hi people who read this,
i know it's been a while, but it's because i haven't really been in athens for a really long time. i had spring break for 8 days and then was in northern greece the week right afterwards. so i have a lot to talk about and i may spread it out over a couple of posts. you should definitely look at my pictures, because i took a whole bunch and i'm gonna eventually post them.
well first thing's first, i went to egypt. it was pretty crazy. i had spring break from the 7-16. i was in egypt from the 8th to the 16th. it was really really different. i thought it wouldn't really be that foreign, but it's definitely a different world. first muslim and african country i've been too. we flew a late night flight from athens to cairo. we got into egypt around 3. kind of inconvenient. from the get go i knew was gonna be different. arabic all over. a noose that warned against drug running. very different.
after a kind of sketchy cab ride that we later found out was a rip, we made it to the hotel. the group i went with was a good one. i went with andy, three hannahs, a jess, a nora, mandy and christie. the hotel was kinda seedy, but it wasn't terrible. we set out the next day. kinda weird b/c the hotel had a security guard and metal detectors. we wandered to streets for a bit. kinda dirty and run down. we struck up a conversation with this random dude. he led us to a seedy back alley store. they said it was a tourist shop, but most of us didn't want to go. we did though and the guy offered to hire us a car and organize our time in cairo.
i know, dumb idea right? i thought so, but what he said seemed okay. he gave us testimonials and even food. it was this weird rice, noodle, bean, food bucket. it was probably the best food i had the entire stay. we ended up agreeing to do a perfume/papyrus store visit and a nile dinner cruise at night. it was crazy and everything our parents said not to do, but it worked out. the papyrus/perfume/jewelery store were all right. and the dinner cruise was good and only 25 dollars (that's 250 Egyptian pounds) the conversion is 5.5 Egyptian pound per 1 dollars. it's crazy how rich you feel. a big bottle of water cost 1 Egyptian pound, that's 20 cents. crazy.
one other thing is the driving. it's insane. the drivers floor it at every opportunities. traffic lights are few and far between. the only one's i saw were blinking yellow. but the craziest thing is that donkey karts, horses, and god knows that else are on the road too. and there are all sorts of vendors on the streets. juice, meat, fruit. they'll come up to cars too. very different from back home. but i really got a vibe that this was really a city. more so than the buildings. there was so much going on streets. even though it may seem primitive, you get a melting pot and sense of activity. i felt that it was the most city-like place i've been in. makes sense i guess there are 20 million people in cairo. a lot.
anywho, i have a greek final tomorrow, so i'll finish up soon. i have a bit more time these days, although i'm thinking about going to some islands this weekend. we'll see. i 'll write soon. later dudes. you should look at the pictures. they show what i did better than my words really can.
Wednesday 26 March 2008
Monday 3 March 2008
Soccer Game
i finally made it out to a soccer game yesterday. i had to paper due today and i didn't end up finishing until 30 minutes before they were due, but going to the game was definately worth it. It was between two athenian teams (panathenakos and aek). i like panathenakos better b/c their colors are green and white. i know it's a stupid reason, but what do i know about greek soccer.
so i went down to the game with sasha, pat, kurt and kurt's friend carson to olympic stadium. it was really nice. they only built it 3 years ago for the olympics and it's pretty impressive. i'll put pictures up on the picasa soon. i didn't take my camera, but carson took pictures.
the actual game was also pretty cool. the stadium seats around 72,000 and it was like 3/4 full. they blocked off a lot of upper deck seat so it was pretty packed closer to the field. it was an aek game some everyone was wearing yellow and black. it was awesome. they all knew the fight songs and all the communal chants. it was kinda like a penn state game except like 100x more intense if it's possible. they love their soccer here. the game ended up in a 1-1 tie. but when aek scored the stadium went nuts. rivaldo scored on a penalty kick really really nuts. it also got dead silent went panathenikos scored. i might've cheered, but i'm pretty sure i would've gotten my ass kicked.
rivaldo scoring
anywho, i'm pretty tired from staying up all night writing my stupid papers. i did get seperated from everyone on the metro ride back, which was pretty cool. well that's about it. i'm leaving for egypt in a few day. super psyched.
oh and i almost forgot, i got the internet back at home. Amazing. By far the most important news of the day.
so i went down to the game with sasha, pat, kurt and kurt's friend carson to olympic stadium. it was really nice. they only built it 3 years ago for the olympics and it's pretty impressive. i'll put pictures up on the picasa soon. i didn't take my camera, but carson took pictures.
the actual game was also pretty cool. the stadium seats around 72,000 and it was like 3/4 full. they blocked off a lot of upper deck seat so it was pretty packed closer to the field. it was an aek game some everyone was wearing yellow and black. it was awesome. they all knew the fight songs and all the communal chants. it was kinda like a penn state game except like 100x more intense if it's possible. they love their soccer here. the game ended up in a 1-1 tie. but when aek scored the stadium went nuts. rivaldo scored on a penalty kick really really nuts. it also got dead silent went panathenikos scored. i might've cheered, but i'm pretty sure i would've gotten my ass kicked.
rivaldo scoring
anywho, i'm pretty tired from staying up all night writing my stupid papers. i did get seperated from everyone on the metro ride back, which was pretty cool. well that's about it. i'm leaving for egypt in a few day. super psyched.
oh and i almost forgot, i got the internet back at home. Amazing. By far the most important news of the day.
Friday 29 February 2008
Work Work Work
Second post in the same week. Pretty good huh?
Anywho, I'm excited to finally figure out a way to get pictures online. Picasa is a really cool program. Google's a pretty cool company I guess. The one bad thing is that playing around with it is taking up a lot of time. Which is bad b/c I'm actually starting to get school work.
I have two papers due on Monday. Kind of a bummer. One is about what Socrates' view of the soul is and the other is about Plato's idea of model living. Just shoot me now. I've been sitting here in the bookstore for a couple hours and didn't even start yet. I did find this cool bordersesque bookstore near the center of town. It's call eleyoepoythakhe. Can't read that can you? I can. It's in Greek. It's kinda cool b/c I'm pretty good at reading greek now. It used to look like an alien language, but now it only look like french or chinese. anywho, the bookstore has free internet, which all i basically wanted to say.
I'm really excited for my spring break. Egypt. It's gonna be awesome. I'm really excited for the pyrimids and to see a camel (although i did see one over the weekend, i think it'll be cooler if see it in egypt). Well two more papers and I'm done working for a while. I have spring break and then the next week i'll be in northern greece which should be cool.
I finally got around to going to the acropolis last sunday. not sure if i talked about it yet. but i was pretty cool. I think I'll see my first soccer game this sunday. Panathenikos and AEK. Both Athens teams. It should be a good game. I'll put pictures up.
Anywho, that's about it. later.
An update on my jeans, the hole is really big now. I don't think I can wear them anymore. Gonna have to buy a patch. Will keep you updated.
Anywho, I'm excited to finally figure out a way to get pictures online. Picasa is a really cool program. Google's a pretty cool company I guess. The one bad thing is that playing around with it is taking up a lot of time. Which is bad b/c I'm actually starting to get school work.
I have two papers due on Monday. Kind of a bummer. One is about what Socrates' view of the soul is and the other is about Plato's idea of model living. Just shoot me now. I've been sitting here in the bookstore for a couple hours and didn't even start yet. I did find this cool bordersesque bookstore near the center of town. It's call eleyoepoythakhe. Can't read that can you? I can. It's in Greek. It's kinda cool b/c I'm pretty good at reading greek now. It used to look like an alien language, but now it only look like french or chinese. anywho, the bookstore has free internet, which all i basically wanted to say.
I'm really excited for my spring break. Egypt. It's gonna be awesome. I'm really excited for the pyrimids and to see a camel (although i did see one over the weekend, i think it'll be cooler if see it in egypt). Well two more papers and I'm done working for a while. I have spring break and then the next week i'll be in northern greece which should be cool.
I finally got around to going to the acropolis last sunday. not sure if i talked about it yet. but i was pretty cool. I think I'll see my first soccer game this sunday. Panathenikos and AEK. Both Athens teams. It should be a good game. I'll put pictures up.
Anywho, that's about it. later.
An update on my jeans, the hole is really big now. I don't think I can wear them anymore. Gonna have to buy a patch. Will keep you updated.
Saturday 23 February 2008
Back from the Peloponese
Hey dudes,
I just got back from the second longest field trip of the semester. We spent five days in the Peloponese. It's the little island like thing that sticks out of Greece. We went to Nemea and Sparta the first day. Then we went to Pylos, then Olympia, then Patra and some other place I can't remember today.
Before that I wanna let you guys know about the things that happened right before the trip. I told you about that speech I gave on Acrocorinth (at least I think I did) and here's a picture of me on Acrocorinth (playing peekaboo).
Right before the trip there was a crazy snow storm. People told me that it's the most it's snowed here in a real long time. It was a bummer b/c I came to Greece to avoid this kind of weather. It was kinda a good reminders of home though. A little fun fact, Athens in is on the same longitude line as NYC. Crazy huh? I thought so. So I'm actually north of you guys in Philly. Here's a snow picture. By the way, that's the Olympic Stadium in Greece. I think they finished the marathon at the Athens Olympics there. I run there every so often. It's a dirt track (better for the knees) and you get really cool views of the city. It's pretty awesome (if you take away the running).
Anywho, I"m kinda tired, so I'll post again about the rest of the trip. I'll talk about Sparta. It was pretty cool. All the guys were really pumped up. Heard a lot of "This is Sparta's". The city's pretty small and it's really really pretty. Olive groves everywhere. It's really laid back there. It seems like a place a philosopher would hang out and not a crazy, jacked warrior dude. Go figure I guess. If you've seen 300, the olive trees in the movies are all over the town. like i said it's pretty small, but it was pretty cool to visit. Just being in Sparta made me feel pretty manly. Here are some pictures. One is of a bunch of us after playing ultimate freesbee on a field there. I'm the one posing like an O'Doyle from Happy Gilmore it was pretty cool. Ultimate frisbee in Sparta, kinda appropriate kinda... The other one is of the olive trees i kept rambling about.
PS I finally figured out Picsea or whatever and I'll post all my pictures..
PPS Happy day before your birthday Michelle, in case I don't post again tomorrow. 16. wow you can drive now almost. i'll give you a call.
later
I just got back from the second longest field trip of the semester. We spent five days in the Peloponese. It's the little island like thing that sticks out of Greece. We went to Nemea and Sparta the first day. Then we went to Pylos, then Olympia, then Patra and some other place I can't remember today.
Before that I wanna let you guys know about the things that happened right before the trip. I told you about that speech I gave on Acrocorinth (at least I think I did) and here's a picture of me on Acrocorinth (playing peekaboo).
Right before the trip there was a crazy snow storm. People told me that it's the most it's snowed here in a real long time. It was a bummer b/c I came to Greece to avoid this kind of weather. It was kinda a good reminders of home though. A little fun fact, Athens in is on the same longitude line as NYC. Crazy huh? I thought so. So I'm actually north of you guys in Philly. Here's a snow picture. By the way, that's the Olympic Stadium in Greece. I think they finished the marathon at the Athens Olympics there. I run there every so often. It's a dirt track (better for the knees) and you get really cool views of the city. It's pretty awesome (if you take away the running).
Anywho, I"m kinda tired, so I'll post again about the rest of the trip. I'll talk about Sparta. It was pretty cool. All the guys were really pumped up. Heard a lot of "This is Sparta's". The city's pretty small and it's really really pretty. Olive groves everywhere. It's really laid back there. It seems like a place a philosopher would hang out and not a crazy, jacked warrior dude. Go figure I guess. If you've seen 300, the olive trees in the movies are all over the town. like i said it's pretty small, but it was pretty cool to visit. Just being in Sparta made me feel pretty manly. Here are some pictures. One is of a bunch of us after playing ultimate freesbee on a field there. I'm the one posing like an O'Doyle from Happy Gilmore it was pretty cool. Ultimate frisbee in Sparta, kinda appropriate kinda... The other one is of the olive trees i kept rambling about.
PS I finally figured out Picsea or whatever and I'll post all my pictures..
PPS Happy day before your birthday Michelle, in case I don't post again tomorrow. 16. wow you can drive now almost. i'll give you a call.
later
Friday 15 February 2008
it's been a while
i know i always say i'll post more, but this time i really mean. it's not really my fault this time. the internet i've been using at home kinda stopped working. i figure someone with stronger wireless card is stealing all of the internet and leaving none for me. anywho, i'm in an internet cafe right now. it's kinda cool. everyone is playing warcraft. i kinda want to start, but it's probably better i didn't. it's a good thing i'm really bad at video games.
but about greece. everything is going nicely. starting to get busy busy busy. lots of work and field trips. i went to corinth today. i gave a speech on acrocorinth. they call it that b/c it's a acropolis of corinth. kinda clever huh? i have pictures but didn't bring my camera with me. i'm trying to figure out how to put pictures online. someone was telling me about a free thing google has. do you know about it bob? if you do let me know. i'll try and figure it out.
last week we went to the argolid which was beautiful. henry miller wrote that he never knew the meaning of peace until he came here. i totally dig what he said. the sanctuary at epidarous was really really serene. it was kinda weird thinking that it's been a sacred place for over a thousand years. you kinda get that feeling of being small (but in a good way because you feel you're apart of something big) feeling there and at a lot of places around greece.
it's really really green with patches of grayish green (i think olive tree groves) in the argolid. really really pretty. i might get crayons and try to draw it for you tony. i'll send a letter. i've been meaning to, but i haven't gotten a chance to write home yet. i will soon. it's just that you mean to do a lot and then the days goes by and you don't do it. i will soon tho. get my act together.
anywho, we're going to sparta next week. i think i'm gonna get ready by doing push ups or something. it's gonna be fun. i'll take lots of pictures. i'll see you later.
p.s. congrats on the new job tony. i knew u'd be architecting in new york sooner or later.
but about greece. everything is going nicely. starting to get busy busy busy. lots of work and field trips. i went to corinth today. i gave a speech on acrocorinth. they call it that b/c it's a acropolis of corinth. kinda clever huh? i have pictures but didn't bring my camera with me. i'm trying to figure out how to put pictures online. someone was telling me about a free thing google has. do you know about it bob? if you do let me know. i'll try and figure it out.
last week we went to the argolid which was beautiful. henry miller wrote that he never knew the meaning of peace until he came here. i totally dig what he said. the sanctuary at epidarous was really really serene. it was kinda weird thinking that it's been a sacred place for over a thousand years. you kinda get that feeling of being small (but in a good way because you feel you're apart of something big) feeling there and at a lot of places around greece.
it's really really green with patches of grayish green (i think olive tree groves) in the argolid. really really pretty. i might get crayons and try to draw it for you tony. i'll send a letter. i've been meaning to, but i haven't gotten a chance to write home yet. i will soon. it's just that you mean to do a lot and then the days goes by and you don't do it. i will soon tho. get my act together.
anywho, we're going to sparta next week. i think i'm gonna get ready by doing push ups or something. it's gonna be fun. i'll take lots of pictures. i'll see you later.
p.s. congrats on the new job tony. i knew u'd be architecting in new york sooner or later.
Wednesday 30 January 2008
Zoe
hello,
yesterday was apparently supposed to be the coldest day of the year in greece. it was like 40 degrees. it was killer. i think there were some furries of snow. thankfully i didn't wear my jeans with a hole in them. it could've been really bad.
anywho, since the last time i visited the national archeological museum. it was pretty interesting. my archeology teacher is a pretty cool guy. it's kinda crazy, he went to episcopal. we talked a little about life on the mainline. he's big thing is about how people don't really make progress and history is big circle. here's some pictures of mycenaean and minoan things.
mycaenae cup
minoan vase. (minoans were much cooler)
another really cool thing, i got a guitar. i was asking around for music store at the athens centre and they told me that they actually had a guitar. apparantly, a kid a couple semesters ago bought one and left it behind for people to use. there was a note from everyone whose used it since then. it's pretty cool. the guitar's name is zoe which means life in greek. here's some picture. at some point i post some pictures of my apartment and junk. until then, see you later.
the guitar
"Zoe"
note from guy who first bought guitar
yesterday was apparently supposed to be the coldest day of the year in greece. it was like 40 degrees. it was killer. i think there were some furries of snow. thankfully i didn't wear my jeans with a hole in them. it could've been really bad.
anywho, since the last time i visited the national archeological museum. it was pretty interesting. my archeology teacher is a pretty cool guy. it's kinda crazy, he went to episcopal. we talked a little about life on the mainline. he's big thing is about how people don't really make progress and history is big circle. here's some pictures of mycenaean and minoan things.
mycaenae cup
minoan vase. (minoans were much cooler)
another really cool thing, i got a guitar. i was asking around for music store at the athens centre and they told me that they actually had a guitar. apparantly, a kid a couple semesters ago bought one and left it behind for people to use. there was a note from everyone whose used it since then. it's pretty cool. the guitar's name is zoe which means life in greek. here's some picture. at some point i post some pictures of my apartment and junk. until then, see you later.
the guitar
"Zoe"
note from guy who first bought guitar
Sunday 27 January 2008
Second POst!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
howdy
i feel like a real blogger now. my second post. i feel kinda like an AV kid bob, but it's a lot cheaper than calling home i guess. life's definitely been picking up speed. the days are going faster and i'm starting to get into the groove of living in athens.
since my last post i went to an open air market which was really cool. picked up some nice veggies and fruit. too bad i'm not that big a fan of the veggies and fruits i ended up buying. i figure i'll make pasta or something. kinda wish i had a rice maker.
i'm starting to take more pictures. me and my roommate went to the athens flea market which was pretty cool. it was crazy how many people were there. selling a sorts of stuff. old shoes, used vhs tapes, trombones, everything. kinda like a huge garage sale. i put up some pictures.
athens is also crazy b/c dogs are everywhere. if you walk around any area, you'll have a dog or two follow you around no matter what. i think the city just lets them roam around. it's pretty crazy. reminds me of bonnie and sergio. those crazy dogs. they wouldn't last a second on the streets here.
anywho, that's about it for now. i'll start post some better stuff soon. i'm just bringing my camera around everywhere. if you're curious about anything or read something cool to do in greece let me know. later.
also, my jeans have a hole in it and it's a huge concern. for some reason i only brought one pair
and the hole just keeps getting bigger (you can kinda see thigh skin). i'll keep you all updated.
i feel like a real blogger now. my second post. i feel kinda like an AV kid bob, but it's a lot cheaper than calling home i guess. life's definitely been picking up speed. the days are going faster and i'm starting to get into the groove of living in athens.
since my last post i went to an open air market which was really cool. picked up some nice veggies and fruit. too bad i'm not that big a fan of the veggies and fruits i ended up buying. i figure i'll make pasta or something. kinda wish i had a rice maker.
i'm starting to take more pictures. me and my roommate went to the athens flea market which was pretty cool. it was crazy how many people were there. selling a sorts of stuff. old shoes, used vhs tapes, trombones, everything. kinda like a huge garage sale. i put up some pictures.
athens is also crazy b/c dogs are everywhere. if you walk around any area, you'll have a dog or two follow you around no matter what. i think the city just lets them roam around. it's pretty crazy. reminds me of bonnie and sergio. those crazy dogs. they wouldn't last a second on the streets here.
anywho, that's about it for now. i'll start post some better stuff soon. i'm just bringing my camera around everywhere. if you're curious about anything or read something cool to do in greece let me know. later.
also, my jeans have a hole in it and it's a huge concern. for some reason i only brought one pair
and the hole just keeps getting bigger (you can kinda see thigh skin). i'll keep you all updated.
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