Exploring Athens

It's almost 8 am here in Greece. I should be getting ready for class, but I just have to tell you all about my lovely Sunday.

I woke up early Sunday morning, showered, got dressed, had some breakfast, and set out to see central Athens in daylight (I had only been in the center to go clubbing.) I started  with some of the area's Byzantine churches, which are BEAUTIFUL. I actually walked into a cathedral while service was going on - that was interesting, LOL. I took pics at some of the churches but couldn't at all of them since you're not really supposed to. I definitely took the opportunity at the empty ones though. So after the churches I had a good time getting lost on the streets of Plaka (the section of the city below the acropolis). Seriously, the streets all kind of look the same. Luckily I had my map so it was all good, and I did see some really cute areas. Next I headed over to the Monastiraki area to check out the flea market. They meant it when they said this place was huge - seriously, you can find ANYTHING. I was really happy to find a fruit stand, I bought 5 apples for 1 euro! Definitely a good spot, I'll be back there for sure. Anyway, the crowds at the flea market were getting to me so I was trying to find my way out and accidently ran into the Agora. That turned out to be the highlight of my day. I walked around the ancient marketplace, standing among the ruined stone walls and broken statues and imagining what it looked like in the days when Socrates and his contemporaries proselytized from its stalls. I went up the hill to the awesome Temple of Hephaestus - the best-preserved Classical temple in Greece - and had the most beautiful view of the Agora and Acropolis. After snapping a few pics I walked around the hill until I found a fairly secluded bench. I kicked off my shoes and just sat for a while, enjoying the peaceful quiet and the breathtaking view. I think that's the moment where it really hit me... I'm really in Greece!

Not feelin' the Circadian rhythm...

So it's Thursday and my sleep cycle is still really messed up. I went to bed after midnight and was awake at 5 in the morning. I stayed in bed trying to get back to sleep but it was really windy outside and my balcony doors were shaking, and I could hear cats fighting and mopeds whizzing by... plus my body was pretty sure that it was 9pm and wasn't too concerned, LOL. I wish I could get myself used to this time zone - this is really starting to get on my nerves!!

I've actually been trying to update my blog since yesterday but the wireless at my apartment hasn't been working. I'm at the academic center now, which is probably what I'll have to do from now on. I really want to upload a bunch of pictures I took of my neighborhood, so you all can get a feel for what it looks like where I'm living, but the internet is slow and it's not gonna happen right now. I did upload one pic onto this post that I took from my balcony. I LOVE that church - it's so pretty! I'll eventually post a pic of it from the front so you can see. I haven't been inside yet, but I plan on it.

As expected, money is going pretty fast. It's not like I'm shopping, but there are just all these costs - cab ride from the airport was 35 euro, I spent 25 on school supplies, 55 for required Modern Greek materials, had to give CYA a 100 euro deposit for the apartment, spent another 25 on a few groceries, the CYA taverna dinner cost us 15 euro (SO worth it though) and I'll soon have to pay over 150 to extend my visa. Luckily Nadia, a staff member here who is AWESOME, is going to hook me up with some of her friends for tutoring and babysitting jobs. Hopefully that will help!

By the way, I want you all to know that Greek food is DELICIOUS. The taverna dinner last night was fabulous. It was served family style so we just got a bunch of dishes that we shared. I tried so many things and it was all yummy. There was even this tender, delicious pork in some kind of sauce/stew that reminded me of pollo guisado. I seriously wanted to go to the kitchen and ask what they flavored it with because it tasted Puerto Rican!!

Well, that's about it for today. I'm about to go back to my apartment and eat some cereal before my next class. 

Besos!

Mari

First Night

So it's 7:37 in the morning here in Athens (12:37 am for you guys at home.) I arrived in Athens last night a little after 6pm local time; unfortunately couldn't see much since it was getting dark. I'm living in an apartment with 4 other girls. The apartment has 3 singles and a double - guess who's in the double?? Yup guess I should've gotten here earlier. But I'm sure it will be ok, my roommate seems really cool so far and overall we have one of the biggest apartments you can have (good sized living room, which a lot of apts don't have.) 4 of us living together are new this semester, then we have one girl who was here last fall which is good because she knows where everything is.

Let's see, so after arriving at the apartment by taxi, I basically just hung out with my suitemates and a couple of other people from CYA. We left the apartment to pick up some calzones (which were DELICIOUS) and wine (huge bottles for like 3 euro!) and stayed in eating, drinking, and getting to know each other. It was fun and mellow; we couldn't bring ourselves to go out, not with how tired everyone was. 

Today will be my first full day in Athens. I can't wait to explore!

<3>

Airport Blues

It's approximately 8:48 am here in the UK (which means 3:48 am US Eastern). I'm sitting in Heathrow next to my enormous and heavy suitcases, waiting to be able to check them in (still too early) and so bored that I'm paying you-don't-wanna-know-how-much for wireless access. It's worth it though... apparently I can't be without the internet. Plus Facebook makes me happy :)

I actually didn't realize the time and just tried to make a phone call to my parents - oops. No wonder they didn't pick up, haha.

So just want to shout out to my fam, especially Mom & Dad, and let them know that I'm alive and well (or as well as a person can be at a busy airport with a 5-hour layover.) 

Kisses & I'll update when I can!

Mari

TODAY'S THE DAY!!!

Today is January 20th, 2008....which means I leave tonight! I'm BEYOND excited. I can't believe I'm actually going to be in a place I've been reading about for so long. Seriously... Greece is a place of mythology, history, and a beauty I've only seen in pictures. I can't believe I'm actually going to get to LIVE there!

AHHHHHHHHHHHH OMG!!!!! I'M SOOOOOOOOOO ANXIOUS AND EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, just had to get that out :)

And So it Begins!

Καλημέρα! (Kalimera = good morning/good day)

Ok, so I'm not actually in Athens yet...give me 12 days or so. I'm just really excited! I fly out from Boston the 20th, arrive in London the morning of the 21st, then have a nice l-o-n-g layover before my afternoon flight from London to Athens. The worst part is that my layover is long enough to be annoying but not long enough to do anything fun. I love London, but I've only been once - for a week with my aunt when I was 16 - and would love to spend time there (especially since I can get into pubs this time!) But alas, I fear that will have to wait for another time.

As I await my departure date, I'm completely OBSESSING about anything and everything having to do with Greece. I did it a bit during the semester, but now that I'm on break, I have endless hours to devote to reading about Greece, watching movies about Greeks, practicing Greek with my Teach Yourself Greek book & CDs (hah!), watching travel specials on the country, and, my latest obsession, lurking around on Greek travel blogs, student blogs, and the blogs of Greek expats. (My fave is Bollybutton's My Big Fat Greek Experiment. Love her style!) I've come to the conclusion that most of the travel memoirs and essay anthologies that have been published are crap, and one can generally find better reading in blogs. There are, of course, exceptions. I myself really enjoyed Sofka Zinovieff's Eurydice Street, which taught me a lot about modern-day Athens, and Greece: A Love Story was mostly a good collection. As far as guidebooks go, many include the same information, but I like Let's Go: Greece because it is geared toward young people with limited budgets (i.e., yours truly) and are actually researched and written by college students.

Anyway, since some of you may have randomly wandered here, I'll tell you a bit about myself:

• I'm a 20-year-old student from the USA
• American by nationality, Puerto Rican by ethnicity
• In 2009 I'll graduate with a B.A. in History (lord knows what I plan on doing with that...)
• I will be in Athens from January to May on a study abroad program
• I unfortunately do not speak Greek (but am required to take Modern Greek class, which I am quite nervous about.)
  

Basically, I'm starting this blog so that my family and friends can keep up with how I'm doing, read about my exploits, check out my photos, that sort of deal. But I welcome anyone from the blogosphere to drop on in any time! :-)