Not breaking laws but the same cannot be said for Mirrors

Yasas everybody! For those of you eagerly waiting for new posts, let me recap the last few days! Taking my first shower in Serifos Thursday morning was pretty interesting as the shower head is a hand held device as opposed to being posted on the wall. At our first Greek class on the island, we learned how to say ass (yga-thar-os) and then a few phrases such as “excuse me, I need the toilet,” and then we learned how to spell our names. My Greek name is: Βανέσσα. Pretty, isn’t it? After class, a few girls and I sat by the pool side to catch up on our readings before my fiction section led by honorary author, Pam Houston who had some great insights to a short story I submitted. Sabrina and I were then locked out of our apartment because class let out early so we decided to do a B&E! The bathroom window was unlocked so I climbed right on in! Needless to say, I felt like quite the little badass. The two of us waited for the rest of our roommates to come back before we headed back to the pool where I sipped on a lemon daiquiri while listening to Slightly Stoopid and other reggae bands off of Emily’s ipod. The weather on the island is absolutely perfect tanning weather. Most of the time, there aren’t any clouds in the sky and it is a comfortable 80-85 degrees with a gentle ocean breeze reminding me that I am indeed, in paradise. That night, after listening to Pam Houston read from her story that has not yet been released to the bookshelves, the girls, Shane, and I went to the ocean side for dinner at the ONLY Italian restaurant on the island! We were hoping to dine at a seafood place but shrimp pasta with baked cheese was just as satisfactory. While we dined, a herd of cats surrounded us, meowing and begging for scraps so I tossed a few shrimp heads their way. After dinner, we walked along the strip, got some gelato, and headed back. However, this time it was Emily and I who were locked out of our apartment. So of course, what’s my first reaction? Time to break in again! Except this time was not as graceful as previously that day. I crawled in, set one foot on the sink, the other on the toilet, and propped myself up on the window and mirror. Well guess what went crashing down? The mirror of course! I fell down and made the loudest ruckus as the mirror slammed against a cup holder that thankfully prevented it from crashing onto the ground. That goodness I wasn’t hurt (although I do have a couple battle wounds in the form of bruises). The mirror was held on by one latch as the other broke so I propped it up with the trashcan and our Greek books. “Ohhh the memories” I think as I now look back and laugh. I was worried about having to explain my tomfoolery to maintenance but when we returned from the pool where we drank Malibu and 7up (new favorite cocktail) the next afternoon, it had been fixed. My roommates and I sat on our balcony, drank Mythos (a Greek beer), and chatted it up. Sabrina, Emily, and I then went to the market, grabbed a couple Smirnoff Ices, and sat by the pier before doing some souvenir shopping. That night (last night), we cooked our first Greek dinner! We made pasta, sautéed vegetables, and experimented with spices while our friends contributed a box of wine. After dinner, Sabrina, Emily, Austin, Minh, and I then had our first Greek Yacht Club experience and for those back in the states who have ever been to a yacht club, you can bet your ass that the Greek kind are just as snooty. The drinks were outrageously overpriced and we had the rudest service. After some issues with the bill, we left. The group split in half and Sabrina and I walked back to the market to talk with our new friend, Matina – the nicest, sweetest Greek woman on the island. It was an early night but a desperately needed one. This morning, I made my first pot of Greek coffee that involved boiling water and dumping Nestle coffee powder into it which ended up reminding me of a 6^th grade science project as boiling water volcano-ed over the pot and spilled everywhere. All in all though, it tasted pretty good! I discovered that despite not having internet service ANYWHERE on the island, all I need is the one and only Ethernet chord in the court yard of our hotel so this morning I posted the last of my pictures from Athens onto Facebook. This afternoon has been pretty mellow as we’re saving our energy to try out some of the clubs on the island. Hope everyone has been entertained by my blog thus far, I’ll do my best to post more often! For those of you who would like a more frequent response, feel free to email me at vmwrmd@mail.missouri.edu which I check about once a day. Yasas!!

I'm the daughter of Poseidon! Watch me make water!

Greece continues to surprise me! The food is never anything less than scrumptious and I am finding myself become a more experienced wine drinker! Last night, my group attended a wine tasting after a day of class on the rooftop with the most gorgeous view of the Parthenon. We tasted 6 different types of wine, 4 white and 2 red and as it turns out, I prefer reds more than white. We coincidingly snacked on meats, cheeses, olives, and bread. Afterwards, the undergrads and a few others traveled to a couple bars, the first of which had the most beautiful, colorful, and extensive liquor collection I had ever seen! We stayed for one drink and then moved onto an outdoor bar/garden. Trees were decorated with twinkling ligthts and i even got to sit on a swing as I enjoyed more white wine and shots of ouzo. We became a group of chatty cathys and a couple hours later, we decided it was time for gellato...which we never got. We ended up at a taverna near our hotel and drank some more ouzo as we chatted with other fellow American college students. Then this morning, we mustered up whatever energy we recovered after a very short night of sleep to pack up our things and leave Athens. A bus picked us up and took us to the pier so we could board the speed runner 4, my very first ferry ride that took us to the island of serifos!! I am staying in a 4 bedroom apartment complete with a balcony and a view of the hills. After settling in, we ventured to the beach and swam in the Mediterranean sea. The water is so clear and beautiful, but colder than I expected. Once we finished enjoying the beach, we walked through the town, got a gyro, and did some grocery shopping as we will be cooking most of our food here on out in our very own kitchens! We then had a poetry reading followed by dinner at a restaurant on the beach. We feasted on Greek salad, tzansiki sauce, fried zucchini, chickapea stew, beef, rice, potatoes, chicken, and then finally grapes soaked in honey for dessert. All of it, delicious!! Now, my friends and I are sitting at the pool side with a gorgeous view of the ocean under our first starry night. The one plus to only having wifi at the pool is forcing me out of my apartment to enjoy the the moon that lights up the night sky. Tomorrow, I am having a short story of mine work shopped by my fiction class after spending the morning learning some more Greek! Kalispera!!

Kalimera!

Good morning! It is about 11:30am in Athens and about 5:30am back in Chicago! Today we had our first Greek language class where we learned a portion of the alphabet along with common Greek phrases which would have been useful yesterday when we visited the Acropolis where we saw the Parthenon and the Erechtheion temple of Athena. We strolled through the plaza and hiked up the ruins where I saw the most breathtaking view of Athens (pictures can be seen on my Facebook). After touring through the ruins, sipping on frozen lemonade, and making friends with a tiny stray terrier puppy who begged to play fetch with a stick three times his size, we visited the Acropolis museum where we saw ancient artifacts that were discovered at the Acropolis. A group nine students, including myself, ate dinner (our garson called it lunch) around 5pm where I had my first frape and croquettes (baked cheese). Children approached us with accordions and guitars and begged for money. It was the cutest and yet saddest thing but after one of the women from our group got pick-pocketed after giving children euros, we had to decline. After lunch/dinner, we toured through the Athenian plaza and browsed through shops. We then spent the evening on the rooftop sipping cocktails and wine, watching the sun set, and making friends with other tourists (one of which got behind the bar and poured our friend Rebecca a glass of red wine into a martini glass because it gave him "power." He later lost his wallet. Needless to say, he was a lil out of it aka DRUNK!) Well, as my roommate just said, it's time for us to leave because we have a long day ahead of us as we will be visiting the archaeological museum, plaka, monastiraki, roman agora, byzantine churches of plaka, the ottoman bazaar, and the modern bazaar. Hopefully I'll get kissed by the Greek sun and get some color :)

Arriving at the Attalos

Well I have finally settled in at the Hotel Attalos after a very extensive trip from the airport. First off, let me describe the flight. It was long...very long! They served a surprisingly scrumptious dinner of chicken parmesan and pasta while we watched the Adjustment Bureau (excellent movie). After dinner, I took some Nyquil and spent the next four or so hours "sleeping." It was very difficult trying to get comfortable sitting in coach with the AC blasting. When I woke up, we had passed over the Atlantic Ocean and had about two hours left of the flight. They served us fruit and a toasted croissant for breakfast and a cup of coffee helped me perk up, but only momentarily. After meeting up with others taking the Writing Workshops in Greece, we bought our tickets for the metro, stepped outside, and we were greeted with the fresh scent of an ocean breeze and flowers. This pleasant feeling soon depleted once we boarded the metro. It didn't take long for it to become jam packed and the sound of children playing the accordion for tips made my jet lag come back in full swing. There were so many people scrunched onto the metro that I was surprised it was able to leave the station at all! At one point, I'm pretty sure my head was smashed into some guy's armpit, thank God I was wearing a hat! After the metro, we arrived in downtown Athens. It's like no city I've ever seen! It's busy, loud, and full of shops. Trees with purple blossoms brightened up the sidewalks. Right now, I'm sitting in my hotel room at the Attalos that I share with two girls named Sabrina and Rebbecca. We've given up on trying to figure out how to work the AC and decided relaxing sounded best. Pretty soon we're going to have our first Athenian lunch experience! After, I'm pretty sure recovering from my jet lag will be top priority. I can't wait for our orientation dinner tonight! I'll need to make sure I rest up before our tour through Athens tomorrow!!

 *~*Later*~*

We just got back form the most amazing dinner ever! we were served fetta with veggies, fried cheese, dandelion leaves (weird and not that tasty), some meat with awesome potatoes aka french fries, and lamb. SO GOOD! I got to try red and white wine which were both delicious. I also made new and awesome friends while wine tasting. We drank ouzo, a liquorish sort of drink that you dilute with water and ice, then got some delato at a bar closer to the hotel. I can't believe how cheap and delicious everything is here! Tomorrow we go to the Acropolis and I am ecstatic!

T-Minus 23 Hours Until Takeoff

" Let your mind start a journey through a strange new world. Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be...Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar, and you'll love as you've never lived before." -Erich Fromm

As I pack up my things and prepare to leave TOMORROW, I can’t help but imagine the new people, places, customs, and experiences that I will come across. I can’t wait to travel to Europe for the first time and visit the ancient ruins, cities, and beaches that Greece has to offer. I hope that living on the island of Serifos will be the most beautiful and inspirational place to write fiction. I can’t wait to start writing!

I’ll be keeping family and friends updated with pictures and highlights from my trip so expect to read a new post shortly!!