Brief thoughts on the act of traveling

I could just write about what I'm doing this weekend after the weekend is over, but I'd like to organize my thoughts in a readable way, too.

I know that this is kind of a funny thing to be saying, especially knowing how eager I am to get out and see stuff: I am pretty stoked to be staying in my first hostel. To the point where I am glad that it's night time right now so I can hang out in it! Strange. It must have to do with the backpacking charm. If you go to NAU's study abroad page, you will find lots of other blogs from students at NAU. For some reason mine isn't on there yet. Before I left I read through a bunch of those blogs, and pretty much all of them include stays in hostels during side trips. I feel like I've passed some sort of test, being inside this backpackers' refuge.

It could also feel good because amidst my exporations, there is a bed waiting for me. It took seven hours to get here today. And it will take seven hours to return. This traveling business has been crazy, and I don't know if it's Greece's fault or not, but it's been not so much a learning experience as an obstacle course. So if there's a hostel at the end, it's much more settling. I'm actually beginning to suspect that I will be more than happy to get back to the States when all of this is complete. In order to justify my satisfaction, though, I've got to live it up!

So here's where I am right now (free wi-fi): Thessaloniki. Northern Greece, where I really belong. Growing up in northern California, being educated in northern Arizona...why am I studying abroad in southern Greece? I should be here! And I've only been here for an afternoon so far, but I can tell you that Thessaloniki is awesome. It's on the water, and it's centered around night life (in a good way), and there are archaeological appreciations all over the place. More to come after I've done more than just strolled around along the boardwalk, but there's your intro!