history maker. speaker of truth.

Wien

2008-07-19T18:47:00.000-07:00

The last european city I got to visit was Vienna. It was super short notice and I left the day after finals were over but I am so very very glad I got to go. Mostly, I went to hear the Vienna Philharmonic because they had a free concert at the Schonbrunn Palace that included La Valse! [One of my favorite pieces.] Hmm...basically, I walked a LOT. They had all this construction going on for the Euro Cup [i think Spain won?] so I got confused and walked in circles for half the day. But hey! Walking circles in Vienna is not the worst thing.

This is the Schonbrunn Palace. I didn't go inside, just to the gardens which were nice. Not as grandiose as Versailles, but they did have cultural gardens. The only one I really remember was the Japanese garden with its bamboo and amazing flat trees.
the vienna philharmonic. it was a very festive occasion, with fireworks to end the night and eveyrthing. The conductor Georges Pretre was an incredibly animated person - it was fun watching him!

Just one of his many unusual movements. He was really into the music and even though I didn't understand any of his German, he seemed like a very enthusiastic/positive man.

Mozart's monument. Isn't that amazing??
The national library! It seriously looked like the one from Beauty and the Beast. There was also a kinda morbid exhibit on death in the library. Apparently the Austrians are really into death - they even have a suicide museum.
The opera house! It was great, I got a standing ticket to watch Verdi's "The Sicilian Vespers" for 3.50 euros. The standing area was directly in front of the stage with little screens that gave the english translation of the opera. I had been walking for so long though, so I could only stay for half the show - but it was definitely worth it! I actually found out about it from a man walking through the Schonbrunn gardens who randomly started talking to me. Thank you God!

Annnd that's it! I'm back in Cleveland now, trying to finish applications for graduate schools, and waiting for the new school year to start. I still can't believe I went to all these places, but looking at pictures makes me realize how real it was and how much I miss it. What an amazing time - but still! I'm looking forward to my last year at Case. =) Thanks for reading all along guys!

A dios.

Athina + Kriti

2008-06-24T13:43:00.000-07:00

I am highly superbly discouraged from studying. So I'm going to take some small, dispersed breaks through blogging! Blogging always functions as my break. =)

After Florence was a couple weeks of school, and THEN Rachel and Hannah came to visit. It. was. incredible! I was so excited, and STILL can't exactly believe, that we were all in Europe together!!
First, we met in Athens, and for most part of our time there, we were all infected with this lazy attitude. Until of course we ate! But the best part about Athens was going to the rock where St. Paul preached and really having it sink in that he was there!! He writes so much of the new testament, and realizing that he was alive and spreading the gospel right there was an awesome thought.

From Athens we took a magnificent night-ferry [it was like a cruise ship!] to Crete, which was the highlight of EVERYTHING europe for me. We had planned on hiking the Samaria Gorge, but oil strikes and lack of transportation prevented us from ever gettting there. But maannnn our hotel was amazing. And it was only 15 euro /night!! Ok, we have so many good pictures from here that I have limited posting-issues.

a shot taken from our door the morning we got there =) =D

and then the same view in the evening. We almost missed this sunset because they happen so quickly!the pool and hannah! i LOOVE this kind of pool. [i think they're called infiniti pools?] And even though the water was preetty cold, I had a BLAST! Ohh...memories of spending whole summers at Willoughby's Pulic Pool.
our second day, we spent in Charaklion and ventured out into the sea urchin-filled waters at the old harbor. Our goal was that island in the background, and on our way back [we got 3/4 of the way there] i had this panic attack and couldn't get myself to jump from one fuzzy land mass to the next in fear of sharp shells that could pierce my feet, so rachel is coming back to my rescue!

like sound of music. =)

hannah walking on the edge of death. there were spikey rocks to the right-side of this bar.

above and below are classic rachel shots with food. =D

HAHAHAHHA

above and below are poses instructed by director Rachel.

this was our miserable attempt to direct rachel. we are lowly minions. hahaaha

b-e-a-uuutiful ladies.

hannah's self-timer at its best.

ahh..what a wonderful memory.

Firenze

2008-06-19T07:57:00.000-07:00

So we went from relaxing, to even more relaxing! Oh boy..the view from our hostel was sooo great. Getting there was not so much fun because we ended up missing our stop and had to ride the public bus all the way around again. And then we shared our tent with a snorer. Which was remedied when the camping site gave us a different tent the next night - then of course there were unexplainable problems trying to get the key to work, but in the end, we were comfortably sleeping. Here's the view from Michelangelo's Square that was adjacent to our campsite:

Florence is famous for the Uffizi that has Michelangelo's David on display- but the line is intense and we skipped out on the museum in exchange for the replica.

In this same plaza, there was an AMAZING guitarist. Many thanks to Hannah's 2gb memory card that caught a snapshot of how awesome he was. [Sorry it's side-ways.]

We also had 2 exciting eating experiences: 1. We shared a florentine steak, and shrimp tagolini - both were greeaat. 2. we had a wine and cheese party! Which was actually supposed to be grape-juice and cheese cuz I just really do not like the taste of wine, but apparantly, wine comes in cardboard containers! I didn't read the label and just figured the 85 cent carton had to be juice, and then it was too late.

this is our food

this is us

this is our view of Florence!!

study time yet again. T-20 days.

Venezia

2008-06-17T15:10:00.000-07:00

What a true vacation! There was really not much to do in this city, maybe heightened cuz hannah and i love being cheap. Most of our time was spent browsing the tourist shops that sold upmton varieties of venetian glass, and sleeping/reading on random benches! It was very fun. By fun I mean relaxing. Oh yeaa, we also made a song for our friend Rachel during one of our gelato-highs that is supposed to be sung to the Superman theme.

Things we could've done would be: climb to the top of the church in St. Mark's Square, and ride a gondola - but both of these cost some, and when everything's in euros, it seems much more expensive!! [p.s. i love being in the states using the dollar. I feel like everything is very cheap.]

I made most of my gift purchases here - earrings, hair clips, necklaces, etc... They've got all the accessories you could ever think of!

Hannah's guide book describes St. Mark's Square as famous for its many tourists and pigeons. hahaha Hannah is also deathly afraid of being pooped on! It was a tricky square...

mushroom pizza that's bigger than hannah! I wonder if that's what ny style pizza's like.

lasagna. we had a GREAT meal!!!!!

the strangest gnocchi i've ever seen, but delicious nonetheless!

many canals.

ok! study time. =]

Roma

2008-06-05T15:44:00.000-07:00

I'm back in the states! It's very very weird. Most of me feels like my entire overseas experience was one big dream...so I'm happy to continue posting about the cities I went to, just to remind myself that I really was there.

Roma...
The night I got to Rome was spent on the airport floor. With little sleep I wasn't too enthused to venture into the city, but it was completely worth it. My favorite part was probably walking through The Forum, where the ancient Romans used to live, gather, chat, etc... I was trying to imagine what it might've been like to be Roman in Byzantium, which is what movies like Gladiator are good for! hahaha. But really, maybe it's like being American now. I wouldn't have realized it before, but it is truly a blessing to 1. have a US passport 2. speak english 3. live in america. We can do just about anything with those three things. The Spanish Steps were also beaauutiful.

Spanish steps!
a building in The Forum

Having fun in Augustus's house

the colosseum!

We also saw many many squares [i can't remember all their names], ate goood gelato, saw the pope through his window!, went to the sistine chapel and St. Peter's Bassilica, had an amazing cannoli from a great shop [i don't think any cannoli i have for the rest of my life will compare], stood inside the amazing pantheon, and squeezed between the crowds to see the trevi fountain.

i'd say..go during the LOW SEASON. the many many tourists were not a huge plus, but still, it was great! ANNND we had amazing weather.

Paris

2008-05-30T06:11:00.000-07:00

pah-rrreee!!!! It was great great great. I love it when I go to see a very touristy thing that has been very touristically hyped and right when I see it I think "ohhh...so THAT'S why people make such a big deal about it."

This happened TWICE in France. 1st - Eiffel Tower. 2nd - Garden of Versailles.
List of things done would include...

Notre Dame: An organist was playing so it was GREAT to hear music literally reverberating in that space, but it seemed like he/she was a child just banging at the keys so that was kinda weird...outside

organ pipes inside

Louvre: just the outside. And also the underside.

Jardin des Tuileries: our first exposure to vast amounts of roads lined with trees. Paris makes me want a driveway lined with trees. It is truly beautiful.
Avenue de Champs- Élysées: Hannah made a purchase at Louis Vuitton for her relatives. I thought that made our Paris experience pretty complete. This is the kiosk right outside the store. For some reason that I can't remember, I thought it was more interesting.
Arc de'Triumphe: we stopped in the middle of the street to take a picture with it. People were so mesmerized with us two asians that ALL THE TRAFFIC stopped just so we could take a picture!!!! [completely joking. =) there was a divider separating traffic that was perfect for tourists]
Obelisk: I don't really know....obviously something Egyptian! [no picture..]

Eiffel Tower: day AND night.

Versailles: I didn't go into the palace, the gardens were enough para mi! If you have a bike, you can make it through the entire garden in a day. I was on foot and had no hope of seeing all of it in half a day, but it was GREAT!!! The area next to the palace was extremely masculine and grand, but Marie-Antoinette's Petit Trianon was much more subdued. I've fallen in love with gardens.

The Orangerie

The road leading to Le Petit Trianon. [which was not petit at all.]

and. again. we had amazing weather!!! Looking at all these pictures, Paris was definitely one of my favorites.

i have 2 finals and a paper due today! this was my break. tiiime to work!
only 1 week left. CRAZY.

Stockholm

2008-05-27T02:21:00.000-07:00

An incredibly clean and friendly city. The perks of having high taxes were completely visible.

the view from our hostel BOAT! We were only there for one night, but it was really comfortable.

Sweden.

seagull! and beautiful sky.

cherry blossoms + hannah cha

look at this mcdonald's!!

Outside the Modern Art Museum where we saw an Andy Warhol exhibiton. I enjoyed The Museum of Architecture that was right next door a lot more though. The swedish have amazing architecture: like IKEA all across the country!

other than the 2 museums, we also went on a boat-tour [we couldn't get all the way out to the archipelago] and then just to see the 'old city' we rode a public bus from its starting point, back to its starting point.

in this book Affluenza, it talks about Danes being the happiest people because of the small (relatively) gap between the rich and the poor, and I feel like this is true for the Swedish too. It felt more like a community of people than competitors trying to get to the top of the success ladder.
We were also there on the NICEST/warmest day! That was a huuuge plus.

Amsterdam

2008-05-22T09:09:00.000-07:00

Amsterdam was....nicer than expected. No doubt about that. Sometimes the smell of weed was overpowering, but mostly it was a very practical city. Our tour guide kept stressing that the Dutch are extremely practical people. Like the way they move into their homes, for example. It's hard to see in the picture, but the houses are all tilted forward a bit, and have metal bars attached right outside the window of every floor that allow a pulley-system to get furniture to the upper stories of the house. That would be because the stairs are too narrow.

Like a parking garage for bikes!! Everybody rides a bike. Sometimes it was funny, cuz you would see a woman in stilletoes and a nice dress-suit riding a bike! I don't really understand the system though - i feel like the accident rate could get very high! They should have more of those convex mirrors at intersections so bikers [like me] aren't constnatly stressed about running into zooming cars. I think I'm the only the one that was really concerned about it though.

One of the many coffeeshops in Amsterdam. But THIS ONE was in Ocean's Eleven: the scene with Matt Damon and George Clooney where he makes the best 'lift' Clooney has ever seen. i think. As a tribute, they have Ocean's Eleven playing on loop!

hello!

hannah CHA.

Hannah and I kept thinking about how we wanted Thai food very very badly, and we got the perfect substitute: Coconut Curry Stir Fry from Wok to Walk. It was deeeeliiicious.

I had meant to go to the Van Gogh Museum, and instead landed up at the Dutch History Museum. I still don't know how that happened. hahaha, I was very confused on the first floor, and just kept thinking "isn't anyone else wondering where the Van Gogh is??" The garden was very pretty though.

Plus: hostel breakfast! [three pieces of bread, butter, jam, and 2 hard-boiled eggs], sunday morning church at a slightly more conservative group than normal - it was still amazing.
Minus: Just the Van Gogh museum mix-up. I was really looking forward to it, but after going into a different museum, I didn't have time. I did get to see some Rembrandt though.

It was the first of many many European cities.

London

2008-05-21T05:15:00.000-07:00

mmmk. so following Hannah's lead, I've decided to go more in-depth about each location. This way, I'll remember more about my trip too!

London was in a league of its own because 1. THEY SPEAK ENGLISH 2. The architecture is just so cool 3. it's expensive!

They say silly things like "mind the gap" in the subway station, when they actually mean "stay behind the yellow line," but it's become a hugely commercialized phrase and people have shirts that say it too. I must admit, it's very catchy!

And wow, I just realized I have no visual memroies of my 2-day stay cuz I forgot to get them from Hannah's computer buut the sites seen were

Buckingham Palace - the changing of the guards

Hyde Park - twas beautiful. and cold! but huuuge.

Victoria and Modern Museum - oook.

The National Gallery - GREAT. Favorite painting is below. =) thanks to the National Gallery's website.

Trafalgar's Square - I think I was too distracted by the huge sign that said FREE for the National Gallery, [they're adjacent to each other] and all I remember now are some lions?

The Tower of London - it was closed.. but people actually live inside this place! And, I guess they close it at midnight and NOBODY is allowed in or out until the morning - they even have a doctor inside for emergencies.

Tower Bridge - absolutley beautiful! And, I waved to people on a boat tour of London that happened to be passing under the bridge. Too bad I was just a tourist - they were excited though!

Harrod's - laughably ginormous and extravagent.

Westminster Abbey - GREAT. you can make a peep and it'll echo throughout that entiiire place.

The Boulevard Montmarte at Night, Pissarro, 1897.
I reaally realized how different things can look at different times of the day. I'm sure there's a completely different approach to 'night' versus The Boulevard Montmarte at Sunrise. or Midday. or Evening. And then, it's not even just the lighting that'd be different, but also the action in the painting. What's great though, is that it's all the same boulevard.
[i like to store these kinds of realizations to apply to interpreting piano pieces at some point...=]

ALL OF IT WAS SO COOL! And now that I think back to it, very BIG. But London is not geographically big, so it must be like harry potter where everything seems big but is magically very compact. =)

amsterdam, paris, rome

2008-05-07T04:32:00.000-07:00

i for some reason have become horrible at aligning pictures! Buut for the past 3 weeks, i've been with Hannah Cha doing a brief 'europe tour.'

London
Amsterdam
Stockholm
Paris
Rome
Venice
Florence

It was INCREDIBLE!!!!! Not only because the places were beautiful, with cleeaarr blue skies in each city, but because I really think I've learned more about myself during those 3 short weeks than the whole time i've been in Thessaloniki. so much to say! but i won't bore you guys. =) I am just so grateful.

I only have pictures from Amsterdam, Paris, and a little of Rome for now.

yellow bike-riding in Amsterdam. Hannah loved it! I was waayy too clumsy to be on this thing in the midst of cars and many other bikers. According to an Amsterdonian - "if you can't ride a bike, GO HOME!" hahahaha. Rachel, it's 10 times worse than campus.

Paris was definitely one of my favorites. Especially the garden at Versailles!!!! Just loooook. It never ends. You need a full day ON BIKE to get through the whole thing. ahhhhh i loooved it. =)

Hannah eating mushroom pizza with the Collosseum in the background!!! The restaraunt was called "Trattoria". haha!

Hannah and I with the eiffel tower.

It was BEAUTIFUL at night.

lots of h.w. to catch up on!!! and then next week = athens + crete with RACHEL LIOU AND HANNAH CHA!

you guys- i'm SO EXCITED!!!!!!

Athens, Greece

2008-04-15T04:49:00.000-07:00

Athens was great. I couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like to have studied abroad in Athens instead of Thessaloniki - it's a bigger city, more diverse, maybe...more like America, but with all the Greek influence that you'd expect in the capital of Greece. More parks, museums, scenic roads, etc...
On the flip-side, I think Thessaloniki's really starting to grow on me. It took some time, but better late than never!

statue of runner. the coolest statue i saw in athens.

THIS IS SPARTA!

at dinner

jen eating jap-chae!

korean food in athens! it was GOOOOOD too! tasted authentic, which was very surprising to me. pricey. but worth it.
notice: bibimbap, soup, ggo-chi-chang, kimchi.

This is where the first modern olympics were held. It's 26.3 miles from the site of the old olympics (a place called Marathon) to this stadium. That's why marathon's are 26.3 miles long today! if you look closely, the olympic 5-rings are waaay in the back center.

The Acropolis. And some distracting reconstruction work.

an 'auditorium' where, even to this day, they have performances.

parthenon

i don't know exactly what this building is called - but they are young virgins that serve as pillars.

After going up to the Acropolis, I think I understand why the ancient Athenians worshipped on the hill. Looking out from the top of the hill, all you can see now is the city completely sprawled out, but in the days of paganistic worship, i'm sure it was allll nature 360 degrees around. I couldn't help but think of the vastness of God and His sovereignty while being up that high.

St. Paul preached here.

Changing of the guards in front of Athen's parliament building.

baby girl, guard, me. =)

a little boy that liked the pidgeons.

First Professional Opera! La Traviata

2008-04-15T02:42:00.000-07:00

I'd never been to a professional opera before, and it's funny that I finally got to see one in Thessaloniki, NOT Cleveland! We looked up the storyline for Verdi's La Traviata before we went because 1. it was in Italian and 2. There were Greek subtitles (they project the translation above the stage). It was SO COOL how much we could pick up from just the acting though! I loved remembering details from Wikipedia's summary by the cast's simple facial expressions. It was a great experience! (Though a little pricey comapred to those aweomse $5 student tickets to the cleveland orchestra. =)

The Theatre
Sitting inside, waiting

Daniella, Jen, Me. About as dressed up as we ever get.

A shot of a photo of the play. This is Violetta, the main character, who falls in love, breaks up with the man she loves for the sake of his family, and then eventually dies in his arms.

I think that from the entire opera, I liked the clapping at the end when the WHOLE cast comes out to take bows. Kinda like bloopers, when you realize these are normal people just doing their job, but that they're FANTASTIC at what they do.

Scuba Diving!

2008-04-10T01:56:00.000-07:00

I was very very excited for this - mainly cuz I've wanted to go scuba diving my entire life!!! It was definitely memorable - though it rained the whole time - and I think I'll be doing it again while I'm here. =)

ewwwww wet suits. I couldn't really breathe in mine. way too tight. but it kept us warm! On top of this, we had to wear a 15 kg. weight belt and a pretty hefty oxygen tank. and masks. all in all, everything was so tight that i felt my air passages were half their normal size. hahaa

that's me! they took underwater pictures, and videos!

Cool fish that we saw. =)

Me...and then the instructor that was holding me in place. I kept plopping down on the ocean floor and couldn't get up cuz of all the weight! Thank goodness for the guy that helped me and propped me back upright.

We were really only under water for 30 minutes, and I definitely had a couple panic attacks, but all I could really do was tell myself "breathe! juuuust breeaathe." =D It was pretty awesome!!

Istanbul, Turkey

2008-03-28T05:25:00.000-07:00

Istanbul, Turkey!

Ups: Good food, cheap shopping, TURKISH DELIGHTS! Hannah Cha, of course. But she's not really Turkish.

Downs: Grey skies, lack of organization from the school, and 12 hour bus ride both ways.

What I thought said Turkey in Turkish. But no. I think it's the name of a city in Turkey though!
Though the clouds were grey, the flowers were superbly VIBRANTLY bright. They were incredible to see! The parks in Turkey were also very fun-looking. I kept eyeing the cool-looking rings (the kind you hang from) and jungle gyms they had. =)

Hannah REALLYYY enjoying her bread! We hadn't eaten a real meal since maybe 14 hours before. haha!

I was very excited to see Korean! AND there were Korean tour groups hanging around Istanbul as well. I really wanted to ask if they knew where the nearest Korean restaraunt was located, buuuut I didn't.
Inside of Aghia Sophia - the first Christian Church ever built!!! (Well, it was built as wood 5 times and burned 5 times, so the emperor got sick and tired of having to constantly rebuild it and decided to build this MONUMENTAL thing. 20,000 workers hired, finished in 5 years! This place was seriously huge huge. My neck hurt from craning to stare at the ceiling.) Later, it got turned into a mosque, so look! In Arabic, the green circular plaques say "Mohammed" on the left and "Allah" on the right. Then, between the two is a picture of Mary and Jesus. The Muslims respected diversity and didn't ruin any of the Christian emblems.
The Blue Mosque. We got to go inside during prayer time and we had to take off our shoes while girls with skirts/sleeveless shirts were given material to cover their bare skin. It was quite an experience hearing the instrumental-less singing of hundreds.
The awesome pita man rolling out the dough at the place we had dinner the first night!
The kabob man skewering his awesome kabobs! What a great picture.

Top to bottom: Apple, Orange, and Turkish tea
The Apple tasted like heated apple juice, the Orange tasted like heated fanta, and the Turkish tasted like...tea?

The impressive Turkish flag at the border.

Amazing scenery on the way home.

sooo. Other then Turkey, King Simeon the II of Bulgaria came to our school yesterday! He held a Q. & A. session about Bulgaria's entrance to the E.U. for the group of 30 students that came. And even though I didn't say a single thing, I had this silly smile the whole time because he kept mentioning prayer and referred to the "Good Lord." This man was so truthful in answering questions and his passion to see Bulgaria become a stable/successful country through HONEST means was very inspiring. Many times, I read the Bible and it seems so difficult to live my life that way, but he's trying to mold an entire country to reflect Jesus. And, random tidbit, he graduated from Valley Forge Christian Academy! (Grace Lee's brother goes there!!)

How cool. What a small world.

Tonight: My roommate and I are having Mexican for dinner! So incredibly excited for good food.

yay for Spring!!!!

hannah hannah bo bannah

2008-03-27T07:53:00.000-07:00

important note: this is my THIRD post today. =)

What a lovely week with Hannah in Thessaloniki then our somewhat unorganized school trip to Turkey (again WITH HANNAH!). =) It was like a piece of my 'real life' came back and now I feel refreshed and ready to tackle study abroad life once again. Which, in all honesty, is not that busy but trying just because of the foreign-ness. mmk, time for visuals!

Hannah trying to steal my frappe. haha! just kidding. But we did drink Greece's famous frappes. It's basically like an iced mocha, but evverrybody drinks them here.

Frappe + Cigarette = breakfast in Greece.

We also played backgammon!

kimbap with sriracha. mmmm.

we climbed a tree!!

oook. so this picture has many amazing aspects:
1. Beautiful church!
2. Beautiful sky!
3. Random people! =) While Hannah was setting up the timer for this picture, the grandmas decided to join the picture, and the grandpa in the back suddenly appeared to fill in the gap between Hannah and Grandma 2! It was pretty hilarious cuz it looks like they're supposed to be in the picture, but really, they're not. hahah!

sitting on top of some ruins.

the progression of an amazing sunset. =) [amy chang! wouldn't this be an amazing powerpoint bkgd? if maybe you crammed the words in at the bottom where it's black? =D ]

That was Thessaloniki with Hannah! (Tried not to duplicate pictures with Hannah's blog, but this sunset is beautiful no matter how many times you see it.)

ahhh koinonia leadership selection!

Skopje, Macedonia - birthplace of Mother Theresa!

2008-03-27T04:29:00.001-07:00

And another post from a short trip to Skopje, Macedonia:

This is downtown Skopje. It's a small city - and we were there for all of Sunday so everything was sadly closed.

Mother Theresa's monument

of course. =)

the stone bridge that connects modern Skopje to its more traditional sector. The most interesting thing about Skopje is that it's in the process of becoming westernized. But the people there reminded me a little bit of Cleveland-ers. Maybe they're just more quiet than the Greeks, or maybe it's cuz it was a Sunday, but the morale seemed pretty low in this city.

They had an amazing park though!

This was what the non-modernized side of Skopje looked like.

-In just a week and a half, i maayy be going scuba diving!!! I've wanted to go my whole life, so this is a huge deal. =)

-I'm gonna try to take some shots of the house-church I've been attending.

-I can't believe it's almost the end of March already!!! That's crazy.

-I have an international relations quiz in a little bit, and i've studied poli ligo (very little) so i'm off to prepare!!

Food. The city of Veria, Greece.

2008-03-27T03:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delaaayyyed update - i tried, then gave up, then tried, and gave up, and now I have all I need for a substantial update with corresponding pictures. [working internet and pictures that have been transferred from my camera to my computer.] =D

as promised: huge spits

just a single bakery shot. they're EVERYWHERE!

Just an hour north of Thessaloniki is the small town of Veria - so we took a day trip to this city where Paul preached. There was a huge marble alter dedicated to him, but I thought this piece of scripture at the entrance was pretttyyy cool to see.

Mick? It's part of apostle Paul's alter

One of the churches there had AMAZING pictures on the ceilings detailing Jesus's life. They were really really cool to see - but this was the only clear shot I got. I think it's Jesus's transfiguration when He met with Moses and Elijah.

potluck, carnaval,

2008-03-04T07:59:00.000-08:00

Seeing as how I eat up all the sweets and gyros here (pictures in next post! promise!), I'm trying to keep up running on a regular basis. What I really like about running here is the amazing view from a quarter of the track:

And though we could do gyros everyday no problem, our pockets say no...eating out can't happen everyday. So, sometimes, we'll settle for some simple spaghetti, or frozen pizza, or a bunch of snacks. Then someone brilliant thought of a :potluck: [there's about 20 of us living in the same building] so with our powers combined, here are the AMAZING results!!!

Jen and I contributed by serving devilled eggs.

Just look at this dessert. Baklava was bought. Everything else hoooommeeemade. We have amazing cooks - thank goodness!

Last Thursday was MEAT Thursday and people were going crazy in the main square. It was like halloween, with many disturbing costumes of guys dressed up like girls, but I learned my lesson to NOT EVER wear a toga in Greece again. I got so many stares. And then, people who saw me, told their friends, and then whole groups were staring at me. Very awkward and weird and well, I guess I stood out! (i just don't see how it was any worse than guys dressed up as french maids...but that's my American view.)

This was the most adorable boy in ALL of Thessaloniki that night. =)
a camel!

the square

Jen and Me. She did NOT do the toga as planned. =( Maybe if there had been two of us, there would've been less staring??

Jen, me, Dino
They were supposed to make a face. =)

Mk. Other than that...yesterday I had the most amazing night doing NOTHING. Sat in my bed with a great book (Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller - same author as Blue Like Jazz), English breakfast tea mixed with the perfect amount of milk, and a chocolate biscuit that was on sale at the grocery store. It was amazing. I'm planning on repeating tonight. hahaha

Definitely having difficulty trying to buckle down to study for the MCAT, but it's coming along...

It's been a fiasco trying to find a piano and I miss it SO MUCH. We found a couple of them, but they were horribly out of tune: if you play one note, it sounds like the mallet is hitting two different notes. Kinda makes you cringe..doesn't it?

That was a LONG post!!! How is everybody else???

weather inches upward

2008-02-28T09:08:00.000-08:00

sometimes it feels like the desert here: warm and sunny as can be in the afternoon, then :freezing: at night!! I'm never quite sure how I should dress.

I think vacationing is starting soon - yay!!!

Today is also the beginning of Mardi Gras and it is a SERIOUS holiday here. People eat meat up the wazoo so I'll be getting in on the local festivities. My roommate and I are planning on making togas out of our bedsheets. =) [something i've always wanted to do!]

So some crazy things that have happened:
1. Was running on the track, and met this random person that is actually a tourist agent of some sort...but we got to talking about religion, and he's coming to the house-church I go to this Saturday! (if you could remember that in prayer, i know God will listen.)
2. hahahaha i swear, there was more, but i'm drawing a blank right now.

My roommate and I have this list of restaraunts we need to try, and last week we chose the chinese rest. It was incredibly disappointing. I'm missing Korean food too. My only solution is the sriracha sauce my dad convinced me to bring (THANK GOODNESS!). It accompanies my every meal. =)

fyi: i wish i could go to the benefit dinner JUST for the raffles.

v-day, picturesque

2008-02-19T08:10:00.000-08:00

So, like most colleges in the U.S., the official 'going out' night is Thursday in Greece. How perfect that Valentine's Day fell on this same day! There's a DJ at our school, and I don't know how or why, but anyone from the school that goes doesn't have to pay anything to get into the club he works at. Some snapshots of people looking pretty!!

Asli, Kelsey, Brittani

Dino, Jen
John, Dave

Emily, Danielle,

Dan (he's HILARIOUS. reminds me of Das. =)

on one of our explorations up the ginormous hill just outside our apt, two friendly greek boys asked if we were Americans and we had a small conversation with them. I was so excited to see kids that I took a picture, but only one of them told us his name.

friend, JIMMYS!

Jimmys: Are you from America?

Jen and I: yup!

Jimmys: Oh, well, I'm JIMMYS!

hahahaha. i'm just trying to say that he was very enthusiastic.

can't figure out how to put the caption below, but say hello to Bissell Library! Proud cover of a 2006 edition of an international library magazine (can't remember the title...), and decent replacement for KSL. Yesterday, thinking it closed at 8:30 instead of 8:00, I got LOCKED IN. Very scary and dark, but I had my phone so eventually a security guard came and unlocked the door. KSL is 24/7. And has amazing secuirty guards that would never let anyone stay past closing. And awesome chairs. And allows food! But this one's nice too. =)

Kamara Arch. Another section of the palace that was built for the visiting Roman Emperor in 250 A.D. In modern day Greece though, this serves as the quintessential meeting place. I had to meet two unknown American girls for church, and where did we meet? the Arch!

just. breathe.

I'm beginning to realize the benefits of taking just 12 credit hours instead of jam-packing my schedule like all Case students. It's a different kind of existence. SERIOUSLY. That saying "America lives to work, [Greece] works to live" is becoming truer. Even the teachers aren't as tight about time. It's refreshing!

"You have filled our hearts with wonder, so that we always remember that you and I were made to love... Even the rocks cry out, even the heavens shout, at the sound of his holy name" - Chris Tomlin (Made to Worship)

"Don't let me lose my wonder" - Kristyn Getty

pictures at long last.

2008-02-11T08:51:00.000-08:00

pictures are working!!

kelsey, me, caitlin
it's a cloudy day, but i'm sure that when it's sunny, this view is b-e-a-uutiful.

me, jen! my amazingly amazing roommate.
the seats are for the elderly inside the church we were visiting.

jen, emily, danielle
with part of the old wall that protected the city behind them.

the fruit market right outside my apt. shot taken from my balcony. =)

yeaaa buddy!! i'm actually going to go to a piano and cello recital on feb. 25th. not here, but still! they have an orchestra!!

imported i think. but for you unni! =)

what's really unusual about Greece are the ruins that are side-by-side with modern buildings. These are remnants of a palace from around 250 A.D. that was built for a visiting Roman emperor.

my favorite trees here. there're LOADS of them. but I don't know what they are. yet. =)

i havne't had the guts to take a picture of the roasting circular meat..but hopefully this week i will. class in 10 minutes!!

ya sou! (bye!)

Church, School.

2008-02-11T05:43:00.000-08:00

well, i don't know what's up with blogger, but here's another brief description of events in thessaloniki w/o pictures!

i went to church here - it was a house church that was more pentecostal than presbytarian (which is what i'm used to) so it was definitely a new experience. [if you've been to IHOP, it resembled one of their services] Prior to that though, i got to go for 'coffee' at the home of a missionary couple. Drinking coffee in Greece is a much longer affair than America. The differences?
a. Everybody brings a dessert dish (i did NOT. awkward...hahahaha not really. i did start to feel a little guilty after a bit though)
b. You sit for hours just talking. plus refills of coffee/tea/juice. and of course food. =)
c. it seems like it substitutes actual meals. I had a bowl of soup for dinner at their house - it was GOOD cabbage soup - but not enough to feel like an actual meal. So i'm thinking the desserts are considered not desserts but food.

okk. so church was on a Saturday night and more informal than what i'd imagined because there were about 15 of us sitting in a circle. It was great though! The message was so :clear: and practical and logical. [it was about how we can be transformed by the renewing of our mind]

today was the first day of school! it doesn't seem too bad, but i do have classes everyday, at least 2 a day, with large breaks inbetween some of them that can be used for the lovely MCAT or h.w. Basically, the campus is 2 building: The New Building, where most of our classes are, and Bissell Library, where I'm at ahora!

so with some structure fixed into my schedule, i realized how much I loved break and zero deadlines, but it should be interesting here! =)

Pictureless update. =(

2008-02-07T07:56:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to load pictures onto the blog, but my computer has not been responding well to the ethernet cord, so I decided to do just a little more explaining and less visuals.

Orientation for school started yesterday, and it ends tomorrow with a trip to Vergina (pronounced with a hard 'g' and rolled r as Vergeenah) to see Alexander the Great's father's tomb. Not being the greatest history buff, hopefully I will know all about Alexander the Great, before we leave through wikipedia. =)

Today's most eventful memory was the hour of learning Greek dancing. (Like in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.) We all stood in a HUGE circle and managed to keep our circle somewhat connected doing the three-step dance. :and: Greece's new US embassador came to visit during our dance session and joined our circle of fun. =)

I'm still getting used to the walking, but the grocery store is just 10 minutes away, along with a whole string of other stores - fastfood, bakeries up the wazoo (yay!), rent-a-cars, electronic stores, etc...and then shopping a little ways down.
My favorite food so far is a gyro from this fast-food place called "The Best". It's a comPLETEly accurate name. =D Stuffed with pork, chicken, fries, tomatoes, ketchup, mayo, and this spread that's put on all types of bread (yogurt+cucumbers+leafy something), this thing is massive and filling and delicious. If I remember to take my camera next time, the roasting meat is pretty cool to see! They're on vertical spits prolly....3 feet tall and everyting looks juicy as can be.

My roommate is amazing and my room is nice and toasty since the heater started working. School seems like it should be interesting:

1. Ethnographic Accounts of Greek Culture (something like that...)
2. The Doings and Writings of Anthropology (it seems like an independent study - i'll be researching Greek music! should be cool)
3. Greek 101
4. International Relations

Classes in just 4 days from now. It feels weird to be thinking about school and deadlines and such.

I think I might be one of those 'homesick' candidates pretty soon - hopefully won't hit me too hard. =)

I'll try to post some pictures next time!!

first day

2008-02-03T03:07:00.001-08:00

i'm here!!!
the flight was long and i was so excited they served tea on British Airways that I drank 2 full cups before realizing I normally NEVER drink that much caffeinated anything and then couldn't fall asleep for most of my plane ride. =)

my roommate is not here yet, and school actually doesn't start for another week! We have orientation beginning Wednesday though, which includes the much-talked about trip to IKEA. That will be interesting!

two sad things: 1. the dollar is so incredibly weak compared to the euro - i was shocked at the difference. so while a 4.50 euro dinner sounds like a great deal upfront, i think i'll find myself recalculating often. 2. my boiler doesn't work yet! very very very cold in my room. colder than outside. (i'd say..lower 50's in my room, and upper 50's outdoors.)

i always like picture updates - so here are some!!

kitchen

beds; the desk and cabinet is for both me and my roommate.

i can't seem to put captions next to the pictures, but from left to right, top to bottom:

-bathroom

-first dinner's salad, fries, fried eggplant (GOOD!), and yummy yummy baked bread

-meat-a-mania with meatballs, chicken, lamb, sausage. and fries.

-the harbor at night

-the view from my balcony!! =)

[K. how was the retreat???]

prior to departure

2008-01-31T23:39:00.000-08:00

to be filled with updates and pictures of Thessaloniki, Greece. =)