Hey everyone. Just figured I'd check in and write one more post before leaving. I'm getting on a flight around 2:45 today to head back to San Diego. I can't believe how fast the past four months have gone. Anyways, to end, I figured I leave you with some of the things I have learned here during my stay. 

Lessons from Greece.

1. Never assume a car, moped, or other moving vehicle will stop for you when you cross the street. 

2. Never assume a store will be open during the hours it says it is open. If the owner feels like closing early, he will close.

3. Never get in the way of an old Greek woman, especially in the supermarket. If you do, she will run you over...literally.

4. Baklava and gyros really do taste better in Greece.

5. If you hear two people screaming at each other and waving their hands frantically in all directions, do not automatically assume they are having a disagreement. Greek people are loud. They talk loudly, they flail, and if you could translate their conversations you would be surprised to find that, on most occasions, they aren't speaking about anything important at all.

6. Stay open-minded.

7. Stop plugging your nose...the cigarette smoke never really goes away. 

8. Wear sunscreen. If you don't...you will turn red.

9. Meals should never be rushed. They should be spent with family, friends, and loved ones.

10. Go to the islands.

11. A positive, optimistic attitude can change almost any situation for the better.

12. Give people, places, and things a chance. More often than not, they will surprise you for the better.

That's all I got. It's been a great semester.

peace and love,

Jen

hey everyone. I know it has been forever since my last post. Things have gotten really busy lately. I am planning on writing a more complete post soon but for now check out these photos from my spring break:

SB '09 Island Hopping

SB '09 Island Hopping II

We spent 10 days on the islands...4 on crete, 3 on santorini, and 3 on paros for Greek easter - it was an awesome week and a half. I have tons of crazy stories and hopefully I'll be able to include a few in my next post. 

peace and love

Jen

Hey hey,

Just saying hello and wishing everyone a Happy Greek Independence Day! Today commemorates the 1821 war for independence and Greece's subsequent victory over Turkish rule. The day was started with a bang...literally. Canons went off at 7 am this morning and the festivities have continued ever since. Earlier today I walked over to Syntagma to watch the annual independence day parade which consisted of Athens bringing out every version of tank, uniform, plane, helicopter, and military vehicle known to man! I kidd...but for real, an unnecessarily large number of tanks and soldiers made their way along the main road running in front of the Athenian parliament building and...it was slightly intimidating. The sun was beaming down (yay spring!) and Greek flags were everywhere. Other than that...I spent most of the day catching up on work. I leave tomorrow morning at 7 am for Macedonia! Fill all ya'alls in when I get back on Sunday!

peace and lovesss,

Jen

Racing with the Gods

Weekend recap: Our four-day school field trip to Olympia and Delphi as AWESOME. I have seen a number of places in Greece so far and I think I can honestly say that these two sites have been my favorite. Both were absolutely beautiful and captivating in different, unique ways.

On Wednesday morning at 7:30 am, my archaeology class boarded a charter bus and left for Olympia from the CYA academic center. The drive took most of the day; however, we did stop at a number of places along the way. After taking a short 20-minute break at the Isthmus of Corinth, we headed for Isthmia...an ancient sports complex that hosted the ancient Isthmian games. To be honest, this site was kind of lame...the main site was closed and from what I could see, not much was left in terms of archaeological remains. For some reason, my archaeology class was paired up with the Ancient Greek Athletics class for this trip...translation: our field trip became a "let's stop at every ancient Greek athletic site in the Peloponnese, even when the site looks like an unkempt field of brown grass and rocks" tour. That being said...each site we visited became progressively cooler as the trip went along. 

After leaving Isthmia, we drove to Nemea - the site of the ancient Nemean games. This site is located in a beautiful mountainous valley. Something I was unaware of before - ancient sporting events were not just sporting events. The sites, in addition to including a series of tracks, wrestling rooms, and bathing complexes, also included temples, sanctuaries, and homes for priests and priestesses. Sporting events were intimately connected to religious festivities and services. Many also served as cultural centers...poetry and music competitions were frequently held alongside athletic events. We spent about 2 hours wandering around Nemea, ate a picnic lunch, and then boarded the bus to continue our journey to Olympia. On the way to the ancient site we made one last stop at a a gorgeous cliff-side village known as Langardia. It was quaint, quiet, and charming. The air was misty and the mountainous surroundings gave the town an illusive, mysterious feel. After grabbing some tea and snacks, we drove for another 2 hours until we reached the ancient town of Olympia. We checked into our hotel - Hotel Ilis - around 4 pm and had the rest of the evening free. After hanging out in our room and catching up on world news via CNN and the BBC, we headed out to find a taverna for dinner. The town of Olympia basically consists of one street. In other words...there is nothing there - just a string of touristy shops and overpriced restaurants. Nonetheless, after wandering a few blocks we grabbed dinner at a nice taverna and ate a ton of spaghetti. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and called it a night. 

On Thursday morning, we all got up early, ate a carbo-licious breakfast, and spent the rest of the day wandering around the ancient site of Olympia. Olympia was great. The site is huge - it consists of the famous tunnel/race track/stadium, the massive Temple of Zeus, treasuries, a monument built by Philip II of Macedonia as a dedication to himself, a wrestling room, a craft workshop, priest/priestess residences, bath complexes, and a number of other structures. Our archaeology professor walked us through the site - which was extremely helpful - and we concluded the morning by racing in the ancient Olympic stadium. After breaking for lunch, we headed to the archaeological museum;  the museum was awesome...really cool artifacts. After wandering around the museum, I headed back to the archaeological site. The day was beautiful - the sun was shining and colorful flowers blanketed the ground throughout the site. I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the site, sitting on the grass, and daydreaming...trying to picture what it would have been like to be there in the past. That night we grabbed dinner at another overpriced taverna and then headed back to the hotel for the night. 

Friday morning we loaded our luggage onto the bus and stopped at the museum of the Modern Olympics. After spending way too much time at this no-so-impressive exhibit, we boarded the bus for a 6-hour ride to the sanctuary at Delphi. The drive was beautiful. We drove through the town of Patras, crossed a bridge connecting Sterea Ellada with the Peloponnese, and then stopped for lunch in the town of Napfaktos. After eating, we drove for another 2 hours and finally arrived in gorgeous Delphi. That afternoon we toured the lower archaeological site and then had the rest of the evening free. Our hotel - Hotel Akropole - was AMAZING. Our balconies looked out over the mountainous valley and Sacred Grove. 

Saturday morning we got up early and toured the upper archaeological site of Delphi. There were a number of monuments and buildings - the most prominent being the famous Temple of Apollo. This temple housed the seat of the Delphic Oracle. Apparently - I was unaware of this - the oracles were all young girls. They - the oracle at that time - would site in a cauldron tripod above a vent that released vaporous, intoxicating fumes. So...basically...all of the prophecies given were made while the oracle was in a semi-drunk state. 

After visiting the site, we stopped at the museum for an hour and then boarded the bus to head home. On the way back to Athens, we stopped in the ski-village of Arahova and at a 11th century Byzantine monastery. We arrived back in Athens around 5:45 pm that evening. Overall - great trip.

Tomorrow is my last day of class for the week. Wednesday is Greek Independence Day and Thursday I leave for Northern Greece with my Ancient Macedon class. 

That's all for now. 

Jen

Hello again :)

I have done an absolutely horrible job of updating this blog lately...my apologies once again. I spent the weekend after Istanbul and this past weekend in Athens. Last week we had midterms...so I spend most of my time cramming for exams and writing papers; this past weekend I just took it easy...wandered around Pangrati and Monastiraki and did a little shopping on Ermou Street. 

To recap: Istanbul

Istanbul was absolutely amazing. I honestly cannot say enough good things about the city. 

After catching the 5 am bus from Syntagma to the Venizelos Airport, we (I went with a group of 13 people) boarded our plane for a short 1 hour 15 minute flight to Istanbul. We arrived in the city around 10:30 am and took a cab to what was supposed to be the Orient Express Hotel. So, when our taxi driver dropped us off in front of the Assos Hotel, everyone was a little bit confused. As it turns out, our Greek travel agent had booked us for the wrong hotel and the wrong set of nights. Let's just say...I will no longer be relying on travel agents while I am in Greece. Based on my experience and the experiences of my friends, I have come to the conclusion that Greek travel agents are completely and utterly incompetent. Luckily, despite the reservation error, the hotel managed to get us all rooms for our 4-day, 3-night stay. 

After taking a short nap and grabbing some lunch (Turkish pizza), we spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the Grand Bazaar. I ended up buying way too many pashminas and useless trinkets, but on the upside...I did get to practice my haggling skills. Side-note: the shopkeepers in the bazaar were absolutely outrageous. The lines they threw out at us to try to get us to buy from them were some of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard. I'll leave it at that haha. 

Later on that night, after buying a 40-cent grilled cheese from a street vendor, I took the metro down to the main train station with some friends to see a group of whirling dervishes perform. Whirling dervishes belong to a mystic sect of Islam known as Sufism. After praying and meditating in silence they enter into a spinning-trace. This spinning motion is symbolic in a number of ways. While spinning...they become one with God...the ego is dissolved and a connection with the infinite is established. While spinning, both hands are outstretched slightly above the head...one palm turned upwards to the heavens, the other turned down towards the ground. The upwards-facing palm takes God's blessing from the heavens while the downwards-facing hand distributes these blessings to the people on Earth. The performance - despite making me slightly dizzy - was mesmerizing. The spinning took place to a background of traditional mystic Islamic music and period chants from passages of the Qu'ran. Overall, really cool cultural experience. 

The next day we woke up early and took a half-day tour to some of the main sites in Istanbul, including: the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and the Hippodrome. The Hagia Sophia was awesome. Originally built as an Orthodox church, after Byzantium fell to the Ottoman Empire, the church was converted into a mosque. All mosaics and paintings that depicted human figures were plastered over or destroyed and the pulpit was shifted 10 degrees so that it faced Mecca. After the Ottoman Empire fell, the Hagia Sophia was used for a number of religious services and was eventually turned into a museum. Since then, a number of the mosaics have been uncovered from beneath thick layers of plaster. After visiting the Hagia Sophia, we crossed the street and headed over to the beautiful Blue Mosque. This mosque was breathtaking - I could have spent much more time there than the tour allowed. After the Blue Mosque we walked over to see the hippodrome - the site of ancient Roman chariot races. The last part of our tour took us to a textile manufacturer/department store. The rugs we saw were beautiful - each was handmade and unique in design and color.

After the tour, we headed down to the basilica cistern...an awesome, spacious underground water cistern in the heart of Istanbul. We wandered around, saw some statues of medusa, and bought some apple tea from the cistern cafe. Apple tea is the tea of choice in Istanbul...and there is good reason for this...it is delicious! I think I must have ordered a cup at every meal haha. After exploring the cistern, we wandered down to the famous spice bazaar. The streets were incredibly crowded, but the bazaar was great. Vendors sold tons of dried fruit, spices, and Turkish Delight.  

That night we ate dinner at a pretty nice restaurant about 15 minutes away from our hotel. Something to know about restaurants in Istanbul  - bread does not come with your meal. The waiters kept bringing out baskets of hot bread and sitting them in from of us. We were not aware of the "you eat you pay" rule and so, with 13 of us eating bread, our bill ended up being a little higher than expected. After dinner, we went to a hookah bar. I'm not a big hookah person, but I will admit that the hookah bars in Istanbul are pretty awesome. Hookah for Turks is somewhat equivalent to "getting a coffee" with friends in the United States and other parts of Europe. 

On Sunday - the third day we were there - a group of us got up early and headed down to Topkapi Palace. This palace served as one of the main administrative centers during the Ottoman Empire. It was absolutely beautiful...we spent the entire morning exploring the grounds. After walking for a few hours, we decided to grab lunch at a local Turkish restaurant called "Han." We sat on pillows on the ground and ate homemade crepe-like pancakes with feta. The food was amazing and our waiter seemed super friendly...that is until he tried to buy me as his wife for 35 chickens and 4 cows. Then it got a little awkward haha lol. Anyways, after eating, we wandered past Galata Bridge and headed towards the famous Suleimann Mosque. Most of the building was under construction but the grounds were beautiful. After seeing the mosque, a few of us went to the historical Cemberlitas Hamami Turkish bath. Let's see...what can I say about the Turkish bath? Definitely an experience. You basically lay on a big, hot, marble stone and get washed by rather large, hairy Turkish women. Sounds awkward right? Haha. It was actually really amazing and relaxing and I would recommend the experience to anyone who goes to Turkey in the future. Later that night, we went over to an area of Istanbul known as Taksim Square. This area has a pretty good nightlife scene and acts as a business center during the day. It reminded a few people of a mini Times Square. 

On Monday - our last day - we took a ferry across the Bosphorus to visit the "Asian" side. There wasn't really anything to see there...most people just wanted to go so that they could say they had been to "Asia" haha. After grabbing a quick lunch, we took the ferry back to the old city center. At that point, I went with a few friends to try to visit the archaeological museum. Unfortunately, it happened to be closed that day...so kind of a bummer. For the rest of the morning/afternoon I wandered back over to the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque and then passed through the Grand Bazaar one last time. We left around 6 pm that night and flew back to Athens. Like I said before, Istanbul was awesome. I really loved the city and found the people incredibly welcoming and kind. 

Looking ahead:

This week I only have two days of class (so today is my last day). I am leaving early tomorrow morning with my archaeology class to visit the famous sites of Olympia and Delphi. I won't be back until Sunday but when I do get back I'll give you a full update. Then, Thursday of next week, I leave with my Ancient Macedon class for a 4-day field trip to Northern Greece. It's gonna be an awesome two weeks!

Gotta head off to my next class - but have a great day!

Ya sas,

Jen

Hey! This coming Monday is "Clean Monday" in Greece so we get a 4 day break starting tomorrow. So, I have decided to go to Istanbul for the long weekend!!! So exciting...I've wanted to go there for a long time and I can't believe I finally get to go. I leave tomorrow morning with a pretty big group - we are staying in the center of the city so we should be able to walk to all the main sites. And tomorrow night we are going to see whirling dervishes perform!!! anyways, I just wanted to check in before leaving...as usual I won't have my computer with me sooo I'll make sure to give you all a full update when I get back. 

Happy Thursday!!!

yay sas,

Jen 

Hello again! Apologies for my recent lack of posting...I have been gone a lot during the past two weeks and I have had some papers and presentations to deal with in between. A week and a half ago, our whole school took a field trip to the Argolid. The Argolid is a beautiful region in the Peloponnese famous for its extensive Mycenaean ruins. 

We stayed in the town of Nauplion, which used to be the capital of Greece before it was moved to Athens. On our way there, we stopped at Eleusis, an ancient cult center for the Goddess Demester, the Isthmus of Corinth, and Epidaurus, another ancient cult center that contains an "acoustically perfect" theater. After spending the majority of the day at these sites, we made our way to our hotel in Nauplion. Our hotel - hotel Discouri - could not have been more than 5 euros per night haha (let's just say it was far from luxurious), but Nauplion was awesome. The town's narrow streets, cute shops, and quiet atmosphere served as a welcome break from the craziness of Athens. Nauplion is also known for its komboloi (Greek worry beads) and gelato...which truly is amazing! The second day, we visited the Argive of Heraion - a cult center dedicated to Hera, Pallamidi, and Tiryns - an ancient Mycenaean fortification. That night we all ate at a traditional Greek taverna and listened to Greek music. The third day we headed over to Mycenae for the majority of the morning. This was, by far, the coolest part of the trip. The remaining fortification is massive and the view from the hill is absolutely stunning. We even got to go down into the original water cistern...it was pitch black and a group of 20 of us had to rely on one flashlight to find our way down the narrow, winding staircase. After visiting Mycenae, we boarded the bus to head back to Athens. Overall, greattt weekend.

Last week was spent in the classroom with a few class field trips to the Acropolis and National Archaeological Museum (to study geometric pottery). This past weekend, I headed up to Meteora with a few friends. Meteora, located in Thessaly, is a magnificent site that is famous for its strange rocks and monasteries. The rocks are bordered by two small villages - Kalambaka and Kastraki. On Friday morning at 8 am, we took a five hour train from Athens to Kalambaka. Once there, we went to check in at the hostel/family pension known as Koka Roka. This place is run by a mother-son team and sits at the base of the Meteora footpath. After going to a taverna and spending the evening in Kalambaka, we went to bed early to get some rest for Saturday's hike. In the morning - after eating delicious homemade omelets from the pension's taverna - we headed up the path leading to the monasteries. The first monastery we went to was known as Agios Triados. It was the smallest and most remote and it currently serves as the home of three monks. This particular monastery was featured in the James Bond film, For Your Eyes Only. After spending some time at Agios Triados, we headed over to St. Stefanos, a monastery run by 30 nuns. After this, we walked for about an hour and a half to the biggest monastery known as Great Meteora. Although this monastery was the most visited/touristy of the bunch, it had interesting museums that gave visitors a glimpse into the lives of the monks who live there. Overall, we visited three monasteries; however, we were able to walk by and see the remaining three throughout the day. 

We spent Saturday night relaxing at the pension and headed back to Athens early on Sunday. 

That's all for now. I'll post again soon...promise.

ya sas,

Jen