lizz abroad

2007-08-15T07:02:00.001-07:00

Went to the ocean two weekends ago. Julia's dad has a b&b in Wilmington, and his girlfriend Donna put us up for a night in her beach house, just two blocks from the water. They were soooo good to us, and the holiday was much needed after a fifty hour work week at twisted noodles.

Donna and Jay made us dinner and, to our surprise, left Dana, Julia and I to enjoy the beach house to ourselves, along with the wine, cheesecake, and amazing sound system. We went to the beach at midnight and played in the waves while someone shoot off illegal fireworks. It was great. The next morning we sunned ourselves, and I braved the ocean and sharks for about 2 minutes... the ocean pretty much kicked my ass- one lung full of salt water after being knocked down by several waves and I was out of there! I flew some kites and showed off my sweet tricks and laid around some more, trying to read about body symbolism and pygmies.

THEN
Donna let us borrow her Suzuki jeep to go see how the locals have fun on the weekends. This was probably one of the more bizarre things I have every done. people go out to this one part of the beach where cars are aloud. They drive around in circles in the sand, showing off their ride, find a good place to park and sit next to their vehicles by the water. People were getting stuck left and right-- in fact, 20 feet into this area, we got stuck, and some yelled, "Shoulda bought a Chevy!"

That night Jay took us and a few of his friends on a river boat ride, including fancy hors d'oeuvres and a nice sunset. Then we experienced both aspects of the bed and breakfast experience, and I feel very privileged and lucky this summer.

this past week I have been working and researching... this week we are preparing for Julia to leave on friday for landsea, which so far has involved doing all the things that we have been meaning to do together. On sunday we woke up early and went for a country drive. I saw tobacco for the first time; it's a very pretty plant. I'd love to feel the leaves (I have a thing about feeling plants) but I learned that if you handle tobacco you risk absorbing it through your skin and getting addicted- wouldn't want that.

Tonight we are having a going away party for Julia. party's theme: body parts. Should be interesting. Tomorrow I am going to work with Dana at duke because I signed up participate in some psych studies which = $$$$ for me. Hopefully it wont be too weird. I am excited to see Phil and my dad and Cheryl for my birthday on monday! (yay), sad to leave Durham in a week or so, but also excited to visit home and everyone there.

2007-07-09T16:30:00.001-07:00

So I am a little behind in updating you on my life, my apologies. Here is a brief summary:

Independence Day

My fourth started out with the scrap exchange, which was helping kids decorate their bikes for a fourth of July bike parade. It was nice, though a bit more yuppie of an affair than I would have prefered. Later Dana and I went to the Eno River festival, a big music festival on the river. The music was great, very blissfest-esque, and all the money made went towards buying more land along the river to preserve it from development.

That afternoon, my roommates and I threw a little BBQ for some friends. Look below! me lighting the grill. It went off without a hitch, and yes, we did move the grill away from this wooden corner, quickly. It was so fun and tasty with our kroger clearance-item condoments: jalopeneo ketchup, artichoke relish, dejion mustered...

We then did sparklers and had strawberry-blueberry shortcake, with neopolitan and mint chocolate chip ice cream. By this time (9:30) I was quite anxious to get to the fireworks-- If I couldn't be in Northport on the fourth, I'd be damned not to at least watch the fireworks in Durham! We heard them start and all piled into one car, chasing down the explosions before they finished. I ended up on a roof garden of sorts, which was a really neat and caught the finale. Overall, a very enjoyable day, although I cant say I thought much about our country's independence. Perhaps more of my own.

Cumberland Gap
a couple weekends ago I went to Kentucky to meet Phil for a hike in Cumberland Gap. We met up in a small coal minning town called Benham, where we stayed the first night in an old school house that was converted into an Inn.

Literally- a school, with a gym and lockers and classrooms/bedrooms. Though everything I have ever learned from all the horror films I have seen told me to turn around and go home-- no cell phone service, creepy little mining town that was accessed by going over a huge mountain, with no signs and stumbling across the town contrarilly to the mapquest directions, creepy old school house with creepy receptionist telling me to park in the back of the building, abandoned mines, getting dark, no sign of Phil-- everything that evening turned out fine. We had a long chat with some of the locals. They were great people, it seemed. For sunset we took a drive up Black Mt, the tallest mountain in KT, and found a fire watch tower mentioned in one of Phil's books. Again, several red flags: not clearly marked; local rough men in big trucks telling us it did not exist; the local math teacher saying that HE would never go up into that mountain, "who knows about those people up in that mountain;" finding it in amongst lots of shady machinary; climbing up it anyway, dispite no tresspassing signs, and the rickity nature of the structure. But it was definetely worth it:

The next morning we decided to sneak around one of the closed mines, which, though we did not see any tresspassing signs, was clearly not for tourists. Still, it was probably one of the coolest things I have ever done. Here are some pictures, I'll tell you the details some time if you would like.

The Hike was really nice and not as hard as the park people said that it was going to be. Of course the fact that I wasn't really carrying anything might have had something to do with that :-). It was beautiful and perfect. Some highlights: hearing a bear in the darkness and not being eaten by it, the White Rocks cliff overlook, cows mooing in the distance, the Sand Cave, which was a cave with an opening about 200 feet in diameter filled with peach colored sand. Again, there is so much to tell, and I promise to have story time with people if they want when we see each other:

Since this trip, went to Boone, NC with intention to see the bluegrass band Old Crow Medicine Show. Unfortunately, it was sold out, but I still had a great time visiting Julia friend Molly and seeing another part of North Carolina. Tomorrow Julia and I are going to Ashville for a music festival called Bele Cher. Its free, and we know some people there, so it should be a good time. Other than that, trying to work a lot, read (sip) a lot, and enjoy this hot weather and new friends.

2007-07-01T07:53:00.001-07:00

So this is home SWEET home, I love it. the cutest little house on a street full of other houses, secondary in cuteness, but still nice. Looking out my bedroom window, its like I'm in a tree house--or, at least not in the middle of a city:

Since my last post, much has happened. turns out that the landlords, unannounced to us, decided that they did not want animals in the house anymore-- even though it is written in our contract, two cats and one dog. So we had to go to the rescue center, the very day we agreed to pick up the kittens and let them down. But the good news(!) is that they were very nice about it and made us volunteers, which involves going to petsmart whenever we want to go feed, water, change litter and let ALL THE KITTIES OUT to play with for as long as we want. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me. Anyone who wants a cat but cant, I highly recommend this option.
As far as my canvassing job, which has completely consumed my life, another twist of events. I tried SOOO hard, did everything they said in exactly the same way they said, I was coached and did role plays and everything was fine in practice, but when implemented at the doors, people must have still seen through me--- known that I hate solicitors too, that I think it is sensible not to handle financial matters at the door, to do research into organizations before you throw money at them, that if you already give to other environmental organizations regularly, and volunteer when you can, that you should not be pressured into contributing to another. Whatever the reason, people did NOT want to give me money, and it was mutually decided (between me and the directors) that perhaps I did not have that magic something that it takes to ask people for money. however I loved the org, the people, and the experience.
THEN...
the next day (yesterday) I went to a Thai restaurant that a friend told me were hiring, and I started instantly. the food is AMAZING and the owner is sooo chill, understanding and reasonable. If you are totally engrossed in my life, and want to check it out: twistednoodles.com
of course I expect that of no one, save, perhaps, my mother. So, this is one luck situation that fell into my lap, and the stress has lifted, for the moment.

Whats this, you ask?
Another thing I hope to be more involved with this summer is the Scrap Exchange. It is about the coolest organization I have ever seen. They collect bulk scrap items like tubing, foam, zippers, buttons, test tubes... basically anything you can imagine from surrounding industries, and then throw events for kids to make art out of them. It promotes reusing before recycling and creativity in kids (and twenty somethings, apparently--like my hat?).

Other than those things...
Our third roommate arrived last night. Dana, also from Kzoo will be interning at Duke (something to do with primates and infants... yesssss) along side chillaxin' with us! of course. Our basement studio is complete! and I will put up many pictures of the art happenings down there over the course of the summer. Looking forward to the fourth of July, though I must say I am already missing the energy of northport during this holiday season. Have so much fun with out me, folks, nothing really beats Independence day there so don't forget how lucky you are to be in Northport if you are! I will be spending the day at the Eno Festival, with music and fire in the sky-- should be fun, but not the same.

2007-06-21T07:22:00.001-07:00

Well, Graduation came, went, and so did I! as I frantically drove like a mad woman all over the state, trying to get in as much family as possible before I too, went. All the graduations I went to we great, and a little sad, as my sister and cousin made the right into the big bad world of semi-adulthood, and my friends crossed the stage... never to be seen again.

Step two!

Julia and I HIT THE ROAD! with our big atlas (thanks dad, good thinking. Would have been tough going with out a, em... map) and Carolina Mixerz we bumped down to Durham in no time. Literally, it felt like to seconds. I've been saying lately because of this, that maybe I had a better sense of space and time when I was a kid traveling across the country, when everything seemed much bigger-- and looooonger. Anyway. This picture was taken for our "rocks for jocks" friends, but especially Big Phil, with Julia's caption:
"look Phil! LAYERS!"

So now I am in Durham and I regret to say that I do not have any pictures yet to share, but I promise that soon I will upload some. Julia's house is soooo pretty and nice, right near downtown. Duke East campus is like a block away, with a library for my studying. Ninth Street is the place-to-be, lots of cool restaurants, shops, coffee. I've been filling my days here so far looking for employment-- which, before two days ago has been quite unsuccessful...
But I got an email about a summer job in Chapel Hill, which is about half an hour south of Durham, and now I am working with an organization called Environment North Carolina, going door to door trying to get middle to upper class people to give us lots of money. I started canvassing yesterday, which is rough going, especially since Suburbia disgusts me beyond belief. BUT, the people I work with are really cool, the more I learn about the organization the more excited I get, and this will certainly improve my people skills! I hope to stick it out as long as possible. Check out the website, if you are interested here.

IN OTHER NEWS...
Julia and I went to a kitten shower on Saturday with hopes to bring home a new kitty. Turns out, as we are undergrads, we are not allowed to adopt because of our transient lifestyles. Fair enough. the good news is that we signed up to be foster moms! (for kittens, of course). In about a week we will be new mommies for two kittens for the summer, and if you know us, you can just imagine the excitement! pictures to come!

Julia is working to turn the basement into an art studio. Once we get it painted she and I think three other people will be down there, making art like mad scientists. I'm pretty excited to have that kind of energy in the house, and hey, maybe I'll even get down there and make something.

Well, thats all for now, but next time pictures and more stories, hopefully once a week or so. Hope summer is treating you right, and if you want to get a hold of me, my cell works well down here and email is obsessively checked, like any good kzoo student.

2007-05-23T13:34:00.001-07:00

So, secret's out, might as well explain what I've REALLY been doing with my time back at school.

Turns out, it's my destiny to save the world along with my trusty side kick, Julia AKA "Q"-- were not sure what it means yet, just that I must be "U," as we are always together (gosh, doesn't that mean I'm the side kick?).

So, yes I realize that this blog is titled Lizz-abroad, and my world travels have come to a pause, but I thought it might be nice to extend the use of this journal to journey's and adventures in general. DO expect to see and hear more about Q + U, but also about my upcoming adventures in North Carolina this summer (b.t.w, I am moving to North Carolina for the summer, living with Julia in Durham) while I work on my senior project and perfecting my sweet tea makin' skills-- more on the project later.
also expect lots of pictures-- perhaps clips-- and the standard life changing reflections. Until next time, have a great memorial day, hope it doesn't rain on your veteran parade, where ever that may take place.

2007-02-13T03:25:00.000-08:00

why is it that there are so many birthdays in feb? Thinking about what to buy/do for everyone, I coincidently came across this nice 1-10 GREEN suggestions, which, I think give some good advice even if you are not an eco-nut:

1. Be sure your material gift will get used

It may be the thought that counts, but a gift that the receiver does not use is simply wasted: not a very nice thought. Give material possessions only if you know the recipient well enough to pick out something they were on the cusp of getting for themselves, or which they really need and will certainly enjoy using.

2. Give a consumable gift

Your friend will love your consumable gift twice: once while enjoying the organic teas, fair trade coffee, fresh flowers, fresh or dried fruits and nuts, or other consumable gift; and again when they appreciate that your gift leaves them with no guilty conscience about a gift left unused in the corner of their closet.

3. Share a piece of yourself...

Avoid material consumption altogether. Instead, offer your services to baby-sit while your friend enjoys a cozy date with their partner, give a gift certificate for a relaxing massage, or a winter’s-worth of driveway shoveling (in which case you just save that massage for yourself).

4. Make a gift of a green service

If your time is prioritized elsewhere, you can buy a green service. Consider a gift of carbon offsets for a commuting colleague or a Zipcar membership for a friend who more frequently must turn to taxis to supplement their public transport lifestyle.

5. Make a gift of any service

You will still reduce material consumption by giving a service of any kind. Especially heart-warming are humanitarian services, such as making a gift of a micro-loan (for example via Kiva).

6. Give a gift where it is needed on behalf of someone better off

Make a child smile when they get a card describing the child in another part of the world whose life will be improved by the gift of a llama or a sheep on their behalf (for example via World Gifts or Heifer.

7. Creative gifts show you care

The baby sweater you knit yourself is more likely to become a family heirloom, extending the life cycle of the materials in your gift.

8. Buy a local gift

A gift made or grown locally can tell a story or share a unique product you have discovered on your own stomping grounds. Your locally-sourced gift will save the environment from the emissions involved in shipping.

9. Buy high-quality goods

Sometimes a little extra care or money invested will result in finding a high quality gift that will do justice to the materials consumed in the manufacturing by a long lifespan. Try flea markets or vintage and second-hand shops for quality goods you can afford: then make the gift “new” with a personal touch like a special paint job, or some ribbon around the edges. Your friend will enjoy your perfect high-quality gift much longer!

10. Think about your packaging

Use packaging that will not go to waste. Your packaging may be part of the gift itself, such as wrapping the gift in a scarf or enclosing it in a box that can be reused for collecting life’s odds and ends. Reusable wrapping, such as a gift bag, will pass on the fun. For family and close friends, consider the Sunday funnies instead of commercial gift wrap.

2007-02-07T13:56:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven’t been in touch lately with most of you. I went on a trip with Liz to London for five days, and then spent another five in Budapest visiting Adam. I left in Wales a sick Grandfather. When I returned, I was meet with a dying one. The Monday after, he passed away. He had been a coal miner and a smoker, and the cancer that has plagued him for four years… took him. So, it was not an unanticipated death, but the last two weeks of decline certainly surprised me. Thank Zeus for morphine, he did go peacefully, as they say. The morning of his death circles round and round in my brain- different memories, quotes, etc. I haven’t had much experience with death on close proximity, and the whole process, the rituals people share are so foreign to me, especially for a proper funeral and more specifically, the little phrases that for some reason need to be said to, I don’t know, help convince people of what happened or that the loss was somehow positive, silver linings. I agree that it is important to remember happy times, but to constantly repeat “think of all the happy times” or “his suffering is over now” etc... This seems so empty to me. For some reason, these words need to be repeated to help people cope with death and loss, but when I hear them, over and over, like on the morning of his death, I feel increasingly cynical about the entire situation, the rituals, and further away from the incident, the loss at hand. Bellow are some memories of that morning, written down as a way to help me, cope, Is suppose, with the feelings of emptiness parts of it left me. I’m sure my opinions of these memories will change and shift over time, on personal reflection and with others, but here it is for now.

********************************************************

-Read these pamplets. “coping with bereavement”

-A letter came today for Watkin. Its for a ‘Behind the eyes’ diabetic test- February 12^th. I have to call and tell him he can’t come.

-yellow pages… U- undertaker—no. F. Funeral director. David. Son in Father’s chair with the yellow pages

-hot drink? Yeah, a 5^th cup of tea, a welsh cake

“ebb and flow and cycle of life, it is”

-“he went peacefully”

“there was a bug on the ward, but they let us in anyway. That’s when I knew.”

“He was reaching and grabbing at invisible strings, you know, like they do when they’re dying. Playing with the edges of the sheets.”

-“Sit here, read these pamphlets with Jo while we go for the papers. Before Hazel comes.”

“When my mother gets off the phone, tell her to call your mother, it’s 6 o’clock there now.

-don’t forget Susan.

-church-chapel-Welsh-English-barial-cremate-“its all got to be…resolved, doesn’t it?”

oh, dear, dear. Dew, dew.

-poor dab.

better ring your mother. Your orders, do your duty, bach.

“I always said, we won’t go from Ystradgynlais, ever. We’ll be here for ever.”

Hazel, Ann, David in the kitchen, standing, talking warped on the reflecting kettle. But it’s the electronic that’s boiling the water for my 7^th cup (in 3 hours)

The cat came in- wide-eyed, wondering. “That cat has never stepped a paw over that doorway, never.”

Last night I was lying on the floor on my back, with my knees tucked to my chest. I breathed in deep, more aware than ever of my lungs as distinct organs in my body. A full breath in, held, released. Oxygen in my lungs, my blood, easy. And you know that’s all it comes down to. That’s it.

******************************************************

Ah, Cymru. My home away from home. When I saw this rainbow and started freaking out, frantically taking pictures like it was a UFO or something, my grandmother shrugged it off. Apparently, with Wales as wet as it is, rainbows are fairly common place. I still think they’re freak-out worthy. When I see a rainbow I think of first- me, because Elizabeth means oath of god (and that’s what a rainbow supposedly is) then- the Noah’s in my life (you know who you are. Here’s a pixeled rainbow shout-out to my noahs’!) third- many years ago, in the days when it was just me, my little cousin Jessie, and wonderful summers full of fort building in aunt Kathy’s garden, bike rides, swimming, ice cream, stories and popping bubbles in the blistering black top on the corner of—what was it, 3^rd and rose st? One day we walked along the shore (holding our pants up out of the water) into town after a storm, and there was a rainbow. We spent what I remember as hours talking about what heaven would be like, for us—all the most wonderful and beautiful things that our 9 and 5 year old minds could come up with—as the sky turned gold and pink with bulging candyland clouds and the sun slowly lowered.

And forth (if I haven’t yet been distracted from my daydreaming)- lepricons.

Here it is folks. This beach is the thing that pulled me out of a short bout of situational depression. I was not feeling well after leaving Athens and all, reflecting on the worthwhile-ness of being there, then here, and what is to come, when I took a trip to visit my Aunt Hazel and Cousin Vicky in west Wales, fifteen minutes from the ocean where we took their dogs to about everyday-rain, wind, or shine. I was struck by its enormity, strength, beauty. The feeling was about the same as the one I had on the ferryboat going to Santorini-- where everything and nothing mattered all at once. The ocean is SO different from the lakes I’m used to. Hard to explain. I made a vow to go to the beach in the winter more often. Also, it was on this trip that my affection for k9’s was born.

Hey! Look at Liz, sporting a lovely pair of Wellingtons in a castle. Liz’s visit to Wales was great. We did Swansea, Hay (a town almost completely made up of book stores) had a makeshift tea and cream, saw a rugby game and went out to a local pub for some proper tubthumping.

FISH!! Well, sort of. You may not typically think of the London Aquarium as a tourist hotspot when planning your London holiday, but it’s a really great one and if you looooove fish, like me, then I would certainly

recommend it, especially if you are looking for something less-touristy to do there. Along with the aquarium, Liz and I had a great Ethiopian dinner, went to the top of saint pauls (which leads to outside at the very top, much to our surprise- we thought we were going to the inside of the top, oh well, it’s a great view of the city) along with an evensong service there, a tour of the royal opera house backstage-another thing I HIGHLY recommend, and never would have thought of doing (thanks liz!) a walk down Portabella road aka my future street of residence, some off-the-beaten-track art galleries, down five story high tube slides at the Tate modern (if you don’t know what this is, do look it up!) basement jazz clubs, found some great little coffee joints (just our cup of tea…or, coffee, I guess(?)),

Saw Wicked the musical which was fabulous (this coming from a person who really could care less about any musical save Cats) and other things, which escape me as Liz did most of the picture taking and I don’t have them to jog my memory. We met up with some friends while we were there- Rachel, Liz’s friend of a friend who let us use her floor one night, Toni, Liz’s friend who graduated from K last year (Psych/art), cousin’s Tam and Laura, who gave us a tour of some of Shepherd’s Bush’s hot spots J and Katie, who I got to spend my last day in London chillin’ with.

On to Budapest. I have concluded that my time in Budapest was not five days, but a whole year. The sun sets around 3:30 there this time of year, and because we stayed up until about 5am every night, I saw the city mainly in the dark. Didn’t mean to turn nocturnal, just ended up talking, and suddenly it was 5am. Meeting a good friend I haven’t see in 5 months in central Europe, at night for five days, sort of threw me for a loop. But it was an amazing time full of crazy occurrences. Take Peter, for instance.

This man came up to us in the Jewish quarter and started rattling off trivia about the architecture and history of the area, and asked if he could show us around a bit. Adam probably hated me for it, but I said “sure!” and he gave us a two hour tour, knowing something about what seemed like every building. He took us into a small Synagogue,

we met the kitchen staff. In the end of our tour he lead us to a dark alley way and stole all our money and our shoes—just kidding—he lead us to a Hungarian restaurant and left us to a great inexpensive meal. It was awesome. We found the image of Bill Murry in the big Cathedral there. Adam got a hair cut (of course) at a French salon. Saw some good museums/galleries, Hungarian film, met two British blokes we thought we could teach a thing or two about life…who in the end told us a thing or two.

Had lots of falafel, cheese-filled croissants, espresso, near run-ins with the transport officers (“controllers”) for riding trams ticketless, and continuous eye opening conversation.

And now? Now I a planning my last month in Wales. Getting my head wrapped around the idea of completing my senior project by the end of the year, educating myself about the environmental challenges facing Wales, bonding with the fam, missing my friends, getting excited about doing SCHOOL again, real school, and thinking about what my summer might look like. Big scary weather forecast for this week in Wales: 6 inches of snow probable! AHHHHH! God save us all! will we make it? I better go check flashlight batteries, buy extra purified water and stock up on the cans.

2006-12-30T07:49:00.000-08:00

Buh-Bye Athina! Yiea Sou Paidia Mou!
I've left Athens now and am in Wales for the next three months. Overall... well, I haven't really agreed with myself about it, not enough to give any "overall" statements. I'll get back to you on that. Saying goodbye...

This is me and Donald, the froo-froo plant that Liz and I looked after so lovingly this semester. Donald is all dressed up for the holidays, and I'm dressed up to go to a Ballet with Liz, Taylor and Jennie. It was a fun evening, made me really itch to get back into dancing, though. ---side note on poor Donald: I was carefully carrying him to Niko's flat so that he would be looked after, and-- I swear-- someone lassoed my legs together with xmas lights and I went face first into the cement, though Donald broke my fall ~crunch~ poor thing. I came in crying (stress, leaving friends, Donald) and I was promised that a new pot would be provided and Donald would make it... hope thats true!

Athens was done up real purdy for the holiday. They timed it right so that you didn't fall into the spirit to early, left uninterested as the day came nearer. This is Sofias av. I crossed it everyday on the way to and from school.

This is Sintagma square, one of the main squares in athens right by Parliment. They transformed it into a christmas village, with rows of little houses selling old fasioned candies, elves and Santas' everywhere offering pony rides and photo opportunities; beautiful tree, carisels, music, giant nutcrackers... was magical, I have to say. I'm glad I got to see it.

In Greece Father Christmas comes on a boat to your house. This makes sense, due to the dependance and adoration of the sea in the Aegean region. There is no explanation of how Santa gets to the landlocked children...

Liz, Taylor and I had a "Christmas day." We mad gingerbread cookies, and lacking cutters, our imaginations went wild. We tryed to make the cookies more... Greek. The cookie on the left is a standard geometric figure (note the mourning pose, triangle torso and head, MASSIVE thighs) cookie to the right is of course an octopus missing a tenticle (hey, this sort of thing happens ALL the time out there in blue, dont poke fun at this little guy he was delicious).

(L) If you are in Athens and want to get a feel for some of the local cuture, go into plaka and as anyone on the street where you could find "Tom." Tom is an Irish artist who has been in Plaka for 15 years. I think his legs are broken, so he doesnt go far from his little home. He likes to have fun, making politcal statements in his art, quite a character and very friendly (not crazy, no matter what they tell you!)
(R) This is the scariest looking xmas tree I have ever seen in my life. Covered with knives and placed in a store front window, I think the staement trying to be made is something like "a MAN'S Christmas. ARE YOU MAN ENOUGH BUY A JACKET AT OUR SHOP?"

Now, These three I am really going to miss. Niko and his brothers (l-r: Stephenos, Solonos, Nikos)
These are my boys. they are like peas in a pod, adorable and I am so glad to have spent as much time with them as I did.

Three random pics of me in my last days in Athens l- me holding a little chocolate thing that Liz and I were going to eat while we watched a feel good xmas movie. m-me filling my stomache with my favorate combo (banana and peanut better) before a night out. r-random very excited picture of me after that night out.

Hello Wales....

some pictures from Christmas day, my grandparents and aunt, uncle, cousins

All for now, more pictures and putdates as I get my life started here. please send me recent pictures of yourselves! I miss most of you ;-)

2006-11-28T00:19:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving I spent in Meteora, which is one of the most beautiful and holy places in the world. Perched high up on several cliffs are something like 10 monasteries... And I cant even begin to describe what it was like. I took pictures with my manual, so as soon as I can bum pictures that Liz and Jennie took, I will put them up for you. Dinner, in case you were wondering, was quite an experience. The inn we stayed at had a taverna attached, and the woman who owned it cooked chicken for me, lamb for the others in the fireplace... It was sooooooooo good! Didn't miss turkey one bit (though some pumpkin pie would have been nice....) anyway, that was wonderful, pictures to come.

Ioannina (small city northern Greece near Albania)

Saturday Jennie and rode a bus from Kalambaka to Ioannina, which was very beautiful... Driving through the mountains, the sun gradually following us, curious as to what possiblely could call us away from spectacular Meteora, we drove in and out of clouds and around bends that did not agree with Jennie's stomach, which unfortunately rejected her yogurt and honey breakfast in protest. I was alright, though. Everyone on the bus agreed that it was the quietest and most polite "sick" that they had ever witnessed. Coming down the mountain into Ioninna, the city was completely blanketed by cloud. Above it was a beautiful sunny morning, beneath it was almost depressingly gloomy, and sort of reminded us of certain parts of Michigan along the highways in rainy/snowy November (minus the snow) But within a few hours it cleared and was very nice. We walked around near the Kastro, which is a little residential area with a think stone wall near a lake-- quintessential Greek setting, I loved every minute of it and went back early the next morning to take pictures. We stopped by a tavernaki (cute little taverna) for lunch, and meet a jovial old Greek man. His name was Christos, short, little red motor bike riding, bourree wearing magician. He spoke several languages because he used to be a tight rope walker in a traveling circus, but now, he does magic shows-- but not like David Copperfield, he clarified, which was all high tech smoke and mirrors, not anything that real magicians would dapple with. Latter Jennie and I walked around Ali Pasha's mosque, did a few prostrations, etc. Ali Pasha-- not a nice man; According to my guide book, he was a "ignomious, swashbuckling tyrant" who "used the city as a base for his fiefdom which extended across much of Western Greece into modern-day Albania." All I can Say is that the mosque was beautiful. On out way out of the kastro we saw some men our age breaking into some cars... Don't worry, I suppressed that which is my mother inside of me and pretended not to notice them instead of going over there are telling them just what's what :-) At sunset, we walked along the lake and watched the snowy mountain peaks turn pink. Its fall in Greece, though in Athens you wouldn't know it. In Ioannina, the leaves have turned yellow and have begun to fall off the trees that line the lake and cobblestone streets. It was very comforting to brush through them as we walked along. That evening we heard music coming from inside a cafe, and, as we have been meaning to see some live music together, wne t in to listen. They were just rehearsing, and so I still have the few bars stuck in my head-- catchy. Jennie slaughtered me at checkers (next time we go Chinese and she wont stand a chance!) and we left for dinner at "1900 Cafe restaurant"- a very nice place housed in an old Jewish Mansion. We had mushroom rissoto, nice chicken, and the very friendly chef just kept pouring glasses of syllogi Kondi- my new favorite wine. After, we stumbled back to the taverna to meet Christos the magician, who poured us more wine, entertaining us with circus tales before Jennie had to catch her bus back to Athens.
The next day I woke early for a walk and some coffee. In the cafe, it is typical for street sellers to come up to your table and ask you to buy whatever random thing they are selling, and you brush them off. Something was different about this particular CD seller. He gave every man a pounder, every child a hug and a twirl, every woman a kiss on the check. He sat and chatted... over all a very peasant friendly character. So I decided to buy some CD's. He helped me pick out a few, absolutely delighted that I was an "Americana," his sister is in Texas. His name was Chuka, from Ethiopia, and we will meet again in Athens, I hope. For lunch Christos took me for some sipro and mezes- giant beans, psariki (ting fish you eat whole, looks disgusting, very delicious) and macaroni's. The Ouzery was as predicted filled with old Greek men, looking at football scores, appearing tired but content. Ioannina is full of young couples and old farts- my favorite mix. One step off the bus and the only faces I saw were Albanian- I was so happy. Athens, as big as it is, one would think it would be less homogeneously Greek. Ioannina- Beautiful, Cultural, Lively, but Quaint- go there next time you are in Greece.

2006-11-20T06:09:00.000-08:00

Got hit by a car this past Thursday. You know that seen in "Train Spotting" where he gets hit by the car? Well it was really nothing like that... But I would like to say it was. No, just a bruise and a very angry Greek man who promptly yelled MELAKA as he sped away.

2006-11-09T03:11:00.000-08:00

During fall break, my friend Nikos took me on a road trip to see a few small Greek towns and villages along the sea and in the mountains of lower-northern Greece. I told him that I wanted to see real Greece, not Big cities or touristy islands, and it was fabulous. Above is picture of the view of the village he grew up in, Analipsi, from his Uncle's house. (More on that later).

We first drove about 3 hours out of Athens to the seaside down of Nafpoktos, which if you look on a map is directly across the water from the Pelloponese port town Patras. It was very nice, though I could see how in the summer it would be crawling with beach tourists. We stayed at a nice hotel that had a balcony that looked out onto the water, and the weather was beautiful. Nikos sometimes worked there during the summer months, and so I met lots of people. It was nice to just sit on our balcony or at a cafe in the sun and breeze, take a siesta, go for a walk along the water, eat a nice dinner, etc.

<-- does anyone know what kind of bird this is? very strange. It was hanging out with a...flock(?) of ducks.

The next day we got up early and drove to a small village called Monistraki. The place was almost dead quiet, and I was taken to a little taverna/cafe to have some cafe ellinika (Greek coffee, thicker like Turkish, sort of). I felt like I was in a movie or something... and this feeling stayed with me for the rest of my trip. It was so beautiful and so peaceful. (replace the empty coffee cups above with Corona bottles and you got yourself a commercial)

So when I was told that I was for sure going to Greece back in August, I decided that I needed to find out a bit about the country before hand. I went to the Leelanau Township Library, and checked out some language audio cassettes (sorry for the late fee, mom) and a movie on Greece that I'm pretty sure was made in the 1980's. In the video, they made some (what I thought were) ridiculous and outdated assurstions about Greece. One of them was that only Greek men hang out at cafes; women meet at church. Well let me tell you, this is still the case. I think it is fair to say that all over Greece, the most popular pass time is sitting at a cafe and drinking coffee all day long. In Athens, everyone does this. In all the rural towns I visited on this trip, the cafes were solely populated with men, primarily elderly men. They sit, drink, sometimes in silence, sometimes they move to talk with some other man or watch football on television, but no women frequent these cafes. I can only assume they were in church. it was exactly like the movie I saw, except I was there, hanging out with old Greek men, talking about election results and football scores. I was giddy the entire time, needless to say.

After Monistraki, we drove up through the mountains on roads with hairpin bends, all the while listening to Greek pop and Bazokia music (more on Bazokias later...) on the radio. Greek pop is pretty popular (haha..Sorry) but there really aren't that many different songs that came on the radio, so by day two I was singing along. I'll have to bring bask so Hip Hop cd's and give you all a performance. So mountains: beautiful. I'm just glad that it didn't rain on the trip, because I'm sure we would have died on those corners.

Panorama....

(side note for my mother: you see these talk skinny trees, the ones that look like they were waxed like candles? well, I'm pretty sure we have one in our yard, and i'm pretty sure I have always hated it. But now that I see these kind of trees everywhere in Greece, I think they are gorgeous, so, good choice).

We arrived in Analipsi, and we went to Nikos aunt and Uncle's house where I met some of his cousins and his aunt Maria was preparing food. No one spoke English, of course, apart from one man whom every called "the American." It was a bit frustrating for me because I would catch about every fifth word they were saying, and then when I was spoken to, I would respond in English and then five seconds later remember how to say whatever it was in Greek. My vocab is good, but sentence formation... etsi ki etsi. Most of the time I just smiled and shrugged like a idiot, spitting out "yes, no, very good, and thank you". We decided to come back later when the food was ready, and he took me to a river that he used to play in as a kid. Here is a picture of Niko being a mountain man, spearing a fish for me, how nice.

we stopped by a near by village called Poros (not the island) for a snack before lunch, and Niko ordered us submarines, a popular sweet treat for kids. This is what came out to us: A spoon, with taffy on the end-- in a glass of water. Bizarre. The idea is that you eat the taffy, and when it gets too sweet for you, you take a sip of water. "very efficient" was the only thing I could come up with to say about it. And it was very sweet, I couldn't finish mine. They come in all colors and flavors, so you know.

In the cafe with the submarines, I went in to your the W.C and when I came out I saw this woman:

She was preparing olives for jarring, which apparently involves beating them with a rock. I was so excited when I saw her; couldn't wipe the smile off my face. After, we went to the village monastery. It was little and quiet, and quite beautiful. There, we met a nun, who gave us a piture of water and some candies, which I found out is the common thing to do when visitors come to monasteries. I was eating my candy while they talked, and she asked me if I like Greece. I responded that the candy was very good. Nikos and I lit candles, and he described all the paintings and mosaics to me. It was perfect.

We went back to the house and had some amazing tiropita (cheese pie), stuffed peppers, tomatosalada, and other traditional Greek food. Siesta, and out for another meal and another sit at his Uncle's coffee shop. By this time, I actually had a few conversations with some of the men, which was a bit redeeming. That night we had homemade apple pie. You can imagine how excited I was-- apple pie in October? how perfect!! I played with Georgia, Niko's 4 year old cousin, sooooo cute. Basically, I asked her what all of her stuffed animals were (Ti einai afto? Ti einai?) and she answered, so amused that I didn't know what they were. As I was going to bed, she kissed me and whispered in my ear "S'agapaw" ("I love you"). I about died she was so cute! We got up early the next morning to drive back to Athens, all too soon. I hope to fit in another trip like this before I leave Greece. Athens is great, but it really isn't... Greece. On this trip I saw Greece, back to Athens I was returning to "Europe" as Athens is now.

2006-11-07T06:31:00.000-08:00

so...
I am waiting to receive pictures from various people I have traveled with before writing posts about the trips, in the mean time, I realize that I should probably say... Something. So I am picking one really cool thing that happened to be a few weeks ago, to make people like my mom happy.

Changing of the guards

So, I believe I mentioned my guard friend Nick. We have actually become relatively good friends, considering that all efforts to hang out somewhere other than the side of the road when he is on duty have been foiled. I also have met many of the guards, and am beginning to understand some of the inside- Greek army jokes (the secondary meanings of the words they have me say are amusing for the 12 year old boys among us). Helpful hint: if you want to see the real person within the uniform, go to the national gardens at 2 in the morning. At this time, everyone is chillin. The guards, unless they are newbees, are not forced to stand at attention for hours on end, they kick back, relax, and joke with the officials, policemen, pet the dogs. During these "down times" Nick and the other characters teach me how to walk like a guard, hold a gun, and tell me stories about army life, and constantly remind me of how long they have left to serve before Mykonos(!). Most of the time the Greek mentality of "hey Whatever, Thavma (fantastic/amazing)" comes out, but at other times they try to make me understand what it is like to be proud to be a guard, be the best of the soldiers and truly want to do what they are doing... Which is still some thing I dont quite understand. ok, so my story.
One night I was walking home from school around 10pm, passing the guards as always and I saw Nick. We talked for a while; the street was fairly quite. Then he says, "so, you've seen the changing of the guards a lot now?" and I said, well yes, of course, several times a day. And he said to me, "ok then, do you think you can do it?" And I jokingly, I said of course I could. But then he took off his hat, put it on my head, and pointed to his watch. "Well, its time, Liz, change them." Yes, I got to change the guards in front of the President's house in Athens. Me! It was so cool. Basically, you stand across from the two central guards with your feet together, lift your right foot up and stand shoulder width apart, hands held behind your back. Then you puff up your chest, salute, and when you put your hand down they all start moving. I was pretty stoked, and Nick said I did a great job, he was going to go on a coffee break because I had it all under control. "Just kidding."
Another note about the guards.... During they day, when they have to be... More professional... I have a special system, where when a guard recognizes me, two blinks mean hello, and then I wave and say kalimera, Yorvo! Eisai kala? Anyway, its fun. All for now, hopeful Halloween pics next post.

2006-10-25T04:29:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh, at last I have some time to update the blog. In the past weeks since we last "spoke" I have done many things and been many wonderful places. I will retell in chronological order the main trips I've been on. First:

Crete

I went to the Island of Crete for a week with my school. They broke us up into groups and we got to see all the wonderful ancient Minoan ruins-- to me, rock pile after rock pile. I understand how lucky I was to be lead around these site by the archeological who helped excavate them, but I have a hard time visualizing what it used to be like. I did enjoy Crete very much, though... It was out of this world pretty, and some of the sites were interesting, like The Law code of Gortyn->

This is a picture of a small section of a wall covered in Linear B script, a very powerful image. This law code stood as the standard law or at least a standard reference for the entire Aegean area for many many years. I got to read a translation of it and it lays out basic of social interaction- what to do if a slave man marries a upper class woman, what happens when a man divorces a woman, etc.

We also were taken to see Minoan burial sites, which I enjoyed very much as well (picture to come: Lizz in a shaft grave, part of the series "Lizz in Small Places")

The first hotel we stayed in was amazing, too. Everyone got there own little bungalow in the mountains. There were flowers everywhere, and fresh springs, and great little tavernas and seafood restaurants. I was definitely taking this as a vacation, not gunna lie.

On the 3rd day after another visit to Minoan rock piles under an excruciatingly hot sun, we went to the seaside town of Matala (70 miles from N. Africa- Hi Stacy! Laura! Dani B!). Remember how I said this was really a vacation? check out this beach. The water was perfect, and there were cliffs that you could jump off right into it, and tons of caves to explore.

(This one's for the study abroad photo contest)

Sumerian Gorge

longest gorge in Europe, yep I conquered it. Actually, it really wasn't difficult. The gravel path was lined with trash bins, and there were W.C's (toilets) every few kilometers. But, its beauty made up for that, for sure (I'll spare you the pun) here are some pictures.

Strange rock stacks, found all over Crete... no one could give me an explanation.

(This photo is for Karyn Boatwright, who hates SA pics that have no people in them....I'm not doing a very good job sorry!)

Santorini (future home #1)
The next weekend I went to Santorini. If you plan on going to an Island in Greece, chose this one, ok? it will rock your world.

There are the lovely ladies that I traveled with, l->r: Mia, Danielle, Christine, Claire, Ryan

and the Hotel Carlos, the cutest hotel in the world! The woman who works here makes her own jams (banana, fig, grape) candies and cactus honey. I want to Santorini this summer and work for her, making jams--- or cleaning toilets-- whatever as long as I can be there, meet her family, and soak up island life. small dream. Santorini is really everything I imagined it would be.

This is the dormant volcano in Santorini. Thousands of years ago it erupted and much of the island broke off into the water, giving the Island its shape, and sending a tidal wave over the whole region... it also errupted more recently (sorry I cant remember the date) and totally destoyed Fira (the main city there) killing many on the island. It was interesting to have this fact in my head as I was crawling all over it, watching the sulfur rise from---what I like to think of as-- the center of the earth. Did anyone else play lava monster when we were young? Volcanoes rock!

Hey! I found never never land------>

<-----Sulfer

We took donkey's down the cliff to the boat that took us to the volcano. This is my donkey. His name is Pedro, quite fitting, don't you think? After the volcano, I jumped off the boat, swam to some hot springs, and rubbed mud all over my body. Now, those are some pictures that I wish had been taken--- I am an Amazon Warrior Princess, you better believe it!

You know you're settled in Greece when.... This is brought to you on a plate, and you are disappointed that it didn't come in a pita.

Oia.beautiful. Go there.

Alright, this all for now... even though I have three more trips to share. Perhaps tomorrow:The Argolid, Thessaloniki (future home #2) and rural Greece

2006-09-18T02:12:00.000-07:00

Aegina
This Saturday I went with Liz and our friends Taylor and Emily to and island called Agina. We left our flat at 6am after not going to sleep the night before until 230… and took the metro to Piraeus, Athens’s port town. The boat was humongous and I slept the hour ride to the island.

(Unibomber)

Once there we ate some breakfast at a café. I had some crapes, which were so good and really satisfied my ever-growing sweet tooth. Beggars noticed our accent while we were eating, though, and we were constantly pestered by little boys and girls who made you feel like the worst human beings on the earth.

We then got on a bus and went east across the island to the temple of Aphaia. It was pretty cool; the most intact temple in Greece, they said. Then we were told by the woman at it’s gate to go down a road to a town at it’s base, but we got very lost.

Fortunately we flagged down a German couple on a moped who spoke very good English. They instructed us to walk back up the hill to the temple. Bus came, and we went back to Aegina town to get on another bus to the southern port town. There we waited for a small fishing boat to take us to the island of Moni, and Island uninhabited save the peacocks and deer. We found one peacock and named him Mr. Remmington Peacock II.

(Liz Wakefield showing Remmy her feathers)

He was not interested in playing with us, so we set up to go swimming. The water was unbelievably blue, clear and warm. Seriously everything you might picture the Mediterranean to be like (unless like me, you imagine it being fresh water. I realized I had this image as soon as my legs started burning and I got water in my mouth. Salty.)

We swam and then laid on the beach for a while, it was lovely. We got on the boat back to the main island and ate a really

mediocre dinner, unfortunately. But then we got really good Gelato and ran on the BIG boat Poseidon in time to watch Agina disappear into the sunset. On the Metro in Athens, everyone was dressed up ready to go out until 6am, we were ready to watch a chic flick and collapse. Really good day, all in all. Again, pictures tell a better story than I.

2006-09-11T08:55:00.000-07:00

So today I finally figured out how to get in my school buildings. Check this out: there are two buildings, the academic center and the "classroom building." Both have classrooms, both are academic centers (right?). To enter the main door of the academic center, you have to open it with a key. To enter the classroom building, you have to wave a white piece of plastic over a sensor. To get into one of the classrooms in the Academic center and to get into the cafeteria, you have to enter a five digit code. Yeah. Glad that's sorted.

I have decided to commit myself to writing a post at least once a week. I've waited until now to write this one, because frankly I haven't found the time to sit a write. Who ever said that study abroad would be a vacation in Greece was simple wrong, just like they were wrong that I would not find food other than Greek here or that I should stay away from scary Greek men. All the classes at CYA are heavy reading and writing courses, all of them. It is strange to take 5 of these similar classes instead of 2 reading/writing classes and another class that is a bit different, like science or art. One thing that is nice is that I dont have school on Fridays, allowing for travel, but I have to wrap my head around school (real school) and island hopping...

Last Weekend I went to the mountain, it was AWSOME.
I got on a bus last Sunday morning full of middle aged Greek men going to a mysterious mountain. The drive was about two hours long, and ended in the middle of a road in the middle of no where. Of the thirty there were 7 or 8 other people from CYA. The hike was supposed to be four or five hours long, and the entire way the guide kept stopping to tell us how to short cut to the beach if we thought we couldnÂt make it, which some of the girls did.

We got to what I was told was our final destination, labeled Âancient towerÂ--- fairly unimpressive. Then we were told that we were going to this towerÂs twin, which was equally ambiguous and unimpressive, but the mountain was very pretty.

The guide said that if some of us wanted, he would take us all the way to the top, and---LandSeaers be proud of your Lizz--- I said I wanted to go, even though we had been out already for four hours and the rest of the hike took two more. Yup and it was awesome. Most of the group left us to go down to the beach; about 10 went to the top. There was a lot of goat poo, but no goats the entire trip, which made me sad. I got to become friends with a few Greeks and it was a great experience. I hope to go with them next weekend.

At the bottom was a small fishing town on
a lake. It was sunset time and breathtakingly beautiful and sooooo Greek! A few of us ate at a Taverna on the water, and there were guitarists and cats and ducks and sailboats. I donÂt think that I told the story every well, so hopefully the pictures will redeem it.

This is a picture of my friend Dimitris. He hikingkeing boots, short shorts, and a long ponytail. I thought I should include a picture of D on the top, stroking his ponytail. (cool guy, really)

Friday Market is amazing. Liz and I made friends with Roberto, the grape guy, and he gives us free grapes. Oh yeah, I suddenly LOVE grapesÂ they definitely taste so different here, and better. Figs are awesome, too. My new favorite. Here are some pictures of it.

View from my balcony

yes, olives

Octopus is really good, by the way.

This woman does not like me...

Sunday I went to the flea market in Monastraki. It was really cool, made me think of Julia, she would really like it. Lots of antiques and lots of junk and pretty much anything you could imagine. I then meet up with a friend in Psiri, which is I think my new favorite part of Athens. It is full of outdoor cafes, and I even found a hookah bar there, go figure. So I am really liking Athens. A lot. ÂNativesÂ are starting to recognize me, and I am feeling almost at home here. Yup, this first part of the W is really great. The only bad thing, off the top of my head, is that everyone is freaking out about how much work they have. ItÂs not as bad as Kzoo. There is a lot of work, but I wish that people would relax a little more. We are in Greece, you know?

Among other things, I have started my Greek cooking class, and it is so much fun. last weeklentilde lentel soup, chicken Greek style, village salad (Greek salad) roasted potatoes (best I have ever had) and we had wine with our meal. yummy. tomarrow I will post about my Saturday trip to Agina and Moni. My computer has died, so I have to wait to put up pictures for that. all for now. If you want to see any more pictures of any thing, email me because I have a million.

first week in Athens

2006-09-07T00:31:00.000-07:00

my first post is going to be pretty long, so here it is in sections. I also will have pictures as soon as I put them on my computer, promise!

apartment
I am rooming with Liz Wakfield who was supposed to go to Israel with me this summer. I am glad to be living with her, I think we suit each other nicely. There are nine of us from kzoo, all girls and one guy, I've never seen some of them before in my life, believe it or not (with a school as small as K). They all seem very nice! I have 4 roommates, all girls. We haven't really hung out yet, but I do like them and think we will live together well. I live in Kolonaki which is a very rich part of town in the center of Athens (kind of "villagey" if you are familiar with NYC). very trendy people and places but very very expensive. Our apartment, however, is not as nice as the neighborhood. It's not nearly as nice as the apartments that the other "K" kids have, which are located 2 minutes from the school in Pangrati. but, I do have a very nice balcony, air conditioning (it is hot, HUMID I love it!) and a wood floor. Kolonaki is a good 20 min walk up hill from the academic center. I like it, though, because I've already seen more of the city than the Pangrati group. There are lots of nice resturants, coffee shops (which always--unless your in starbucks (they are TAKING OVER THE WORLD)-- also serve beer and wine etc.) there are two grocery stores very near my apartment which sell normal grocery store things. they close at nine, but most businesses are only open for part of the day, and the schedule for that alternates every other day... no one knows why, except that they close during siesta time. There is a cute bakery next to my building owned by a very cute elderly couple who do speak English.

In the center of Kolonaki is Kolonaki square. At the center of the square is a short coloum for which the area is named. All the streets save the major 4 lane roads are very narrow and everyone is on death missons riding mopeds and little cars. I can totally see why they stress the danger of riding mopeds, and I am glad that Athens is a "walking city." There is also a tram connected to cables like in San Fransisco and like there were in New Orleans, and busses, both of which I have yet to figure out. The reason that I said "I hate marble" is because just about everywhere I go the stairs are marble and the floors very slippery. First day of orientation I had a frappe (cold instant coffee made with water and foam on top) in my hand and cartoon slipped when rounding a corner. not nice. This happened more than once, god help me when it rains. The reason that I said "There are dogs" is because it was suprising to find that there is an army of stray dogs and cats roaming Athens. They are very tame, and friendly and look well kept, somehow. Strangley, all the dogs have collars on. I really don't understand this yet. I love that there are kitties here... and the come when you coax them!

school
So yes, there is a school called CYA, which is actually called D.I.K.E.M.E.S, which stands for International Center for Hellenic & Mediterranean Studies (in Greek). I has it's own buildings (2) with classrooms, a caf, etc. It is VERY small, though. There are about 10 perfessors, I'd say, and 137 students. (2.3 women-1 man). Most are from America, but there are 3 English students that go to school in Scotland. You can see the Acropolis from a balcony on the third floor, it is beautiful and unreal. The staff and professors are all very approachable and nice. We will have school feild trips (like in the good old days, eh?) to Crete for a week and class feild trips to other places.

"Supposed to Go to Israel"
The hardest thing so far for me and I know for Liz, too, is that our introduction is: "Hi, I'm also Lizz from Kalamazoo college...yes well I was supposed to go to Israel, but..." and then we have to explain the whole unfortunate series of events again. I've been trying not to talk about it, but it is kind of a topic that comes up a lot and, one that people are interested in knowing more about. There are are also two other people who were to go to Israel that ended up here other than Liz and I. I'm loving it here so far, but that it always a downer when it comes up every two seconds.

changing of the gaurds
So Liz and I were feeling pretty bummed about Israel again, and were walking back to our apartment to get ready to go out with the people who were also supposed to go to Israel (anticipating more depressing conversation) when we came across the changing of the gaurds at the tomb of the unknown soldier which is on our way. There are serveral posts, and we asked a sort of back-up gaurd if there was some sort of cycle or if they always are on the same posts. He said "yes, of course" and waved us away, but then came over to us and started talking. His name was Nick, and we ended up spending about forty-five minutes with him. He took our picture with one of the soldiers, and I felt bad, becuase it seemed like we were being stupid tourists, and it was wierd talking about this guy who was right in front of us but couldn't move or talk to us . So I asked Nick what the soldier's name was so I could thank him in Greek. Costas was his name, and then Nick had us say a word that was supposed to mean "only one month left of service," or something like that. But when we did, this gaurd that is not to move, speak, or blink burst out laughing, and we realized that a) we just said something profane and b) this gaurd thing is not as stiff, important and official as we all think. When it was time for the gaurds to change again we said goodbye to Costas and he said "bye-bye girls." I couldn't believe it. The gaurds with the pompoms on there toes, white tights, long tassle and useless riffle are considered the best of the best in the Greek army, and are, but they are not the ones defending an empty tomb, the guards like Nick, who have the real guns, are. They have eight months- one to learn the jig during the change, and one month at the end where they become the actually guards. Then they vacation on the party island of Mykonos and later find real jobs.
It was nice to make a Greek friend and learn a little something about the culture. This made us feel better.

first night out
We went out to eat with Adam, who was one of the guys who were going to Israel. We looked at our options in Kolonaki, and out of all the resturants we passed, we accidentally chose an American one that served burgers and stuff. It was too complicated to leave at the point we realized, so we got some appitizers and then walked down towards the metro station and Acropolis for drinks. among the people we were meeting there were some of the K girls, suprisingly, and we got some ouzo, which I like. There was (among others) a guitar player, a very happy drunk man, and a very old woman who looked like my grandfather. The got us to dance and taught us how. It was amazing. The old woman was thrusting her hips like I have never seen before and dancing on tables! It was so fun, but time got away from us and we didn't make it home until FOUR in the morning! (so much for getting over jet lag). This was a tuesday night in Athens. EVERYWHERE we went there were people still sitting at cafes smoking and drinking on our very long walk home.

It was quite an experience. I dont think I could handle staying out that late again in the near future, however.

Last night CYA professors took all who wanted to go out for dinner at a taverna. We went to one called the Black Cat. It was nice to talk to the profs, meet new people. The food was all fried or meat filled, so I didn't really think much of that, but overall, it was fun. Then my mom called, and I was so relieved that my cell phone actually works for that sort of call. If anyone wants to call me, it is free for me! but not for you...

This Sunday I am going to go on a hike with a Greek hiking club up Mt. Thitikis Pateras in Attica. I have no idea what or where that is. so, wish me luck, I'm sure I will live to tell of it.