Getting My Greek Groove On

Tonight we had our Greek dance class. 26 of the 30 of our group attended plus Jean! I was impressed by the turn out (especially by the brave guys). Our instructor spoke little and mostly just counted loudly to 6. Although the time was short, and the room was a tad crowded, it was super fun. We learned four dances including one from Crete and the famous Zorba dance. It was crazy, fun, exhausting, and a tad stressful, but it was nice to be able to learn some fun new dances and have a good laugh!

Sadly, I have no pictures or videos since I was too busy dancing, but maybe I will show you a few moves if you ask me really nice next time I see you!

Celebrating Turkey Day the Greek Way!

This last weekend, instead of spending time coloring the turkey in the newspaper and judging the floats in the Macy's day parade, I went to Epidaraus, Nauplio, and Olympia. The results: lots of rocks and not nearly as much football

Thanksgiving itself was spent mostly on a bus. We drove several hours before arriving in Epidaraus, a sanctuary to the healing god Ascelpius. There was not a whole lot to see, and what was visible was under restoration. But, there was the most beautiful theater I have seen yet! It was stunning. Drew recited some Shakespeare while we sat in the tops seats. We could even hear him drop a coin!

Drew reciting some Hamlet

 After a picnic lunch it was back to the bus until we arrived in beautiful Nauplio (the first capital of Greece).  It is a stunning town in the eastern Peloponnese. We treated ourselves to some gelato from a shop owned by two Romans. It was absolutely amazing and so much fun to speak Italian again!

Palm trees and castles on Thanksgiving! 

oh gelato :) 

Afterwards, several of us went walking by the shore and Mary, Michelle, and I traveled along a cliff side path. We met Megan Levis along the way, who took us to explore some ruins. It was like a jungle gym for adults. So much fun climbing all over the ruins! I felt like I was in Ireland! On the way back to the hotel, we met a not so friendly dog who unfortunately took a liking to us. Finally after getting him off our trail, we returned safe and sound to the hotel.

Walking around 

And exploring some castles 

After drinks by the sea at one of the beautiful restaurants, it was time for Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey, salad, potatoes, and even stuffing (well some form of stuffing) were provided with carrot cake for desert. It was delicious, not quite up to my spoiled standards, but still yummy.

Michelle, Michael, and Me enjoying a different but delicious dinner

The next day was spent at three castles: Tiryens (a smaller one where Robert the history professor insisted we act  as human columns, or hearth in my case), Mycenea (a huge castle with  a giant cistern and a museum full of writing tablets and weird jewelry), and  Palamidi (the big castle overlooking Nauplio where we didn’t really learn anything and just walked around). 

Me being the fire in the megaron (throne room)- Photo by Kelly

After the learning portion was over, more exploring of the city occurred. Mostly the day was spent back and forth gazing longingly into a closed shop with a beautiful thimble in the window. Finally after hours of me checking in, it was finally opened! The store owner had just returned from a vacation and was overjoyed to talk to us: "It American thanks day, yes? I see Obama and turkeys." 


After a long drive west, we arrived in Olympia. Sadly I left my camera on the bus and had some issues with my memory card. But this was the place where- you guessed it- the Olympics first began in 776 BC. Other than this, it is known for holding a statue of Zeus that was considered when it existed to be one of the 7 wonders of the world. The best part of the day was when we played tag and ran around in the stadium- we're all still kids at heart. We also visited the Olympic museum, and the next morning the Archeology museum before heading home to Athens. 

 Hopefully I can get some more pictures from Olympia. Keep your eyes peeled for updates!

 

The Little Things in Life

Although this week was filled with exams, a presentation and a lengthy paper, I managed to have some fun amongst all the stress. Here are some quick updates.

Monday in our literature class, Anne took us to the Theater of Dionysus- the birthplace of Greek Tragedies for class. It was amazing having class right where the plays we have been reading were performed!

Theater of Dionysus- Right under the Acropolis! 

Better than looking at white board all class

Monday night, I signed up for a Greek cooking class (yeah- I surprised myself with that one!). It was so much fun! We made tyropita (a cheese pie), greek salad, and a delicious meatball soup with a lemon broth. It delicious and now (if I ever feel brave enough) I can impress people with my lovely cooking

Who trusted me to be in the kitchen?

Yummmmmm

Enjoying our hard work

Tuesday we had our last Greek class and took our final and gave our presentation on Greek Families. It was a day consumed with writing my paper on the Iliad, but I did manage to have some fun. Kate, Michelle, and I along with our new friend Zack (who goes to CYA) went out for some Chinese food: wontons, chopsticks, idiotic fortune cookies and all. It was a delicious study break.

Yay chopsticks! 

Tonight we had our second salsa class with Jesika (our first session had been last week). It was so much fun showing off our newly learned skills. This picture is from last week, but I didn't bring my camera this time.

Just being Jesika's lovely assistant

We are now all packing up for our four day weekend in Nauplion and Olympia. It should be a fun trip, but I wont pretend I am not missing my Grandma's stuffing.




Special shout out to my family who I am assuming my mom is reading this out loud to. Happy Thanksgiving!

Olive Harvesting: Another reason "olive" Greece

It was a pun that needed to be made. I make no apologies.

Today 16 of us went to harvest olives. Jean and CYA arranged to visit the olive grove of our bus driver from last weekend Cristo. He picked us up at 8:00 and took us to the countryside an hour and a half outside Athens. Once arriving near the grove, Cristo informed us that we would need to get out and be transported to the grove in something smaller than the large bus we were in: "it is not so safe..." We all cheered like 8 years olds when Cristo's brother pulled up with a trailer. It was just like a hayride- minus the hay.

Nice and cozy 

The olive grove

Once we arrived in the grove, we met Cristo's fabulous family including "mama Alma"- the happiest old greek woman ever. They put us straight to work raking the olives off the trees. The olives would fall on tarps and then after picking out the branches, we would put them in buckets and then into huge bags. It was hard work reaching some of the higher branches, but the work went by so fast! Sporadically Alma or Marina would arrive with snacks (I wish I knew what they were. One was a cheesy pie and another was these potato things dipped in honey.) and at one point raki (an alcoholic drink similar to ouzo but less licoricey- not my favorite...).

Kind of like combing really tangled hair...

Taking out all the branches and leaves 

So many olives

Mary, Mama Alma, and I

Cristo's family provided us was an amazing lunch with fruit, bread, feta, tomatoes, sausage, pork, and homemade wine. We were so full and sleepy, we were glad Cristo was only joking when he said "now you go work 6 more hours."

As if the experience and the food wasn't enough, we were each rewarded with a huge bottle of their homemade olive oil! On my bottle it says "Olive oil homemade by Dana. A gift from Greece." I almost cried. It was such a wonderful experience and we really got to see how loving and kind the people of Greece are. It was by far one of the coolest things I have done so far on this trip!

Our reward! 

Opa!

Last night our school had a music night. A band performed Greek songs from 1960s to present time. The band consisted of a guitar player, a singer/ tambourine player, and a bouzouki player. If you don’t know what a bouzouki is- it is sort of like a mandolin. I was hypnotized. Here's an example of what it sounds like:

The band clearly picked good music- the CYA staff was singing along, yelling "opa! " and dancing and even dragged the some of  guys from our group to dance with them. Jean even surprised all of us by joining in on the 6-step! I wish (not for the first time) that I understood Greek. I know I would have enjoyed all 2 hours of music had I been able to distinguish between the songs better. The show got a bit long after about the first 30 minutes.

After the band finished, Open Mic Night began. Four kids that go CYA did a hilarious medley of American songs throughout the years. Highlights included “My Girl” by the Temptations, “Don’t Stop Believing “by Journey, “Lose Yourself” by Eminem, and “Umbrella” by Rihanna (which they translated into Greek for the last verse). It was a fabulous sing along and was just the pick me up everyone needed after the long 2 hours of not understanding anything sung!

Derek and I were last to go on. With our CYA borrowed guitar and a makeshift capo out of a toothbrush and a shoelace, we graced the stage. We turned Jeremy Messersmith’s “A Girl, a Boy, and a Graveyard” into a duet. We had thrown it together quickly before our trip to Delphi and it was a bit rocky, but it felt so good to sing again.  (Sorry- no video Mom- You'll have to use your imagination!)

This is the song Derek and I sung:

Dear Apollo, Send Some Sun. Love, the Bennies and Johnnies

Saturday morning we left our weekend trip to Delphi with a lengthy bus ride.

 We arrived at Hosios Loukas to look at a Byzentine Monastery. It was a shame it was so cold, but even with the rain and the wind it was a beautiful place. Anne, our art and literature professor, gave us a quick tour of the Church. We had some cappuccinos and sat by a fire for a bit. It was so cozy and I felt like the only thing missing was some Christmas music! 

Beautiful Byzantine Monastery 

Andrew hogging the fire

We went to a small, mountainside town near Delphi that is known for is ski resorts for lunch. Turns out we found the “best restaurant in town” according to Anne. WE all shared the famous local cheese, I had delicious zucchini balls, Michelle and Kate tried the local pasta, and Derek was adventurous and tried a goat stew.

We arrived in Delphi, had class in the lobby, and went to a wonderful dinner. Some of the girls decorated a table with balloons for Missy and Ashely’s 21^st birthdays. They also arranged to have little cakes with candles brought out. It was a fabulous dinner that included a show: a semi-professional soccer team was carbo-loading. There was much giggling all night long.

On Sunday, time was spent between looking at the Delphi museum and walking around the site itself. Delphi was an ancient sanctuary for Apollo people would seek the word of the gods from the Oracle. Clearly the gods did not want us to be there, and greeted us with snow! It was litereally and figuratively breathtaking. It was freezing, but the mountains and the ruins were stunning. 

Sculpture of Apollo with golden eyelashes! (I wouldn't mind golden eyelashes) 

Anne warding off the elements with her poncho

What a view! 

One of the most stunning places! 

We arrived back to Athens just as everyone was cleaning up from the Marathon (yes the marathon- the original one that goes from Marathon to Athens). Shannon -our wonderful assistant director- participated and finished it in four hours despite the cold and sleet. Quite the accomplishment! We're so proud of her!

The marathon ended right outside our school! 2 minutes away from our apartments! 

What Did We Get Ourselves Into?

The Answer: A Greek Orthodox Mass

No I am not going to write about some crazy shenanigans. I am going to write about going to a Church and doing homework. I promise it's more interesting than it sounds.

This morning, Shannon, Jesika, Kate, Michelle, Missy, Erin, and I ventured to complete one of our Theology assignments: "Observe an Orthodox Divine Liturgy." Our professor told us to get there around 8:30 and stay until 10 and then write a paper about our reactions. I wont copy and paste my whole paper, just give you some of the highlights.

The Profitis Ilias Church

The Profitis Ilias Church is absolutely beautiful. Icons, paintings, candles, chandeliers. When we arrived there was already much activity around the alter. WE quietly sat on the left (traditionally women sit on the left and men on the right, although at this Church there was a bit of overlap), but we were directly behind a pillar and ended up standing in the back. Thank goodness for that because the thing I was most worried about was crossing my legs (a big no-no in Orthodox Masses). Plus, it was impossible to know when you were supposed to be sitting vs standing. It was nice to just stand and not fret about it.

There also is not "starting time"to these services (something I know would drive my Dad insane). People were arriving 15 minutes before the end of the service! No wonder 95% of Greeks say they have attended Mass! The service in a nutshell: chanting and chaos. The priests (yes plural) were behind this wall and only came out to address the people every once in a while (once to distribute incense, once to chant something, once for what seemed to be a homily, and once for what I think were announcements). There was continuos and sometimes overlapping chanting from the 7-9 song leaders which was terribly confusing. I feel like I would have been lost even if I knew Greek!

The most interesting part in my opinion was watching the people. Unlike a Catholic Mass, these people did very little in unison. There was very little audience participation, but some would sing along quietly every once in a while. Some people would sit, others would stand, some would walk around venerating icons and lighting candles. Mostly they made the sign of the cross. They did this frequently and rapidly two or three times in a row, but rarely at the same time as the person next to them. Communion was a massive mob. There was constant movement and constant confusion.

At 10:00 exactly, after an hour and a half of feel utterly lost, one of the priest gave what seemed to be a final blessing and everyone flooded out. Just like that it was over. It was an awesome thing to do once and I am so glad we did.  I don't think I could handle another go. I was getting quite overwhelmed!

My First Greek Week

Saturday was spent in an exhausted stupor. We were so tired for traveling, but we did manage to get out of the apartment to go grocery shopping. TALK ABOUT STRESS! Everything was in Greek and no one spoke english. I never thought finding milk and cereal would give me such a headache! We also managed to grab souvlakis (apparently what we have been calling gyros all week).

I think I found a good gelato replacement 

On Sunday we had Orientation. Jean organized a photo scavenger hunt so we could explore the city in a unique way. Dan, Kelly, Charlie, Sarah and I were on a team. We had to run around and take pictures of us next to different things in the City (Parliament, the Flea Market, Tower of the Winds) and take pictures of different random things (biggest pile of trash, most stray animals, best view of the city). Unfortunately my group didn’t win the prize of a goody bag from the bakery, but it was a unique way of getting to know the city. (We did get the best view of the city, most stray animals in one picture).

Add caption

There's are 6 cats in this picture (one is kind of hiding) but there were more on the other side of the street.

Monday morning we had Orientation at campus (CYA-College Year in Athens). We met the staff, learned about campus life, and jumped right into our first class of the day: Greek Culture and Language. Our fabulous professor Lida (she's super enthusiastic) took us around the neighborhood pointing out bakeries, restaurants, and grocery stores. We then went back to school and started learning Greek. As Lida put it: my "brain was boiling." Ps are pronounced like Rs, Hs like Is, Bs like Vs... My head was pounding and Lida did not go slow. It will be a challenge to say the least. After her class was Art History and Literature with Anne Stewart. She's great. Super passionate about everything from painted pots to the Iliad. I think I will like her- she's a lot tamer than Paolo and Carmella.

Monday night, my roommates and I dressed like the guys from the apartment below us for Halloween. We had night class and took everyone by surprise. I dressed like Alex, who just so happened to be wearing the exact outfit I had planned! It was fabulous! We then had a Halloween party after class. Since we hadn't had any time to get costumes in Greece, we made our costumes with random stuff (The costumes in our apartment ranged from maps, post- its, an old suitcase, paper plates/cups, and garbage bags.) It was nice bringing a little American Halloween spirit to Greece.

Me as Alex, Kate as Bill, Jessica as Garrett, Michelle as Andrew, and Shannon as Dan. 

Happy Halloween! 

Tuesday- Thursday was simply filled will our new classes. More Greek with Lida, a trip to the National Museum for Art and best of all meeting our new Theology professor Stefanos Alexopoulos. He is FABULOUS! He is the polar opposite of Father Gunther's terrifying personality. He is funny, understanding, and really wants us to speak our minds. It is going to be a fascinating class learning about the Eastern Churches. I can't wait for more!

Wednesday night Michelle and I watched Disney's Hercules to get us even more pumped for living in Greece. It definitely did the job, although the pottery we're studying in Art History would be slightly more interesting if the characters on them came to life and sang catching songs. It's nothing like actual Greek mythology, but it is so good!

Anne probably would have a thing or two to say about the inaccuracies... oh well 

Today Michelle and I walked around a shopping area near Parliament. Other than being depressed by Athen's lack of short-length jeans, it was a fun trip. It was made even more interesting when a protest on its way to parliment passed us by while we were entering the GAP. Lots of chanting, flag waving, and police accompanied. Even shopping is an experience here! I think it will be an interesting semester to say the least.

I assume this will be the first of many protests seen here.