S

Once again, it’s been a while since I’ve written a post.  In my defense, I couldn’t turn my computer on, and we were traveling.  I got a charger for my computer, so the first problem is fixed, and we aren’t doing any traveling with the program this week, so that’s not an excuse anymore either.

Here’s what’s been going on this past week:

Last Saturday, I wanted to go to the Opera to see La Boheme, but the student tickets were all sold out, so we didn’t go.  In the evening, we went out in Psyrri, one of the main neighborhoods for nightlife in Athens.  We found a bar with dancing and an American DJ.  It was a lot of fun, but the DJ didn’t play any Greek music, so maybe next time we’ll try to go somewhere more Greek.  Also, there weren’t many people our age there.  I’ve heard that people our age (college students) don’t really go out in Athens because they are focused on their studies and don’t have the money to be going out.  This should be the case for us too, but we want to see Athens in its entirety. J  Those that do go out tend to be high school kids and people in their late 20s and early 30s, because they have jobs (well... at least they're not in school anymore).  The place didn’t really get going until about 1 or 2am.  The Greeks stay out so late!  We didn’t get back home until 5am! 

On Sunday, the weather was a bit chilly, and it drizzled a little, so it was too cold for the beach, so we went to the Athens flea market.  There is a section that is a traditional flea market with a lot of antiques, but mostly it is just an area with a few streets of stores selling gift, souvenirs, clothes, etc.  It is very busy on Sunday mornings.  I happened to run into a friend of mine from high school who I haven’t talked to in 3 years!  She is studying in Rome and was in Athens for the weekend.  How crazy is that?!

On Monday, I had to do more laundry (by hand, of course).  I’m getting to be very efficient at it, and it is nowhere as bad as the first time I did it.  Actually, it’s not that bad. 

We went to the Theatre of Dionysos on Tuesday.  It is at the base of the Acropolis and hosted a yearly dramatic festival in honor of Dionysos, the god of drama.  After the morning excursion, I went to find a store that had a charger for my laptop, and in the process of looking for the store, a friend and I found another farmer’s market!!  This one was bigger than the one in our area and had a lot of clothes, shoes, and accessories in addition to fruits and vegetables.  We are definitely going back tomorrow (the farmer’s markets are only one day a week).  

On Wednesday, we departed for our three day trip to Delphi and Olympia.  Our first stop was the Osios Loukas monastery.  This monastery was not as strict as the ones in Meteora, and the women did not have to wear skirts over their pants.  The church had some beautifully preserved gold mosaic portraits of religious figures on the ceilings.  In the afternoon, we visited the Delphi lower site, the Temple to Athena.  

The town of Delphi is very small, with only 2 streets, so a few of us decided to try to find the footpath up Mt. Parnassus.  We never found it, but we did find a modern theatre with really good acoustics near the convention center.  

Thursday was spent visiting the upper site at Delphi, home of the Temple of Apollo and the oracle there.  People would come from all around to get prophecies from the oracle, which would be given by a priestess of the temple who was in a trance.  We drove to Olympia in the evening and had a group dinner there.

   

On Friday, we spent the day at the ancient site of Olympia, the home of the ancient Olympic games.  The site is huge!  The Temple of Zeus there was home to the statue of Zeus that was one of the wonders of the ancient world, but it no longer exists.  We had to give presentations on different buildings there, and then we had a race in the original stadium!  Olympia was my favorite site of this short trip.  The drive home was a whopping 5 hours!

On Saturday, it was Labor Day in Greece, and all the shops and grocery stores were closed.  There was a protest in Syndagma Square, which got pretty violent.  I wanted to go see what was going on, but we had been warned against it, so we went to the beach instead.  We found a nicer and cleaner beach than the one we went to last time, only a few tram stops after Edem.  The weather was beautiful, and the sun was shining.  I bought a paddle ball game that I see everyone playing on the beach- it’s really fun!  I’m definitely bringing it home to play on the beach in Chicago.  It was even warm enough to go for a swim in the sea.  I think May 1^st is the official opening day for the beaches here because there were a lot more people at the beach than last time.  We may have been a bit too early before.  In the evening, we went out in Psyrri again, but didn’t stay out as late as last time.  

Yesterday I did more laundry.  I’m really becoming efficient at it. J

Today, as usual on Monday, we didn’t have class.  I finally got a charger for my computer!  Just in time because we have a ten page paper due on Friday.  Once I get that done, we have a week off for spring break!  I’m going to Paris, Marseilles, and London.  I am SO EXCITED!!!!