So once again, I have done a horrible job at keeping up with my blog. I apologize.
This will probably be my last post for about a week or so because tomorrow morning we leave for Egypt!! Now, stop crying, it'll be alright. Just think of all the hilarious stories I'll have to tell when I get back! I mean, it wouldn't be a week in my life (especially a week of my life in Egypt) without some hilarity, right? It has always been a dream of mine to visit Egypt so you can only imagine how excited I am about going. Tonight the girls had a special meeting with DiMy about what to expect when we get there. Apparently guys are super forward with American girls. We've been warned that we will get whisteled at, stared at, etc. And basically everything that we've grown up thinking was the polite way to act (smiling, eye contact, being friendly, etc.) are all an invitation for the men there so basically we're not allowed to do them. But all the guys have been forwarned as well and have vowed to protect us at all costs. But as my good friend Ashton said, "If they express their culture and grope me, I'll express my culture right back and slap 'em in the face!" (Good policy, I say!!)
We were also warned about the water in Egypt. We can't drink the water, or brush our teeth with the water, or open our mouth in the shower, or eat salad that has been rinsed with the water, or have ice in your drink made from the water. As Mr. Myhan told us in chapel, "If you drink it you will get muy sick and both of your taps will be running." Hopefully, I don't have to deal with that!!
So while we are in Egypt we will get to see the pyramids, loads of temples and statues, the Sphinx, Temple of Luxor, take a Nile cruise, and Alexandria. But what I'm really excited about is getting to RIDE A CAMEL!! Thats right we get to take a camel ride down the banks of the Nile! I am so excited!
Another thing I'm pretty excited about is the cruise!! It is going to be awesome! One night we have Capitan's night, where we get to get all dressed up (I bought an amazing red dress in Athens just for the occasion). Another night we have "Egyptian Night" and we get to buy Egyptian headdresses and gowns to wear! Also, the powers at be have discussed and finally come to a conclusion. We are going to be allowed to participate in 'disco night' on the cruise. There is a room on the boat just for dancing. Thats right, us Church of Christ kids are finally being allowed to break out and dance... although we'll probably all like like idiots because none of us have ever done it before! :) When the announcement was made in chapel today there was a pause and then the whispers started, "did he really just say that?" "what? dance? us? No." and then we all got really excited and wouldn't shut up haha. But all in all I think it'll be a good experience for all of us! Maybe even once in a lifetime. :)
Well, I will definitly write when we get back and post pictures of my adventures! Please pray for the safety of my group as we travel tomorrow and for the next week and a half! I love you all!
Monday, January 28, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
I've got some catching up to do!
So I am so sorry that I haven't been letting you all know whats been going on in my wonderful life in Greece! We have been so busy and I'm find myself getting really tired really quick! But enough of that!
On Monday we decided to tackle the mountain across the street from campus! Just looking at it it doesn't look too bad... until you actually climb it :) . We started our journey wearing shorts, chacos, and t-shirts... we soon wished we'd worn pants. There were more thorn bushes on the side of this mountain than I have seen in my whole life. Also, there isn't a clear cut path up the side so we just kinda made one up. It made for an interesting afternoon. Well on the way back down, we figured out that the way we came up was gonna be too hard to take back down so we started figuring out another way. About half way down the sun was starting to set and we were starting to freak out that we weren't gonna make it down by nightfall and none of us are experienced enough to do it without getting hurt. So all of the sudden these three Greek boys, ages approx. 16, 12, and 10, came out of nowhere and showed us the way down and then the way back to campus because they recognized us as Harding students. It was definitly by the grace of God that we made it down. The 8 of us definitly grew a lot closer together while helping each other climb down.
Yesterday, Tuesdsay, we had a two mile run for my conditioning class. After that we just hung around the Artimis (the hotel the campus is housed in) after that until dinner. After dinner we had our first big test. We had to identify about 20 different slides about buildings, sculptures, their scluptors, time period, etc. It wasn't too horrible, I think at least... we haven't gotten our grades back yet! haha! Well, after that two other girls and I decided that we wanted to go and do some tae-bo/kickboxing. So we made our way over to the gym and kickboxed our little hearts out. After the video we decided that we hadn't worked hard enough so decided to do the bike for 2 miles, lift some weights, and to ab workouts on the pilates ball. Needless to say, I can hardly move today. :) It was a lot of fun though!! I've really found my niche with an awesome group of girls!!
Mars Hill
Paul gave his speech in Acts 17 here
On Monday we decided to tackle the mountain across the street from campus! Just looking at it it doesn't look too bad... until you actually climb it :) . We started our journey wearing shorts, chacos, and t-shirts... we soon wished we'd worn pants. There were more thorn bushes on the side of this mountain than I have seen in my whole life. Also, there isn't a clear cut path up the side so we just kinda made one up. It made for an interesting afternoon. Well on the way back down, we figured out that the way we came up was gonna be too hard to take back down so we started figuring out another way. About half way down the sun was starting to set and we were starting to freak out that we weren't gonna make it down by nightfall and none of us are experienced enough to do it without getting hurt. So all of the sudden these three Greek boys, ages approx. 16, 12, and 10, came out of nowhere and showed us the way down and then the way back to campus because they recognized us as Harding students. It was definitly by the grace of God that we made it down. The 8 of us definitly grew a lot closer together while helping each other climb down.
Yesterday, Tuesdsay, we had a two mile run for my conditioning class. After that we just hung around the Artimis (the hotel the campus is housed in) after that until dinner. After dinner we had our first big test. We had to identify about 20 different slides about buildings, sculptures, their scluptors, time period, etc. It wasn't too horrible, I think at least... we haven't gotten our grades back yet! haha! Well, after that two other girls and I decided that we wanted to go and do some tae-bo/kickboxing. So we made our way over to the gym and kickboxed our little hearts out. After the video we decided that we hadn't worked hard enough so decided to do the bike for 2 miles, lift some weights, and to ab workouts on the pilates ball. Needless to say, I can hardly move today. :) It was a lot of fun though!! I've really found my niche with an awesome group of girls!!
Tuesday also proved to be a sad one. The passing of Heath Ledger took us all by surprise. We had a moment of silence and a tribute to him at lunch on Wednesday. He was loved by many and will be missed.
So today, Wednesday, we went into Athens to do our tour of the Acropolis, the Agora, the Roman forum, and Mars Hill. Those sites just never get old. They were just as incredible as they were the last time! It was a lot more interesting this time though because I actually knew what everything was because we had just had a test over it! We started out on the Acropolis and toured the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, and the Temple of Athena Nike. We then made our way down to Mars Hill (Areopagus) where Paul supposedly gave his famous speech to the Athenians in Acts 17. After lunch we went and toured the Roman Forum and the the Ancient Agora of Athens.
Well, I'm pretty much extremely exhausted and its a wonder I'm still awake. I'm off to read for class and then head to bed!
I love you all!!!
So today, Wednesday, we went into Athens to do our tour of the Acropolis, the Agora, the Roman forum, and Mars Hill. Those sites just never get old. They were just as incredible as they were the last time! It was a lot more interesting this time though because I actually knew what everything was because we had just had a test over it! We started out on the Acropolis and toured the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, and the Temple of Athena Nike. We then made our way down to Mars Hill (Areopagus) where Paul supposedly gave his famous speech to the Athenians in Acts 17. After lunch we went and toured the Roman Forum and the the Ancient Agora of Athens.
Well, I'm pretty much extremely exhausted and its a wonder I'm still awake. I'm off to read for class and then head to bed!
I love you all!!!
The view from the top
The boys who helped us down
Porch of Maidens on the Erectheion
The Parthenon
Mars Hill
Paul gave his speech in Acts 17 here
An ancient potty seat
Our moment of silence and tribute to Heath Ledger
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Athens
Today we got to go into Athens for the first time! It was so much fun!! We took the bus at 12 into the next town, Markopolo, and then took the Metro into Athens! DiMy took us all around the Plaka, the shopping center of Athens, and then set us loose to go and do our own thing! We ate giros at this little sidewalk restaurant, Sabbas, and they were great! We just wandered around and looked at everything today!
Around 5 we all met back at the starbucks to walk to church. The church we go to is really neat! They start at 10 and have a Greek service, then a Bulgarian service, then a Russian service, and then at 6 they have an English service. When we took Communion one of our boys, Kyle, a Bulgarian, an Egyptian, and an Iranian led the prayers in their own languages. It was neat to get to see Christians from all nationalities meeting together for a common purpose and being one in the body. I also got my own little solo during the worship part of the service, though not of my own accord! We were singing "My God, He is alive" and we got to the "From dust our God" part where the girls lead and I was singing soprano like I always do and when we hit the highest part of the song all of the other girls dropped down to alto or just quit singing and left me hanging out there in the open! It was a wonder we got through to the end of the song cause we all started laughing so hard!! Needless to say, we (the girls and I) are gonna sit down and figure out who sings what and learn that leaving people hanging like that is NOT acceptable. Haha!! Nah, just kidding but seriously, it was bad! :)
We've got class for the next few days and then we go back to Athens on Wednesday to tour the Acropolis and the Agora!
Love you all!
Around 5 we all met back at the starbucks to walk to church. The church we go to is really neat! They start at 10 and have a Greek service, then a Bulgarian service, then a Russian service, and then at 6 they have an English service. When we took Communion one of our boys, Kyle, a Bulgarian, an Egyptian, and an Iranian led the prayers in their own languages. It was neat to get to see Christians from all nationalities meeting together for a common purpose and being one in the body. I also got my own little solo during the worship part of the service, though not of my own accord! We were singing "My God, He is alive" and we got to the "From dust our God" part where the girls lead and I was singing soprano like I always do and when we hit the highest part of the song all of the other girls dropped down to alto or just quit singing and left me hanging out there in the open! It was a wonder we got through to the end of the song cause we all started laughing so hard!! Needless to say, we (the girls and I) are gonna sit down and figure out who sings what and learn that leaving people hanging like that is NOT acceptable. Haha!! Nah, just kidding but seriously, it was bad! :)
We've got class for the next few days and then we go back to Athens on Wednesday to tour the Acropolis and the Agora!
Love you all!
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Sounion
So I finally got to sleep in today!! Class didn't start til 10:30 so that was pretty awesome!! :) I'm taking music apprec this semester and I think I'm gonna be one of those nerds who actually likes it! I mean, it's stuff I understand and it'll be a good review! haha Everyone else absolutely hates it but I think it'll be alright! We also started Greek today!! Our teacher is the lady that works the front desk. Her name is Vicki and she is HILARIOUS!! That one should be pretty awesome too!!
This afternoon we went to Sounion where the Temple of Posiedon is. The sunset there is absolutely gorgeous! It's about an hour drive there then we spent about 45 minutes there and headed back! When we got back we were welcomed with pizza, cokes, and a movie! Overall, a pretty awesome day!
Oh, and I also learned a pretty hilarious new way of describing a summary to someone... "It's like a girls skirt, short enough to be interesting but long enough to cover the subject."
Love you all!
This afternoon we went to Sounion where the Temple of Posiedon is. The sunset there is absolutely gorgeous! It's about an hour drive there then we spent about 45 minutes there and headed back! When we got back we were welcomed with pizza, cokes, and a movie! Overall, a pretty awesome day!
Oh, and I also learned a pretty hilarious new way of describing a summary to someone... "It's like a girls skirt, short enough to be interesting but long enough to cover the subject."
Love you all!
Friday, January 18, 2008
Finally!!!
So today was our first real day of class... I'm still not sure how I feel about it yet but I guess it makes it better that I don't start til 9 on odd days and 10 on even days. That makes up for the fact that I have to sit in class while in Greece in my book! :)
My other bag arrived today!! I got out of my first class and it was waiting for me in the lobby!! It was quite an exciting time until I realized that one of the wheels had been broken off and the front pocket was ripped off (sorry mom, I didn't find the pocket until after I talked to you!). So I guess its alright because I finally got it but I'm not exactly sure how to feel about the state of my bags.
Didn't do much today except unpack and kinda hang out around campus so nothing too exciting! Hopefully tomorrow will be more exciting!
My other bag arrived today!! I got out of my first class and it was waiting for me in the lobby!! It was quite an exciting time until I realized that one of the wheels had been broken off and the front pocket was ripped off (sorry mom, I didn't find the pocket until after I talked to you!). So I guess its alright because I finally got it but I'm not exactly sure how to feel about the state of my bags.
Didn't do much today except unpack and kinda hang out around campus so nothing too exciting! Hopefully tomorrow will be more exciting!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Exploring
So
We had more orientaion this morning. There is a lot t o get used to... for example...
*There always has to be a key in the room doors otherwise the person inside can't get out.
*We can put our toilet paper in the toilet cause it causes the pipes to back up so we have to throw it away... SICK!
*Marble is SLIPPERY... especially when wet.
*Stray dogs will follow you everywhere no matter what you do to try and shake them off.
Thats all for now but i'm sure there will be a lot more to come!
I got one of my bags today! Unfortunately it was the one that had only my shoes and books in it so I'm still without clothes. Jerry (one of the directors) called the airport to find the other one so it should be here sometime tomorrow... hopefully.
This afternoon we went exploring around Porto Rafti and found ourselves down by the beach and we stumbled across some WWII bunkers! They were pretty cool if you could get past the grafiti on the outside! We also found a man who was tenderizing the squid he caught by banging it on the rocks... definitly something new for me! haha
I'm getting to know a bunch of the people in my group and they're all pretty awesome! This afternoon really helped to break the ice with a lot of them!
Well, we've got homework tonight. I'm still trying to get myself to come to the realization that even though I'm in Greece I'm still in school... it's a hard reality to come to...
I love you all!
*There always has to be a key in the room doors otherwise the person inside can't get out.
*We can put our toilet paper in the toilet cause it causes the pipes to back up so we have to throw it away... SICK!
*Marble is SLIPPERY... especially when wet.
*Stray dogs will follow you everywhere no matter what you do to try and shake them off.
Thats all for now but i'm sure there will be a lot more to come!
I got one of my bags today! Unfortunately it was the one that had only my shoes and books in it so I'm still without clothes. Jerry (one of the directors) called the airport to find the other one so it should be here sometime tomorrow... hopefully.
This afternoon we went exploring around Porto Rafti and found ourselves down by the beach and we stumbled across some WWII bunkers! They were pretty cool if you could get past the grafiti on the outside! We also found a man who was tenderizing the squid he caught by banging it on the rocks... definitly something new for me! haha
I'm getting to know a bunch of the people in my group and they're all pretty awesome! This afternoon really helped to break the ice with a lot of them!
Well, we've got homework tonight. I'm still trying to get myself to come to the realization that even though I'm in Greece I'm still in school... it's a hard reality to come to...
I love you all!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Heading Out
So, once again I have left the country and once again I've left it with a bang! I think that there is something wrong with me that makes it impossible to have a smooth flight with no hang ups either regarding my health, my luggage, or the planes themselves.
I'm sure most of you heard but my flight to Detroit, where I was to meet up with the rest of the group, was delayed for 2 hours causing the airlines to switch me to American Airlines and re-route me through Chicago instead of Detroit and then on through to Amseterdam to meet up with everyone. Well, I got there and met up with everyone and we flew on through to Athens. When we got to Athens we headed for baggage claim. Well, as I stated earlier something happens when I leave the country that causes my bags to get lost. So I'm bagless and exhausted (I'm going on almost two days with a max of 5 hours of sleep), but Hey! I'm in Greece!
Today and tomorrow are orientation days where we'll be given tours of the campus as well as Porto Rafti, the town we'll be living in. And we'll have an introduction to one of our classes tomorrow morning.
Please pray that my bags get here soon because I wasn't thinking ahead about this potential problem so I didn't bring any back up clothes in my carry on so I'm relying soley on the kindness of others!
I love you all!
Alana
I'm sure most of you heard but my flight to Detroit, where I was to meet up with the rest of the group, was delayed for 2 hours causing the airlines to switch me to American Airlines and re-route me through Chicago instead of Detroit and then on through to Amseterdam to meet up with everyone. Well, I got there and met up with everyone and we flew on through to Athens. When we got to Athens we headed for baggage claim. Well, as I stated earlier something happens when I leave the country that causes my bags to get lost. So I'm bagless and exhausted (I'm going on almost two days with a max of 5 hours of sleep), but Hey! I'm in Greece!
Today and tomorrow are orientation days where we'll be given tours of the campus as well as Porto Rafti, the town we'll be living in. And we'll have an introduction to one of our classes tomorrow morning.
Please pray that my bags get here soon because I wasn't thinking ahead about this potential problem so I didn't bring any back up clothes in my carry on so I'm relying soley on the kindness of others!
I love you all!
Alana
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