Coming home

Samos was beautiful. Just lots of beach time and a trip to an ancient underground aquaduct that runs through the mountain. I just shopped on my last day in Athens and am now sitting in the airport ready to come home. I have about 20 hrs of traveling ahead of me/if not more so im trying to be as patient as possible. My first flight is 11 hrs long, so after that I know I will just be ready to be done. But then I have to clear customs in Newark before boarding a 3 hr flight to MN. I should be home around 8 pm if everything goes according to plan but not in buffalo til the morning probably. See ya soon guys!

Bergama, Ephesos, Kusadasi, and the rest of Turkey

Our days have been super hectic and the internet connection has been getting less and less powerful, leading to me not bothing with updating my blog. With only 5 days left of the trip, its weird to think that instead of updating it I could just tell you myself in about a week. But for those of you I wont see right away, here is a sum up of the rest of my time in Turkey...

The day after Troy we went to the Acropolis at Bergama, a famous mountain slope that held the second largest library of Alexander's time, second only to the one in Alexandria. More interesting that the sites was the view of the nearby turkish country side, which was green, mountainous, and really beautiful. That day we also went to the Aslkepion temple, an ancient hospital with underground tunnels that were pretty cool to walk around in. Then we stopped at a parchment shop, famous for Bergama paper, incredibly stretched lamb skin tanned and used for paintings and such. After we ate lunch at a Turkish buffet. Turkish food was maybe my favorite thing about Turkey, lots of veal and beans and veggies but also these cornbread like pastries soaked in honey and rolled in sugar. Those were by far my favorite and my goal when I get home is to learn how to make them for myself. After lunch, we went to an onyx factory, where they receive unworked onyx and carve and polish and then sell it. Seeing the onyx like that was really beautiful, but way to expensive to buy anything. Many people did buy some gifts there though. My professor Stavros got is wife a gold necklace with an onyx stone set in the middle. Stav is so cute.

After the onyx place we drove a little over 2 hours to Kusadasi (Kushadasee), the town where we spent the rest of our time in Turkey. After we received a suite, we found out that our air conditioner, 3 lights, and door didnt work. We also only had one tiny service window. The heat got so bad that by our 2 night we had to be moved to a room with at least a window to get some breeze. Other than that, the food was pretty good, and it over looked the harbor and all the good shopping and bar streets so it was a pretty good place to be.

The next day, we went to Ephesos, maybe the most famous of the ancient Greecian cities in modern day Turkey. There is the most well preserved city of the Alexandrian age all the way to the Roman empire. There our tour guide Asil went way overboard, and we stood there in the 103 degree heat for 2 hours talking and walking through the site with about 1000 other tourists. We were only about 3/4 of the way through the site though, not even to the huge theatre or the most famous library and tomb, the symbols of the city. So our group leader Jess, who isnt very nice or subtle to us or anybody else, thankfully stepped in and made him just talk about Alexander and the things that pretained to our class. That shortened the lecture quite a bit and we got back on the bus about 2 1/2 hours after arriving there, hot and dehydrated.

After cooling down we quickly visited the museum of Ephesos, which our professor didnt even want to go to but our tour guide insisted on (it had nothing to do with anything we were talking about), we went to a rug weaving place for lunch. Apparently in their free time from weaving, girls there cook traditional Turkish meals. The food was unbelievable, but the place looked straight out of a James Bond movie, and could have been the Turkish mob. After lunch the "coordinator" showed us around the place, showing us how silk is harvested from the worms and how they dye it. After talking to us about the Turkish economy and how tourism effects it, he showed us some beautiful rugs, one of which he let us walk on barefooted. After walking on it he told us the rug was worth 19,000 dollars! Crazy. Anyway after saying thank you and telling us to "look around and we know your students so let us answer your questions" salesmen flew out of the woodwork and like pounced on us, trying to sell us small rugs or pillowcases.

After that place we figured it out, Asil was taking us to places that he got extra commision for taking us, trying to get us to spend money. Parchment shop, bookstore, onyx factory, rug place, and then the next day tried to get us to go to a leather factory because "leather is important part of the culture". So after figuring out his little game, we vitoed his leather factory idea and just opted to go back and do some shopping.

The next day was a free day and we went to a local beach and did some exploring. The shop keepers are obnoxious though, yelled really gross things to passing women who dont come into their shops. So after puting up with that for long enough, we just hung out by the pool and got some Burger King, my first fast food on the trip. Amazing. Even better than the Burgerking ni the states by far. I have been craving anything spicy forever so that helped a little in my "food homesickness" as everyone here is calling it. I just want a taco like you wouldnt believe. haha

The next day on our way to Priene, I got sick on the bus and stayed and slept on the bus while the class visited 2 sites. 8 college advisors from schools in the states met us and traveled with us, to see how an arcadia summer program worked. I talked with them a little at lunch because I was feeling better (I had a piece of bread) and I was really glad they were there, because that meant Asil had a time limit and couldnt spend the lecture describing everything rock by rock. The last site was the Apollian Temple from Alexanders time, and I really didnt want to miss it so I got off the bus. Im sooo happy that I did. With column bases as large as 6 meters in diameter, this temple was my favorite place we have visited so far. Fairly well preserved, It had most of the walls and every column was about half as tall as the original, with 2 columns left at original height ( I would say like 6 or 7 stories tall, at least). Then we went back to Kusadasi but I was sick again so I spent the rest of the night in bed.

This morning we left Kusadasi and took a ferry 1 1/2 hrs to Samos, a Greek island right off the coast of Turkey. We had free time all day today, so we sat by the beach, had some lunch (I was feeling much better) and took naps. Tomorrow we have our last full class day, and then the next day free day and a review on the island. Then we have a 10 hr ferry ride to Athens on Tuesday, so we are taking our final exam on that during that time. Then Wednesday is free day to pack and do whatever else in Athens that we havent done yet, and say good bye to the city which I've spent my entire summer in. Then Thursday, after 20 hrs of traveling I will be home at last.

This may or may not be my last blog post, but maybe one more after our review on Monday. Ive had such a great time here, but Im ready to come home and get back into the loop and see everyone. BTW I really hope there is mexican waiting for me when I get back. haha See ya soon!!

Troy..and legends of Creepy Tour Guide part I

Troy. Just knowing that we were only going to stop at one city on monday, and that city was going to be Troy, put us all in a great mood on when we woke up. We left Canakkale and drove south about 40 minutes to the city Heinrich Schliemann, a treassure hunter of sorts, found when looking for the Treassury of Priam. It was great to see the legendary city, actually 9 different cities, all from different time periods. You could really see the architecture of the fallen marble, with the engravings and everything. Our tour guide, Asil, was almost too thourough, giving us way more information than anyone ever needs to hear about history. He started taking pictures as well, even though he as been doing this for years and years. A little strange. Also there was this couple who asked him to take their picture infront of the wooden horse, and after he took about 17 photos, exchanged names and emails with them, we finally got to go to lunch...

After a delicious lunch and some shopping we got back on the bus and drove....and drove....and drove. After 4 hours, we finally came to our hotel in Bergama. Sleeping on the bus is not the same as getting actual rest, and we were so exhausted from the heat and bus ride that after dinner most of us just went to bed. However, a couple of us decided to go for a walk into the city, and stretch a bit. Asil, dressed in very short red shorts, decided that he would once again be their guide. Walking them into the city, he did not leave out any details about the city or the streets or even about the animals. He started talking to my friend Annie, and being nice, she chatted with him for a minute or two while the group was looking around. Then, out of the blue, he told her she had a beautiful smile, and proceeded to ask her to SMELL him.

And so Asil, who is trying to find an american publisher for his book, is now deemed creepest tour guide ever...he is a good picture taker though, so above are some shots from Troy.

Next up Bergama and Kusadasi, Ephesos, Onyx, Turkish Baths, and more Creeeepy tourguide.

Turkey and Troy

Our last day in Thessaloniki we traveled to Phillippe, a town established by Phillip the 2nd the same year that his son, Alexander the Great was born. It was still under escavations but the part we saw still had the arches and things preserved which was pretty cool. After Phillippe we went to a museum in Amphipolis, but it started to storm so we cut the day short and headed back to Thessaloniki for one more night. After the rain stopped we walked to to old Roman Agora and saw the bzantine church of St. Demitris. After going to a famous bakery in Thessaloniki (this town was just filled with good food) we went to bed to get ready for the 6 am wake up call the next day.

Sunday was the longest day of my life. At 6:30 am, we got on the bus and headed toward Turkey, a 5 hour drive. Since it was sunday, absolutly nothing was open so we had to wait until 10:30 to use the restroom, not a very good thing when we are alway reminded to drink lots of water because of the heat. After stopping in Alexandropoli for about 15 minutes to stretch and find a bathroom, we drove the hour to the Greece/Turkey border. After waiting and then clearing out of Greecian customs, then getting our travel visas and clearing Turkey customs, it was 12:30 by the time we entered into Turkey.

After switching buses twice and driving for a really long time, we finally came to the coast where European Turkey ends and you can see across the straight to Asian Turkey. We drove on to a ferry that took us across the straight, and a half an hour later we were in Asia minor, in Turkey and in the middle of nowhere. Then we drove even more and came to the town by the Biga river, ancient times names Granicus. It was 4:00 pm. We finally ate lunch which was free (all the meals in turkey are free) and then had a brief lecture about the battle of granicus and its importance for Alexander. Then we drove another 3 hours to our hotel in Canakkle. So after traveling 12 1/2 hours we finally rested at a super great hotel with a pool, restaurant, and really nice rooms. We had a good dinner, and had a walk around the harbor our hotel was on, stopping to take pictures with the wooden horse from the movie Troy.

Today we went to Troy..and I will blog about that probably tomorrow...when I have more time. Right now its time for dinner in a different city, and then maybe some pool time before starting early again tomorrow. love you guys

Thessaloniki

Ive been in Thessaloniki for the past few days. Its really great. It is a hipper, collegy town with tons of stuff to do and tons of really cheap stores and good bakeries. The drive here we stopped in Thebes, just to talk about the famous war of Thebes lead by Phillip the 2nd, Alexander the Great's father. The lecture was pretty cool, but our bus driver however, is not really getting the job done. He got lost 3 or 4 times on our way to a small town monument. Even worse, he drives so slow that it took an entire 7 hours of just driving time to get to Thessaloniki, and we only had 1 break. So after we arrived in Thessaloniki after 10 hours of traveling, we finally got to our hotel. The Egnatia is super nice and most of us have double rooms, which is nice for showering and stuff. We then found a really great gyro place for dinner, and went to bed. You would think being on a bus sleeping all day would be good rest, but in reality it makes you even more tired, and in need of a really comfortable bed.

The next day we went to Dion, the ancient macadonian religios center, at the base of Mount Olympus. Seeing Olympus and the ancient town was really cool, there were still mosiac floors in some of the old courtyards. After that, we went to the beach, and after getting lost 3 times thanks to Christos (the bus driver), we finally made it for some well deserved relaxation.

On Thursday, we went to Pella and Vergina, each were ancient capitols in Macedonia at different time periods. Pella had more courtyard mosiacs which were interesting to me, because they were also in the house of Euripides, my favorite ancient playwrite. So after seeing Pella, the mosiacs and an ancient bathhouse, we drove to the middle of nowhere. We got out, crossed a bridge and came to a cave. As we sat down, Stavros told us that we were in the cave were Aristotle taught Alexander the Great for at least 3 years. Having lecture the same place where Alexander learned was beyond cool. After the cave we drove to Vergina, ancient Aege, and went to the best museum I have seen by far. It was the museum of Phillip the 2nd's tomb, complete with all the gold armor, crowns, and jewelry. There was the gold box where his bones were and an ivory couch that they sat on. Phillips tomb was a house with a sealed door, made of marble and hand painted with elaborate battle scenes. You couldnt take pictures in the museum though, and that was sad because that is definitly something I want to remember. After an exhausting day, all of us slept the rest of the evening.

Today, Friday, we first went to the Thessaloniki Archeological museum. The museum was all about the life of macadonians, and very cool. Huge marble statues, gold crowns, and even houses with gorgeous mosiacs were uncovered at that very spot, and placed in the museum. After that, we went to Olynthos, about an hour away. There was the site of a huge rival colony of Athens, one that was burned to the ground with all of the people inside. Sad as that is, today you can see all of the foundations of the city perfectly. The grid system of laying a city out like a checker board (the way most small town american cities are built) was invented here in Greece, and with just the city foundations down, you could see the grid perfectly. Then it was off to a wonderful nearby beach with soft sand, warm water, hot sun and hardly anyone on it.

When we got back to Thessaloniki tonight, we all went out for mexican food, the first I have had since I got here. I have been craving mexican sooo badly, and even though this was Greek/Mexican it was better than nothing and had real guacamole. After walking all the way there and back, stopping at a bakery on the way, Im once again exhausted and am ready for a good nights sleep.

Tomorrow we have one last full day in Thessaloniki, and then Sunday we leave at 6:30 am for Turkey. I am so excited to go, and once we get there it means my time here is almost up. Thessaloniki has been really great though, and Im really excited to go to Turkey even though I will understand even less Turkish then I do Greek.

Love y'all!

Back at it

Pics from Santorini! Beach we stayed at. Perissa...soooo great.

View from our restaurant in Oia (Ea).

At the top of the volcano, looking towards Santorini

The rest of my Santorini vacation was so amazing. . . climbing the volcano, swimming in the hot springs, eating great food and being with fun people. Our last day there, I got up at 8 to go outside for an hour to just soke in the sound of the waves and the peacefullness that is an empty ocean-front beach. Then after finding a bakery for a quick breakfast, I packed me things got ready for a 5 hour ferry ride back to Pereias (the port of Athens). After arguing with a couple of cab drivers about using the meter ( It should only be an 8 euro cab ride, many try to charge 25 euro to tourists) we went to the education center for a free meal and to meet all the new arrivals that we will be having class with the next couple of weeks. I got a new roommate, Gwen, who is orignally from Pennsylvania but goes to school in Aberdeen, Scottland. There is also a girl named Eleni, whose parents are Greek, so she can speak the language. She is super great and we hung out later in the evening when we all went out with them to welcome them here.

Today was the first day of the new class session, and we went to the ancient Agora. In the last class session we had already been there, but Stavros related more of the information to the new topic, Alexander the Great. It was an easy day, out of the sun, and only about an hours worth of lecture.

Tonight I am celebrating the 4th by going to a huge concert for DJ Tiesto on the beach. He is really famous here, as well as in the states. But since Tiesto has a small habit of showing up kinda whenever he wants, I probably will not get any sleep before heading to the New Acropolis Museum tomorrow. The museum just opened about 2 weeks ago, and is supposed to be just absolutly gorgeous. Everyone that has been there already has said they would go back many more times because it has been their favorite.

Monday we are going to the Archeological museum one last time before hitting the road for Thessaloniki on Tuesday morning...from there we will be gone 13 days traveling up Greece and to Turkey then Eventually to the Island of Samos....and then prepare for a 10 hour ferry ride back (which is how long it takes to fly from here to New York! grooosssss).

This is our complete schedule for the next session. ...

Tue 7th-Thebes, night in Thessaloniki

Wed 8th- 2 archeological sites, night in Thessaloniki

Thur 9th- 4 sites, night in Thessaloniki

Fri 10th-2 museums, night in Thessaloniki

Sat 11th- Beaches nearby Thessaloniki, 1 site, night in Thessaloniki

Sun 12th- Drive to Turkey, visit a museum and a site on the way, night in Canakkale

Mon 13th- Troy, night in Bergama

Tue 14th- Pergamon, night in Kusadasi

Wed 15th- Ephessos, night in Kusadasi

Thur 16th- Free day in Kusadasi Turkey, night in Kusadasi

Fri 17th- 3 sites, 1 museum, night in Kusadasi

Sat 18th- Ferry to Samos island (75 min), Free day, night in Samos

Sun 19th- 3 sites on Samos, night in Samos

Mon 20th- Ferry to Athens (10hrs!), night in Athens

Tue 21st- Review day, night in Athens

Wed 22nd- Final exam, night in Athens

Thur 23rd- Fly home (11hr flight to NJ, 2 hr layover, 2 hr flight to MN)

Miss you guys lots! See ya in 2 1/2 weeks!

Santorini

Just a short update on my vacation...

Santorini is soooo awesome! After a 4 hour ferry ride we arrived in the crazy hectic port and found the driver from our hotel. We got to our hotel later, to find 2 pools, free internet, movies air conditioning, cheap drinks, and a really helpful staff. We went out for lunch then laid out on the black sand beach. This beach is one of very few black sand beaches in the world, made by volcanic activity.

Today we ventured into the island to find a winery with a great view of the island. After a wine tasting we went to the red sand beach, also made by volcanic activity. It was super great, getting to see the burgandy cliffs and then down to the black/red rock that made up the beach.

Tomorrow we are taking a tour of the island all day, going to the volcano, hot springs, a smaller island right off the coast, and then to Oia, the most famous town on the island. Thats the traditional town on all the postcards, with the most famous sunset views of any island in the mediterranean. We might even ride a donkey up the slope!

Im having a wonderful vacation, and you guys would love it here.

Love you

The Last Day of Class

Hello everyone. I know I havent written since my groups outbreak of the flu. So here is what happened with that....

After having 20 people in the hospital with IV's to regain their fluids, and a news camera in our face almost the entire time, we went to a hotel in Tripoli for the night. All of the group made it back to the hotel before nightfall, so noone had to be in the hospital overnight. Us 12 healthy people didnt stay too healthy for long however. 4 of the 12 of us got really sick the next day, but my immune system held up just fine. Even today (the 27th, 4 days after the first symptoms) people are not eating real food, or feeling 100 percent.

When we got back to Athens on Thursday, it was a relief to be "home" and out of the germy bus. I guess it was a good thing this happened now though, instead of when we are on our 13 day expedition next class session. Then there really would be no turning back.

Thursday was a lazy, get rested day. Friday was also a free day, so me and my roommate Tina decided to go check out the shopping on Pereias (the ship port) and then went to Monestiraki, the flea market, to get some last minute souviners for Tina's family.

Today, was our last full class day. We started at 8:30 and drove to Marathon, the battle site of the 1st Persian invasion. There also is a museum we visited dedicated to the remains of all the Marathon settlements. In the middle of the battlefield and in the shed of the musuem we saw 2 different kinds of tombs used to bury prehistoric and classical people. The famous huge artificial mounds and a smaller circular set of mounds that have spiral entrances. Its interesting how much you can tell about the time period, customs, and religion of a culture just based on how they bury the dead.

After this we drove to Lavrion, and saw the oldest theatre in Greece. From there we went to a classical silver mine, where a famous slave revolt happened during the peloponnesian war. We spent a ton of time on the bus. After the silver mine, we drove to the peninsula of Souvn, and took a swim break at the local beach. Hiking down to the beach for about 10 minutes, we were greatful, but kind of dreaded the hike back up. By this time it was also 2:30, and even though we brought snacks for the bus, we were starving and ate at a little beach taverna. After catching some sun, we packed up, and hiked back up the hill, but even higher, to the temples of Athena and Poseidon. After a brief last lecture, we took a group photo and reveled in the sights. After being on top of gorgeous mountains for 2 and 1/2 weeks I still cant get over the scenery here. Im glad too, I would never want to take any of this experience for granted. The best part of the way home was getting to drive the coast all the way back to Athens (about 1 and 1/2 hours).

After getting home, we had a "family dinner and movie" evening and just hung out and caught up on some down time after an exhausting day. This is a link to a map showing the route we took today.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=athens,+greece&daddr=Marathon,+Greece+to:lavrio,+greece+to:Sounio,+greece&geocode=%3BFe0_RgIdo5NtASFdFk_ScgVWIA%3B%3B&hl=en&mra=ls&sll=37.91704,23.876375&sspn=0.547107,1.231842&ie=UTF8&ll=37.927951,23.984528&spn=0.547027,1.231842&z=10
Tomorrow I am going to the Island of Agistri. A popular close island to Athens, that locals frequent, is cheap to get to, and full of beaches and little cafe's. Then we are holding a large group dinner for everyone before people either stay, go home, or go to Italy for a different class. Then I should study a little for the final monday morning (just a 500 word essay on a topic we already have. I think Stav feels bad that he and everyone else got sick, so he's taking it easy on us) And then Im off to Santorini.

Hope you are all great! I probably wont have time to write until I get to Santorini.
Wish you could see what Im seeing.

Love ya

Oh no!

First things first...Im ok. Now that's been said, I'm at the hospital in Tripoli with the rest of my class. This morning almost everyone woke up sick, including our professor (again I wasnt sick) and that put us about 2 hours behind schedule. After riding for about an hour, more and more people kept getting sick on the bus, we had to stop 2 times so people could get off and puke. Swine flu has just been declared a pandemic in Greece so we were required to go to the hospital and get checked out. About 12 of us are ok, outside waiting for results. The other 15 people are inside getting iv's and getting blood work done. A greek news crew is sitting here filming this process. We are staying the night in Tripoli, eating bland food and getting some sleep. Only one person has to stay the night and that is mainly because of dehydration.

Ill keep you updated.

Hello from Sparta. This is definitely the low point in our trip to the Peloponnese so far. It’s dirty, kinda smelly and the ruins are not very well maintained. Even worse is the fact that since Spartan civilization did not believe in theatres, stadiums, or any real public buildings, there are only 2 ancient ruins even interesting enough to stop at. But let’s rewind to Sunday, when we left on our 5 day 4 night trip…I get terrible internet in all of the places we stop so I haven’t been able to talk to any of you in a long time.

Sunday we left bright and early (8 am, haha maybe not that early) on our coach bus for Korinth. (Hey Morgan, remember in The Boondock Saints when the cop dresses like a woman and lures that mafia guy into the bathroom and then shoots him? Tony our bus driver is an exact look alike to that guy) Anyway, Corinth, aka the place I went Bungy Jumping at on Saturday, was one of the first power houses of Greece. Its home to the Acrocorinth (please google earth it to see how high we had to climb up this mountain ) which was once an ancient sanctuary to Aphrodite. Anyway, it’s like 600 meters tall and Stavros (my prof) just climbed straight to the top, no hesitation what so ever. After the 15 minutes it took for the rest of us to climb it, we finally saw what made this place so special. You can see almost every important mountain from the Acrocorinth, so it was used in later times as a palace and then again as a military vantage point several times. In the 1940’s Germans took over the Acrocorinth as a huge advantage over the Greek/English soldiers, because you can see for miles and miles and also both the Corinthian Gulf, canal and then to the Aegean Sea. It was worth the climb but all part of my rising suspicion that this program is secretly a fat camp. There honestly hasn’t been a day when we haven’t either walked 10-15 minutes to a destination, or climbed a mountain to get to our lecture site. But more on that later….

After the Acrocorinth we went to the ancient Agora (market/meeting place) of Corinth, and its museum where my prof. Stavros used to be the curator. The special thing about Corinth, is after the burning of the city by the Romans, and then the rebuilding of it a century later, it was one of the first places in Greece where Paul preached the Gospel. After seeing the podium he preached at, we took some time for lunch, and then got back on the bus to drive ½ hour to our hotel in Loutraki. Loutraki was beautiful. Our entire group went to the pebble beach and swam for a couple hours before dinner by the beach.

The next morning, we left Loutraki and went to the Peninsula of Perea, about a half hour away, to the sanctuary of Hera. After seeing how gorgeous the land was around it, we played in the water a bit and then took our bus to Epidauros. Epidauros is the most famous theatre in Greece, mainly for it’s beyond amazing acoustics. From the very top of the theatre, to the very last seat, you can hear a coin drop at the bottom of the stage. It also can hold about 15,000 people. Very cool.

After this we went to where we were staying for the night, Nafplion. After getting lunch, talking a long walk around the castle and then heading to the rock beach, we went had traditional smoked fish, and then went to bed.

This morning we went to 2 Mycenaean ancient palaces. The Mycenaean’s were the legendary civilization that started the Trojan war against Troy. They dated back to the 15th century BC. After seeing the city’s and the huge tomb of the royal family, we drove to Sparta and stopped at the Temple of Artemis. After a brief visit to the run down site, we went to our hotel. So here I am, sitting in Sparta, wishing I could talk to you all. When we get back to Athens on Thursday (the 25th) we have a free day on the 26th, and then a day trip to Marathon on the 27th. On the 28th, a bunch of us are going to the island of Agistri, an island close enough for a small daytrip. Then after the final on the 29th, Im off to Santorini Island for a much needed vacation .

Just kidding, but seriously. I can’t wait to get back to Athens and my Wifi so I can talk to you all and see how you’re doing. Miss you.
Oh! Another Interesting thing I just learned about the 2nd class. We are traveling to Istanbul Turkey in about 2 weeks…Istanbul!!! Im super excited!

Hope all is well at home and I'll talk to you all soon enough.

Love you All

Happy Father's Day!

Hey Dad and Grandpa,

Happy Father's Day! Currently in The Peloponnesus pennisula, in a great town called Loutraki. Wishing you a happy dad's day. Ill update this soon enough with all my great stories of how this program is secretly fat camp. But for now, Ill just leave you with that...

Alive!

I made it! lol I did not die from bungy jumping today...it was so great! This place we went to was featured on an episode of season 9 of the amazing race and is the 15 best bungy spot in the world. It was under a bridge that crossed the corinth cannal about an hour outside of Athens. I was one of only two people that made it all the way down to the water, so far down that my head and shoulders went in! I will be posting a link the video of me jumping soon.

Tomorrow I leave for a 4 night trip to the penninsula that has sparta and olympia on it. after that trip we get back, have a study day and then a day trip to Marathon, and then we take the final and the first class is over with. Then I am off to Santorini Island (booked the tickets yesterday), the island that has the famous white and blue houses and the perfect picture of what many people think all of greece looks like. Im excited! Hope y'all are great. Love you.

Until next time..

Taking a Chance

Feeling great this morning after our authentic Greek dinner, We went back to the National Archeological Museum for our first assignment. Task: to pick an artifact and describe it using what we have learned about sculpture, pottery, and their uses and relevence to history. After that we were free to either look around the museum more or go do as we pleased. Free time like this is great for exploring not only Athens but the surrounding areas. Today, in about 15 minutes actually, I am going to Corinth. What will I do there you maybe asking yourself? BUNGEE JUMPNG! Im super excited! Its always been one of those things on my to do list that I never thought I'd get to...I'll let you know how it goes!

Ps. I really really miss you all.

Beating the Heat

Much to our disappointment, the forcast for Athens last week was incorrect. Instead of being about 80 degrees, its noon and the mercury is pushing 101. After going to our center and having our professor give a very short, sweaty review session, we headed back to get out of the unmoving air..and after making a quick lunch in the apartment, we are heading to catch a bus to the beach asap. We have no plans or set activities for tonight, just hanging out and catching up on some class readings. Tomorrow we are having class at the ancient Agora, or townsquare. And then our group leader Jess is teaching us how to make a traditional greek dinner. And then I can impress all of you by making delicious food.

Delphi

After travelling by bus for 2 hours on Monday, we stopped at Thermopyle- the battle site of the movie 300 and the real place where the spartans along with few other greeks stopped the huge persian army for a whole 3 days. After seeing the extremely mountainous geography of the area it was really easy to see why the spartans picked this place to meet the persians and why they were able to hold them off.

Another hour and a half later, driving through tiny costal towns on the aegean sea and then eventually up huge mountains with steep curvy roads we reached Delphi. Delphi could quite possibly be the most beautiful place I have ever been in my entire life. With streets so small we could barely get our tour bus through, and quaint shops and cafes and looking over the mountains down to the water, I was so greatful we took the time to go. Our hotel was beautiful too, and everyroom had a large balcony overlooking the mountains. We set off to go shopping, find some lunch and get to know the town. We had a night time lecture with a great view and then we all went to various cafe's for appetizers and wine.

The first full day in Delphi we started out early in the morning, going to see the ruins of the ancient town. We first went down the mountain, looking at the ancient gymnasium, temple to athena and and sacred natural spring travelers would use for purifying rituals. Then we climbed. and climbed. and climbed some more up the mountain through the path travellers took in arcaic times to get to the oricle at Delphi to have their prophecies told. We saw the athenian treassury where Athenian's placed their offerings to Apollo, also the Omphalos (the belly button, said to be the rock Kronos swallowed instead of swallowing Zeus), the temple of Apollo, then up to the theatre. Then after a ten minute climb we reached the stadium. This stadium used to hold the most famous delphian races, a kind of olympics. Then we headed over to the museum to see the amazing remains archeologists found in the site. Huge columns and statues made of bronze and marble along with smaller offerings and stone reliefs. After the most tiring and interesting day yet, most of the afternoon was reserved for naps and dinner and reading.

This morning (wednesday) our bus driver decided to be an hour late, and that was the start to a frustrating day. After an hour we stopped at a famous monestary dedicated to St. Loukas, which was built on top of the ruins of the Temple to Demeter, after the christians destroyed most pagean buildings in the 4th century AD to make way for christianity. We only spent about 45 minutes there, but I almost got stung by a bee 2 times (they make their own delicious honey at the monestary) and then the bathrooms there were closed and our bus finally started after 45 minutes of trying to get it to turn over. On the up side, the monestary was gorgeous. So after being an hour and a half behind schedule and not having a bathroom break for about 4 hours while sitting in the extremely hot sun and drinking lots of water to not get sun stroke, we finally stopped at a food stand outside of athens to get lunch and take a break. Then when we got to our apartment we found that our shower, which had broke on friday, was not fixed even though someone was supposedly here to fix it on monday. So we do not have a shower either, so we will have to continue walking at least 4 blocks to take a shower at another girls apartment.

But even with the set backs, it was a great trip to Delphi and is a great time here in Athens. Many of the people are helpful if you try and speak greek to them first instead of going right to english, and also if you sit for a long time and talk to them, and ask them questions about whatever they are doing. So far I havent bought anything for myself, just gifts that I see fit people perfectly. There is a sandal maker here that is famous for his greek style sandals and I am heading to his shop after the designated nap period (from 2-5pm) to take a look. Miss you all and call you sometime soon as I realize I havent even called home yet.

I will try and send links for my pictures out asap when I load them on my computer. I will try and label everything so you know what you are looking at.

Talk to you soon!

The National Treasures of Greece

Thanks for the emails mom and dad. Ill be calling home like wednesday or thursday when we get back from our trip to Delphi. I will try and send you a new link to all my pictures in case you didnt get them...

Yesterday started off with a 20 minute walk to the Acropolis square where we shopped and bought crossants for breakfast while waiting for our professor. When Stavros arrived, we hiked up the Acropolis (Its super high) and had lecture in one of the ancient theatres on the southern slope. After that mini lecture, we went straight to the top and sat on the wall that holds up the hill (super, super high), right next to the Parthanon and had a second mini lecture there. The ruins here are so beautiful, and they are working really hard to clean and presserve them and restore them even to their natural state.

After finishing class and getting some pictures, some girls and I went shopping on Eurmu (er-mu) st. in Syntagma square by the national gardens and the parliment building. Eurmu is the main shopping street with lots of real stores, not touristy stores really and lots of mini cafes. We took the Metro (subway) to Syntagma from Acropoli and it was extremely clean and really nice.
After shopping and eating, Sam (she's actually from Augsberg) and I walked through the National Gardens which were really pretty and then walked by the 2004 Olympic stadium and then back to our apartments. I love Athens, and its really cool knowing my way around a city that doesnt even use the same alphabet as we do (even though its really similar and we are all getting used to it).

Yesterday night we also went to the Temple of Zeus and from there out for traditional greek coffee.

Today we took a trolly to the National Archeological Museum where Stavros met us and lectured for an extremely long time about the importance and difference of the different stages and time periods of sculpture. It was really interesting and I got to see some statues that I had learned about at the U of M which was really cool. Stavros and I had a long conversation after class about the conservative Greek nature when it comes to sculpture, and we talked about a couple of different plays I had also learned about at the U of M. Even though he can get a bit wordy and way to thourough, I really like Stavros and the entire class. Also we do not have any other homework other than to do about 50 pages of reading for the entire class period. We just have to show up and preticipate, take notes and then take a final at the end.

After the Museum some of us went to a district called Monasteraki by train. Its a flea market of sorts located on the old Roman Agora. So there are lots of ruins but even more shops. They have everything from clothes to old pieces of furniture, and there is alot of bartering and street vendors.

Tonight we are taking a walk up Filopappou hill, even higher than the Acropolis (seriously great workout) to watch the sunset.

Tomorrow we are getting on a bus for Delphi and Thermopoli to see the real battle sight of Lionytus and 300 and the Oricle. We will be spending 2 nights in Delphi at a nice hotel.

I am really getting used to the fact that everyone sleeps from 2-5. and then coffee at 8 and dinner at 10 or 11. Its very little work here and alot of time spent lounging around.

Ill tell you all about Delphi when I get back...

Until then....

Beach Day

This morning we decided to get some fresh breakfast, so we walked to the farmers market and got some delicous fresh fruit. They also had fresh fish, olives, artisan rugs, the works. Then we made our way to our first class, which was just orientation and meeting our professor. Then after a quick pita, my roommates and I decided to try the transit system and make our way to the beach. The transit system of Athens is one of the best. They have buses, trollies, trams and Metros. After the hour bus ride to the coast, we reached the beach which was beautiful. It was super crowded and there was loud american music playing and lots and lots of games. They even had inflatable slides and things in the water.

After a long day of sun, and salt water, Im ready to take a really cold shower. Btw Zach if your reading this I saw the largest spider crawl out of our shower drain today...just thought you should know.

Tonight we are going to a Saturday night special at a local bar. With all you can eat gyros fruit cheesepies and wine. Then tomorrow is our first day trip to the acropolis. Monday is going to be our first overnight trip to Delphi, which Im really excited to get out of the city and see the real towns of Greece.

Incase you have forgotten, lubbe025@umn.edu

Talk to you soon

Finally!

Sooo.....after a 2 and 1/2 hr delay getting into New Wark and a 10 hr flight to Athens, I finally made it! I met lots of kids in my program in the airport and they are all pretty cool so we will have a great time. Our program directers met us at the airport and took us by coach bus to our apartments. Each of our apartments are scattered all thoughout a neighborhood in Athens called Pagrati. Pagrati has tons of shops, out door restaurants that spray you with mist instead of air conditioning, and is also home to the Arcadia Center for Education in Athens which is where Im taking my classes at.

So far I have used almost all of the Greek that I know, going to the super market for some fruit, and talking to our friendly neighbor who didnt understand english. My roommates, who do not know greek either, are all really friendly so far.
Later tonight we have a Welcome dinner at the center, and then a bunch of us are going out to explore the scene around town. Then we start at 930 am tomorrow with our first lecture and a trip to the Acropolis.

As for right now, its 3:30, 92 degrees, and Im going to try and get rid of some of this jet lag.

Update ya soon!

Also, thanks for everyone that talked to me when i was doing absolutly nothing at either of the airports. You helped cure my boredom.

Getting Ready to Go!

Hello All! I decided instead of answering every email I get from you guys asking me things like what I'm doing, how is my trip and whatnot, I would just start a blog. I will try to update it at least every other day or so, letting you guys know whats up with beautiful GREECE.

I'm so excited! I found this great site to help me with me Greek..it even sounds it out for you so you can pronounce it correctly. http://www.greece.org/gr-lessons/gr-english/expressions.html

Today is exactly 9 days before I leave and I still have a ton of things to do. My next post will most likely come from some airport that Im waiting in on my way to Athens. Here are some details of my trip that everyone is asking me about.....

Departing June 10th
Arriving Home July 23rd
Taking 2 classes that are 3 weeks each:

Class 1)
GREA HIAN 332S “Of Gods and the City:”
History, Art, and Architecture in Archaic and Classical Greece
Syllubus: http://www.arcadia.edu/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=15366

Class 2)
GREA HIAN 333S: On the Trail of Alexander the Great
Greek History, Art, and Architecture in the Hellenistic Age
Syllubus: http://www.arcadia.edu/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=15348

Anything else you want to know? Leave a comment and I'll get back to ya...

Until then........