Top 5 Moments in Greece

Reflecting back on Greece I am missing it quite a bit, so i decided to rank some of my favorite moments.

1) Seeing the stars at Epidauros.
--Even though this wasn't the main attraction the stars will always be engrained in my mind.

2) Lycabettus Hill
--Who could ever forget our last night in Athens? Even though it was our last night together as a group it was one of our best nights. Hiking to the top of that hill and just hanging out and taking pictures was the best.

3) Lindos at Rhodes
--Our first look at ruins was awe inspiring. I hadn't been able to comprehend that we were actually in Greece until that moment. Standing in front of massive ancient ruins was mind boggling.

4) Climbing down the cliffs of Sounion
--While the main attraction was the Temple of Poseidon the water below just looked a bit more enticing. Climbing down the side of the cliff was exhilarating and stepping into the water was refreshing. I felt like an adventurer you read about in stories. The best part was walking back up with the Kaplans through the dig site and picking up pieces of old pottery. I was actually able to hold some ancient pottery in my hands, a moment I will never forget.

5)Making great friends.
--While this may not be one specific moment there is nothing I would trade this for. I went to Greece not knowing anyone and I've come back with the best of friends I could ask for. I didn't expect anything quite like this.

Back in the US of A

Finally back home, the land of flushable toilet paper, comfy beds and....humidity. As much as I love being home I am already missing Greece. As crazy as it sounds, I am missing being around my peers 24/7. Don't get me wrong, the down time is great, I am getting in some quality "Mary" time with my xbox and enjoying every second of it; however, I miss the excitement of waking up in Greece. Everything in little ole Lakeland, Florida is a bit too predictable and boring in my taste. In Greece I wouldn't just sit around the dorm all day. I would need to walk out the door at least once to go to the grocery store, get something to drink, or to go get gelato with friends. At home I can just camp out on the couch all day knowing that the refrigerator is fully stocked with tasty drinks and savory morsels.

In Greece you are naturally more active, there is more to do and socialization is much more easily accomplished. If I want to hang out with people here in the United States it is more of a "big deal." I have to, somehow, get in contact with my friend- texting, facebook, phone call, etc.- then we have to choose the place to hang out, which is very limited, than we have to drive there and only hang for about an hour, anytime past that and it's a "waste of time." In Greece all you would have to do is walk down the road and pick a coffee shop from one of the many located on the main street. In the U.S. walking somewhere seems almost incredulous. Everyone uses a car or gets a ride from someone.

That is another thing that has struck me as I've returned to the United States, parking lots. In Greece parking lots were  virtually nonexistent and I never really acknowledged it. It's really odd to see so many parking lots everywhere and they take up so much space! It's just interesting to note some of the differences between Greece and America.

I do have to say being surrounded with people I can easily communicate with is such a breath of fresh air. There have been a couple times when I've gone to say thank you it has been my impulse to start saying "effkeristo," but than I realize I can actually speak English and be understood. I wish I could take the Greek culture and merge it with the English language and then I would be set for life.

Resident Plumber

I would like to think of myself as a fairly resourceful person, but when presented with fixing a Greek toilet I felt at a lost. The thing is built like a tank, removing the top is practically impossible and I knew that's what I had to do cause the toilet wasn't flushing which only meant one thing...the chain had come off of the flusher. In America it would have been a simply fixed problem, remove the lid and reattach the chain. But, no, it would not be that easy here in Greece. Here are some steps to fixing your Greek toilet:

1) DO NOT just try to pull the top off. You're toilet will start leaking if you do.

2) Unscrew the button pusher for flushing so you can safely remove the top of the toilet.

3) There should be a plastic rod that will stick into the center piece which has a grouping of holes.

4) Then replace lid and you should be good to go.

Stray Dogs

One thing that has really caught my eye all around Greece is the community of stray dogs. It is something I am not quite use too. Around my neighborhood there are quite a few stray cats and that is quite common place, but dogs seem so different. It doesn't seem like pets are the norm in Greece, rather neighborhood strays are the norm. Every time I walk from the dorm to the Plateia I notice that there are two bowls of dog food set outside and a bowl of water. It seems as though the strays are a neighborhood responsibility not an individuals. 

Shadow Puppetry

After my experience with Aristophanes, Clouds, I decided to accompany my friend, Katieanne, to a shadow puppet show. It was, yet again, another experience where I didn't really understand what was going on and had to rely on visual cues more so then that actual dialogue. Shadow puppetry is aimed towards the younger crowd....as in the 1 to 10 year olds. Katie and I got a couple of funny looks from the mom's there. They were probably wondering what two teenagers were doing at a shadow puppet show by choice.

So....the light shines on this translucent screen (it reminds me of those trace drawing toys I use to have when I was little, mom) and the puppets outline and color shows through. The puppeteer controls the puppets with a little rod so you don't see him at all. The puppets are usually made out of cardboard or something along those lines.

Anyways, the show was pretty simple to understand even though I couldn't understand the language. The best part was all of the children laughing. Since I wasn't quite as "into" the show as the rest of the audience, it gave me the chance to make observations about the people coming to the show. It seems to me that going to the shadow puppet show was a weekly occurrence for some people. As they would come in the ticket lady would greet them with a kiss on the cheek and a light conversation. It goes back to that idea of the "in" circle in the Greek culture. In America some families may go to the movie theater once a week, but it's not like we greet the person at the ticket counter with a kiss on the cheek.  It would look extremely out of place for me to greet the ticket counter person in that way and it just demonstrates the difference in quality of relationships in Greece vs. America.

The lady at the shadow puppet show would see these families with their children every weekend and could start a relationship with them. There was a trust it wouldn't be a waste of time and that efforts out forth wouldn't be brushed aside. If only people could be just as welcoming in the United States, there would be less of the superficial relationships and more of the meaningful ones....even with the ticket lady at the movie theater.

Another quality of Greek culture we were made aware of before we arrived in Athens was the dancing. I hadn't seen too much of it just out and about since we've been here, but the little kids know how to party it up at the shadow puppet theater. When the music came on for the finale of the show there were several children that got up in front and started jamming out. It was almost like watching a mini version of Zorba with one of the kids. He was over in the corner with his parents and he had his hands out, doing the snapping and the whole lot of it. It just goes to show that the tradition of dancing, although not as prevalent, is still being passed down from generation to generation.

Aristophanes, The Clouds

Alright, so I know I haven't been doing the best at giving you guys updates on what I'm doing so I'm going to try to catch everyone up. This past friday I went to a performance of Aristophanes, Clouds at the theater in Epidaurus.  Let me tell you, it was amazing to sit in the same place that the Ancients did and to see a show they would have seen as well.

The play was in Greek which made it difficult to follow, but it was kind of fun. I had to focus on the visual aspects of the play a lot more than I would have if they were speaking English which made for a different experience. I got the jist of the play, however, there were plenty of moments where the Greeks would laugh at a joke and I would find myself completely clueless. The audience would suddenly roar with laughter and I would look at my fellow classmates with and expression of "ha...ha?" There were plenty of moments of contagious laughter too. I might not have understood what was going on, but when the audience would laugh I would join in.

However, even though the play was quite good, my favorite part of the whole evening was looking up at the stars. Any moment when the lights would go down on stage my head would turn up to the heavens. The theater in Epidaurus was literally in the middle of no where, completely away from any large city or town. That means there were no lights to take away from the brightness of the stars. I don't think I have ever seen so many stars in my life, I was completely mesmerized. Gazing up into the dazzling evening sky made me realize why the ancient Greeks believed in so many Gods and Goddesses. How could one not think there is some greater being out there when you are looking at something so purely beautiful?

Out of all of the wonderful experiences I have gained from this trip this one will be my most treasured.

The Influence of Soccer

One thing I have noticed since arriving in Greece is the culture of soccer and how it influences how Greeks live their lives. It goes back to a previous post where I discussed my personal experience with playing with some locals. In America it is really hard to find a place where people of all ages can come together to play a pickup game of any sport. In Greece it would seem ludicrous to suggest anything otherwise. I just got to thinking, what does this say about our cultures?

Soccer is a game of working together, but it also has moments of individual accomplishment. Every player of the field has to have an idea of what they are going to do if they receive the ball and they must always be actively thinking about what's going on on the field. When a player receives the ball they must be fully confident that the decision they make with it is the right one. It seems a lot like the Greeks ideas of shame and honor.
The Greeks, specifically men, are raised to believe their actions are always right and to act with pride. In soccer it is much the same way, when you receive the ball the decision you make with it is the right one. There are many instances when a player is given a penalty and they argue with the ref because they feel their actions were right and the ref has no right to give them a penalty. Soccer--or futbol-- seems to carry the customs and ideas of the culture that values it so highly.

Soccer is not quite the main sport of America as of yet, so what is? We have so many sports that get attention. Some would argue that baseball is the true American pastime, while others would say it is football. In some regions you might even hear Nascar as the response for the "true" American sport. Without a strong unifying sport, like soccer, what does that say about America?

It would, first, explain why we do not have fields for kids to have a pickup game late at night. There are too many different veins of games to play. You cannot just set up a soccer field in every neighborhood because not every child plays it. This also demonstrates how America is a melting pot of many different cultures. Yes, there may be a stereotypical idea of who an American is in general, but there is clearly no way to pinpoint it. There are too many different options for Americans, with a melting pot of cultures we have never quite gained the unity through soccer that the rest of the world has. 

Only two more weeks!

I have been loving my time here in Greece and I can't believe it is coming to a close. Everyone told me that it would go by quickly, but I didn't realize just how quickly it would really be. I've made so many great friends and I don't want to leave. I feel like I've just gotten use to how things work here. Some of the shop keepers and store owners have actually come to recognize me when I go shopping. I don't want to go back yet and I know these next two weeks are probably going to be the fastest. I miss my family, but I do not miss being in America. I love the Greek culture and I wish I could stay here for longer. I am greatly going to miss this culture and the people I've grown to love.

Back to Basics

So, I played soccer for about...13(ish) years of my life. I would have considered myself decently good at it back in the day and then I played with some Greeks. 3 americans versus 2 Greek kids and Hannah, someone who hasn't played soccer, and the 3 Americans kept up pretty well. We scored a few times, but I felt I was holding my own and than I actually stopped and took in the 2 Greeks we were playing against. The youngest had to have been no more than 9 and the eldest was around the elder age of 13. I was giving my all to keep up with kids 6 years younger than me. Talk about an ego bruiser, I was running myself ragged and these kids were completely fine. I don't even want to think what would have happened if we had actually played against kids our age, we would have been demolished.

However, even with the fun of just running out on the soccer field I saw something that I rarely ever see in America. There were people of all ages out at almost midnight, little children, teenagers, older people, you name it. This would never happen in the United States where children are taught that bad things happen at night and you shouldn't be out very late. There doesn't seem to be a negative stigma placed on being out late with friends in this culture. As long as you are having a good time with friends there are no questioning looks of "why are you out so late?" This is the complete opposite of the looks you would get in the United States if you were walking around at midnight. Greece has this emphasis on friendships that the United States lacks. It is safe for children to be out at night in Greece because there are places for them to go and do things  with friends. In the United States we do not have free soccer fields in every neighborhood and they are definitely not within walking distance. I think there is something to be said for the Greeks ability to acknowledge the social needs of the youth.

Check, please?

Alright, so one thing that has been a little frustrating is the way you get the check when going out to eat in this country. In America you sit down to eat, a waiter is immediately there to take your order and no sooner then you've gotten your food you also receive the check. This gives you the ability to just go out to eat and leave as soon as you're done with your meal. In Greece everything works the opposite way. You walk in and find your seat, you aren't seated by anyone, then you wait a considerable amount of time until the waiter/waitress see's you and brings you a menu. The food takes a while to come out because it is freshly made and is REALLY good, but it takes longer than an American meal. So, the whole service already takes longer than the typical American night out, but getting the check is the worse. You have to try really hard to get your servers attention and they are usually pretty preoccupied with a conversation with a customer or something along those lines. In other words, eating out is not just and hour long affair, it is at least 2-3 hour long process...at the LEAST!!

While this does frustrate me when I have other things to do, like school work, I decided to look at meals out from the Greek perspective. One of the reasons that there is not a rush on the meal is Greeks look at eating out as a social event, not just going out to get food. In America you will sometimes get the feeling that you are taking up the restaurants space and they would like to rush you out as soon as you're done eating their food. In Greece you never get that feeling because the emphasis is on the socialization not on the actual process of eating. Greece places a very high importance on friends and taking time to enjoy life. This translates into long meals out. They do not put a rush on the socialization process because they feel if you are enjoying a moment there is no reason to end it to soon. When looking at it from the Greek perspective my frustration suddenly recedes and becomes redirected at the American public. Why do we always have to be in such a rush? Where are we if we don't have friends and family? I feel as though we Americans could learn more from the modern Greeks rather than the ancient ones.

Corinth, Mycenae, Nauplion and Star Wars

This weekend has been quite an eventful and fun one. We started things off at 7 am (ugh!) on saturday morning with an hour and a half journey to Ancient Corinth. We walked through the Agora (the old market place) ruins and one of Dr. Kaplan's friends from Deree gave us the historical content behind what we were seeing. Ancient Corinth is also rumored to be one of the places Paul preached. I had also just learned about Corinth in my art history class as one of it's main products is handmade products. Within the museum at the site there was plenty of pottery to look at and I felt as if I had already gained knowledge from my class because I could identify some of the time periods of the pottery pieces.

The old fountain that supplied water to the Agora.

Some Roman statues on display in the museum.

The highlight of our stop in Corinth had to be the fact that Dr. Kaplan's colleague invited us into her house and served us cornbread and drinks. It was a very nice gesture and she had a very nice view of the sea from her home.

After our stop in Corinth we went on our way to Mycenae, a Bronze Age citadel. Again, another place you are just in awe of and the views of Greece are just amazing. There was a cistern near the walls of the Mycenae acropolis and we climbed down in to the deep dark abyss. It was really cool, but also a bit scary since it was pitch black.

Jimmy following to the bottom of the pitch black abyss.

A beautiful view from Mycenae.

The walls of the Bronze Age Citadel.

We then went gallivanting off to Nauplion where we went to a castle with 999 steps. Don't worry, we took the bus to the top. We only spent 30 minutes there which was kind of a bummer cause there was a lot to explore. Ellie chose me as her designated carrier for this trip and she, of course, wanted to go up and down all of the stairs. Granted, I don't mind because she is so dang adorable, but my shoulders were definitely feeling it this morning when I got up. We also explored the city of Nauplion and, in the process, jumped into the sea in our clothes. It was quite refreshing...but the bus ride back was a bit soggy.

However, one of the best parts of this weekend has been the fact that Katie let me play Star Wars the Old Republic and create a character. I have been wanting to play this game since it came out and I finally got a chance. It was the icing on the cake of an amazing weekend. :)

Staring

There hasn't been too much going on this week, just because we've gotten into a routine. I will have more to talk about this weekend when we go on our excursion to Corinth.

One big difference between the Greek culture and American culture is staring and not smiling or looking friendly or...anything. In America if you make eye contact with someone there is usually a passing smile or a quick look away. Here in Greece guys will stare you down and not in the "I think you're cute" kind of way. They literally just stare at you, no smile or anything. It's something that I have not quite gotten use too. I'm generally a friendly person and I smile at people when I happen to make eye contact with them walking down the road and I really miss that being reciprocated back to me.

I'm loving Greece, but I'm definitely missing some of my American culture.

Classes

Before I delve into how my classes are going and all of that, I'll go ahead and give you guys a taste of the grand Acropolis....

A lovely view as we walked onto the Acropolis.

One end of the Parthenon.

The Parthenon.

The theater of Dionysus, which you can see when you look over an edge of the Acropolis.

I feel that pictures really can't do any of the sites justice, but it's the best I've got. Anyways, this past Monday we started classes (boo!). This means our careless vacation time in Greece has come to a close; however, even though I am falling into more of a routine it doesn't change the fact that I am in Greece. Yeah, I have class every day from 2:30-4:30, but I can take the metro in the morning and go hang out in downtown Athens before class starts. That's pretty awesome in my personal opinion.

The class with Dr. Kaplan is pretty cool cause we really get a chance to discuss the different observations we've made about Greece in comparison to the United States. Granted we still have to keep up with this blog and read a book, but it's well worth it cause it really relates to what we are all going through in Greece. We are also taking a survival Greek course which, I feel, will come in handy. We just started learning the alphabet a bit, but we will also be learning certain phrases and things to help us survive in Athens. Now, my art history class on Athens in antiquity is not quite what I was expecting. My professor is British and I think there is only one Greek in our class. This was kind of disappointing considering I was looking forward to making some Greek friends. However, it is pretty cool to learn about the history of some the artifacts I've already seen and will be seeing on this trip.

Yesterday we actually took a traditional Greek dancing class in stead of our Greek survival class. It was so much fun even if I did look like an idiot most of the time. :)

Today I will be going to the Byzantine and Christian Museum and I'm pretty excited, because I have to give a presentation on it too the class.

The Acropolis

First things to start with, I haven't had much of any frustration while I've been here; however, there is one thing that has started to drive me crazy. In the United States I had finally gotten use to ordering water at restaurants to be healthier and to lower the cost of the meal. Not only was it complimentary, but the water was never ending. Here in Greece, the idea of complimentary water seems to be as foreign as the whole country seems to us Americans. Not only do you have to pay for water when you go out, but you only get ONE bottle of water. There is no never ending supply, only one bottle of water for around the cost of about a euro. It's driving me crazy, when I go to a restaurant all I want to do is gulp down as much water as possible because of the dry climate here. From my perspective it is just a really annoying way to make more money off of one meal. However, after our first day in class Dr. Kaplan told us that there is a shortage of water here, partially due to the dry climate. With as frustrating as the non-complimentary water is, it does make since from the Greek perspective that they cannot just hand it out as freely as we do in America. It's taking some getting use too and when I get home I will be drinking as much water as I want whenever I go out to eat for free.

Anyways, this past weekend we took a tour of the Acropolis and downtown Athens. Seeing the Parthenon in all of its glory was freaking awesome; however, the view had to be the most breathtaking thing from atop the Acropolis. Even before we ascended the Acropolis we climbed the Areopagus, also know as Mars hill, which overlooked the whole of Athens. You could see from the Sea all the way across the roofs of downtown Athens.

After witnessing the Acropolis and all it had to offer we took a tour of downtown Athens. We saw the platka and the Athens flea market which are really awesome places to shop. They have almost anything you can think of there. However, I could not fully enjoy the experience because I was so tired from all of the hiking around and the heat of the day.

I'm sorry this is a really short post, but I will post a more descriptive one once I've uploaded the pictures to my computer. :)

Beauty

On the day we went to Delphi we also stopped by a monastery in Osios Loukas. I thought I had a pretty good idea what the definition of beauty was and then I walked into the monastery. I literally just walked in and stopped. All I could do was look around me and soak everything in. It was if I was paralyzed by the pure beauty emanating  from the walls. I was held in the gaze of  the most powerful figures in religion that developed from the very history I was witnessing at Delphi. As if to be the cherry on top, when standing outside the monastery all you could hear were birds singing in the background.

The altar

All in all the monastery has to be one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen and I will never forget the sights I've seen.

Prophecies from the past

We've only been in Greece for about a week and I have already been to the one place I was most looking forward..Delphi. The place of the Oracle and the Navel of the Earth, Delphi contains more history than the average site of ruins. Before you reach the site of the Oracle and the temple of Apollo there is a spring running from the mountain. This spring was used to "purify" pilgrims who would make the journey to receive a prophecy from the Oracle.

Becoming "purified"

After stopping at the spring we made our way to the entrance of the ruins. The scale of the site is awe inspiring and there was definitely A LOT of climbing stairs and hiking about. However, I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. When walking along the path to the temple of Apollo it is amazing to think that you are sharing your steps with the faithful pilgrims of the past. Athenians, Spartans, and the average pilgrim, all of them coming with the same goal, to hear the prophecy of the Oracle. It is hard to comprehend that kind of history when you are standing right in the midst of it. 

The remnants of the temple of Apollo

The site was located on Mount Parnassus, which towers about Delphi. The view as we climbed as far as we could was absolutely breathtaking. Surrounded by all the history and gazing out over the vast mountains was a moment I will never forget. It is something that can never truly be captured in a photograph.

While we were in Delphi we also visited the archaeological museum there and the temple of Athena. Seeing the towering pillars of the temples is and extremely amazing expereince. It will always be hard for me to wrap my head around the history surrounding these ancient relics. To think that people once truly believed in the Goddess Athena and traveled from far and wide to praise her at this temple. Thinking about the Oracle, it is CRAZY all of the momentous decisions that were made at her vague prophecies and I was standing at the very site those prophecies were given. To say that this was a great experience is an understatement. It is truly a moment I will never forget, nor will I ever want to forget it.

The most beautiful game in the world

As we all know the Euros are going on this summer. Greece actually made it to the quarter finals this time around and I was not about to miss their game against Germany. I can now check off the bucket list that I have been to a bar to see a major soccer match in a country that actually cares. The fire and energy of the Greek crowd was amazing. When the Greeks scored their two goals the place exploded and even though they lost 4-2. I felt at home among people who felt so impassioned about a sport I love.

Doing Laundry

So, you would think doing laundry is pretty self-explanatory...it's not. Here in Greece the laundry machines are a bit, shall we say, different. You have to pick the speed of the cycle and there are all kinds of different buttons with pictures and it is just much more complicated. It was the hardest thing to just figure out which machine was dryer and which one was a washer. For me this was the oddest thing, because I am just use to having the presets on my washer at home. At first I didn't understand why this would be necessary, presets are just so much easier. Then I thought about it and realized that the Greeks are more conscious of nature and their abuse of it. Greece is a very dry climate and they do not have a great access to water. They actually have a shortage of water, so things like the washing machines have a variety of settings to make it the most efficent. In other words, there are more customizable settings so you aren't wasting a lot of water on a small load.

I think I've figured out the laundry process now and it shouldn't pose much of a challenge any longer. I have also gone grocery shopping and made a nice home cooked meal. I really enjoy the culture here of having grocery stores, bakeries and all the other shops conveniently placed. I can literally walk to the grocery store and just buy food for the day. I don't have to plan a head and buy food for the whole week.

Tomorrow we will be going to Delphi and it should be a great trip. I will be posting pictures and another entry tomorrow. :)

Yia su from Greece.

Yia su (hello) from beautiful Athens, Greece. After, approximately, 14 hours in the air, 32 hours on a ferry and 4 days on the island of Rhodes, I am finally in Athens for the remainder of my stay in Greece. It has been an extremely tiring few days, but they have been some of the best days of my life.

First things first, the plane ride. The plane ride became, for me, an encounter with some of the trials and tribulations of an American teenager in Greece. Being my first time on a plane by myself, aka without a family member sitting next to me, I was quite nervous to sit next to a complete stranger. While I was hoping for a nice person to be able to talk to over the 10 hour flight I was quickly greeted with disappointment. A man well into his seventies approached the seat next to me and, after some difficulty stowing his belongings, he sat down next to me. I immediately realized he only knew Greek as he rattled something off to me that I did not recognize at all. The lady in front of me kindly said, "He's asking you if you know any Greek," which I quickly shook my head no too and smiled. It was a quite plane ride and there would be moments of communication through smiles and hand gestures; however, I noticed that the stewardess treated him with a very short and hostile tone. After going through some of the cultural readings I could see why this man acted the way he did in some ways. He was a very helpful man and if he saw a way to help he would go straight to doing it, no second-guessing or anything, he would just do what he thought to be right or helpful. In one particular instance he went to set his empty coke can on the stewards cart because she was busy taking trash for another passenger, she quickly turned and snapped at him, "I will get it from you when I'm ready too." This moment of discomfort can be summarized as a clash between the Greek and American culture. The man, being raised that he is always right, went to do something he felt would be helpful. The women, being disciplined to do her job a certain way, felt as though he was being pushy and impatient.

Even with that first experience with the Greek culture I was fully energized to see the sights of Greece when I got off the plane. We were quickly whisked away to Deree, the American College of Greece, where we dropped our stuff off in our rooms, ate lunch and the packed a few clothes for a ferry ride to the island of Rhodes.

The ferry to Rhodes was pretty uneventful. We were all so tired from staying up past 24 hours and the jet lag, so even the rocking of the ferry didn't affect our sleep. As we pulled up to Rhodes we all stood on the back of the boat and watched the beautiful island get closer.

As soon as we got off the ferry our traveling was still not over. We immediately piled onto a bus for an hour until we reached the town of Lindos. All of us were starving because we didn't eat breakfast on the ferry, so we took time to stop at a convenient store and grab a few snacks. After that it was time to hike up a steep mountain to the acropolis at Lindos. By the way, acropolis just stands for the highest and most fortified point of a city, so there are many acropolis in Greece. Running on barely any sleep and feeling the jet lag we all some how made it to the top and it was completely worth it. It was my first taste of ancient Greek ruins and the view from the top was mesmerizing. Even though we were all tired and sweating to death nothing could take away from what we saw. Being tired did not even matter, we were climbing over rocks and ruins and trying to take in every little bit we could. After spending quite a bit of time at the top we hiked back down, spent some time in the market and left to head to our hotel.

Yeah we hiked all the way up there.

One of the views from the top.

Just a few of the sights from the Acropolis at Lindos.

After our adventures at Lindos we all went down to the beach and had a refreshing swim in the Aegean Sea. The next day we ventured into the old town of Rhodes, which is a melting pot of different cultures and time periods. We first saw the city walls which were built by the Knights of St. John, also know as the Knights of Malta, and are built in the style of gothic architecture, very plain. We then walked further into the city and saw some Turkish fountains which are much more ornate and stand out amongst the plain Gothic style. The highlight of old town was definitely the open air turkish market and even there you could see the clash of Gothic architecture with the Turkish style. The shopping was a plus and I also discovered the greatest thing ever....Nutella ice cream. :)

We had a free day that I used to just explore the rest of old town. I went with a couple of friends and got absolutely lost, but it was fun because we discovered new things as we walked around trying to find our way back to some place we could recognize. That night we went to a place called the Blue Lagoon which had live Greek music. It was so much fun to dance and do some of the Greek dances. That has to be one of my favorite nights, so far, in Greece.

On Tuesday we left the hotel and went to 4 different sites before we went back to the ferry to head to Athens. We first visited the Archaeological Museum in the old town of Rhodes, which was really cool. All of the different statues and artifacts from various time periods was interesting. They had a beautiful garden with lavender, mint and other things. There were some many beautiful smells as you walked around observing history. We spent a brief 30 minutes at the museum and then traveled to a beautiful monastery called Filerimos, another place with beautiful views and history. This monastery was originally built by the Knights of St. John and then restored by the Italians. Being on a tight time crunch we only spent about 45 minutes there and then we went to our next sight, Ancient Kamiros. Kamiros is known as one of the largest ancient Doric cities found in Rhodes. Again we only spent about 45 minutes here and then we traveled to our next sight which has to be one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. This place was called the Valley of the Butterflies. It may not have been full of ancient artifacts, but it was full of natural beauty. We hiked on the trails which was a physical challenge, until we reached a monastery at the top out of the valley. There we all took a break and sat down to a nice glass of fresh orange juice while looking over all of Rhodes. 

We hiked back down the valley and hopped onto the bus to go to the ferry and conclude our little vacation in Rhodes.

A picture cannot capture the true beauty of the Valley of the Butterflies.

All in all the trip to Greece has exceeded my expectations. I have enjoyed every moment and have made the greatest friends. In between the history and school work I have taken the time to think like a Greek and just enjoy time with friends. From finding my Kefi at the Blue Lagoon with dancing to watching the Euros at a Greek bar, the whole experience has been enjoyable.

By the end of the week I'll be in Greece?

I'm one of those people that really doesn't get excited for things until they happen. I don't spend time getting anxious or nervous before hand. However, with going to Greece it is completely different. I am anxious, nervous and, most of all, excited. I still can't believe that I will be in Greece by the end of the week and I'll be staying there for more than a month. I can't wait to be completely emerged in the culture and to be standing in front of the Parthenon, something I only thought I would see on TV or in magazines. So, Greece better be prepared, cause here I come!