Jia Sas! I hope everything is going well in America! Things are starting to get a little more difficult in Greece, but it is still one of the most amazing experiences of my life..and its only the third week! The culture shock part of the trip is turning from the vacation and visitor stage into the frustration stage.
My friend Brandy and I set out this morning to buy clothes and groceries. After about 3 hours of walking, I made it home with two bags of heavy groceries, and no clothes. The best and nearest grocery store to our apartment is about 10 miles, uphill, both ways, with no shoes. Actually it is about 10 blocks, only uphill on the way back, and I guess I was wearing shoes. It was still a challenge. I have learned that everyone in a big city has somewhere to be and they will push you out of the way to get there, if necessary. I am not used to this. For the most part, Greeks have a wonderful, relaxed attitude when it comes to life, until they need to be somewhere. I have already learned that smaller cities are my choice of environment. That could change over the course of this trip. If it does, I'm sure I will let you know!
I also had a frustrating first ride on the city bus. I was nervous to take the crowded bus and I had to take it alone. One of my friends drew me a map and I finally got up the courage to board the bus. I rode for what seemed like a long time, and suddenly everyone exited the bus. I was thinking how nice it was going to be to have my own seat. Then I heard the bus driver yelling at me to get off the bus. I had no idea where I was, so I just started walking. Luckily, I finally realized where I was and proceeded to walk the 30 minutes home. Uphill, like I mentioned!! I thought that this was going to be the most eventful part of my day..that was until I started doing laundry.
Our laundry room is in the basement, which already kind of creeps me out. So, I was minding my own business, putting my laundry in the washer when I noticed something in the corner that seemed out of place. When I looked closer, I realized it was a bag of bones. Human bones. A bag of human bones. Next to this bag was the skull in a pillowcase. If you know me at all, you know that I was pretty freaked out. To make a long story short, it turns out there are medical students living in our building and they use the real skeleton to study anatomy. Ew.
Besides the frustration and the bones, I am getting to know my apartment mates very well. We are having a great time getting to know each other and getting to know each other's different backgrounds. This will prove to be a huge learning experience for all of us! I just hope that everything goes smoothly the whole time! :)
We just had a three day weekend and it seemed to have snuck up on us. We did not have enough time to plan a trip that would be affordable. We took this time to bond and get to know the city a little bit better. Brandy and I spent our Saturday exploring. We walked down to the water and then turned around and climbed all the way to the top of the city. We had been there before, but this time it just seemed more amazing than the time before. We wanted to wait for sunset, but the sky was too cloudy to enjoy it. Instead, we sat at an outdoor cafe overlooking the entire city and drank hot chocolate and lattes. Life is good!!
I am trying to figure out the picture situation, so you should expect to see some photos before next week. I hope! I hope everyone has a great week!! Jia!!