My Pink Lemonade House. Love everything about it!

When in Greece, we eat!

My current life slogan to live by: when in Greece, we eat! I asked Vicki if "eat" was a Greek word and she laughed and said no, then said I was worse than her at saying everything is a Greek word! We eat (I eat) quite a lot here! I always have an enjoyable experience at "my bakery." The woman, whom we now know as Sophia, AGAIN gave us free pastries! I am amazed at her generosity. All the more reason for me to go all the time so I can pay her back for all these free strawberry tarts she supplies me with! After classes today a small group of us ventured to our neighboring town Markopoulo for a few hours. We did not realize that most stores close for a few hours in the late afternoon so there was really not much to do but it was fun to get out and see a new town. The homework load is piling up, unfortunately. Its a huge battle balancing doing homework and enjoying every moment here. Nobody wants to miss out on anything in this family-style setting at the Artemis. It is difficult to grasp the idea that I've only been here just shy of two weeks. It has gone by fast, yet I feel certain I've been in Greece for a month! Thanks for reading! Missing everyone at home. 

IKEA!

Yasas! After viewing my recent blog stats I have come prepared with something a little more interesting to write about today! Yesterday (Saturday) after classes myself and 3 other girls with with Dr. J and Mama-J on a little family shopping trip! We went to a nearby town and visited the Famous Brands Outlet - HUGE! It is basically a big warehouse of every high-end brand there is at outlet prices. Now, most things are still quite pricey, but it is a lot of fun to look and occasionally find a great deal! For my converse-loving friends out there - this is the place to go! Then we went across the street to IKEA, my new favorite love! Some of you may know we actually have these in the US. I did not know that and this was my first time. AMAZING! They had every thing you could possibly need for your house. We had a lot of fun going around and choosing our favorite room designs! Then we met up with Dr. J, who was waiting at the Akea food area where he bought us all drinks and some sort of foreign chocolate. For dinner we were given money to go out and eat on our own. I got my first Gyros! Yum! Demitries (family taverna down the road) makes excellent gyros and always gives us HUGgers his wife's famous walnut cake for FREE! They are so nice to us. Our waiter, who spoke no english, said "thank you" (yes, in English!) when we left and we talked about how much we loved him for the rest of the night. Good day in Porto Rafti! Today is a lazy day. Hopefully some homework will get done and then worshipping in Glyfada tonight! I look forward to that! Efharisto! 

At "The Point" in Porto Rafti

The Day of Absolutely Nothing

Today nothing happened. Apart from rain. More rain. And more rain. I woke up, had breakfast and a cup of coffee, went back upstairs, got ready, came down and went to chapel, fell asleep on the couch before class, had 2 classes and a 2nd cup of coffee, had lunch (yummy chicken burgers!), settled in to do some homework, eventually got my 3rd cup of coffee (by this point it was just to give me something to do), and did basically nothing all day. Vicki says once the rain starts, it doesn't stop for days! And today it sure didn't stop. Our power went out for several hours in the middle of the day and that was pretty exciting. At one point me and two friends bundled up and walked down to the bakery where I got my favorite item. The worker was someone new who spoke no english so after struggling through some language barriers she ended up giving me my strawberry tart for free! Very nice of her. They will receive a lot of business from me this semester. Probably one of the most exciting things was I got to skype with Bethany for about an hour! We caught up and talked about living arrangements next year. We're all very excited. Tonight I struggled keeping myself occupied. I did more homework but eventually settled around a table with some new friends and we each shared our life story. What a grand day. In contrast to our usually busy, active days where I end the day exhausted, I now find myself not tired at all. Blog completed! 

Relaxing in Porto Rafti!

Yesterday was a slow day here in Porto Rafti. After a good run in the morning we had classes and were finished by lunch. In the afternoon a small group of us went down to the sea and settled into a coffee shop called The Bistro. We had some true Greek coffee there. I got the famous "frappe". I wasn't sure what to expect but we know for certain all our drinks were very strong. They make their coffee with the grinds in it so there is a constant sludge on the bottom of your cup - yeah you're not supposed to drink that. Also while we were there we heard quite a disturbing scene on the roof. A cat was attacked and we are pretty sure it died by the sounds of it. I am NOT making this up! Our waiter did not speak a lick of english so that was an interesting situation! Bonnie and I were left to work out the bill on our own - it doesn't help that greeks in general are not too facially expressive so with every english word we said or acted out the waiter seemed possibly offended, or just uninterested. Quite a learning experience, though! On our walk back to the Artemis we witnessed a beautiful sunset - the colors here are amazing. At night I convinced a group of people to do yoga with me! We have a great gym room here so we had a lot of fun with neby-yogees! At night I have a ritual struggle with the internet. The past few nights I haven't been able to get internet in my room - can be quite frustrating but welcome to Greece! Not the same amenities as home. Today we are going to the National Archeological Museum in Athens so no classes! Off to the big city!

Kalimera!

Hello again! Well, classes have begun, and we were quickly reminded that we WILL be doing homework and studying while here. The most enjoyable part so far I found is learning Greek! Not only do we have a hilarious teacher, Vicki, but it is so much more fun learning a language where you can actually practice with people everywhere you go! It's a total different experience than learning it solely in the classroom. After classes today a large group of us went into Athens ON OUR OWN. Growing up so fast! Did some shopping at H&M (No idea why these are so scarce in America!) and also went to a sandal maker's shop called The Poet. He makes leather sandals to fit your feet perfectly! Common purchase for HUGgers! We quickly ran out of time and had to go catch the metro so we wouldn't miss the last bus to Porto Rafti. I can't wait to go back so I'll have more time to explore the plaka (flee market shops). It has been quite chilly here lately and we're getting lots of rain on and off. This doesn't stop us from exploring and enjoying all our time here! Tomorrow will be much more relaxed. Bonnie and I plan to go down to a coffee shop by the water and focus on homework! Of course a walk to Yegos (local grocery store) will be made, as well. Learning something new everyday about Greece, the Greeks!, and myself. Missing everyone at home! Thanks for reading! 

Sunday in Glyfada

Yesterday we had a relaxed morning, mostly uploading pictures and catching up on facebook. We attended the evening service at the Glyfada Church of Christ because their morning one is in all Greek. However, Nic and I plan to go one Sunday to the morning service to meet more people and experience it in all Greek. Yesterday we left at 3pm but our bus driver drove to the old congregation HUG students used to attend in Ammonia, which is in downtown Athens. So we had to turn around to get back to Glyfada. We got there early to spend time walking around the town and exploring but most shops were closed. I really enjoyed worshiping with that congregation! They had about 15 people there, which included a few visitors. They currently rent a room in a hotel but are hoping to get a bigger location so they have room for bible classes and such. Almost got to hold a baby but the lady forget I wanted to till we had to leave so she said next time - pretty stoked about that. I met a man named George who's from Syria and is trying to get papers signed so he can  go study bible at Harding. I really hope he gets it! We also met a man who is learning to speak his 9th language! Deano (sp?) is the minister there and is super friendly! When we got back to the Artemis we had our first take-out pizza from Porto Rafti - pretty much amazing! Then I got to skype everyone back home last night so I wasn't very social. Nic and I decided we need to spend more time with the group at night and make an effort with that. Sometimes I'm just too tired though! Overall really good day. I loved the sermon Matt (Deano's son-in-law) gave. They had it translated in Greek which got me and Nic thinking how cool it is to hear the bible in the language it was written. I bet the Greeks understand a lot more about what words in the bible are meaning since they know the roots. Pretty cool! Can't wait to be back next Sunday. 

Day at the Acropolis

Yesterday we took an all-day tour of Athens! We spent the majority of our time touring the Acropolis. We saw many temples, the Parthenon, Mars Hill, and visited two museums. Yesterday is when I wish I had spent a little more time on my mythology homework in high school! One of the most interesting stops was on Mars Hill where Paul gave his speech of the unknown God. Our director read us the passage and we learned about what it would have been like in that day for Paul. It was an extremely interesting experience! Athens is a beautiful city! The Acropolis, which is the highest point in they city, gives an amazing view. After a full day of walking and touring, we were welcomed back to the Artemis by our dogs - whole different story! Little fact: there are about 90,000 stray dogs in Greece. We have 6 regulars that live outside our front door and walk with us in Porto Rafti. They're very protective, sometimes appreciated, and mostly quite annoying. We ate at a local Taverna for dinner and met some new friends, the owners. In general, Greeks are very reserved and it takes time to get to know them so they trust you. It's exciting to build relationships with local people in town. Tonight we will worship with the church in Glyfada. The morning service is in all Greek, but Nic and I hope to visit that sometime on our own. Jet lag is finally pretty much gone! Not used to walking so much, though, so by the end of the day everyone is exhausted! Classes start tomorrow so I'm ready to get in some sort of routine. Hopefully one afternoon this week I'll go into Athens for SHOPPING! Well, there's the update! Miss everyone at home!!

Arrival at the Artemis!

Since I left Wednesday morning time has flown by! It's now almost 11 PM on Thursday in Greece and it's finally bed time. I can't believe I'm actually here. After our long, yet thankfully uneventful flights, we finally landed in Greece. Since then, so many names of places, towns, words, rules, itineraries, and much more have been thrown at us - some sticking - some not. While I would LOVE to let you in on some common words and phrases I've already learned, I have no clue how the Greek alphabet works so there's no way I'm going to try to type them! Speaking of, it is close to impossible to know what anything is in Porto Rafti - everything is literally in all Greek. However, we did manage to get the most delicious ice cream cones while on our walking tour of the town today. I already know I'm going to have a strong weakness to the food. Well that's all I can write for now! Goodnight!

A peace that PACKS with understanding...

A dear friend sent me a verse this morning that was in every way just what I needed to be reminded of. "I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give, the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid." John 14:27. Wow! How could I have forgotten that? 
During this whirlwind packing process I stress over whether I have enough (or too much) of everything and if I'll actually survive for four months out of my comfort zone (which I like very much), but being reminded of a peace so great that we measly little humans cannot even begin to understand is ridiculously calming. 
I leave tomorrow to meet up with the group and then fly to Athens. I have no idea what to expect, regarding anything, but am excited as this great adventure begins! Please keep all us travelers in your prayers, dear reader.