On My Mind

As I confirm classes and work schedules for Fall 2010 term, I am begining to check out of this term more and more. It doesnt help that until I leave, every other weekend I have a trip planned ... Naxos, Amorgos, Santorini, Crete (again!) and Rome!!!

I am so glad that I stayed the second term, so many poeple last left had to leave feeling like they had not done everything they wanted, seen everyone they wanted - they were leaving with things unfinished ... but not me. I will leave and will be ready to go. I will be sad to leave behind my first home that was my very own, but I will be so glad to go to my real home ... to the people that love me more than I know.

I just hope that my checking out wont take form of a "senior slip" or anything. ;)

Celebrating Passover (early)

My roommate Suzy, wanted to celebrate passover this year, so Maria and I decided that we would do it with her. I knew that not eating carbs would be hard, but it has turned out to be a very hungry ordeal. For 2 days, we didnt have any veggies or fruit in the house - cause we were waiting for the Laiki.

The above picture is out cabinet, that it locked up. It has most of the carbs in it (not all cause our other roommate Emily, isnt doing it with us).

Agia Fotini

Agia Fotini looks like a byzantine church with ancient spolia .. but looks can be decieving. It was built in the 60's and isnt even sanctioned by the chuch. It retains architechture from ancient, byzantine and egyptian times\elements.

Inside ...

One side ...
The other side ...

The craziness off it all.

Soccer in Sparta

Soccer in Sparta!

Mystras

Mystras is a byzantine castro about 5km outside of Sparta. It was built in the early 13th century and served at the seat of the Latin Principality of Archaea. It was passed from one government to the next.

Steph and I in the castle, above the city.

Standing in the window of a a church in the middle level of town.
Liz and I sitting on a bench, on the way up to the castle.

Suzy and I near the entrance.

Another church ... near the entrance.

It was a beautiful day to explore through the city. We walked up to the castle first and took in the vewi of the surrounding mountains. Then we began the descent down to the exit. It was a sizable town with study buildings, and little caves to explore in. We gathers flowers on the way down - blood red poppies, daisies and little purple things.

Sparta

Not much was going on in Sparta - archaeologically or in the town. Because of the way that the Spartans lived, there really is not much remaining other than the ledgends of the Spartans. And it doesnt help that they became extinct before the roman invasion.

The main reason to going to Sparta is for Mystras, a byzantine castra about 5km from Sparta...

A statue of Leonides.At the bottom is says "μολον λαβε" which means 'come get them'

The remain of a the theatre in Sparta. It was only used for religious purposes, the theatre was not allowed in Sparta.

We went to the Olive Oil musuem. It was really cool beacuse it explained the uses (ancient and modern) and the significance of olive oil in the Greek culture.

The view from my balcony window ... the mountains surround the entire area.

"THIS IS SPARTA!"

An Eerie Morning

As the weather around the world is going bonkeres (flooding and hail in Australia; a wave hits a cruise ship in the Mediterranean; huge storm in Germany; earthquakes in Africa; tsunami last week) the unbalanced system gave Greece an unusualy sight this morning.

The view from our apartment.

The sepia colored, overcast sky causes fright but the wind tunneling through the dense city causes terror and a sleepless night.

My first thought ... The world is coming to an end, say your prayers.

Gorillaz Concert

Gorrilaz concert was like no other concert I have been to in a couple of ways ...

1.) There is a shade infront of the artists, and so you are listening to music and watching cartoons. It is like watching a live music video.

2.) It was full of Greeks. Maybe you dont understand ... full of Greeks. By Greeks I mean, people who dont dance at: bars, clubs, and apparently concerts. They just nodded thier heads for the most part, not even a mosh pit or anything ... a little disappointing.

3.) There is no smoking ban in Greece (well long story, there was but no one followed it so they got rid of it ...). I was in a room full or tabacco and pot smoke, it was terrible! I will never take the smoking ban for grantite AGAIN!

4.) I could have bought a beer if I had wanted ... so werid, and still havent gotten over that fact!

Riots in Athens

Riot Police chasing the mob.
The mob on the move, with the Riot Police waiting for the signal to follow.

The dumper on fire, but I mean every trash bin, BIG and small, was on fire.

So today, public transportation was completely down, so my Friday plans to go to the beach were ruined. So I decided to go watch the "demonstrations" in Syntagma, with my friend Paul. We get there and walk around take in the scene. All of a sudden we start to see people puting on masks and covering their faces so we backed off a little bit, and then things started blowing up in the street right outside the Parliment. And people are like hacking away at the marble and throwing it at Parliment.

The riot Police start to move in and people are running away with tears, so we moved back. But followed the (now) riot and the riot police. We followed from Syntagma Sq to Omonia Sq. At Panopistimo Sq, the Anarchists were egging the riot police on to and the riot police came with ther little batons. They they threw the gas, and we were too close and my eyes hurt - seriously it was worse than stinging nettle or poison ivy, just a wretched burning. They we followed to Omonia Sq, but along the way they had started a fire in every trash bin and dumpster. It was CRAZY. We kept pretty far behind, and then lost them. But it was pretty much disapated I think. It was super intense. I mean ... while we were still in Syntagma we were standing by the Mc D's and all of a sudden we say the whole mob just run towards us. It was like in a movie.

Lies I Tell You, Lies!

Today for class we visited "Socrates Prison" but it was disappointing to learn that it wasn't really Socrates prison ... It was merely a Bath House.

In 1456, when the Ottoman empire entered Athens the people who lived in Athens were no direct descendents of Athenians, they were Aravanites (from Albania). They made up stories and ledgens about the areas, and much of what we know today is based from those stories. One of the stories they told was that an old bath house near the Pnyx was the prison of Socrates. And even today, the plaque says that is it the prison of Socrates ... Pooh!

Liz and I "taking a bath" at "Socrates Prison".