Halloween in February???

I love the weekends when you think you have nothing to do and all of a sudden it is packed full! Saturday Kate and I went downtown to Syntagma to shop around and have lunch. It was a beautiful day and bustling with people.

Saturday night I went over to Christina's for dinner and to get ready for a Carnival party. Carnival - Mardi Gras lasts for about 4 weeks before Clean Monday (which is kind of like Fat Tuesday!) Clean Monday is this coming Monday - a holiday (our first since Christmas vacation).

Well this party was like your typical Greek outing - the party didn't begin until 10pm and we didn't arrive until about 11:30 pm and we left the party at 4:30 am (Quite impressive for me!!!!)

Carnival is basically a costume party so it was Halloween in February! I wore my Stone Ridge student costume!

So I stayed over at Christina's house and then on Sunday we had been invited to attend the a restaurant for brunch. The family's children attend ACS and so offered a discounted price for buffet. The restaurant is called Royal Thai and it had fabulous Thai food!

Then Christina, Kate and I continued to the Mall to watch the movie "He's just not into you" which was a great chick flick!!!!!

So the weekend ended up better than expected.

Busts

Okay this isn't anything to write home about but I was quite fascinated with what I saw today and thought I would share. So there are a lot of "foreigners" selling knock-off purses, wallets and bags "vendors" and they lay their stuff down on the sidewalk on a sheet like cloth. Now I was always thinking why do they all the sell the same stuff right beside each other and today I answered my own question. They stick together because one of them always have to be on the look out for the police - because they don't really have a permit to sell this stuff.

I was waiting for Kate at a metro stop and all of a sudden I see this guy run for his life followed by this other guy carrying his wrapped up sheet of goods followed by a police officer. Then I looked back to see where they came from and the guy with the stash was the lucky was (in his eyes b/c he had his goods) the other guys not so lucky as I watched the police confiscate all their bags. (see photo)

Then we went downtown (Syntagma Square) and I watched many police raids and running vendors. However, the vendors didn't go far and then they would laid their stuff down again. Honestly many people bought the merchandise in the 8 mins. they were there before the police made them scatter again. It was sort of entertaining!

But I was really downtown to go Carnival shopping as I am going to a mascaraed party tonight. Stayed tuned for that blog entry!

February Ancedotes!!!!

Still window painting but this time they can paint from the inside or the outside - we are almost finished!!!! This is a picture of my classroom - looks a little spacious as the desks are to the perimeter for Centers. I will take another full of my students!!!

Sorry I know it's been a long time - nothing much has happened and then again I have been very busy!!!! Actually - it has been only a week - seems like much longer.

Last weekend I was very busy meeting new friends. My friend Christina's friend from NY-Zurich was in town and a whole bunch of us went to our favorite Irish Pub - James Joyce on Friday night.
I had two dates - one on Saturday and one on Sunday - both Greek guys. Got their names from a friend of a friend. Nice people but I don't know if anything will become of it.
Saturday went to a wine tasting event at the music hall.
On Tuesday night I went and saw my friend's friend in a play - however, it was all in Greek!
Last night Kate and I went to see the movie The Reader and half way through the movie all the lights came on and on the screen it said intermission! We both looked at each other and began to laugh!

School keeps plugging along - every day- no holidays - no snow days! Our first long weekend since Christmas will be March 2 - their Ash Wednesday but it's on a Monday and its called Clean Monday.

Funny little antedotes (my life):

• My new granny cart works quite well to haul groceries up the hill.
  
  
• The other day I put a rag on my railing outside my kitchen to dry - it was there for a few days but when I went to get it again it was gone. I slowly looked down to the dreaded pit (the bottom (4 stories down) where it is dirty and muddy and a big gathering of what and if my clothes ever fall down there I will not retrieve them). But it didn't seem to be down there.... I was pondering where did it go??? And then a few days later it appeared -dry folded on my front door knob. I have no idea!






• I went to pay my condo fee and the woman Maria (who speaks very limited English) always gives me food - so this time I brought my heart butter cookies - but still she tells me to sit down and then brings me spinakopia (sp?) on a regular plate so I have to sit and it them all without anything to wash them down with and make small talk. Really I think these things only happen to me!
• I have been appointed as new co-chair of the social committee in the elementary school (surprise, surprise) - an American teacher is leaving at the end of February as her husband (who works for the US Embassy) has been transferred to Hawaii. So I was in charge of finding a cake for her going-away party. There is this email list called newcomers bulletin - so I emailed them that I was looking for someone who makes American sheet cakes. Well, there are quite a lot in the area - as I spoke to about 5 of them on the weekend. So the woman I chose to do this cake (I received 3 emails from her friends recommending her) also makes bagels to order. Greece doesn't have bagels - so I ordered a dozen! I actually made lots of different connections chatting with all these people. Networking!!!!

Pretty mundane I know. Next weekend I am already looking forward to going to the US Embassy for a going-away BBQ on Saturday, to the Royal Thai Embassy on Sunday for brunch and on the 25th I am going to a reception hosted by Kuwait - it's their Liberation Day - I have a student from Kuwait in my class, thus the invitation!

I am excited that my mom has booked her flight to Greece at the end of June. Adele, John and Alex are about to book their flights for mid-July and we are looking at cruises! I have been also searching the web for Safari Expeditions possibly in August - anyone want to join me????

Well Happy President's Day! Can't believe that next week will mark 6 months already! (And only 4 months of school left!) Time does fly when you are having fun!

Super Bowl and other random things

Okay so the Super Bowl was on 5 nights ago...but today I watched it. I had heard it was a great game and was disappointed I missed it. (I really do miss watching "American" football). I thought I would grab some gelato at a cafe near my house on my way home from school. I walked in and there they had the Super Bowl playing, so I sat down to watch it. I caught it at 2 minutes before half time and it was exciting from that point on!!! Even though I knew the score, I was just waiting to see how the points played out. I was happy.

I also accomplished a few more things on my to-do list - and the Greeks say you can only get to one thing a day on a list. On my way to school I, finally, stopped in to HSBC to apply for a European credit card - I was meaning to do this 5 months ago but here it was Feb5! It should arrive in a week!

I finally contacted two friends who live here - they are not my friends (yet) but are friends of a friend in the states. Contacted both of them and meeting them this weekend!

Below is the painting I purchased while in Monemvasia yet it just arrived on Tuesday. I have not hung it up yet as I need a friend to help me but am so pleased with my purchase!