Alert! Only two weeks left!

I have two things to say right now. Please don't get mad at me when I tell you :)

1. I turned down a trip to Santorini. WHAT? Rosie, how could you! If you don't already know, Santorini is the Greek island with the steep-sloping cliff on the edge of crystal water, with the round, white buildings with the blue rooftops that looked like they are stacked on top of each other. I know you've seen pictures. Even people from Greece say that Santorini is the most beautiful place in the whole world. And guess what? I could have gone, but I didn't. About seven girls from my program decided to go on their own, and they actually took the time to invite me for once. Man, did I dig myself into a hole by telling you I didn't go.

Saturday was my dad's last day here, and I wanted to see him one more time. My classmates took the ferry on Friday, and on Friday I had a presentation to give in my philosophy class. On that note, I missed a lot of school last week as is. I didn't want to endure two different eight-hour ferry rides and then only be there for two days. The weather was not promising. And lastly, I'm not in any hurry to see new places. That's six legitimate reasons I turned down the most beautiful vacation of my life.

I did say in a previous entry that I wasn't even all that excited to see Santorini because I'd already looked at a million photos. And it's true, but I will keep in mind that if I were picked up and dropped on Santorini, I would more than likely discover that the pictures don't do it justice. I would count myself lucky if I ever make it to that rumoured wonderful island. Living for four months on "Greek time" really calmed me down about this subject, though. I already know that this is not the only time in my life that I will visit Greece, so I am completely at ease with waiting for a better time in my life to go to Santorini. I discussed this with my study-abroad-mate (classmate? roommate?...let's call him my study-abroad-mate), and he told me to just go there for my honeymoon. And tell my future husband it was my study-abroad-mate's idea. So I'll just wait, rather than hurt myself trying to get there amidst multiple uncomfortable circumstances.

Here's the second infuriating topic: school here sucks, and I miss NAU. I was talking to another study-abroad-mate about this today, and she's more knowledgeable than I am about it, but here's what I interpreted, partly from what she said, and partly from what I experienced: my school here is using the UK grading system, which means that instead of focusing on tests and quizzes, like the US does (generally speaking), the teachers assign one group project, or in my case midterms, and then a final. And that's...pretty much all the criteria they have to grade you on. Not very fair, I think. Not to mention that the letter grade scales themselves are different, too, but I can't remember how at the moment.

In my experience, I have already failed a midterm and gotten low B's on two others. In all three cases, I had thought I'd done way better. I tried to ask the teachers what they'd wanted from me, but they didn't seem to want to talk about it, as if I should have already known. I have also experienced the teachers yelling at students about things that were not their fault, saying things like, "do as I say, not as I do," and telling students that their opinions are wrong.

I'm supposed to graduate next semester, so if my classes transfer back as not passing, I have to take more classes and work really really hard to graduate in time. I feel like this isn't really my fault.

I reported this because I feel it is a necessary piece of advice to give to someone who wants to study abroad. It was a worthwhile experience to be in school here, I will not deny that at all. It's just something to remember, that all cultures are different and require patience and research! Part of it is my fault, I guess, for not having asked first, but then again, I had no reason to ask, I was a good student before I came here :)

So! Two weeks left, and I am ready to return to NAU. And also sad that I have to leave Greece! More on that some other time.

Family

It's been almost four months now, and it feels like such a long time. You know how when you think back on the last year and remember small details that have been pushed to the back of your head because they happened so long ago? That's how I feel about when I first got here. I really can't believe I've spent so much time in Europe.

Last week, the moment I was waiting for became a reality. My dad arrived. Before I'd come, he'd said he wanted to visit me in Greece, and I sort of didn't count on it...it was just one of those things people say they'll plan, but you know they never will...but come February or March, he'd bought his ticket. And up until they got here, he and Judy learned so much about the history and culture of Greece that they made me feel like I'm living a lie.

It was almost indescribably exciting to see them here. The part that I loved most was having people out here who truly care about me and remind me that I'm loved, which I don't feel much here because my roommate situation failed. I'd met a few other family members of the study abroad students when they visited them, and even a few friends who just wanted to see their good buddies, and in all the situations, the study abroad students took to holing up with their families and ditching out on social activities. And why wouldn't I, too? I just wanted Dad and Judy to love Greece and understand how it works at least a little bit. I was in a sort of giving mood that rarely happens in this time of my life.

Not to mention that Judy is so psyched to uncover ancient history that it was impossible to go touring with her without reading all the information stands. Learning history before or while I'm at a place is something I really suck at. As stated previously, I like seeing what the place has to offer me when I'm there, instead of planning what to do without experiencing the atmosphere first. In fact, I'm in the process of reading up on the histories of the places I've seen in Greece and Spain. But I learned that it's nice to read history while you're there, if only so that you feel smarter. With Dad I went back to the agora and acropolis in Athens, to Hydra, down south to Mycenae, and over west to the theatre of Epidauros. Those two had the fortunate experience that I missed of climbing off the metro into downtown Athens straight from the airport, and the first thing they saw was the Parthenon. They didn't even appear jet lagged to me, even though they said they were. Judy, who has never been anywhere, didn't seem blissfully out of sorts like I still get sometimes. And they love the food!

Besides the archaeological sites, which I'll get to in a second, they were equally interested in modern life here, in a different sense than I was, probably because they did their homework. We went all over the "anarchist" area of Athens looking for rembetiko music. It was fun to have a theme for a day that isn't simply touring. I also managed to pull strings with study abroad so that they could come with us on our planned excursion to the island of Hydra. Even though they didn't eat as much as I wanted them to, and I went swimming without them, I'm happy that they got to fit at least one island into their plans.

Mycenae hosts the former castle of Agamemnon, so we got to see the remains of tiny rooms on yet another hilltop that looks like it was put there for the purpose. We marvelled at the Lion's Gate and how it could possibly have gotten there, along with the beehive tomb. And Dad and I went on a small adventure and climbed down a roped-off tunnel, formerly used for water retrieval. I took a picture with the flash so we could see just how far down we had to walk, but really, it was pitch black in there. It was awesome.

We continued to Nafplio, which I've already seen, which is pretty and full of life. We got some of the best ice cream I will ever have in my life and watched the main square at night, of which the floor is made of marble. It was a beautiful setting, fit for a painting.

Then we went on to the amphitheatre of Epidauros, so that father and daughter musicians could test out the rumored phenomenal natural acoustics. They evidently heard me shaking my water bottle from the other end of the stairs. Dad performed a brief show of hitting empty water bottles against the side, and when I ran all around the floor taking pictures of him, I could here the echoing of the bottles in different spots around the place.

By the way, as we discovered, you're not allowed to do that...

I was put on the bus for the typical disorganized drive from Corinth back to Athens while those two continue their exploration of the Peloponnese without me. I cried on the bus ride. I know I'll see them again when they come back to Athens on Saturday for their flight home, but I was still sad. I am so happy that they came so that we could have this experience together, and to make it more real for my dad that his daughter is living in Greece. If it weren't for me, they never would have come to this place, so I feel proud, too.

I myself applaud my photography skill right there.

But moreover, I reflect on a sense of fun and adventure accomplished this weekend, because this city...This!!! Is!!! SPARTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was another school-organized trip (no way am I going on excursions by myself anymore!), to not just the city of glorious Sparta, but to the surrounding area of equally historical Laconia. The first thing I noticed was how naturally beautiful the land is, despite its bloody, all-conquering history. It was hard to imagine armies marching in deadly intent over the foreboding mountains, up these majestic hills to construct immortalized monuments, burying their worthy or unworthy dead, on this green and flowery landscape.

Indeed. Beautiful Sparta. Two words I hadn't previously lumped together.

I didn't really philosophize at all on this excursion. I have exhausted my current philosophizing ability. The rest has to be put into my schoolwork where it belongs. For this one, I relished the fun I was capable of having with a few other study abroad students and other new faces, the pretty 2-hour-ish drive to Laconia, getting to put my feet in ocean water for a minute, and the fact that I was in the land of some of the hardest-core warriors this planet will ever see. Upon my return, I've been wanting to reread the Greek mythology I know, and learn more about the epic that Spartan history is. It's undeniable that Greece is also the land of warfare in addition to philosophy and art, so it was interesting to imagine myself in it. We visited Mystras, this castle overlooking EVERYTHING, including the exit of Spartans (nearly impossible due to the terrain, but they were the Spartans, after all) ; the acropolis, which mostly houses the overgrown remains of a theatre now; Vapheio, a tomb of epic proportions; and the beach town where Paris once whisked away Helen of Troy.

We found the actual modern city of Sparta to be...well...quaint. I think we were expecting the tourism to be as kick-ass as its history required it to be, but from what I saw, Sparta doesn't even have a nightlife. We all had fun, though, looking at the sites and talking about the manpower of the Spartans. I know it was bloody warfare, but hey, we're still kids at heart.

We all stood on top of this structure and took pictures of ourselves being Spartans.

By the way, I still have not seen the movie "300" all the way through.

This weekend was OOC!

Out of control. OOC.

Be jealous. I just spent the weekend on a Greek island for the first time. I'd bet that when I first told people I was coming to Greece, they pictured a sea-side village with round, white buildings and blue rooftops stacked on top of each other on the side of the mountain. I can tell you right now, I had thought something like this, too...only to discover that you find that on the island of Santorini, not Athens! Goodness, not Athens. Greek islands are where people want to go! The weather is always better, the scenery is composed of beauty, and...well, it's a Greek island, what can I say?

I didn't go to Santorini, actually. I probably won't go to Santorini. I don't need to go to Santorini, I've seen so many pictures, I feel like I've already been there, seen that. This weekend I went to Crete!

Now, Crete is a giant island, and it's the farthest south of Athens you can get while staying in Greek territory. Needless to say, the ferry ride was super long and uncomfortable. Our cheap trip leader booked us roundtrip overnight ferries, but didn't even get us beds. After having to sleep on freezing cold hard floors less than a week ago for Spain, I wasn't really up for that. Actually, since this was a hiking trip organized by the school, I was in no physical condition to even be going on a hiking trip less than a week after Spain, since my feet were in such a painful situation. I didn't complain about that NEARLY enough here. However, I had known about the trip for a while and really wanted to come, since this would be my first Greek island, and my first time hiking in months.

We got there really really early in the morning on Saturday, and were expected to embark on an 11-mile hike after, like, one hour of sleep. We started at the top and descended into the Samaria Gorge and then toughed out the entire length of the rocky gorge under blazing sun. I wonder if I can even convey to you just how huge this Samaria Gorge is. It was impossible for me to believe that I was on an island, because the mountains were just massive.

It looked like this for a lot of the way, sometimes we would come across running water, too, which we could drink!

The thing I love the most about hiking is how it gives me so much time to just think about random crap. The thoughts pop into my head and there's nothing to stop me from pondering it, no need to hurry, just let the peaceful smells and fresh air, hot sun and beautiful scenery help me think about it more. The thoughts seem almost more important when I'm outdoors, maybe because the giant world we live in reminds us through the outdoors that there is still room for the mind.

There was one spot along the path that looked almost like something you'd expect out of an enchanted forest. Anyone who has hiked in the woods has seen piles of rocks marking the way. But in one grove, we found literally hundreds of them:

Shoot, these pictures don't do them justice. Trust me, it was a spectacle.

The hike was a super-trek. It was so rocky that our feet just slipped in between crevices and our ankles were twisting constantly. I seriously considered doing it barefoot, but the trip leader was right behind me, and I'd told him before we left that I wouldn't cause any trouble. But overall, it was a fantastic hike and I would do it again if I ever return to Crete.

The next day was a free day. I hadn't known that, because nobody tells me anything in Greece, so I hadn't brought a swimsuit or sandals, or even enough sunscreen (you don't even want to look at my skin right now, unless your favorite color is red). But that didn't stop me from thoroughly enjoying the first half of the day in our town, Chania (pronounced "han-YAH"). There were a gajillion shops and great food. The beach wasn't gorgeous, but it was nice enough to hang out on. The water was warm enough to put your feet in, so I walked out onto some rocks in the middle of the water to sit and take in the fact that I was on an island. Everyone would want to come to Crete. I know it's a giant island and we were only in one part, but I feel as though the scenery made me really get a taste of the life there. That aspect was the nice part.

The not-so-nice part, for me, was the OTHER good thing about islands: parties. I got a little mixed up in that. Couldn't really help it, since I had to stick with the people from my school all day. So the British Navy happened to be there for some reason. There were 700 men in the town that day. And they all wanted two things: beer, and to sleep with me and the girls I was with. My classmates loved the attention, I hated it. It's just one more thing for me to consider about island life, and paradise in general...guess there is always more than one side to every paradise.

But overall, I loved Crete, I wish I was still there and not in big-unorganized-city Athens, and I hope to visit more islands before I leave, because they are so pretty, and very relaxing! Kind of. If you're not hiking. And even though my body is in pretty bad shape now, it feels like a great accomplishment to an aspiring outdoors girl like me, so I'm very content and proud. At this point, I feel accomplished. I feel like there is a whole lot to do in Greece, and that I've done so much that I can go back to the States with no regrets. So anything else that comes along will only be cause for more of that sense of accomplishment. That agonizing foot pain I had, that I had said stole the pain in my calves...returned ALL the pain back to my calves, to the point where I can't even jump off my bed without cringing just a little, and I am sunburned in the weirdest places...have you ever been burned in the crook of your elbow? I didn't even know it was possible, but I have temporary evidence!

The final Spain post.

The moment you've all been waiting for is here. Just to let you know, I am not the type who finds enjoyment in souvenirs. This sort of includes pictures, too, so suffice it to say, there may not be AS many as you'd expect.

Here we are in Las Ramblas, where I think I have discovered my future career in street performing. Definitely the best one I ever saw was last summer though, where there was a guy dressed up as a Transformer.

When I met up with my friend on the last day, I'd sent him an email that said, "Meet me at the house that looks like a masquerade ball." I'd been wanting to say that all year. Next time I come to Barcelona, I hope to go inside, too, I'd bet it's pretty fantastic.

Like, what Antoni Gaudi did when he was bored. Created mosaics on the ceiling.

The famous lizard at Parc Guell.

This is what changed my life last summer. La Sagrada Familia. Begun in 1865, due to be completed in 2026, I have already decided that I want to come back to Barcelona in 2026 to be there when it opens. It affected me that much.

Now we're in Zaragoza. I went for a run along this river.

Something I've noticed is that water seemed to follow me all over Spain. First with the beach in Torredembarra, then this cool fountain, then rain in Burgos and Madrid, then a fake river in Sevilla, aqueducts in Granada, an aquarium in Valencia, and a fountain back in Barcelona. This square was bustling at night, and to me it felt like a good place to chill out and take in the fact that I was doing this.

La Basilica del Pilar. I have started my personal collection of church photos. I wish that I could have taken a picture of the view from far away against the sunset, but alas, I try not to carry my expensive camera when I go for runs in strange countries. I had to stop at a playground, climb on the monkey bars, and look at the view of these towers from afar. It's really quite wonderful to see something like that. When I first stepped off the bus into Barcelona I noticed a tall, distant hill with a castle on top...blew my mind.

The Gothic Cathedral in Burgos is very well-known. It was this building which chimed the hour in that sing-song way and where I saw mass. I tried to draw this tower, but failed.

Are there any botanists who can explain these trees? The branches of different trees are connected to each other, they actually fuse together perfectly. Romantic, much?

Again, it's always breathtaking to see a normal-looking city with something like THAT in the background.

Madrid! City of art.

The best word to describe Madrid is "huge". Everything from the plazas to the buildings to the parks were just colossal. This happens to be the former Palace of Franco.

I know what you're thinking. They look like KKK members. I know you're thinking it. I was a little weirded out by this, too, until I realized that dressing up like this is how the Spanish Catholics celebrate Easter. It's a symbol that's been taken very far out of context. I didn't get to see too much Semana Santa (Holy Week), I think I was just in the wrong places. Parades like these, solemn and dark with some trumpets, were all I got to see.

Me with a piece of artwork in the huge Retiro Park, taking a break from museums.

And here is (supposably) the biggest Gothic cathedral anywhere in the world. I say "supposably" out of a personal opinion that the one in Burgos was bigger, but what do I know? This is Sevilla now...

It was the plazas like these that made it so beautiful here. Green trees, shade, small streets, and a sense of relaxation.

That bridge there is where Anakin Skywalker and his lady Queen once walked with R2D2 right on their heels. I mean...this is the Plaza de Espanya. :)

Such a beautiful place to spend a day. There's a park next to it, too.

Here we are in Granada, overlooking old moorish buildings.

The Alhambra, castle built by the Arabs. Seriously, I still marvel at how close I was to the Arab nations, even after being in Greece, I'm still amazed by Granada.

The girls are in the way, sorry. Just a nice picture of the small Sevilla-esque street in Granada. This city was a really nice place to simply walk around.

Valencia's City of Arts and Sciences. Looks like the Sydney Opera House to me, or like an Olympic stadium. You could call it a day just by being outside, no need to go in! (I didn't take any pictures of the fish in the aquarium).

I just thought these buildings looked like they were begging for a photo.

Just a picture of the street in central Valencia to remind myself how the streets in Europe look so different from the ones in the States. Everything right down to the balcony railings looks delicate and authentic.

Here I am back in Barcelona with a well-needed familiar face from Athens. He has a friend studying abroad in Italy, so they decided to meet up in Barcelona the same weekend I did. The fountain behind us is magic. It's called the Magic Fountain :). It puts on a show not at all unlike the one you find in Disneyland (what's that called, Fantasma, or something like that?). We missed the night part, where they light it up in different colors, but we got to see the huge display coordinated to music. And below of course, is my good-bye image of la Sagrada Familia.

And to make my day in Granada that much better.

To wrap that up

Didn't get to post too often in Spain, as it turned out. I'll talk about everything now and then create a post full of pictures later on, okay? Please let me know if you want more details on any certain part of my trip, I know I haven't been getting into all kinds of specifics on here.

Let's see, I left off in Sevilla, having summed up the rest of the cities. Next came a day in Granada. As I discovered, a day in Granada is not enough time. It is an absolutely fascinating little city, with essentially three different cultures: Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim. The moorish streets and mosques, the Arab-style architecture, winding streets, and white walls of the area of the Muslim quarters called Albacein was the area I explored. First of all, it was extremely mind-blowing for me to be so close to the Arab nations (it's southern Spain), and also to be so exposed to it, since I never have really been exposed to Islam before. After being in Greece, where they are so involved and knowledgeable of the current situation in the Arab nations, I have been thinking that I would like to do a Middle East trip sometime. Years from now. I want to head back up to northern Greece and spend more time there, and I want to see Turkey really badly, and I want to see Egypt. And I want to return to Granada while I'm at it because I missed out on seeing the fantastic Muslim castle called the Alhambra (evidently purchasing tickets for that needs to be done either a day in advance or at 5:00 AM). I had a very good time in Granada looking at the mountain views, eating free tapas (after backpacking and taking care of myself for almost two weeks, and now I get free food!), and mostly simply walking up and down the moorish streets. Overall, it was just a great place to ponder how many cultures there are in the world. I tried looking for the Jewish quarters, but I think I looked in the wrong place. This is another reason I want to return to Granada one day.

After this I had to take a night train, which I was worried about, obviously. But other than the fact that I had to get up at 4:30 AM to get off in Valencia, it went totally fine. It was sort of like spending the night in an airplane bathroom, but hey, I was just happy to not be sitting in a chair all night. I shared a cabin with this hilarious old lady, and actually slept pretty well. Thanks Tracy for the extra-drowsy Dramamine!

I had been looking forward to Valencia partly because it's on the beach, so it seemed like a good way to end everything, and partly because of the arts and science center. It houses an aquarium which is supposed to be world-reknown, so you know. After having visited Monterey a million times. I'll be honest, I really tried to get my money's worth of the place, but I thought it was kind of lame. I'm sorry! The aquarium was fun, and there was a big long tunnel you can walk in where all the fish swim above you, so long you can't see the end of it, and the sea horses looked like some kind of futuristic science experiment. But for being world-reknown, I expected better. Fifty points for Monterey. And the science center, well, it was cool, because it's hands-on and makes you feel like a little kid again, but I think because it's geared towards kids maybe that's why I felt like it was kind of lame. Oh well. At least I can say that I went.

No, here's what I want to say about Valencia. This deserves an entry all to itself, so prepare yourself. I'm about to tell you something about Valencia that is probably meant to be kept secret, and I've been really bad at keeping it secret.

I first heard that the legendary Holy Grail itself was in the cathedral in Valencia while I was in Sevilla, and I kept that in the back of my mind when I arrived there, not that I was on such a mission at any point in my life...but if anything, it at least sounded cool :). I found the cathedral and first went into the tourist shops to look through their numerous books on Valencia. They all merely mentioned the Holy Grail, not trying to promote that it was there (probably out of respect for it), and they even admitted that Valencia doesn't know for sure if it IS the Holy Grail. I went in the cathedral and looked around for any hint of it, seeing all the smaller rooms along the sides of the cathedral, I don't know the name in English, but you know what I'm talking about...there's the big central worship area and then along the walls of the cathedral are smaller places just as decorative. One of them had a ceremony going on, and I saw A grail, but it wasn't THE Grail. I walked out wondering if I was even in the right cathedral, and read the posters on the walls showing the opening hours, worship hours, etc...and at the very bottom in small print: "Catedral Del Santo Grial."

Upon looking through more tourist books, I found out I had been right about that smaller place of worship with the other grail I saw. They keep it hidden in there, and take it out for worship very occasionally. I ended up going into that cathedral three or four times, but I didn't see the Holy Grail.

And you know what? I don't even know if it IS the Holy Grail, and no, I didn't see it...but this is what I think: I went to Spain because I loved Barcelona and wanted to remind myself that I am a strong person who can take care of the past, then I decided that hey, I'll be in Spain, I'll go all over it, so I did, had lots of adventures, ran around, met new people and an old friend, got a little tipsy once, climbed through a dark tunnel in freezing cold water once, slept on a night train, spoke another language, had some culture shock, had some trippy moments, and then at the very end, I found the Holy Grail.

Seriously, my life is complete now. When I walked back into Robert's apartment knowing I had done it, I wanted to celebrate, I was so happy. It was one of those moments where I felt truly happy with myself. The next day was even better. I spent half of it massaging my feet on a white sand beach, and the other half in Barcelona, the city of my dreams, with another one of the study abroad students from Greece who happened to be there with his friend from home. We caught up, ate a great meal to go out with a bang, and sat on a rooftop with a far-off view of the Sagrada Familia having probably the best philosophical conversation I've ever had in my life. It was all just perfect.

When I got back to the Athens airport the metro was on strike. I felt like that was sort of a bitter welcome home. And I actually went back to school today, which I hated. After doing that incredible trip, I don't want to get back into the swing of things, I just want to do nothing! My feet are absolutely killing me. My shoulders hurt from carrying the backpack. My calves hurt, which I didn't even notice until today because my feet had been hogging all the pain I should have been feeling in my calves. I'm sunburned, my clothes are all wrinkly, I still need to buy groceries, I am exhausted beyond belief. I google-mapped all of my walking in each city, and found out that I walked 102.2 kilometers, which is 63.5 miles, which is the equivalent of walking from Pleasant Hill to Sacramento, or Flagstaff to Prescott, or Athens to Argos, or Barcelona to almost Andorra. I have a lot of weekend plans coming up this month, and I want to relax as much as humanly possible for a college kid and I don't want to wear shoes ever again. But mentally, I am SO content, and emotionally, I am unstoppable. The trip went so fast and was such a crazy idea, but it was just as wonderful as I'd imagined it to be and am so so so so happy that I did it.