INTERNET AND ME AS HAPPY AS CAN BE!!!!

WELL I DID IT - I GOT MY TAX ID NUMBER AND MORE IMPORTANTLY TO MY LIFE - I GOT INTERNET AT HOME!!!!!! Last night as I was going to bed it occured to me that I could purchase this internet package called Internet On The Go where you put a USB stick into your computer and voila you have internet! And so I did. As I type this in my pajamas in my bedroom in my apartment! Yahoo!!!!!

So I will be able to Skype with you (my Skype name is jillrivers55), email with you WAY more often, update my blog, research stuff, etc., etc., etc.!!!!

So I am off to surf the net for things to do on the island of Crete because I just booked a flight there for Thanksgiving! :)

Week of Nov. 10 – Let’s see…. in my world of bureaucratic red tape, I did get my temporary residence permit which allows me to leave Greece and reenter without my permanent residence permit over Christmas. Good thing! I went to the taxation office on my way to work yesterday AND got the taxID# which I desperately need to do anything in this country! With this I can get internet at home – which of course takes about a month to install. Maybe right before I go home for Christmas I will get it! So patience is a virtue, right?
Thursday, I decided to go up the hill; the hill on which I live on. And lo and behold, there is a lot up the hill! I found a German “Oktoberfest” restaurant, dry cleaners, more restaurants and two internet cafes (which are much closer than the one I’ve been going to – although they are still filled with boys/guys playing video games and smoking like a chimney) but closer! Maybe later this week, I will continue up the hill!
On Friday, Leigh Jahnig came for a weekend visit. A Stone Ridge graduate and now a junior at the University of Chicago, Leigh is in the middle of doing a semester in Rome, Italy. I have known Leigh since she was 5 years old! I’ve been waiting to the touristy sites and so I can now say I have climbed the Acropolis (Acropolis Rock, Propylaia, Temple of Athena Nike, Parthenon, Erechteion, Herodes Atticus Theater, Dionysus Theater), climbed the Filopappos Hill, walked through the Agora (twice)(Temple of Hephaestus, stoas), seen Temple of Olympian Zeus, Hadrian’s Arch, Kerameikos (ancient cementry), walked through the National Gardens, Roman Forum & Tower of Winds, Benaki Museum of Islamic Art – to say I was tired is an understatement!

iPod Shuffle-Open House Party

Week of Nov.3 – What a week! On Election Night we all went to my friend Kate’s house to watch the progress of the evening-even though there is a 7 hour difference. By 11, we hit the sack but when we awoke at 6:30 we were very happy to find the outcome of our 44th President (sorry Dad)! We watched the speech he gave in Chicago – then off to work. Wednesday was a long day. It is our meeting days from 3:45-5, then all of new faculty had another meeting with the head of the school and all our immediate bosses from 5-6:30. This meeting wasn’t great – I will spare you the specific details but to inform you that we are increasingly frustrated by the red tape and bureaucracy here in Greece. We were told earlier this week that we were not allowed to leave the country for 6 months. As most of us have purchased airline tickets for Christmas and some for Thanksgiving this was the cherry on the top of our frustrations. We all will be going home for Christmas the school will have to solve the problem.

So when I finally got home Wednesday evening, I turned on my iPod which I have successfully attached to the mini speakers I brought to tune out my thoughts. Do you ever have the feeling that the iPod/iTunes know how you are feeling? Because the songs that immediately came up were “It’s a Hard Life Wherever You Go”, “Optimistic Thought” “Bridge over Troubled Waters” and then “Bad Day.” So I listened and continued to hang my photos on my walls.

On Friday, I had my first and successful Open House party. It was fantastic! I totally forgot to take pictures. But the whole house was looking great. My electrician had come on Tuesday and hung my 3 new overhead lights. I have this fabulous black wrought iron chandelier hanging in my dining room. The lights are bright but there is room for tapered candles – so I lite 5 red candles and it was perfect! I have a red and black theme in my dining room and living room. With the new furniture I purchased at IKEA last week all put together, I was able to put away and organize my books and photos. I have found a nice florist near one of my grocery stores and I splurged and bought yellow and red Gerber daisies and some lilies too. (I really should have taken a photo!)

I had purchased beer and 4 bottles of wine and made my favorite appetizer Crab Pizza. Bought cheese from the supermarket (my Greek teacher wrote it out phonemically for me to purchase a good variety of cheeses). I had invited about 30 people and over 20 came. It began at 7:30 and ended around 1:30 – truly a fabulous evening. Many people brought more wine, lots of sweets (there goes the 10 pounds I’ve lost) and house-warming gifts.

Most of the people at the party were people from work (from all divisions – new and “old” faculty members) but I also had Ava (the woman I had met on the bus whom I have become friends with) and Julie (the woman who works at a store at the bottom of my building whom I pass daily – and speaks English). Matt Barrett and Andrea his wife and their friend (from the website I had found all about Greece). It was a nice mixture of people and most people came and stayed!

Everyone was pretty surprised on how large my place was – and this is why I wanted ample space – to entertain, not feel so cramped and most importantly have people stay with me. Actually, my first visitor is coming this Friday! Leigh Jahnig – she is spending a semester in Rome. Life is funny – I first met Leigh when she was 5 years old in Bethesda and took care of her and then also her brother as they grew up. I don’t feel like I grew at all (I got older and wiser but am still an adult) Leigh went from 5-20 something! She also was my assistant for Adventure Camp for two years. I am glad we are now friends and I am looking forward to her visit. I really like my new home!