end of Athens and traveling with parents

For the past two weeks I have had numerous adventures- from hiking up mount Olympus, watching the sunset for the Piraeus port in Athens, learning to cook traditional meal of mousaka, witnessing a protest at Syntagma square, and catching a flight to Venice to meet my parents for our week long tour of Europe together.

                I am sad to have another chapter of my book of life come to a close. It was very hard for me to say good bye to Greece. I loved the culture, the food, the people, but most importantly I had a sense of belonging during my time there. I made many friends both of the Greek nationality and those from different schools of the states. My last weekend in Greece I had the opportunity to hike up Mount Olympus- which consisted of climbing in the rain and snow and cold up a mountain following an outspoken Greek guide to what we all presumed our death…(obviously I am okay since I am writing this blog now!) On Saturday night I went to  the Irish pub of Monastoraki to celebrate a birthday in the group, followed by another day of hiking on Sunday of the mountains surrounding Athens. Also on Sunday my roommates and I went to have lunch with Nikos (a friend that I have obtained courtesy of Alexandra) and his family at his home that afternoon. The food was delicious but the only problem is that I hadn’t learned enough Greek to tell his parents that (since they didn’t speak a lick of English).

                The following Tuesday I had my final exam for my schooling in Athens and I would like to say it went well…. We had a slight scare that day as well when we were told that our flights may be canceled due to strikes of the airport controls that week but in the end Caitlin and I made our way to Italy with no complications.

                Once we arrived in Venice we boarded a boat bus that drove along the river to our hotel. We were the first to arrive of the group but soon enough we were reunited with the familiar faces and jokes of our parents and the Donners. We explored the wonderful, yet chilly, city of Venice and the next day we were off again.

                The trains of Europe have become a familiar scene to my eye.  My parents, sister and I split from Pete and Joan in Milan to continue our journey to Interlocken- where we climbed the jaw dropping landscape of the Swiss Alps- to Lucerne. Currently I am sitting on yet another train to Munich, Germany where I hope to celebrate the last stop of our travels with a nice Guiness with my father at the ever famous Hoprahaus!

Hope to write soon,

Megan

pictures to tell the stories

Here is a photo of some graffiti that I saw on my walk through plaka

This is my group all enjoying a night at Mike's Irish Bar for some Karaoke- that is me on the far left!

One of our many batches of cookies

My amazing artwork that I did to my friend Brandon's hair 

I was invited to attend a Greece verses Croatia Soccer game- this is the Greek flag held up by Alexandra's friends Nikos and her other friend from out seats of the stadium

Eight minutes into the game- an explosion rang through the stadium! The Croatians and the Greek fans were having a flare fight- no lie! In the Croatian section there were people chucking their seats across their section and there was smoke rising over the field. Lets just say I was freaking out but my companions said that this was a pretty normal thing....?!

Here is a view of the smoke coming from the Croatian sector in the corner of the stadium

The  Ossios Loukas monastery near Delphi, Greece

The Temple of Apollo in Delphi, Greece. This is the sanctuary where people would come to receive advice from the Oracle who only answered questions nine days out of the whole year- it is unknown if she would inhale some fumes from the rocks or if she did indeed have a divine connection

A photo of me with the theater of the Delphi sanctuary in the back ground

A little note about what has been going on in Greece

As you know it is a tough economic time for the citizens of Greece- there have been many strikes, including transportation, garbage collection, and even museum employees are striking. It hasn't quite affected my schooling here but has been a learning experience all the same. I actually consider myself lucky to be here and be a witness to such events. 

Also I have made some good friends over here in Greece so it will be hard for me to leave them in a week! 

I have only finals in my near future and this weekend I am going to be climbing Mount Olympus! So wish me luck and have I hope to blog again soon!

Recent activities

On Monday night of last week I had the opportunity to attend a concert at the Herodes Atticus theater located right next to the acropolis of Carmina Burana! If you aren't sure if you have listened to Carmina Burana, type it into youtube and you will realize how popular of a tune it is. Funny thing is is that the translations of these monk chantings in Latin are actually pretty dirty! It was an hour and ten minute show with three encores at the end- and I wish it lasted longer!

To comment on what I have been learning in class-

The artwork of the the dark ages through the geometric period up to the high classical period (so from 1200 BC to 400 BC)- I am loving every class and visit, we have been to the National Museum of Archaeology, the Acropolis Museum, the Museum of Olympia, and many sites around Athens!

The development of democracy in Athens- the funny things that you didn't hear about in other history classes such as ostracism

The Greek Orthodox faith- which I find extremely interesting

How to get by with a little Greek language- I know how to say hello, excuse me, very beautiful, and thank you and that is pretty much it!

On Saturday of this week I met up with my friend Alexandra (from the bakery) and she took a group of us out to a hookah bar in Monasiraki for some hookah and a drink that consists of wine with honey (soo good!) after we went on the metro to Gazi for the night scene... lets just say that the night ended at 4:30am!

I have been having the most amazing time in Greece so far- next for this week we are celebrating a birthday of the group followed by a weekend excursion to Delphi

Opah!