Napflion

Saturday, the study abroad team took us all out to Napflion. I absolutely adored this area! It is positively gorgeous and, like Hydra, is more of the Greece we were expecting. It was the original capitol of Greece. One of my favorite parts of being in this city was actually being able to recall many of the monuments and historical sites to my Modern Greek History class (yay school!). 

Amanda, Me and Yawen inside the prison... scary....

First, we explored the Palamidi Castle where Kolokotronis was imprisoned and we even went inside the little cell (creepy). Felt very Chronicles of Narnia/Game of Thrones. The castle also holds a gorgeous view of the city below. 

She's escaping!

 After escaping the prison and exploring the fortress, we headed into Old Town Napflion. We saw the original Parliament and monuments dedicated to the first president, Kapodístrias, and the first King, Otto. The coolest part was seeing the bullet holes from Kapodístrias' murder. We also got to peek inside Saint George's Cathedral - the first Greek Orthodox church I have been inside. 

Our RA, Litsa, lights a candle
inside Saint George's Cathedral.

As we walked around this gorgeous little town, Anna and I both remarked how we wish there were study abroad opportunities in places like this. We're still adjusting to "city life" I guess. However, Athens is a very unique city. Even though it is the capitol of Greece, it doesn't feel like the big scary city I thought it would feel like. One of my Greek friends actually described Athens as a big friendly village. Or maybe, as we're figuring out how this place works, it's just starting to feel more like home rather then a massive foreboding foreign metropolis.

ANYWAY. After our tour, we ate a traditional Greek taverna by the sea. It was the BEST Greek food I have eaten yet! Dolmades, the best olives I have ever tried, stuffed eggplant rolls, spanakopita, cake, freddo cappucinos, and the MOST AMAZING lamb. The only think I caught a picture of was the lamb because we were too busy stuffing our faces with the magical Greek goodness, to the amusement of our Brazilian friend Amanda who is constantly amazed by the speed at which Americans eat, remarking, "You're food isn't going anywhere, you know!" 

Baaahhhh.

Guys. I have tried lamb several times. From my own kitchen and from fancy restaurants and not once have I really appreciated it. I don't know why I even kept bothering. But this.... was SPECTACULAR lamb. 

By the time we finished our tasty escapades, we only had 20 minutes to explore Napflion before we got back on the bus to head to a nearby winery for a tour and tastings. I wish we had had more time to really cover Napflion - it was so... soul feeding? Or at least it could have been. The tour of the winery was very interesting and cool - but I think that'll be my last winery tour. Something about fermenting grapes just doesn't appeal to my senses. (Don't get me wrong, I still love wine! Just not how it smells while it's being made...) But the view was beautiful! :) 

We are halfway through our semester in Greece! I can't believe it has flown by this quickly. I know this might seem obvious, but its still surprising that no matter how long you get to live somewhere, you will never get to see, learn or understand everything about a place. But I'm certainly grateful to have had my mind opened up to the rest of the world in the way it has been on this journey. Amanda and I had a conversation about how Americans are (stereotypically) ignorant of the rest of the world. Like how we don't really learn European history outside of WWII. Amanda wondered whether that was due to a lack of interest... and it might be. But that's not because we are arrogant ignorant Americans.... I honestly think its just because we aren't taught about other cultures as much as we should be. Amanda, as a Brazilian high schooler, was required to learn some history of America, Russia, Germany, China England, France, etc. I hate to admit that I really didn't know anything about Brazil before I met Amanda other then its language and climate... food for thought. 

Monday is a national holiday in Greece - Oxi* Day! This means NO SCHOOL MONDAY! Anna and I are looking to travel to either the island of San Torini or Crete. Thank you for reading!

*Oxi is pronounced "oh-khee" and means "no."

The (Somewhat) Great Big Day of Awful That Definitely Could Have Been Worse, But Still

“Some days are like that. Even in Australia.” 

― Judith Viorst 

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

So I haven't gotten to tell you about last Saturday yet. Saturday was one great big day of awful. ok, maybe that's an exaggeration. It wasn't ENTIRELY awful. We did eat some tasty food and we learned some valuable lessons involving public transportation. But enough of these musings. Allow me to explain.

image borrowed from athensminibus.com

The plan:

Make the pilgrimage to Epidaurus, the biggest ancient theater in the WORLD. Stand on the stage and recite a monologue from Sophocles' Antigone. Check out the archeological museum and other sites. Eat lunch by the sea. Experience all sorts of joy. Cost: €21 for bus roundtrip, €6 for Epidaurus admission. 

But that doesn't really sound like one great big day of awful does it? Nope. Not at all. Sounds more like a great big day of awesome to me. But sometimes, obviously, things won't go according to plan. God is going to offer you an amazing opportunity to use the fruits of the spirit. And I can assure you, we took that opportunity. We took it, stomped all over it, and had a great big day of awful. ANYWAY.

Probably the biggest lifestyle change I have undergone here is the use of public transportation. In South Dakota, having a car is almost essential what with everything being so spread out and the occasional freak snowstorm. But in Greece, with some practice and the ability to ask strangers for directions, you can get almost anywhere by the metro and bus. However, the ticket system is very different then that of, say, the metro in NYC. Here, anyone can get in the station and on the train without a ticket. However, they run the risk of being caught by the occasional guard and being fined. 

So the morning went as follows: Left the dorms at 8 am to make it to the airport by 9:30 am to catch the only bus to Epidavros (the city where Epidaurus is - two hours away). We could have bought tickets to join a fancy tour (that not only hits up Epidaurus, but also cool areas like Mycenae and Napflio), but we are poor college students and those tours are all €92. ANYWAY. So we buy our tickets at the nearest kioske, walk to the nearest bus stop, hop on, ride to the metro station, hop on, ride to the airport, hop off and try and find the bus to Epidavros. After following various random signs and asking various random people, we finally find the buses with a couple minutes to spare. Only to discover that the bus we need to get on is actually another hour's bus ride away. And that bus doesn't even leave for another 45 minutes or so. Needless to say, we were screwed. 


We played around with the idea of going elsewhere in Greece (in Anna's words, "We're young, we're in Greece, we're at the airport - why not?") but, as we've already discovered, traveling on our own is a lot more complicated then it seems. We decided instead explore Syntagma, which is near the center of Athens and whose train station is right outside the Parliament. So, we hop back on the train, and hang out for the next 15 minutes while we wait for it to leave. We smile and chat, acknowledge the nearest guard, and watch the train slowly fill with people. All in all, trying to persevere about our failed adventure. Finally, the doors slide shut and the train begins to move. 

Food makes
everything better.

This is when the guards take their opportunity to ask to see our metro tickets... you know, so there's no escape. Actually, this is the first time I have ever been asked to show my ticket. But no big deal. We're good girls. We hand them our tickets. 

And here's a fun fact. When getting on the metro, if you're going to or from the airport, you are required to have a special €8 ticket. Rather then our little student 70 cent ones. 

We got fined €80. The one upside is that, if you pay within 10 days, your fine is cut in half. But still.... we paid more money to do nothing then we would have paid to make it to Epidaurus. Hence, the great big day of awful. Our attitudes got the best of us. TIP: When travel plans and happy perspectives fall through, it is always a good idea to stop what you're doing, find the nearest eating establishment, and simultaneously rest/drown your feelings with food. 

Me, Marianna, and
pumpkin spice latte!

So Wednesday, our lovely Greek friend Marianna joined us to try and appeal this ticket. The appeal process is as follows: take the train across town, bring copies of passport, visa, and ISIC (to prove why we had student tickets in the first place), have Marianna speak with the attendant in Greek, and each fill out a Fee Cancellation Application Form (complete with contact info, explanation for why you shouldn't be fined, and your father's name... I dunno why, but every legal document here requires your father's name). Then, we had the choice to either pay €40 for the reduced fine now or wait to hear back until our application goes through. If it is accepted, our money will be returned to us. If it is not, and we had not paid the initially, then we would be charged the full €80. We won't hear back about the status of this application for one month.
(UPDATE: Because we had brought the copies of our IDs, they cut our fine in half. So now, we get to make a trip to the office and pick up 20€. I call it a success!)

But hey. Now we know. Public transportation is a blessing... and sometimes a b-word. Mostly a blessing. Getting in my car for the first time is going to be a weird feeling. I've never taken the buses in Sioux Falls before, but I'm definitely going to give them a shot when I get home. 

Thank you for bearing through this unfortunate tale. Studying abroad continues to be an incredible experience and I am so blessed and grateful for this opportunity. As our metro fine is the most unfortunate thing to happen to me thus far, I really don't have anything to complain about. Tomorrow, the study abroad team is taking us wine tasting in Napflio! Could there be a better ending to the first week of Midterms? Signing off with a photo of me and Anna's new inspirational wall decoration. Adventure on! 

The Hot Bods of Greek Gods

Yia sas! I've been here for almost six weeks. And we've only just made it to the Parthenon. TIP: Though the night life in Athens is typically very late, check the hours for tourist sites and grocery stores. They aren't open as late as you'd think! Markets tend to close at 9 pm and the tourist sites vary. A simple tip that I'm still somehow figuring out. However, one of the plus sides of Athens is that there's always an ancient ruin somewhere to be admired from afar.

Some of the adventures and events of this past week:

October 3rd. Our roommate Steph got hit by a car while she was out running in preparation for the Marathon. (You know, like the MARATHON Marathon - whoa.) This affirms the craziness of traffic conditions here. Narrow roads, little traffic enforcement, and most sidewalks are often blocked from pedestrians by planted trees, parked cars and dumpsters. There is even a group here in Athens trying to fight for pedestrian rights. Pedestrian rights.... something I've always taken advantage of, I guess! Send out your prayers and positive thoughts to this super sweet trooper!

October 4th. Cheered on the Deree women's soccer team. Our cheers were so inspiring that our friend Carissa actually knocked one of the opponents out!

October 5th. Anna, Jess and I checked out the National Archeological Museum here in Athens (€3 with student ID). It was beeeeauuutiful. The museum is near the area in Athens known as Exarchia and next door to Athens Polytechnic (aka the National Technical University of Athens). Exarchia is a popular area for college students, anarchists and demonstrations with many cool shops, restaurants and clubs. When we arrived in the area, there was a peaceful demonstration beginning across the street from the metro - its the first one I have seen during my stay in Athens. The area is very eclectic in appearance and is covered entirely in very artistic graffiti (while most of Athens is covered in very boring, gross, sad, and inartistic graffiti). At night time, in Exarchia Square, it is apparently common to see many people doing drugs out in the open. Needless to say, it is a unique community and made the sparkling beautiful building and grounds of the museum very easy to find.

The exhibits were crazy cool. Pieces were from the Archaic and Classical Periods, Bronze Age, Byzantine Empire, Egypt, and even a shipwreck (though don't quote me on the details here). However, many of the statues and monuments were taken from people's gravestones. They were of course very cool and artistic all the same, but it was still weird... I dunno how I would feel if I knew someone took the monument marking my grave to display in a museum somewhere. However, we did also see a few mummies and skeletons, so I guess all's fair in love, war, and historical preservation! Side note, all the statues of Greek gods had totally hot bods. Here's a couple (non-naked statue) pictures from our adventure:

Check out the detail on his arms - you can see his VEINS.

Anna and Jess. And Mr. Dead Guy.

Zeus' arm. And a statue of an arm. 

Later that night, some of my Greek friends from class took Carissa and I out for a night on the town; specifically, in the Gazi District. This area is also a very cool collegiate area with many cool looking clubs, bars, coffee shops and stores. We relaxed and talked for a while and then they took us dancing (to prove that Greeks DO dance)! TIP: If you plan on going to a club on the weekend in Athens, arrive relatively "early" - maybe around 11 pm, before the place packs up and the lines start. After about 2 am, you can't really go into any other places because of the lines. The club played everything from Britney Spears to the Rocky theme to Gangsta's Paradise. The dancing here is more subdued then back in the States though. As in, you don't really see people grinding - which is definitely cool by me. :) We called it an early night at 3 am - after the metro had closed at 2 am - and our friends continued to prove Greek hospitality by giving us a ride all the way back to our dorm. However, TIP: Do not ask a Greek boy what hair product he uses for his stylish and gravity-defiant hairstyles. According to them, they do not use product. But then again, that does go along with Anna's theory that all Greeks have beautiful hair.

October 11th. We finally made it out to the Acropolis (which is the name of a mountain, not a monument)! (€6 with USF student ID.) Atop this mountain sits the Parthenon and a couple other temples for the worship of Athena, the Goddess of War and protector of Athens. We were in total awe of these monuments. Can you imagine building such structures? And climbing a mountain every day to do it? 

The Parthenon

Odeon of Herodes Atticus - Just like we studied in Theater History!
Photo credit to Anna Thvedt

My favorite - The Theater of Dionysus

Afterward, we explored the Acropolis Museum (free with Greek student ID)- a beautiful building dedicated to the archeological discoveries of the Acropolis. I feel so incredibly blessed to be surrounded by so much history! When I get home, I am definitely going to take better advantage of the museums in Sioux Falls. However, something I have found most interesting historically is Greece's more modern history. I feel like I am not alone when I say that, really, the only modern European history I've studied in America involves WWII. I'm not proud to say that I was even pretty ignorant of the Greek Revolution before my Modern Greek History class. You see, contrary to popular belief, modern Greece isn't the "Classical Greece" of theater and philosophy and science that one might expect before coming here. Some Greek historians actually go so far to describe their Classical inheritance as a burden. Much has happened and changed in this country since Aristotle's time - the religion, the boundaries, the language, the government, and the people. Which makes Greece's culture all the more rich, dynamic and fascinating to be a part of this semester!