Make-A-Wish

Saturday I volunteered for Make-A-Wish. Bazaars are very popular here and there are tons - every school and organization have bazaars to raise money for their company. So, Make-A-Wish had there's yesterday (Friday) and today in the Syntagma metro station. although there was a tremendous variety of items- it was in a pretty large room and there were SO many people and most purchased at least one thing!

I saw many of the people I had met the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Even though my Greek is ever so small, I really felt that I helped. Once I figured out the prices and figured out how to say them in Greek, I could tell what they asking for!

Before I helped out I went to this area to buy theater tickets at a place similar to a Ticket Master. Syntagma Square is a happening place! I was having lunch outside and these "musicians" came up to me and starting playing a song (asking for money). It was one of those most embarrassing moments as I am sitting there all by myself and they are playing right in front of me. So I dig for some change but before I give them a few coins, I make the most of this embarrassing time and took a picture of them and then gave them money. Everyone around me laughed!

Then I went over to my friend's house with the regular gang and we watched Love Actually.

Knosses - Minoain Palace - 3,500 years old

Historical destination! Well Kate and I thought we better do something meaningful on our voyage to Crete, so this morning we got on a “Greyhound” bus at 8:30 for our 2.5 hour mountain ride to Iraklion the capital city of Crete. The views were great despite the hairpin turns through the mountain! From the bus station in Iraklion we boarded a city bus to Knossos. Knossos is an ancient Minoan palace. It was built over 3500 years ago – though it was destroyed 3 times – once by volcano, once by fire and once by something else! Although most of the upper ruins and frescos are copies most of the original rocks which was made mostly by alabaster. It was incredible. We got a guided tour to learn more on our educating day! It is pretty amazing the brilliance of the Minoans so long ago with their engineering of their buildings, windows and water system. As our tour guide said “History repeats itself.” There were these large earthenware jars which they stored cereal, oil, grain, etc. As you can see by my picture how large these were.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! Well the school provided a Thanksgiving dinner – it was good by not the same! Had the turkey and mashed potatoes and rolls – no sweet potatoes, pumpkin pies, or cranberry sauce! Kate and I flew to Crete this morning and arrived on a huge island with 75 degree blue sky and sun! We hopped into a taxi to take us to our hotel Porto del Colombo in the Old City – which we later heard was an excellent choice! The ‘hotel’ is an 8 room bed and breakfast in a building that is 600 years old – 600! We are in the Venetian part of the city so tight narrow alley ways were a little bit of a maze of cobblestone roads. With our suitcases on wheels we bumped along the cobblestone roads and with some assistance found our accommodations. We unloaded our stuff and then hit the harbor which is 30 meters in the other direction. Really gorgeous – tons of restaurants/bars encircling the harbor – most were closed because it is winter. But with a recommendation from our receptionist we went to Remezzoz for coffee and breakfast. Then we continued walking around the old and new city. What a gorgeous day! We also walked out along the Venetian harbor wall to the lighthouse – a famous landmark here in Chania (pronounced Hania).
Here’s a little history about Chania (taken directly from the DK Eyewitness Travel book) Chania’s earliest settlers were Minoans. Later in 520 BC, colonists from Samos arrived. From 1252 to 1645 it was mainly ruled by the Venetians who fortified the town and harbor. However, Chania fell in 1645 after a 55-day siege and remained in Turkish hands until 1898. In World War II, Cretan civilians fought along Greek and British Commonwealth troops. The German garrison in Chania held out until May 1945.
We got ready for dinner around 8 and went to a restaurant called Taman, again recommended by the receptionist. Taman was a cozy restaurant and it had this lower and upper level. We sat on the upper level (it was about 3 steps down to the lower level). We learned that where this restaurant was it was the cold pool people plunged into after having a Turkish bath across the street – thus the lower level! It was pretty packed so we knew we had chosen a good restaurant. So for our Thanksgiving dinner we had zucchini croquettes, a baked potato with mushrooms and cheese and then I had baby lamb, pita and taziki.
After dinner Kate and I need a walk so we were about to go along the harbor when some guy passed us by and said “Do you work at ACS?” This guy Stelio who is Greek-American whose home is here in Chania was home for the Thanksgiving break. Stelio is a shadow teacher and works in the counseling department – it is his first year at ACS too. He was with his sister Mina and we join them to their friend’s restaurant to watch “football”/soccer. So we did watch football – an American Thanksgiving tradition! A lot of the guys we met were Greek American or Greek Canadian! We then continued to another bar and then Kate and I headed home. As the night progressed I was losing my voice. I feel like I have laryngitis again!

My Walk to Work

Here are some photos of my walk to school. It is down hill in the morning and I am refreshed so it is a pleasant walk except for the obstacles as you will see along the way. My building is the one beside the Applebee’s restaurant behind the trees. For some reason every time I walk past the Applebees it smells like wet dog! The parking lot sign cracks me up because green grass is quite rare here in Athens and the man who runs the parking lot has a small fountain, garden decorations such as a blue crane, turtle, hedgehog and other knickknacks – sometimes there are torches and sometimes there are little umbrellas and everyday he sets them up on his little patches of grass! Maybe he will deck it all out for Christmas! The orange tree is full of fruit and they are all over the roads but no one seems to pick anyone. The stray dogs seem have their own territory and there are usually 2 dogs on the same block! So here are some of my regular dogs I see on the way to work! There is my closest grocery store about one block down, my post office, one of the many kiosks that I pass on my way to work which sells everything from gum, candy bars, newspapers/magazines, cigarettes, chips, ice cream, drinks, beer (Amstel and Heinken), phone cards and bus tickets! And as you can see from the sidewalks it is very difficult to walk on them due to the parked cars, trash cans and trees growing!

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!