finally had a place to rest in the shade, and with the wind blowing, it was pleasant, albeit weird laying in a compartment like stowaways.

Our boat arrived, and we gathered towards it. M and I created a plan. She would grab a seat inside, away from the windows so we didn't bake, and I would get in line and get waters for us. What we didn't plan for, was how abrasive these grannies were. Like good lord they elbowed their way to the top and suddenly I was lost in a sea of people while M was already inside. At least she got us a good seat, but I had to avoid knocking dentures loose while also trying to get on board in a freaking mosh pit. I even had a lady try to push in front of me in line for the water? She was young enough though I didn't have any qualms leaving no space for her to push her way into the line. We got water, chugged it, and promptly passed out.

I swear I didn't drool.

We woke up right before getting off.

[greektravelblog]

Day 9

Okay so nothing crazy cool for today, except the fact that I'm taking a middle eastern class with girls from the middle east and they're appalled about how inaccurate it is. I'm sad that I'm not getting the true story, and that these girls have to go through this, but I'm grateful that I get the chance to connect with them and educate myself more than I was before. They're all so sweet too!! One cool thing I learned from them is that the Quran has never been translated to avoid mistranslation! They keep it in arabic and if you do manage to find an english version, the english is written beneath the arabic. Also, the prophet Muhammad was illiterate, he didn't write the Quran (my professor told us he did.)

Anyways, I'm going to have a movie night with my friend, not sure what we're watching yet but she's such a sweetheart and I love to learn more about her and her culture here in Greece. Tomorrow is big day, we're touring Aegina Island so I'll have lots more interesting things to tell tomorrow evening!!

Have a great day, ya'll!

[greektravelblog]

Day 7 and 8

Oooh boy yesterday was PACKED with history. I was like a kid in a candy store haha!

After class we were delayed getting out into the city as there was a bus strike going on. But eventually we made it out and traveled to the Ancient Agora. To get there, we walked along this adorable little street that was filled with vendors selling handmade jewelry and even tiny books! The road is named to this day what it was named 2500 years ago, Platía Thiséos. And yes, it is named for the ancient king Theseus. Anyways, we entered the Agora and our tour guide began by explaining the purpose of the city.

So while the Parthenon was the symbol of the city, and later the symbol of democracy, Agora was democracy in action. It was a city center, much like downtown Martinsburg, minus the residences. The city has multiple temples including the Temple of Hephaestus.

This temple is the only one from ancient Greece who's roof is still intact! It's a beautiful construction and honors the god who helped birth Athena. Because of this, two statues would've been inside: Hephaestus and Athena. On the inside of the roof, stones had been placed after it's construction to create a domed ceiling. This was installed during the Byzantine empire when Christians entered the city and converted all pagan buildings into churches.

A small corner of a temple for all of the Olympian gods is all that is left. A train borders the ancient city, and it was constructed, before the archaeology craze, in 1880. Because of this, the entire temple was lost. However, like the World Trade Center in NYC, it was the "point zero" of the town and all measurements of the city extended from this temple.

We got to see the very first shopping mall in the entire world! Across the way stands the modern recreation, since only the back wall survived the ages. The shopping mall had two stories and is now a museum! When it was discovered, John D. Rockefeller paid for the entire restoration.

Inside the museum, remnants of the invention of democracy are shown. Including small discs that are inscribed with different names. Whenever there was a concern that someone was trying to overthrow the democracy or trying to corrupt it, the assembly would right the name of the person of concern onto these discs, and whoever had the most votes would be exiled from Athens for ten years! It was the very first type of impeachment!

Also shown, are tiny little shot glasses.

However,

Greeks didn't take shots of hard liquor. They actually refused to drink wine unless it was mixed with water, they thought it barbaric. So what was it for?

Hemlock.

These were the glasses for which execution would be carried out. They were found in what is believed to be the prison and when tested, remnants of hemlock remained in the bottom. This theory is not only backed up by testing, but by the writings of Plato who described that Socrates was charged and executed for blasphemy for saying that the human nature is self-defined (basically, do some soul searching and use some logic.) Plato describes how Socrates was forced to drink Hemlock as punishment for his crime. So you're looking at, possibly, the last think Socrates ever held before his death.

After leaving the ancient city, we went for food and boy did I have the best potatoes I've ever eaten. The pizza was magnificent and the chef was sweet. It wasn't safe for me to eat the Baklava, so he brought out a different dessert for me, without us even asking for it. Although it looked like a burnt piece of tofu, it tasted wonderfully. It actually tasted like the middle of cannoli.

Yesterday I didn't do much, so I'm going to skip over it. Today's update will be up later tonight.

Things I've taken away from today:

I wanna live here. Like, seriously

I'm one of the only ones who could've kept going on that tour. I literally didn't know I was hungry until I got to the restaurant.

I did, in fact, choose the right major, wvu just doesn't have any classes on what I want to study

The greeks had a banging society (yknow, minus the misogyny and slavery)

I literally can't feel my feet anymore.

[greektravelblog]

Day 6

Alright boys and girls, I know its late (well, for me) and that it's a day late again but I have been run ragged. Literally, I have blisters on my feet now.

Anyways,

Yesterday's classes were pretty normal and particularly interesting. Almost missed my second class because we changed rooms and I went to the wrong one, but hey, I made it. After my classes, I huffed it to the meeting point at 3:30. I also discovered a nicer route to school. I have no clue why they take us up the mountain when the other route is just as quick and doesn't make me feel like I'm going to pass out after it, but I still found it. Anyhoo, we were waiting for the bus, and walking down the street came this cute little guy! Well, he's not so little but he was the sweetest thing ever! When our advisor, Aliki got there, she explained to us that most- if not all- the strays are brought in by the county and vaccinated, spayed/neutered, and tagged before being released. The Greeks hate wasting food, so whatever the don't eat, they set out for strays. When walking along the sidewalk, or what little of it that's there, you'll often see bowls of water as well. Anyway, this sweet, beautiful pup came right up to us when we cooed at him, and proceeded to try to follow us onto the bus.

When we got back that night, he was still there, waiting for us. I want nothing more than to take him home and give him all the love in the world, but unfortunately I wouldn't be able to smuggle him through customs. And my parents would crucify me.

We made our way to the Acropolis Museum. Aliki and I were talking most of the way there, and she kept sharing more and more places I need to go to because of my interest in history. Once we got to the Museum, we met our tour guide and got ready to enter the building.

What you don't get told before going there, is that outside, the entire floor is glass.

Why?

Cause there is an excavation happening right beneath your feet!

I was barely following along, I was so enamoured. But we made our way inside, and while everyone was on their phones or using the bathroom, Aliki grabbed my arm and dragged me over towards little models of different parts of Athens. That wasn't what she was showing me. She pointed down and once again I was met with the massive excavation. The city was crazy intact, you can actually see what's left of the gutters! Finally inside, our tour guide led us wayyy too quickly through it. But here's some of the things I saw!

In my Aspects of Ancient Art class, we're learning about different forms of pottery, and their purposes. Two important pieces are shown below:

So, most of us have all seen these geometric style vases, right? These pieces are known as Amphora and due to the geometric design, we can date them back to 800 BC. They're beautiful, and are a testament to the skill required in the arts as the slip that created the designs was virtually invisible against the clay when painted on. But, they're even more amazing than that.

They aren't vases at all. They're urns.

On the first Amphora, we see a group of men with shields and swords. Because of this, we can assume that the person inside was a soldier. And since only males were soldiers in ancient Athens, we know that the person inside is in fact male. However, there's another way we can tell the sex of the bones inside. Males were only ever buried in Amphoras with handles that extend from the neck, down to the body.

The second portrays a figure lying down with grieving family members and friends on either side. We know that the person inside is female, not only because the lying figure's legs aren't defined, so she's wearing a skirt, but because of the smaller handles that rest right on the belly of the vase. This highlights a feminine artistic feature that can be seen on women today, either through the curve of hips or a pregnant stomach. The handles on the male burial urn act as a way of broadening the neck, creating a more masculine feel to the piece.

Wacky, I know.

We also saw the Kore statue, The Kritis Boy, and more!

The most impactful, however, was the modern recreation of the Parthenon. Since restorations don't allow visitors to go inside, the Acropolis Museum's top floor is a modern version of the temple. There are metal pillars of the exact height, number, and width and the room is the exact measure of that of the Parthenon. Around the room, the top of the walls are covered in beautiful scenes of heroic battles and myths of the gods. Standing in front of them, burning the image into my skull, the tour guide explained to us why all of the decorative squares were white.

Except one.

When the British helped the Greeks overthrow Turkish rule in the 19th century, they took interest in the ancient buildings that made Athens, Athens. They saw the decorations on the Parthenon, and decided to take them. Marble, if not pure, turns yellow and black from time and pollution. So, the decorations in the museum should've been yellow, not white. Well, when Athens asked the British Museum for their return, The British Museum basically said "Oh well," and sent Athens plaster casts of the actual decor instead.

Only one true piece of the Parthenon's decoration remains in Athens today.

Anyways, there was so much to see, including a reading lounge and a book shop! But we were quite literally rushed out of there so I didn't get hardly a fraction of the time I wanted. But, I'm going to go back, and I get in free!

Finally walking up to the Acropolis, we stopped at the base of the hill to look at the remnants of an amphitheatre. At my back, stood the very first theatre in the ENTIRE world.

Holy crap.

I was quite literally in awe, and I wanted to stay and look at it longer, but once again we were rushed off.

The climb to the top of the hill is brutal. The road is marble, original marble, so its slick as snot, and several times I almost had to catch R from falling on her face. Getting to the top, you realize its massive.

Like, I knew it was massive, but it was really massive. You know how they say New Yorkers always know who is the tourist cause they look up?

Screw tourism, you'd be crazy if you didn't constantly look up at that amazing sight. Its gargantuan and truly a beautiful place. You can see all of Athens and the Aegean sea.

After spending not nearly enough time up there, we walked back down and left to get food. We went to an amazing restaurant with a view of the Acropolis and had this amazing feta that was wrapped and fried in phyllo dough and drizzled in honey and topped in sesame seeds. The honey here, good lord it's an amazing piece of heaven. I have no clue what this dish is called, but I could eat ten of them in one sitting. And don't even get me started on the lamb shank. Ugh I am so in love with this country.

I'm about to pass out, so I will be uploading today's itinerary tomorrow.

Thing's I have taken away from today:

I will be spending several hours in the museums here.

Always have water with you in Athens.

Never go to the Acropolis in the middle of the day. You won't survive.

White lead was also used by the Ancient Greeks, not just the English in the Renaissance.

People under 25 and who are students get into museums for free.

I'm going to cry once I have to eat American food again.

I want every single stray that I see here. They're all so sweet.

This piece of the Parthenon was the inspiration for Legos!

[greektravelblog]

Day 5

Oof I know I'm posting this on day 6 but shhhhh.

Listen, I hate waking up early. I loathe it, in fact. If you asked me four years ago I would've said I didn't mind it, that I woke up early cause of my parents and that's just how I rolled. I didn't believe my mom when she told me that I'd hate mornings like my cousin by the time I hit college. Lord was I wrong. I hate waking up before 9am. And yet here I am, willingly taking a 9am class on a topic that I love. First day of classes had me up at 7:30am, so I made my way to campus and went to the Starbucks. Yeah, you heard me right. I'm that basic white girl. My first class was Aspects of Ancient Art in Athens. It's an art/archaeology study course that studies the history of ancient Greek art. The class was filled to the brim, which isn't saying much as it was a tiny classroom. The classes are two hours long and I had a break in between my art class and the next one, so I walked to a nearby café in order to get some food. I ordered a cheese plate and what I got was a piece of heaven on a plate. I have no clue what cheeses were on there, it wasn't listed, but I do know that it was amazing. I got a raspberry jam and an almond pesto with it. Anyways, if you're ever in Athens, and want a good cheese plate, go to Erudio.

My next class was a history of the Middle East. Very few people are in this one, and interestingly enough, two of the students are from Egypt. I found it interesting, talking to them about their country and what they were studying. They took the class to see how the west views their culture. Halfway through, we took a break and I asked what they thought so far, apparently there is a healthy amount of misinformation within just the first session. I can't wait to talk to them more. Also during this break, one of my roommates who is in this class with me, asked another student where they were staying. Now, it's important to note that this girl and I have seen each other only a couple times. She keeps to herself pretty much, and that's fine, but we've done introductions and everything. After the student answered her, she turned to me and said "What about you? Where are you staying?" I stared at her blankly for a second before replying:

"I'm your roommate."

Now I laughed, but this girl had started to get on my nerves. During the entire class she was interrupting the professor, and trying to compare everything in the Middle East to what was happening in her home country. Now, don't get me wrong, she's from a place that needs a lot of help and autonomy that the US has refused to provide, but it just didn't seem appropriate for the conversation. All of this, though, I could handle. What I didn't appreciate was when one of the students from Egypt began questioning the professor about what he was teaching us and when we would learn how the Middle East was viewed by the Middle East instead of Western views, this girl began talking over this student, trying to get a point in. Before the class had started, her and I were talking about culture (to which she tried to tell me that white America had none which, although white American culture isn't as rich or unique, forgive my wording I'm not sure how to explain it, white america does have culture. It is inherently impossible for a group of humans who have created a society to not have a culture) and while I had many things to say, and most of you know I'm able to speak up with no issue, I couldn't get a word in edgewise. This girl would just not be quiet so I could speak. She would interrupt me before I finished my thought, so by the time I had to remind her that I lived with her, I was pretty annoyed.

Despite the annoyances, the day was overall good and the class, interesting. I stopped by the market to pick up a few things, then went home. My roommate (R) and I walked over to R1 to hang out with a friend who is one of our RA's (A). We talked for a while, just shooting the breeze before R made me take the enneagram test. It's basically a personality test like the Myers-Briggs but it gives you numbers instead of letters. Apparently, I'm a type 1w2 or 2w1.

After letting A take a nap, we went back over at 9 to have a movie night in the lobby. Recommendation: watch the movie Spiderhead. It's about these prisoners who are serving a sentence and instead of being locked away in prison, they're given lush accommodations in exchange to being part of a drug experiment trial. It is sooooo good. Plus Chris Hemsworth's in it. 'Nuf said.

Welp that was my day. Not that interesting, I know. Tonight I have more adventures planned so stay tuned!

Things I've taken away from today:

No cheese will ever be good enough for me again.

A eats her tzatzikis sauce with ketchup on her gyro.

George Saunders, the author of Spiderhead is a brilliant author.

Chris Hemsworth is hot, no matter what role he plays.

[greektravelblog]

Day 4

Today was the day I finally had the "holy crap, I'm in Greece" moment. At 12:30, a small group of us (thank god) departed and made our way to Cape Sounion. Cape Sounion is well known for the Temple of Poseidon that stands on the top of the hill, greeting incoming boats. It is involved in two famous myths. The creation of the olive tree, and the journey of Theseus.

The first one goes like this:

When trying to determine who would be the patron god of the city of Athens, Poseidon and Athena both stood out. They began to fight for the patronage, and when she realized that fighting was futile, Athena suggested a competition. Her and Poseidon would create something for the city, and the inhabitants would select the best one. Poseidon, struck his trident to the ground, and salt water began to flow. His gift to the inhabitants was a salt water fountain. Athena, created the very first olive tree. The inhabitants recognized that they could use every bit of the olive tree for fuel, food, and trade so they named the city after her. However, Athens was a very naval central power. They needed to stay on good terms with the god of the seas if they wished to survive. So to appease him, they built the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion and would travel before every voyage to receive his blessing.

The second is a bit more complex.

In the myth, there is a creature called a Minotaur. The king of Crete held it in a Labyrinth beneath the city, and would hold a blood tax every five years. Since Crete was the power at the time, he would call seven Athenian boys and seven Athenian girls to be brought to Crete to be thrown into the Labyrinth to die. Each boat that left Athens with children held black sails. Tired of the death of children, Theseus, the prince of Athens asked his father to be allowed to travel to Crete with the children in order to kill the Minotaur. Aegeus, his father, was reluctant as Theseus was his only child, but he relented when Theseus promised to return on a ship with white sails, symbolizing his success. Theseus did in fact slaughter the beast with the help of the Cretan princess Ariadne whoh gifted him a magic ball of thread to guide him out of the maze. Taking her home as his wife, they stopped at another small island along the way. When Theseus discovered her flirting with the god of wine, Dionysus, he left quietly, abandoning her there. She was so furious, she cursed him. It wasn't anything seemingly gorey, but her curse of forgetfulness caused Theseus to return with black sails, not white. When Aegeus saw the sails from the cliff at Cape Sounion, he believed his only son dead. In despair, he flung himself off the cliff, killing himself. The sea is now called the Aegean Sea, in honor of him.

While these stories aren't very happy-go-lucky they make sense when you're standing in the same spot. It really feels as if these things could have happened. It seems magical almost. I sat on an ancient piece of marble and I struggled to respond to M as she talked to me about something. I am in Greece. I'm sitting on a chunk of rock that was mined, shaped, and placed thousands of years ago by people who were so technologically and emotionally advanced that they created my favorite thing in the world: theatre. I mean, it doesn't get much cooler than that.

After we left, we drove a bit before stopping at a beach. We got some swimming in before having an amazing lunch that had 6 courses, including zucchini fries and the best calamari I've ever eaten. On the way back, once the ocean is out of sight, I promptly fell asleep. Currently, I'm sitting with my roommate R and eating some chicken kabobs with tzatzikis sauce and that rocking lemonade. Over all, best day so far. And hopefully, you'll see me again Cape Sounion.

Things I've taken away from today:

Yes, the water is that clear.

Don't bike in Greece, you'll die.

No food goes to waste, which is why the strays are so well fed/taken care of/

Greek gelato is the best I've had so far.

The water is really salty, so floating is easy in the Aegean.

I'm in love with this place.

[greektravelblog]

Day 3 (part 2)

The next stop was to see the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Now, in London and DC, talking isn't permitted while visiting the memorial. No one mentioned if it was or was not here, so I tried to respect that as much I could. Everyone else, however, seemed to just talk normally. I thought that the soldier who was posted to oversee the two guards would say something, but no one ever did. Still, I think the silence is fitting for the situation so I still held my tongue. The greek soldiers were amazing to watch. Their march was odd, granted, but our tour guide explained it was supposed to resemble a slow motion run to freedom. The guards wore traditional 19th century uniforms, all men in Greece wore skirts up until the twentieth century, and every bit of it held symbolism.

The red cap symbolizes the blood shed during the revolution against the Ottoman Empire, from which the Greeks reclaimed their land. The long, black tassel stood for the tears shed during the four hundred years that Greeks were enslaved. And the shoes! I know you are all wondering about the shoes. So yes, those are pom poms (or pon pons in Greece). They were a common shoe style in the 18th to 19th century because they stopped your shoes from getting wet and soggy. However, they weren't always this big. During the revolution, the Greeks weren't permitted to have guns, so they created these massive versions in order to hide razor blades beneath them in order to arm themselves. Once the revolution was won, they became a symbol of status. The bigger the pon pon, the richer the man.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was a beautiful and historically rich stop. I'll be going back on my own to pay proper respect.

My favorite stop, however, was the Roman Baths that were discovered when they were digging to put in the metro!

It was the exact same layout that my mother and I saw when we were in England in 2017! I was able to recognize it right away, and was able to inform M all about it since our tour guide was hard to hear over the traffic. The small tunnel you can see on the left was a central heating unit! Tunnels ran all throughout the house underneath the floors, and fires would be lit at the ends in order to heat the baths/floors! It's genius!

We saw the temple of Zeus, which was thought to be cursed during the Ottoman reign, and the official archway to the ancient city. If you stand directly in front of the archway, you can see the Acropolis through it!

Finally, we went to dinner. We had wonderful salad with the BEST feta cheese I've ever tasted, fries, and a build-yourself gyro! The food was delicious and the music was lively.

Once we were finished, M and I ran to a gelato place across the street and took in the views that only Athens, Greece could offer.

I'm so in love with this place. I know I'll end up going through homesickness and a rollercoaster of emotions, but I'm giddy to be in a place with so much history, life, and culture that I get to experience.

Things I've taken away from today:

Greek salads rarely contain lettuce.

Graffiti doesn't mean that the area is bad or unsafe, it's literally everywhere.

Taggers, graffiti "artists", mainly just want you to know what soccer team is the best.

Greek taggers respect the ancient buildings. Only modern ones and metal shutters are covered in graffiti. Those who try to carve their names into the UNESCO heritage sites are foreigners.

Antacids are mint here. (yuck)

Pharmacies will also smell like cigarettes.

Greeks can't build anywhere without being stopped by an archaeological find.

Churches are everywhere, even more so than the US.

You can, in fact, take one of the oranges from the trees on the street.

Souvenirs are dirt cheap.

[greektravelblog]

Day 3 (part 1)

I slept in waayyy later than I was planning to. Finally up at noon, after getting ready, M and I decided to go to a pizza place down the street from us, called Bellagio's. Man when I tell you that was the best pizza I've ever had, I mean it. American food sucks in comparison to even street food you find here.

I mean come on, who wouldn't want this every time they ate pizza? Not to mention it was only around a buck per slice! M and I were the only ones in the restaurant despite it being two pm. After picking up more lemonade at the Bazaar, we headed back home to get ready for a downtown Athens tour at 4pm. After changing and applying a religious amount of sunscreen, we walked across the street to the R1 lobby where we were meant to meet up before the tour. We were the first ones there and I started out hopeful that the tour would be small.

Boy was I wrong.

Our poor tour guide. She was a wonderfully sweet greek woman who spent the whole time speaking over these college students who wouldn't know respect if it slapped them in the face. I struggled to listen as she explained to us the history of this amazing city and what buildings we passed. She eventually grew tired, I know, because she would cut off her stories and switch to a different topic if they were talking over her. I was livid. Not only are we in the most historically rich city in the world, but you've been given a FREE excursion with a tour guide who is taking the time out of her day to inform you about the city and all you can think about is getting piss drunk and going clubbing? Do what you want, but you shouldn't have signed up for the tour if you weren't prepared to listen and participate in it. To that tour guide: I'm really sorry for what happened today. Please know that the information you provided wasn't completely ignored and it was greatly appreciated by the few people who were paying attention. To the college students who are on this trip with me: put up or shut up. You're not just here for a vacation. You're here to STUDY abroad. Do whatever you want with your life, just don't hinder those around you who are actually trying to learn.

Anyways,

Rant aside, the views were stunning. We passed several buildings and landmarks that were erected in the 19th century when Greece finally won its independence from the Turks. While these buildings date back to only the 1800's, they are still ancient historical landmarks. Below is the very first college ever created in Greece and one of the oldest in the world. It is still a college today and a statue of it's founder, Plato stands before the building. Guarding the academy, Athena and Apollo are placed on either side of the building on tall pillars as protectorates and sponsors. The building next to the college is it's library.

Our first stop was to an original arena from the 4th century BC.

(The girl next to me is my roommate, M)

Originally, it was made of wood until a rich sponsor a couple hundred years later paid for it to be completely re-done in marble. Now, obviously it wouldn't have lasted in this condition, so in the 19th century it was restored using the same marble.

Why was it restored?

Because the very first modern Olympics were held in this very arena!

Of course, the arena is now too small for the capacity of today's Olympics, so it now stands as a museum. People even use the track to exercise!

We then saw the official Cathedral of Athens. Its official name is: The Holy Metropolitan Church of the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary (a lot I know.) And the small building in front of it is a Cathedral from the Byzantine Empire. We arrived right at seven so we got to hear the bells! (volume warning).

We saw beautiful statues with so much history, I'd be here all day typing.

(The bottom one is Alexander the Great)

I have to do this in two parts because tumblr only allows 10 photos per post.

[greektravelblog]

Day 2

Day 2 started off with the land line in our apartment ringing off the hook at 2am. That was easily ignored by me, since I turned around and promptly went to sleep. The next time I was alive was when my alarm went off at 7:15. We had a scheduled campus and neighborhood tour at 9am. I was up and ready before anyone else in my apartment, and spent the time on our porch and in our living room since it's lined with windows. We were meant to meet the Orientation Leaders in the lobby of the building R1 (I live in R3 right across the street,) at 8:45. My roommate didn't wake up in time, unfortunately, and neither did a bunch of the other girls that I live with. So, we walked the 12 minutes up to campus and luckily made it there in time. Today was very hot, but there was always a cool, shady spot or a nice breeze flowing, so it was bearable. We stood and talked with the orientation leaders and amongst ourselves until the tour started. The campus is tiny. And I mean tiny. For those of you following that know WVU, it could fit in less than half of Downtown's campus. It consists of three buildings, DC (Deree College), AC (Arts Center), and CN (Communications Building). Along with a gym, library, theatre, amphitheaters (yes, in the ground, yes, there's more than one, and yes, it is made of stone), pool, and track field. All-in-all it has everything needed in order to be a successful school, including the friendly people.

The tour was forty minutes at most, and the farthest building was like walking from the lair to high street at WVU- long but nothing compared to the hike that is Evansdale to Downtown. The library has a digital museum inside, and a whole fish tank. The buildings are pretty modern, yet simple, and the hallways are all open-air. Only the classrooms sit inside. There are several beautiful nooks and crannies outside in the shade for studying. The AC building is the same, except there is in fact a Starbucks. However, the drinks and pastries aren't the same as the US. Currently, they're featuring a banana split drink and a raspberry passion fruit drink.

I have not tried them yet, but the latter is on my list of things to try.

Once we returned, we went for ice-breakers and lunch. We gathered in a circle and took turns introducing ourself and saying 2 truths and 1 lie. So of course, I lent on my old reliables. (I've had to play this game way too many times because of theatre.) So mine consisted of: My parents work for NASA, I was in Paris when the Notre Dame burned, and I've been on the radio three times. Outrageous a bit? Maybe. But it's what I've used since middle school. (Well not the Paris one, that was in 2019, but I always choose what I think to be the most impressive experiences in my life, what has changed me the most, or what I'm most proud of.) The girl next to me picked out the lie, but thought I had been on the radio four times when I've only been twice, but what was the most hilarious was the girl next to my roommate (who knew the answer so I forbade her from saying anything). She looked at me and said: "You're parents don't work for NASA. I remembered you said you're from West Virginia." I had to force back a laugh at that. I'm not sure if she meant that as a vague insult, or just a simple "there's no NASA in WV." She didn't elaborate, and I didn't ask. Either way, I found it amusing to think that there was no possible way my parent's could work for such a high level government organization simply because of where I lived. Telecommuting is a thing now, no? Anyways, after we disbanded and went to grab some food, a Greek high school student who was on the tour stopped me and asked about your careers, mom and dad. I told her you were optical engineers and worked on GPS' and satellites and she responded by saying that her brother's dream was to work for NASA. She asked me about how he should look into a career there, so I informed her about the internship program and that it was a wonderful opportunity to segway into a career there. She thanked me and told me she'd pass along the info. So mom, dad, if you end up with a greek boy as an intern soon, you'll know where from.

The food was wonderful, it was only a simple turkey sandwich but good Lord how I've missed European bread. I forgot just how amazing it is. But what surprised me the most was how delicious the orange juice was. I genuinely haven't tasted anything better, even in Florida, and I would bring it all back home with me if I could.

After that, they rest of the group went on a neighborhood tour. I stayed behind because I wanted to get a sticker I need for my ID to use the pool or gym saying that I was in good physical condition to use everything. However, I ended up not getting it and won't receive it until Monday. But hey, I'm still getting it. My roommate (M) said there wasn't anything important on the tour, nor was it that informative, so I relaxed some at that. Once I got the news back on the athletics sticker, I made my way back to the Bazaar from day 1 and that little fruit market. I wanted to pick up some eggs, milk, and after having those amazing kiwis last night, I wanted more. I got what I needed and made my way back home where I promptly fell asleep for a few hours. I was still reeling from my lack of sleep on the plane, and needed to do some catch-up after an exhausting half-day. I woke in time for a 5 minute orientation (literally only 5 minutes) and watched a bit of the Simpsons. My other roommate (R) messaged me and M, asking if we wanted to go out with her to grab some coffee before the pizza night the RA's were hosting at 7. M isn't a big coffee person, so R and I went alone to Lola's. It's a beautiful café/bar with good coffee and (what looks like) good grilled cheeses.

This is where I found out Roe V Wade was overturned.

A friend of R's messaged her during our outing, and her and I were stunned into silence. I won't get much into the politics of things here, but I will say that R and I both want to stay longer here than we did even before this happened.

Anyways,

Pizza night was a blast! Greek Domino's is the only Domino's I can tolerate. And the RA's were so sweet. R became close with the RA's since she's been here for both sessions, so she introduced me to everyone. They were a breath of fresh air compared to the rest of the crowd.

Everyone that I have met that works at the college or is from Greece has been nothing but kind to me. There has been no awkward silence you get in the US once the basic pleasantries have been answered. They genuinely want to know about American culture and love to spend time with one another until late in the evening. We had to inform them that the reason no one was answering the landline in the apartment other than R was because no one in America answers their phones due to spam calls.

Needless to say, we'll be answering the phone from now on.

We talked for hours about cultural differences, personal interests, hometowns, and Greece itself. One of the RA's braided my hair and asked me about D&D. She's a theatre major herself so she suggested a book to me that's a retelling of Shakespeare's The Tempest. Returning to my apartment, I feel fulfilled and more settled than I did yesterday. I was concerned about meeting friends and fitting in but R, M, and the RA's (and a few of the other students), proved to me that there were in fact people here who could have fun without needing to be consistently drunk. I also have a few built in guides to help me in getting familiar with the area.

Overall, day 2 was successful and very enjoyable.

Things I have taken away from today:

Both motorbikes AND cars park on sidewalks.

Turtles are everywhere here.

3 kiwi's will cost you 1.50 Euros.

Greeks give a head jerk (chin up) to say "no."

The juice here has crack in it- there is no other explanation for it to be so good. (This includes the lemonade).

Greeks never say opa as cheers. More so as an "oops." (And they don't even realize they say it, they'll deny they say it at all.)

There is no cheese pizza in Greece, it's called Margarita pizza.

Greeks will talk about anything and everything casually. Nothing is off-limits.

Eye-contact is huge here.

Greeks don't know that the American "Hi, how're you?" Is a greeting, not an invitation to describe every detail of your life, currently. (Same for "what's up.")

Greeks are appalled at the lack of rights Americans have.

[greektravelblog]

Day 1

This says day 1 but it was more like 30 hours of non-stop going. Despite my complaints, travel, airports, and screaming adults are necessary evils that everyone faces when traveling. Starting out at IAD, I flew to Newark. Everything was normal, albeit slightly annoying, and then my plane got stuck on the tarmac for two hours due to weather. Listen I am all for safety but towards the end I really just wanted to say "screw it" and have the pilot send us up. Finally, he did. I sat next to this young boy (probably 4 years old) and his father. Now, even though this wasn't ideal, and the kid did thrash in his sleep, both him and his father were very sweet. I played a quick round of tic-tac-toe with the kid until he got bored and switched to a movie. Due to turbulence, when we were finally up in the air, we weren't served dinner until around 10pm. The last thing I had eaten was a crappy sub I had gotten from a glorified fridge in the Newark airport. But finally, I had food in my stomach and I downed a dramamine in order to get some sleep, so that's what I did.

What I didn't plan on, however, was the fact that this kid really did thrash in his sleep. His poor father was up just as much as me, trying to restrain him so he didn't bother me during the night. As much as the action touched me, it was a bit pointless as the seats were too close to make any difference to a fully stretched out 4 year old who was dreaming about fighting mummies. (The Egyptian kind, not the British mothers.) So eventually I woke up with only three and a half hours of sleep under my belt as we flew into Greek airspace. The first thing I noticed was the mountains. They really didn't look all that different from Appalachia from the sky. The second was the fact that I could literally see the bottom of the ocean towards land. Yes, the water is in fact that clear.

Finally off of the plane, I found the pick up station for the college, and waited another 2 hours for other students' flights to get in. Once together, we made our way to the college and were checked into our rooms. I was worried I'd get a crappy dorm living space with a communal bathroom like I got last year at WVU. Instead, I was faced with a gorgeous apartment that is larger than my own at home with three balconies and a large kitchen. There are six of us in the apartment, two to each room, but it doesn't feel crowded at all. There are two bathrooms total, so they're a bit cramped, but they're still larger than any apartment bathroom I've seen. The balconies are massive with beautiful sliding glass doors and surrounding foliage. Also the closet space they gave us is insane?! Literally an entire wall in my room is just cupboards and drawers.

After unpacking, my roommate (M), and suite-mate (A) decided to run to a little market down the street in order to get some necessities and food. The Bazaar Discount Market could best be described as a CVS on steroids (in a good way). The Bazaar has everything we need from sunscreen (thank god) to fresh cheeses and meats. The only issue I ran into was trying to translate the products. I couldn't really tell what was laundry detergent and what was fabric softener. So, I approached this lady who was restocking ice-cream and asked.

She knew no English.

So after five minutes of miming out washing my clothes and repeating "detergent" and "washing machine" with her responding with pointing to different products and miming different actions. I discovered that what I was first looking at was a spot cleaner, not regular detergent, and I walked out with the right product. She was a sweetheart and I very much enjoyed trying to communicate in a way I never had before. You never realize just how easy it is to understand one another until your common language is stripped away.

Next to the Bazaar was a cute little fruit stand. I spent only 2 euros on a bunch of cherries and a cucumber. The man who checked me out, and I assume owns the place, did the whole thing while talking on the phone and smoking a cigarette. He reminds me of what I remember of my grandfather. (Pretty sure Grandpa Losch was a Greek at heart, mom.)

Finally, all of us made our way to a welcoming dinner hosted by the college. The food was fantastic, the people sweet, and I met a few stray friends along the way. Also saw a bunch of wild orange trees lining the streets.

The things I have taken away from today:

Greek plumbing is horrid, so you have to throw all paper products into the trash. (and I mean all.)

You've never had a real Kiwi unless you've had Greek Kiwi.

Most strays WILL run up to you if you coo at them.

Everyone lied when they say you don't need to know Greek. Sure you can survive but you can't read products for crap.

90 degrees here is cooler than 79 degrees in West Virginia.

Sorry mom, Greek meatloaf is the only meatloaf I'll ever let touch my taste buds.

Time to go crash and sleep for as long as possible.

More later.