Day 12: Lefkes and Byzantine Trail

This morning we took a bus to the town of Lefkes. There was not really anything there but the photography kids had about an hour to walk around and take pictures. We mostly went to this town because it is where the Byzantine trail starts. The Byzantine trail was a road made in the typical Roman style and was well preserved. It was very interesting to see but it was a long hike up a very steep hill and it was very hot. We ended at another small town where the bus was going to meet us so we did not have to walk all of the way back to Lefkes. A few of us stopped to look at some puppies and ended up getting completely lost. Most of the towns were made in the form of a maze so that pirates would get lost when they came. We got pretty worried, but finally we found them. After we got home, it was time for class. We watched a really interesting documentary in ACC. It was about the human body and how it has been portrayed in art. Creative writing was optional so we skipped it to get stuff done. I took a shower, blogged, and then watched bachelorette with Cassandra and took a nap. At 8 oclock, a bunch of us went out for Mexican food. I had delicious chicken enchiladas. After dinner, we all hung out in the lobby for awhile looking at pictures from the trip. A bunch of the girls went out, but I stayed in and watched sisterhood of the traveling pants 2. I have been having stomach problems. I think it has to do with all of the dairy I have been eating. On my night in, I ended up not sleeping at all. The only time I slept was from 2-3 and from 5-7. My air conditioning was also broken. So no, I am not caught up on sleep now. I have pretty much gotten used to being tired all of the time.

until next time

Day 11: Antiparos

Antiparos is a small island only a 5 minute ferry ride from Paros. First, we went to a stalactite cave. It was incredible. There was a total of 411, so technically I walked 822 stairs. Speaking of walking a lot, I am pretty sure I have lost atleast 5 pounds here from all the exercise we have been doing. And some days we don't eat 3 meals a day, some days only 1. We just get too busy or don't want to spend money. Anyway, so the stairs were a little bit rough but I really enjoyed the cave. It makes you feel really dizzy though and a couple girls had to leave because they were claustrophobic and were getting panic attacks. I didn't get very good pictures because you were not allowed to use flash, but you may be able to get the picture. We all sat around the at the entrance waiting for people to come up. The whole time we talked about American comfort food and how much we wanted some. I have been craving mashed potatoes and mac and cheese like no other, so mom can we have that when I get home : ). It made me a little homesick. I miss me family, friends, boyfriend, and puppy a whole lot. I just remind myself I can not dwell on that when I am doing so many amazing things. After the cave, we ate lunch on the waterfront. Then, we took a boat out to a sea cave. We got to swim around for awhile and go in the cave. Seriously, one of the highlights so far. We all just floated in the beautiful Aegean Sea and thought about how amazing our lives are. When we were done on the boat, we headed back to Paros. I took a wonderful nap when we got home and then made yummy potatoes for dinner. After, we went out dancing again. We are pretty much dancing queens. I seriously love all the people I have met. We are all so different, but we fit together to make a perfect whole. Sounds cheesy, but its so true. Everyone is so smart so we all have very intellectual conversations, but at the same time, we can have a good time. I feel like I have known these girls forever. Oh and you can't forget about the boy. Yes, we have one boy in the program and only one. Luckily, he's kind of the coolest guy ever. Poor guy, he's probably had way too much girl time.

until next time

Day 10: Mykonos and Delos

Today, we caught a ferry to Delos at 8:30. If you don't know anything about Delos, you should research it. It is pretty dang cool. It is completely uninhabited except for the curator. No one is allowed to be born there or die there. This is because no one can create homage there and claim it as theirs. It has a bunch of well preserved ruins. It was so awesome to see. There is just something so magical being in a place with so much history and that is completely uninhabited. Delos is also the birth place of Apollo. We walked around and looked at all of the sites. Then, Alex, our guide/teacher, took us on a hike up the mountain to see this awesome oracle. I had my merrels this time so I did not have to go barefoot. We then climbed to the very top of the mountain. It was seriously breathtaking. The views were beautiful and it was so peaceful. I sat there quietly for awhile just thinking. I thought about how thankful I am for this experience and how lucky I am. I also thought about how amazing this world is and how beautiful God's creations are. It was one of those moments in your life which touches you and there is no possible way you can ever forget how you felt during those minutes.

After Delos, we took a short ferry to Mykonos. BIG dissappointment. I thought I would love it there, but it was not that great. It was soo jammed packed and touristy, Every thing was geared around tourists, and nothing against Americans, but they were every where. It's just, when you are in a foreign place, you want to feel like you are in a foreign place. We walked around for awhile and saw "small venice." We were all laughing because we were "home sick" and couldn't wait to go back to our little island where we feel at home and are not bombarded by tourists. When we got home, we all got ready and then went out dancing again. It is a lot of fun because we get to meet a lot of locals our age and people from all over. We met some girls from Sweden and they were extremely nice and probably the prettiest girls I have ever seen. It is interesting to have conversations with people from all over. It helps me broaden my perspective on life.

until next time

Day 9: more class

Today was another class day. I had ACC at 10:30. I had a small break after until 3 when I had creative writing and took the best nap ever. It was so hard to wake up to go to class at 3. Today we found out we have to be working on a 6-10 page paper inspired by what we have been doing in class. We can either do fiction, non-fiction or poetry. I think I am going to stick with non-fiction because that is what I'm best at. I already have something started so it shouldn't be too hard. I also have to write a paper for ACC. it will not be too bad though because it is about our experience here and what has effected us most. I think I am going to focus on culture and how much the culture interests me. I will let you all read it when I am done. It will be easy to write because I am been enjoying this culture so much and have been drinking in every aspect of it. It is just so interesting to see how differently people live from us. After creative writing, Cassandra, Brittany, and I stopped by the grocery store to get stuff for dinner and other random meals. I got bread to make sandwich stuff and some fruit. We made bowtie pasta with Mediterranean sauce and fried potatoes. It was a delicious dinner. After, Cassandra and I watched Sisterhood of the traveling pants and went to bed.

until next time

Day 8: Naxos

Today we woke up at 8 am to catch a ferry to Naxos. The ferry was only an hour so not too bad. First we went to the temple of Demeter. It was pretty cool. It was in the country side so it was pretty to see all of the natural landscape. Then we went and got pizza in a small little town. Meals here seriously take more than an hour here. After, we went and saw ancient statues called Kouros. They were huge and both of the ones we saw were laying on the group. After, we traveled back to the port town and climbed up to the doorway to the temple of Apollo. It is said that there are 3 of them in a triangle on different islands. I really liked it. It was very royal and majestic and sits out on a hill that juts into the water. After, we went and sat at a restaurant and waited for our ferry. We got home at about 7, then got ready and hung out on the rooftop. We went to Saloon D’or again to hang out and then got in early.

Day 7: class

Sorry I have not updated. My internet has been really on and off (because it is the worst laptop in history. no joke) so I have just been using other people's to get on real quick here and there. Also I am kind of having way too much fun to be sitting and wasting my time on the internet. And I have homework, which kind of sucks. Anyway day 6 I slept in until about 12 because we stayed out pretty late the night before. Then I literally had class ALL day. Well I might be being a bit dramatic but it felt like all day. I had ACC from 1-3 and creative writing from 3-5. In between classes I was able to run and get a gyro and let me tell you, it was the most delicious thing that has ever graced my lips. It had chicken from the spit so it was very tender a flaky. It also had tzahiki, tomatoes, onions, and potatoes. Classes are going ok. I keep falling asleep in our ACC class and I enjoy creative writing, but we share our work a lot and mine is not as good as the others in the class. When I got home, everyone else got home from the beach. So while I was in class all day, they were laying out all day. I guess I can't be too bitter, I already have a tan. We then went to dinner at this cute little restaurant on the waterfront. I had Greek spaghetti and it was so good. It just had olives, onions, feta cheese, and a special sauce. I also got to try feta with honey and sesame seeds, which I thought would be awful but it was surprisingly really awesome. After, we just kind of hung out and went to bed early. Cassandra and I watched the bachelorette haha.

I seriously love it here. It was all that I imagined and more. I love living here because I get to feel immersed into the culture. Everyone knows who we are, obviously because we are a lound group of American college students. Everyone says hi to us and gives us discounts. They love us because we bring lots of income to their island. I was surprised to find out that most people speak English here. It hasn't been hard to communicate at all. Which is good because my attempts at Greek have totally failed. I can't even manage to say thank you because it just doesn’t sound right. They really do appreciate when you try, though. I love it because it is not too touristy on our island. We get to interact with the locals and hang out without being bombarded by tourists. I love walking along the waterfront every day to school and just thinking, this is my life. I am living in Paros. If I didn’t have so many things I loved back home, I would stay here forever. I would open a boutique or a restaurant and become Greek.

Until next time

p.s. sorry I have not been posting pictures on here. It takes forever for them to upload so I figured if you wanted to see them you could just look on facebook : )

Day 5: paros tour

We had our ACC class at 10:30 in the morning. We talked about The Iliad and Odyssey. After class, we met up with the rest of the class at the windmill and got on a large tour bus. It was scary because the roads here are small and wind through hills. I thought we were going to fall off of a cliff. The ride was pretty though because we got to see the whole island. We first went to the butterfly valley. Cassandra is really afraid of butterflies so she had to stay on the bus. The butterfly valley was a bit of a disappointment. I thought that there were going to be butterflies swarming the entire place. It was a beautiful place but we only saw a few butterflies. Apparently it is not the time of year for the butterflies to be there. We then went to Aliki for lunch. We basically ate lunch in the water. There was a cement barrier that jutted out into the ocean with tables on it. It was seriously amazing. Next we went to a Mycenaean acropolis. We hiked BAREFOOT up very steep rocks to get to it. We didn't know know we were hiking so none of us had on appropriate shoes. It was actually pretty cool hiking without shoes on, but now I have a huge blister from the hot rocks. After, we all went swimming in the ocean and laid out. Next we went to the town of Naossa. It was about 8 when we got back to the apartment. When we got home, we got ready and hung out on the roof. Then we went to the discotheque and danced. It just so happened to be the largest discotheque in southern Europe. It was pretty incredible. What an amazing experience this has been so far. I know I keep saying amazing, but let's get real, everything about this is amazing. I'm not sure if that word even does it justice.

Until next time