Hydra Island

Note the big red star labeled "Hydra."

Hydra (Hee-drah) Island is a small mountainous Greek island just SE of the mainland and it's where we were lucky enough to spend our Saturday. Fun fact, this island is so small that there are no cars here. That's right. Breathe in... and out.... and imagine. Air without car pollution. And have you ever see water so blue?! 

But it's not so small that you can carry things everywhere on foot. That's where all of those pictures of Greek donkeys come to play. :) This island is also popular for beautiful (but rocky) swimming beaches, a lovely little museum, mountain hikes, fantastic views of surrounding islands, and a serene monastery. I swam in the bluest water on Earth and had the most relaxing of days exploring Hydra, shopping, eating, sipping frappés, and admiring the kitties. Seriously, I've never seen so many cute kitties in my life. However, I'm still getting warmed up to this whole being-abroad-for-three-months thing. And sometimes, the beauty of my surroundings gets overwhelming. When this happens, I have a tendency to occasionally chill out in the comfortable ease of "Debbi's Bubble" when maybe I should probably be jumping off of a cliff or at the very least taking pictures of other people jumping off of cliffs. So, to help myself learn from this and to keep you all accountable from making the same mistake, I made the following list. 

Things I Kind of Wish I Had Done on Hydra

(Aka, TIP: Do as I say, not as I do.)

• Ride the donkeys! And don't be afraid to bargain for it either. Two girls from our group cut the price almost in half. €10 to €6 per person for 15 minutes of donkey riding bliss.
• Stay near the leaders. This is something I have learned in the many times I have missed important details and helpful guidance because I was out of earshot of tour guides and group leaders. The important detail I missed this time was how and where to:
• Cliff dive! This is the second time in my life I have missed out on an opportunity to cliff dive. The first was in Belize and I have regretted it ever since. It won't happen again. 
• Hike to the Monastery. This isn't something I regret missing out on. Sometimes, hiking a mountain just doesn't sound fun. I'm terrible at listening to my gut when it comes to deciding what to do and order and such, so I'm glad I decided not to go. However, had I been in a hiking mood, it would have been amazing. The students who did go spoke with a monk and touched books like a thousand years old or something. So cool!
• Take pictures, idiot! You don't see this kind of beauty every day! Unfortunately, I often suffer from something called TDDD (Too Distracted for Documentation Disorder). It creeps up sometimes when I'm somewhere really beautiful or having a really good time. I always forget to document through pictures and journalling and even in this blog! (Did I mention I went to Belgium, Holland, and France last year? Nope. TDDD.)

Anna is in heaven.

However, like I said earlier, I had a wonderful time anyway - cliff dive free. The main adventure of the day was exploring Hydra, it's museum, trying new foods and swimming (keep an eye out for Anna's upcoming Hydra blog for an amusing story on my beach experience). And places like Hydra are me and Anna's favorite kind of places to go. It is the kind of place that feeds our souls. You know those places? Where you can just sit there and soak in all the beauty and the change of pace and feel good about the world. 

Photo credit to Anna 

New Foods!
Anna had her first baklava experience (success) and I had my first "Greek Delight" experience. Any Chronicles of Narnia readers out there? It's basically the same as Turkish delight. And it tastes like medicine. Some other tasty tries included fried zucchini balls and galaktoboureko (is that what its called?). The later is made with phyllo dough and custard. Dee-lish. 


We hope to tour more of the islands at some point, but boy are we having troubles narrowing down places we want to go in general. We're hoping to make it all over Greece and take some weekends in Italy and the UK as well. If we had it our way, we'd also make it over to Spain, Austria, back to Belgium and France, and maybe even Norway and Germany. It seems a shame to miss these places when tickets by train or plane are so cheap! Who would have ever thought that three months would seem like such a short amount of time? 

Also, I promise that the next blog will actually probably be more in depth on my thoughts and feelings and the things we've learned and such. You know, "my spiritual journey," or whatever. (But like I said: TDDD. It's a real thing.)  I've been here two weeks - time for the real adventuring to begin! 

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Yia sas!

When in Greece, Do as the Greeks Do!

I have now been here barely over a week (What?!)--we have learned a few of the necessary Greek words (hello, thank you, you're welcome, excuse me) and have sort of caught on to the routine and daily life, presented below!

A Day in the Life of a Young Greek Person

(From an Amateur's Perspective) 

8 am: Work/School 

I have been in classes since Monday and am enjoying every single one thus far! This semester, after having to switch some things around, I'm enrolled in British Literature (with a very difficult professor apparently), Modern Greek History (40% of my grade is essay, 60% is a test... wish me luck), and three theater courses (Voice and Speech, Movement, and Acting). I added so many theater classes because I'm pretty sure I'm extending my college career by one semester. If I don't, I will probably die from the course load next semester (English + theater + 2 colloquiums + biology + everything else = death, obviously). I probably won't get to walk with my class which is disappointing...at a small University, it's kind of a big and heartfelt deal. But spending a semester in Greece with one of my best friends is definitely absolutely worth it. Everyday, I thank God for this opportunity!

But anyway, on with our day.

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Breaks/Between Classes: Sip a Greek Frappé

In one of my theater classes, the professor told the students to take me out for coffee to get to know me and learn from the way I speak. And guess what? They actually did! It was lovely! Despite a slight language barrier at times, we talked about everything from music to love to our dreams and ambitions. And they taught me how to drink Greek frappes. TIP: In Greece, if you consume this foamy deliciousness too quickly (though it will be tempting), your friends will laugh at you. ("Haha, silly foreigner!") The foam lasts hours and that is how long Greeks take to sip their frappes. To quote my new friends, "In Greece, you take a sip, wait three hours, take another sip. That is how we drink frappe!"

2 pmish - 4 pmish: Citywide Quiet Hours and Siesta

This is something that took a little getting used to at first, but I have quickly adapted (hello adult nap time!). Many stores shut down during these hours and many young Greek people get a majority of their sleep during this time. You'll soon find out why.

UPDATE
4 pm: Lunch! 

The above quoted Greek friend, Peggy, has cleared something up for me. I was wondering whether and when Greek people have lunch. Apparently, here, lunch is the most important meal of the day. But they don't eat it until late afternoon. Breakfast is generally until noon and it's usually something small. Then, Peggy says that if they eat supper at all, it will be something like a yogurt some time around:

9 pm: Dinner Time!

I haven't quite gotten the hang of this yet. Greek food is so good and Anna is such a good cook! After a long day of class and siesta, why wait this long to eat? But this is the dinner rush in Greece. Many grilles may not even get turned on until 7 pm. TIP: In Greece (and many European countries) the tip is already included in the bill at restaurants. If your service was excellent, 50 cents to 1 or 2 euros is an appropriate amount. 

12 am: Hit the Bars!

Though Anna and I tend to stay in, this is the time for Greek nightlife. Supposedly, it is very crazy and often bars stay open until 6 am. Can you imagine? Thank goodness for Siesta! I did go out Friday night (I'm 21, it's allowed, don't judge me) and was surprised to see that not a lot of people were even really dancing. Mind you, this adventure took place at a beach club with live music. And people weren't dancing! You could tell where our group of Americans were by where a majority of the movement was happening. I asked one of my Greek classmates about it and she said people don't dance to that kind of music (which just sounded like club music to me). I'll let you know when I find out what kind of music Greeks do dance to. (UPDATE: It's Greek rock. Though I still haven't heard anything but daft punk playing anywhere.)


Though I did get a dance lesson the other day on our Athens tour. Yai sas for now!

It's All Greek to Me

The heart of man plans his way, 

but the Lord establishes his steps. 

Proverbs 16:9

Hello from Athens! Now it is time for a REAL update. From the beginning.

After a day or so of attempted jetlag recovery time (we are 8 hours ahead of SoDak), Anna and I finally  ventured out of our dorm and headed toward the nearest market with a group of our fellow study abroad students. Let's talk about about culture shock a little bit. This is something I have heard about my whole life but I've never really understood it. I still don't. However, when I walked into the grocery store and realized that close to nothing is labeled in English (let alone, using the latin alphabet), it began to hit me. I'm not in America anymore.

Our first market adventure!

I mean, duh, but still--Athens is a city and for the most part, a city is like most cities. And it's not like I haven't been in cities in foreign countries before. (I realized the other day that Greece is the 14th country I have traveled to!) But this is the first country that I've had to learn to really live in. The first time I've had to buy groceries abroad. Anna and I ended up being so overwhelmed, we only came home with instant coffee (that we thought was regular), tea, Nutella, and sweetened condensed milk (that we thought was coffee creamer--though that's apparently what they actually use here!). Thankfully, the school also provided us with some basic groceries in our fridge before we got here. Which was real nice. Groceries are a process.

But, it's starting to settle in a little more. We completed orientation yesterday and it was super weird to realize: Whoa. This is an actual school. People actually go here. There is a campus and there are teachers and advisors and students and.... everything! The people who have been emailing me all summer actually exist! What?! Classes actually start Monday!

After orientation, I joined a couple girls on a hike up a nearby mountainyhillthing. It was fantastic! From almost to the top, you could see ALL of Athens--literally. On our way back down, we ran into a professor from our university who let us look through his binoculars to see PARTHENON! It was again like: Whoa. We aren't in just any foreign country with a different alphabet. We ARE in Greece. We are in GREECE!

The little babiest hill in between the two bigger hills is the ACROPOLIS! 

Today, we toured our neighborhood and downtown Athens. It was an excellent introduction to the area to kinda help us get a little more solid idea of where in the world we are. Everything is made of marble. The buildings, many sidewalks, everything. It's the building material here--like cement or wood. In the next couple weeks for sure, I'll start to feel a lot more comfortable in the our area. There are many restaurants and shops nearby--even a Pizza Hut within walking distance! It will be a very fun neighborhood to experience one I've gotten the swing of things.

There is talk of going to the beach tomorrow. And in the morning, Anna and I are going to try and actually grocery shop. We've already compiled a grocery list and translated it to Greek. Wish us luck! Or, as they say in Greece, wish us success! That is better then luck.





ADDITION: If you want to see fun factoids and pictures from our walking tour of Athens, check out my new friend Carissa's blog. She's a smarty-pants and way better at remembering details of things then I am!

My New Home - A Virtual Tour

As you know, this semester, I am studying abroad in Athens, Greece. This post includes a few pictures of our apartment, in case anyone is really curious about our living situation. We are staying in a lovely little neighborhood (kind of like a suburb--think maybe the Brooklyn to NYC's Manhattan... minus the bridge). Though we are about five minute's walk from our university, there is a big green fence around campus and the nearest entrance is a few blocks up the hill.

Our building is basically a dormitory with laundry facilities in the basement, a living room area downstairs, and apartments above. All of the study abroad students are staying in this building. There are people from all over the USA, Brazil, and Egypt. I have had wonderful conversations today that I can't wait to tell you about in my next blogs. Our roommates are two girls that also came from a school together and are very sweet.

(All photo credit goes to Anna!)

Welcome to our home!  >>>


This is our kitchen. It is stocked with every cooking item we could ever ever need. At our college, there is a cafeteria (and Starbucks!) where we can pay for meals and drinks and such, but there is no meal plan. Which is excellent--I love cooking and can't wait to learn how to cook some classy Greek food! Now, we'll continue the tour through the open door...

Sneak right past me....

Keep going--don't be shy!

Pretty homey, right?! 

We had the option of buying sheets from the university, but opted to bring our own kinda crappy ones instead. We figure we can always leave them behind for more luggage space! (You know, so we can bring back y'all some cool stuff?) I am on the right and Anna is on the left. My boyfriend, Bobby, is on the picture on the wall. :) But wait, there's more!

Through the next door...

Onto our balcony!

Pretty fab, right?

This is our life. :) 

Also, this is our bathroom. 

Dancing Whales: Alaskan Adventures

Last week, I stepped off of a 7 day Alaskan Cruise. No big deal.

Just kidding. It was a big deal and it was awesome. There were 23 members of my extended family aboard this ship and it was a blast. On this vacation, we saw whales aplenty, a couple glaciers, flipping salmon, adorable seals, fantastic performances, beautiful scenery, ate fine cuisine, and danced our butts off. I don't get to see my extended family often, and this vacation, now that I'm 21, it felt like a lot of doors were opened to that I could get to know them better. And by doors, I mean the doors to the club. I hope that doesn't sound stupid, but you know? When you're under 21, you kinda have a limited time with people. You live on a different sleep schedule then those who have the privilege to go out at night.

Speaking of going out at night, this vacation, I totally got my groove back. I don't know why, but the last couple years, I haven't been myself on the dance floor. I've been self-concious and just trying to be silly instead of seriously dancing. Maybe it was just being around my crazy family that brought it back out, but I danced my heart out almost every night of vacation. One night, I actually was given the fabulous opportunity to compete in Dancing with the Stripes (like dancing with the stars, except you're dancing with the officers of the ship). Based on audience applause as judgement, I believe I got second place! The winner was a cowboy who flipped his dance partner--after that, I knew my chance was probably gone. But for the rest of the cruise, I got compliments from strangers on my performance! It was sweet.

Here are my TIPS from this trip:

Pre-Disillusionment of Frog Legs

• Frog legs do not taste like chicken. Unless that chicken was braised in fishy river water.
• When you go on a cruise or to a resort that charges extra for everything, either buy packages for things like drinks in advance, or have a budget prepared. Those Pina Coladas could add up. I was very grateful for my package!
• Don't bother paying for internet unless absolutely necessary. There will always be time to find an internet cafe or a Starbucks in port. 
• When you travel to someplace new, you have two options:
• Either a) Care and learn about a little bit of history about the destinations before you arrive! It is so much more exciting to see famous landmarks when you know why they are famous.
• Or b) Go on excursions! It's an easy and fun way to learn about the landmarks and quirks of the area, especially if you have a friendly tour guide (so make friends with him/her).
• On a cruise ship, you are going to be around the same people for a week. Get to know the people you are eating lunch by! I met people from all over, and almost all of them could talk about theater (which made a happy Debbi!)
• Bring two sweaters and a waterproof jacket. Your dad will thank you when he doesn't have to give his up because your sweater got soaked with glacier water. 

Mendenhall Glacier

The COOLEST Things I Saw

• The Hubbard and Mendenhall Glaciers. I've heard it said that soon, all of the glaciers will be gone. It was absolutely mind blowing to see something so old and to actually hear the thunderous breakage of it's melt. 
• The Whales. I mean I never saw one full out porpoise (which means jump out of the water like every stereotypical dolphin), but the blast from they're port hole (if you will) and appearance of the back and flip of their tale was an amazing enough sight for me. 
• Leaping Salmon. I couldn't BELIEVE how many salmon I saw and they were all continually shooting feet out of the water! SOmething to do with trying to break their egg sacks... Ketchikan, our third stop, is the salmon capital of the world. It's so funny to me that in the lower 48, salmon makes a fine meal, but in Alaska, of course, its poor man's food. But that doesn't make it any less delicious. 

I'm signing off now from my layover in Montreal. Did I mention that I'm on my way to Athens, Greece right now? To study abroad for three and a half months with my dear friend, Anna? Our first flight left Sioux Falls early this morning (shout out to my WONDERFUL boyfriend Bobby who drove me to the airport before 5 am) and it still hasn't sunk in that I won't be at USF this semester. Keep us in your prayers! And look forward to a blog very soon. <3

YOLO

Hello from Canada! Figured this would be a good time to update you on my adventures. Because s*** is about to get serious. I'm writing to you now from a (super fancy) hotel in Vancouver. My dad is taking the philosophy of "YOLO" very seriously this vacation. He went all out and treated myself, mom, Liz and Matt (sorry Becca!) to a pre-family reunion reunion. We've spent a few days exploring the BEAUTIFUL city of Vancouver and the fabulous ISLAND of Victoria before we meet up with cousins and aunts and uncles and so forth on a cruise to Alaska.

One week. Dozens of Joneses. Hundreds of adventures are about to go down.

So yeah, you definitely have some more blogs to look forward to this week.

Liz, Matt & Dad

DAY ONE: I've been very curious to see what traveling with my parents as an adult would be like. The last time I've vacationed with them for this amount of time was probably when I was 13. Though I could be wrong. Mom has been having some difficulty walking the last couple years too, so getting through the airports took a little bit of patience. TIP: NEVER wait until you get off of a plane to eat lunch. Especially if the plane is landing in a foreign country. Also, always carry granola bars. Always. By the time we had made it through customs, and retrieved our bags, and taken (MY FIRST EVER) limo ride to the hotel, it had been about 9 hours since the last time I had eaten. And, fun fact, by the time you feel hungry, your body has already gone into starvation mode. "Hangry" is a real thing and it doesn't help anything while traveling.

But like I said (as you can probably tell from the fact that we took a LIMO), my dad went all out. We're not only staying in a fancy hotel that is ocean front with a heated outdoor pool and a terrace garden where they actually grow and harvest herbs and such, but we are staying in the fancy hotel within the fancy hotel. We are on the ninth floor which not only has continental breakfast, but also has continental tea time, hors d'oeuvres, and dessert hours. There is an ocean view, heated outdoor pool, separate terrace, and concierge services. To top it all off, our bathroom mirror is also a television.

This night, we explored the area for a while and ended the night with a couple rounds and fried pickles at a nearby pub. There is nothing so good as sit-down sibling time and beers. And fried pickles. Matt and I have also decided to be work out buddies on this vacation.

Stanley Park

DAY TWO: Today, there was an anime convention taking place across the street from us. The costumes were amazing! There were also quite a few Pikachu staying in our hotel. We took an afternoon City Tour of Vancouver and discovered many new sites in the city! We saw tropical birds, totem poles, and an amazing market on our stops. After the tour, we met with my Aunt Ruth, Uncle Bill, and cousins Eric and Chris for dinner. The cousins just graduated from Vancouver Film School--it was that event that prompted this whole shindig! We tried poutine, which is one of the few national Canadian foods. Fries with gravy and cheese--as delicious as it sounds!

DAY THREE: This morning, we hopped on a float plane, which is a plane which takes off and lands in the water. So cool! We headed to Victoria Island and explored the city. Next is a tip I have discovered useful in almost every country and place I have traveled to. TIP: When in doubt, there is always a bathroom at Starbucks. Buying a drink is worth that fact. Then, we explored the Butchart Gardens. They were SO BEAUTIFUL! If anyone is looking for a wedding location, this would be the place. I like gardens a lot more then museums. In gardens, you don't have to look at every flower to appreciate the whole experience. After the gardens, we took the ferry back to Vancouver and enjoyed the view of mountains, islands and the sunset along the way.

Tonight, we met up with our cousins again for a night in town. TIP (for the ladies): If you're ever looking for a little confidence boost, the bathroom of a gay club is the place to go. I have never been called so many sweet things (beautiful, adorable, cute, etc) by so many men and women at the same time. I really found my element at this club--we danced like mad! Its so cool to be able to dance somewhere without the fear of people attempting to grind on you! It was a wonderful ending to a fantastic little vacation in Vancouver. Today, we embark on a cruise ship to Alaska and the real adventure begins! Then, on September 2nd, I'm off to Greece for a semester.

Did I forget to mention that? Oh yeah. Like I said, s*** is about to get serious. You only live once!

Love Notes

In honor of the approaching Mother's Day, I am going to stop being selfish by sharing some words of wisdom I recieved from my mother recently via the card pictured above. Below are her excellent TIPS:

"Debbi,
Thought you could use some [love] today.
April and May are hard college months. Keep up with all your homework and 'steady on.' As is said, 'one day at a time' and sometimes it is one hour at a time and even one minute at a time. Hold tight to your belief in yourself and in God's blessing you with talents in music and drama and how well you write. We believe in you!
Love, Mom and Dad"

My mom likes to show her love best through cards and gifts. I cannot tell you how many cards I have received in my life from this woman. However, I can't remember ever receiving one like this. With so much thought and care and love and so many words. I'll probably frame it and cherish it forever as I cherish my mom. So in her words, believe in yourself, friends! And one [adventure] at a time.