The rest of our big fat greek vacation

What is it about time that refuses to slow down? Our vacation to Greece came and went, and already we’ve been in Italy for almost 3 months. It seems like yesterday I was packing, and then unpacking, and then repacking again, wondering what it would be like to live in another country.And now I know! (sort of).

There’s still so much left for me to discover, but I don’t know how to begin discovering it all. I feel (I know) there are things that I’m supposed to learn (both about myself and about other people) while I’m here but I don’t know how I’m supposed to go about learning them. I guess all you can do is take things day by day, and see where you are at the end of it all. And in the meantime enjoy all the little things (like the fact that chocolate is only 30 eurocents here!)

………….

We only stayed in Crete for one day and one night; just enough time to begin to realize how much we wouldn’t be able to see on the island! We found a hostel in Heraklion, a city nestled right along the shore of northern Crete, and we even were able to wear- wait for it- SHORTS. At the end of October! It was a nice reminder of what it’s like back home (and a nice reminder that I’m not 150 lbs. when I’m not wearing my winter jacket).

At any rate, it sure beat the 50-degree weather we’d been having in Florence. (I’ve learned that cold weather is novel only when you have working heat in your apartment. If you don’t….. it kind of sucks.) After spending the day walking around Heraklion, finding the Archeological Museum, and discovering some unwanted guests in our oil & vinegar at a restaurant,

we spent a few hours sleeping at our hostel and then it was off to Santorini on yet another ferry. The ferry ride to Santorini was of a different caliber than the one to from Athens to Crete… no bugs in the furniture, and it was during the day so we got the chance to see the water and some of the surrounding islands. While Amanda, Chelsea, and Emily spent most of the time playing cards and watching out the window, I went up to the deck and braved the winds (accompanied by my iPod, of course. And as a side note, In Rainbows really is the best album I’ve ever heard.)

We arrived in Santorini early afternoon, and were pleased to find the owner of our hostel waiting for us right at the port. We piled into his van and began the ascent to our hostel (if he hadn’t been waiting for us at the port we would have had to hike up 300 meters worth of winding, dirt road (which, according to Google is 984.251969 feet. Which, according to me is much to far for an almost vertical climb. At least when we’re on vacation.))

Our hostel was beautiful, and since they accidentally gave our room to someone else, they gave us two separate rooms for the same price. Emily and mine even had access to the roof- which, of course, we all took full advantage of. That night we sipped wine and watched a lightning storm over the ocean.

Santorini was my favorite of all the places we visited- definitely because of Oia (the city known for it’s white buildings and blue roofs), our discovery of an authentic Mexican restaurant (maybe my favorite part of the whole vacation), or the fact that we rented ATV’s and rode them around the island! I only ran into a wall one time throughout the whole 2 days! I’m definitely improving my driving skills (Look dad! No speeding tickets this time!) We hiked along red beach (called so because of the abundance of pumice stone – who knew Santorini was an active volcano??) and found even more animals who adopted us for our short stay… a cat who we fed milk too every morning and a black lab who looked more than ready to give birth to her puppies.

Sadly, it all had to come to an end, as all good things eventually do. Getting back to our own beds was an adventure in and of itself- taxi rides, a 2 am ferry, airplanes, trains, and walking back to our apartment all included. The creepiest part? Sleeping on the floor on our ferry back to Athens and waking up to a complete stranger who had his face on my bare feet! Lesson learned: next time I won’t worry about my bag when I’m sleeping, I’ll worry about my shoes, instead!

And so we made it home, safe and sound, with all of Sunday to relax before we started our first semester of classes (which now we’re a week and a half into).

I’m sitting here writing this because my Opera class was cancelled tonight (sorry mom, I know it’s way overdue!), but I still have 136 pages of reading due tomorrow. How does that work? Who knew there’d be reading involved with a literature major….

But a quick update of the latest happenings:

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to do what I THOUGHT was to help out in English classes for an Italian elementary school, but apparently I’ll be actually teaching the lesson instead! One hour a week, Thursdays from 10:30-11:30. I was assigned first graders, and I even get to come up with my own lesson plans. Who ever gets the chance to do this?? I feel so lucky to be able to be a part of something that I’m passionate about, and maybe learn some Italian from the kids while I’m at it! Also, Paola (our campus’ librarian, resident hippy, and the woman who organizes volunteer opportunities for the students) asked me to tutor her other daughter (her 6 year old is in the English class I’m teaching) who’s 13 on Monday nights. So (if everything works out) I’ll go over to her house once a week and help her daughter with homework, and get to sit down to a real Italian dinner with a real Italian family. In Italy! Imagine.

It’s amazing what opportunities present themselves if you open yourself up to new experiences. Heyyy…. that’s life lesson #1.

Ciao for now!