Bye, Bye, Miss Athenian Pie...

Wow. My semester in Athens is officially over. I mean, I'm still here (2-week Grecian holiday with the parents starting tomorrow!) but classes are over, I'm cleaning out my room, and almost all my friends have already left or are leaving soon. I have a lot of mixed feelings. I've made some really good friends, so of course the good-byes suck. We all make those promises that we know we're never going to keep, smiling and saying "I'll come visit you next semester!" when we both know we'll probably never see each other again. Then there is Greece itself, and the vibrant city of Athina, a city I have come to know and love - faults and all. I'm excited to go back to the U.S., I really am. I miss my family more than anything else, and I also miss things like chalupas from Taco Bell and the sound of American English. Still, as excited as I am to go home, I will miss Athens. Here are a few reasons why:

1. The Laiki - outdoor farmer's markets that are found on various days all over Athens. I love knowing that on Friday I can walk up the street in Pangrati and choose from a dazzling display of fruits and veggies, all organic and all cheap. YUMMY!

2. The sunshine! It's almost always shining, even when it's cool outside.

3. Tiropita - these are flaky, delicious cheese pastries that are popular for breakfast. I'm seriously in love with them.

4. Bakeries - I've never lived somewhere with so many bakeries. The fresh bread is cheap and delicious. (And of course they make lots of other yummy things too - see #3!)

5. The Nightlife - Ok, so I'm not so into the europop and techno, but seriously, the nightlife here is on point! Most clubs and cafes/bars stay open until the last person leaves, which is generally when daylight strikes. It's a beautiful thing.

6. Tavernas - Traditional Greek restaurants that serve amazing, homecooked food at low prices. (If you visit, however, watch for the tourist traps! A good sign will be the man standing outside harassing every one who walks by to induce them to come to 'the best taverna in Athens!' Uh-uh.)

7. The Acropolis - This should not need any explanation. There is nothing cooler on any other city's skyline, anywhere.

8. The Greek Language - because even though I suck at it, it's a really fun language. I like to practice with Greeks whose jaws drop because I can say a few words!

Anyway, I will see most of you very soon!

Much love,

Marilyn :-)

CRETE!

Greetings everyone! I just got back from Crete yesterday. All I can say is that I had an AMAZING time and I can't wait to go back with Mom & Dad in a month! It was really cool to be there for Greek Easter. My friend Jess & I watched the 'funeral' procession from our balcony on Friday night, then went to the church on Saturday night to watch everyone light their candles with the holy flame. At midnight, when it was technically Easter, fireworks and firecrackers started going off, everyone started telling their loved ones "Christos Anesti" (Christ has risen), and an effigy of Judas that was hanging from a noose was lit on fire. It was all quite theatrical and very interesting to witness! We did a lot during our time in Crete (it was great because we rented a car) and I don't really feel like going into detail, so I'll just say really quick that we visited Knossos, we went to pretty beaches, we visited 2 monasteries, we saw goats on the mountains, we drove to Iraklion, we went clubbing in Chania, and we went out on a glass-bottom boat. Oh yeah and we ate some seriously good food. Check out more pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/Marilynflo/Crete?authkey=OJZl9BsaH0M
(Titi check them out, there's one there I took just for you... you wanted food, right?? Hehehe...)

Introducing Option #4

First of all, I just want to thank everyone for all of the comments, messages, e-mails, and phone calls I received offering advice. Each one of you made me think of different aspects of this decision, and I appreciate you all caring enough to help me make it. Ultimately, I decided none of the options were going to work.

I axed staying in Greece first. As Rachel pointed out, it's probably not going to be much fun if I have no one to hang out with. And BB, as cool as your suggestion is, unfortunately, hanging out on a beach isn't the best way to spend the summer before senior year with Peace Corps and job applications to fill out.

Now as far as Belize goes, it's obviously an amazing opportunity, but because I would have to be there for a full 12 weeks, I would have no time to just hang out at home with the fam and relax before school starts. Not to mention the money factor, which is a big one - not only would I have to deal with all kinds of annoying paperwork to get funding from Smith, but I would make absolutely no money all summer. This is a problem because (theoretically) I should be helping Mom pay tuition, but also because there are always things to pay for at the beginning of a school year - things for my dorm room, books, etc. It would be nice to not have to worry about those things, you know? Ultimately, as someone else said, I'm trying to be in Latin America with the Peace Corps for two whole years after graduation, so it's not like this is my only chance to live and work there!

The staying at home option definitely has problems as well, which some of you brought up. I'd be doing the same exact thing I've done the past couple of summers, and to be honest, staying with my family for too long drives me absolutely crazy. Not exactly the ideal summer situation.

And so I bring you option #4. I'm applying to some summer camps in the states, specifically nonprofit camps that serve underprivileged youth. I think it's a great compromise. This way, I won't be living at home all summer, but I'll get to be at home for a little while before starting camp in June and will have a little bit of time off in August after it ends. I'll get to work with inner-city kids, which is what I really enjoy. I'll also get paid, and though the pay is not high, my room & board will be taken care of and my hope is that, since I'll be in the middle of nowhere, I won't have anything to spend money on (lol!) and can save what I make. I'm especially leaning toward one of Crossroads for Kids' camps in MA. I submitted my application online this weekend and they already got back to me to schedule a phone interview. I should be having that soon, so wish me luck!

Thank you all again. Love you all!!
Marilyn

Summer - NEED ADVICE!

Ok, so this is not a typical entry for me - however, I really need some advice from family and friends, and I figured this was a good way to get it. The problem is that I can't figure out what to do with my summer, out of the following:

Option #1: Stay in Greece as a nanny for my professor. I really like her and her children, I'd make money (in euros & under the table), and I could do some more traveling with my time off.

Option #2: Do a volunteer internship in Belize. This would be good for my Peace Corps application, I'd be doing some great work with youth, and I'd get to visit somewhere I've never been.

Option #3: Go home and either work for YouthNet again (with a promotion) or work for another organization like Upward Bound. Get to be with my family, see my friends, make money, and have some good relaxation time. Would also work on finally getting my driver's license!

There are also cons to each option. With 1, I won't get to go home until probably August. With 2, I'd get to go home for a few days but then I'd be in Belize for 3 months and would only have a week to be home before starting school. With 3, I have to live at home, which of course has it's ups and downs. Also, with 1 & 3 I'd make money over the summer, while with 2 I'd come home absolutely broke.

ANY OPINIONS/IDEAS/ADVICE???
XOXO,
Marilyn

Olympia & Delphi

Just got back from my last trip with CYA! We went to Olympia and Delphi. Overall the trip was fun, though unfortunately it was rainy and cold the first and last days. The ancient sites of Olympia and Delphi were both awesome, though I must say my favorite places were the villages we stopped in for lunch. Especially lovely was Pylos (see pic at left), a seaside town 2 hours from Olympia and very far south on the Peloponnese. Seriously, Pylos was so picturesque it was hard to believe real people lived in it. Anyway, enjoy the random pics - I don't feel like doing captions right now, but if you have any questions feel free to ask! ;)

At last, an update!

I've gotten a few complaints lately about not updating my blog. I'm VERY sorry, but I've been busy, plus my internet connection has been awful so I couldn't upload pictures. So just to sum up the time since I got back from Rome:

• My friend Rachel from Smith, who did CYA last semester, came to visit. I only got to see her once but we had a good time.
• The entire country basically went on strike to protest pension reforms proposed by the government. This wouldn't have been such a problem had it not meant power outages (electric companies on strike) trash overflowing on street corners (garbage men on strike) and major transportation difficulties (yup, metro and buses on strike too!) Let's just say I'm glad it's over.
  
• From Friday the 21st to Monday the 24th, I was in Northern Greece with my 'History of Macedon to the Death of Alexander the Great' class. Thessaloniki was unimpressive, but the countryside of Northern Greece was BEAUTIFUL. Very green, with huge mountains in the distance and wild flowers coming up everywhere. I especially loved visiting the site where Aristotle had his school (where he taught Alexander and other children of Macedonian nobility.)
• Tuesday the 25th was Greek Independence Day. We saw an awesome military parade which I unfortunately have no pics of. The parade was crazy - they seriously brought out heavy artillery, not just a couple of tanks but a ton of them, and they had crazy anti-aircraft vehicles, missile launchers, guys with huge guns and grenade launchers, even guys in scuba suits (not really sure why.) There were also helicopters and fighter planes flying overhead. It was intense.
• Since then I've just had a normal week of school, nothing special. Tuesday we all leave for our last CYA trip, to Olympia and Delphi. I'm REALLY excited - I've wanted to see Delphi for so long. I'll definitely post pics after!

This is on the grounds of the school. I called it my enchanted forest.

This is my class, listening to a presentation on the site. Those are the outside of caves behind us. We explored them, just like Alexander did!

This is my friend Anastasia and I. We put our scarves on because it was really windy, then decided to take a pic. We look quite marvelous, yes? LOL.

This is a really random shot of some of us watching the Parade last Tuesday. Don't ask... lol.

That's all for now y'all!
xoxo
Marilyn

When in Rome...

Hey friend and fam! I hope everyone is doing well. Please e-mail / facebook message/ Myspace message / blog comment - whatever mode of internet communication you prefer! - whenever you can, I really like to hear from everyone.

So, getting down to business: Rome was INCREDIBLE. My favorite city to date. It's so beautiful, with the most amazing architecture I've ever seen in real life, the people were so friendly and helpful, and the food... don't even get me started on the food! Great pasta (homemade!), amazing bread and cheese, best pizza ever, and yummy gelato everywhere. I swear if I lived in Italy I would just just expand!!!

Quick rundown of what I did (Will probably forget some stuff, but this is the gist):

Monday - Got to Rome that night. Mostly just walked around and took in the sights. Met some of our friends at the Spanish Steps. Had an AMAZING dinner at this nice restaurant that we spent way too much money at. Our flirtatious waiter did send us free desserts though!

Tuesday - Walked around the beautiful Villa Borghese and went to the Galleria. Saw some incredible paintings and sculptures. I loved Bernini's Apollo and Daphne best of all. No pics because unfortunately no cameras were allowed. Next we walked around the Ancient Rome district, saw the Roman Forum and Colosseum. That night we walked around Piazza Navona and had the best pizza I've ever had in my life - delicious and cheap!

Wednesday - Vatican City- Got up early to explore St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museum. Talk about incredible - I saw the Sistine Chapel in real life! I still kind of can't believe it. This was also the night we had a fantastic multi-course meal at this restaurant I had read about. We had so much food, it was awesome.

Thursday - Explored Piazza del Popolo, which was my favorite piazza. Visited the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Saw the Spanish Steps in daylight. Went to the Trevi Fountain, which of course was beautiful but also a clusterfuck (as Dad would say!) of people. We bought stuff to make lunch and had our own picnic on the steps of a church overlooking the Trevi. We had fresh bread, cheese (best provolone I've ever had), ham, apples, and iced tea. It was delicious and saved us money. We also checked out the Piazza Campigolio, which was designed by Michelangelo. For dinner we went to a little place close to where we were staying (where I accidentally ordered liver... big mistake, lol!)

Friday - Tried to take in a few more sights before leaving for the airport. We checked out some of the Catacombs which were pretty cool but not exactly worth the 6 euro fee. We then went back towards the Vatican City area to check out the Castel Sant'Angelo and some palazzo what I forgot the name of. Lots of nice architecture around there, and the views of the Tiber were very cool. We then went down to the Trastevere district and had lunch at a tiny place with DELICIOUS food. Reasonably priced, homemade, and filled with Romans - definitely a recipe for a good restaurant. I had this yummy fried salt cod as my appetizer and ravioli stuffed with spinach and ricotta for my entree. Even the sauce was amazing. We found a gelato place after that (never hard to locate in Rome!) and ate on the steps of a random fountain in the sun. Definitely a nice conclusion to a lovely vacation.

So you wanna know where the pics are, right?? Never fear! I've actually uploaded a bunch to the internet. For the main album, go here: http://picasaweb.google.com/Marilynflo/ROME?authkey=oMfeKokunCQ
The Vatican album is separate: http://picasaweb.google.com/Marilynflo/TheVatican?authkey=CoF6htIJvfE
That one is pretty much all art, so if you're not into that you might want to avoid it.

Whew! Long entry. I think I'm done now. Check out the pics and tell me what you think!
xoxo
Marilyn