It's time for something new.

Time is definitely flying by.  I'm now in Roma & completely in love already.

To rewind a little, my last two weeks in Athens went really great.  That place left me with so many memories that I'll never forgot.  I had one of the best Theology professors of my life who constantly challenged me, I grew closer to the wonderful people in my group, BUNGEE JUMPED, traveled to Delphi with my hysterical History professor, and made two unforgettable Greek friends.

To elaborate, bungee jumping was freakin' awesome.  Me and three other brave souls traveled to the Corinth Canal to take the plunge.  It was a very spontaneous decision but its been something I've always wanted to do.  Plus doing it in a canal in Greece wasn't a bad addition.  I was extremely nervous, yes, but it was so worth it.  Only strapped at our feet, we stepped to the edge of the platform, spread our arms and as the assistants count down from five, prepared to dive off.  This was the point in which I was most nervous.  The free fall was really only 4 seconds, but that is more than enough time to be terrified.  As the rope catches, you swing back and forth for no longer than a minute, but the view is incredible.  I would say this is definitely one of the craziest things I've done, but also the most worth it!

Isn't this beautiful?

Aaaand here we go!

We did it!

Our last week in Athens, we got to know Alex, a girl around our age who helps at CYA (our school) from time to time.  She made an authentic Greek meal at our apartment for me and my roommates!  Not only was it delicious, but really fun!  Another one of her friends, Nikos, came over and we played cards and had awesome conversation.  The next day, Nikos invited us over to his parents' house for lunch.  Ohhhh my goodness, one of the best experiences ever.  His parents couldn't really speak English, but they were phenomenal people.  I felt as if I had known them for years.  We were given soooo much food, including 3 incredible desserts and champagne.  As soon as our plates would begin to empty, they'd quickly add more food and encourage us to eat and drink more.  We were stuffffffed.  This experience added so much to my Greek experience.  They were so welcoming and with hardly knowing us, showed us such love.  I couldn't help but feel completely blessed the whole time.  Greeks are freakin' wonderful.  Oh and btdubs, riding in an actual car is way awesome.  Definitely better than being a pedestrian in Athens.

Our last few days in Athens were quite stressful, but still very enjoyable.  The city went through a 48 hour strike that was definitely an experience for us.  Down in Syntagma, one of the main squares, protestors in the thousands came and caused quite the violence and trouble with the police.  This affected all of us because the Air-traffic controllers were on strike, thus canceling the majority of our flights out.  My group was one that was affected and instead of flying out on Thursday like we originally had planned, we weren't able to leave until Friday, the 21st.  Though this wasn't much of a difference, it was definitely a hassle to change things and get our new plans organized.  Nevertheless, Athens was an awesome experience.

I have so many memories that I'll never forget and Athens is like nothing I've experienced.  Though the country is going through a lot of difficulties and their economy is really struggling, I feel very fortunate to have witnessed it and Greece itself is an amazing country.  The people are hilarious; always loud and invading your personal space.  Everyone is slow going; enjoying their lazy afternoons and living life for people and conversation.  These economical troubles are hard for them, but they try to see it in a positive light while always being hopeful.  Greeks reminded me of the importance of relationships and how people exceed everything else.  People are what truly make you happy, anyway.  I am so thankful that I was able to spend 7 weeks there.  I will miss Greece, its people, its beauty and all of the incredible memories.  Time for Roma :)

God bless!

Meteora.

One of my best experiences thus far?  Meteora.

To arrive at this beautiful destination, we went through a LOT of difficulties with transportation.  Our intention was to leave from the bus station at 9:30.  By numerous sources, we were told to go to the airport and then onto a bus that would take us to Meteora.  Doing as we were told, we went to the airport.. only to find out that we went 45 minutes out of our way and now had to take a bus to the bus station!  So some unnecessary spending had us all feeling a bit crabby and we missed our 9:30 bus.  On our way to the bus station, we missed our stop to get there.  So we got off a few stops later & back tracked.  By this point, we were all frustrated.  It was especially frustrating for me because I had tried to hard to plan everything right.  But, you live & you learn.  We caught the 11:30 bus to Meteora and the moment we arrived, I knew it was all worth it.

This place had the peaceful atmosphere that I had been longing for.  Athens is great, but it's a city.  It's filled with speeding cars, tons of people, tourism, and all the chaotic things those bring with them.  To be in Meteora reminded me of the peace and quiet home has to offer.  It smelt of pine, bonfire, and fall.  You could see on all our faces the joy this simple place brought.  Did I mention it's breathtakingly beautiful?  

With the evening ahead of us, we decided to explore.  We climbed around, found some beautiful views, and enjoyed an amazing dinner at a local taverna.  The evening was brisk with absolutely no one around.    We walked the streets and I truly felt so at peace.  Our hotel for the night was also great.  The owners treated us so well and my room in particular looked like a log cabin.  Seven of us comfortably fit and the rest of our group came over for the evening and we just spent the night talking and hanging out.  These simple things are what I'm truly thankful for.

On Sunday morning, we made our way to the most gorgeous area of all: the monasteries.  They are still a mystery to me, but upon giant rocks, monasteries have been constructed.  They are built into the rocks and have been since the 1600's.  No one is really sure how the building materials were able to be suspended that high, and even more so how they've lasted so well.  The majority of us toured two of the four most well-known monasteries.  With not a lot of time, we had to prioritize and make sure to get as much as we could out of each one.  This entire time, I can't really express how I felt.  I was merely in awe.  Meteora is truly a magical place.  It doesn't feel real and it looks as if it were a dream.  The monasteries themselves are also amazing.  They all had museums housing all kinds of historical pieces.  I particularly enjoyed the manuscripts they had.  Many dated back to even the 900's.  These manuscripts were things like Greek bibles, Orthodoxy liturgy, and simple historical documents.  They also had beautiful cross carvings and paintings.  The beautiful thing about tradition is how much value is placed upon artifacts.  You can the holiness upon these places.  God's presence lives and moves.  I felt so completely blessed to have such an opportunity.  To see Christian history develop and unfold is something that truly fascinates me.  If that isn't enough, everywhere you look, the view blows you away.

Our morning spent at the monasteries was so incredible and everyone really enjoyed experiencing such a place.  It was a relaxing getaway that I know I definitely needed.  Though everything went perfect while we were there, as soon as we began to make our way back, transportation was against us once again.  We planned to take the 3:30 bus back to Athens, but as found out, once at the bus station, that that bus was full.  We then had to wait for the 5:30 bus.  By this point, it was all just humorous.  Our weekend spent at Meteora was such a learning experience and I wouldn't trade it for anything.  It was completely worth it to go and I'd recommend it to anyone.  It is such a holy place.  

God bless to you all & missing those of you back home! 

You live & you learn.

Me & blogs I tell ya.

Doesn't matter!  I'm here, time for a little update!
So to rewind, the weekend of my birthday was spent in Peloponnese.  It's a region in Greece that we explored for our Art History class.  There was a little bit too much museum & class for my taste, but to be positive, it is pretty cool to actually go to the places & see the things you're learning about.  My favorite was Olympia.  Here we learned about the history of the Olympics.  We even got to run on the stadium track, which was pretty sweet I must say.  Though to me there isn't much more to see than a bunch of ancient rocks, our professor Ann is extremely good at painting the picture for us.  She makes it possible for us to imagine what it truly would have been like in the late 700's.  I'm really fascinated by that.
Overall, it was a great weekend and birthday.  I mean who gets to say they turned 21 in Greece?  Just a little reminder of how blessed I am to be able to live here, let alone travel here!

The following week was a more quieter one.  Our classes were more demanding and some necessary sleep was caught up on.  So just for a few highlights to share with you...
1. For our theology class, we went to our professor's church.  He's a Greek Orthodox Priest and is one of my favorite professor's I've ever had.  Touring his church was such an awesome experience (this is the theology major in me, obviously).  He informed so much about the Orthodoxy practice and gave light to a lot of confusion we had about its meaning.  A couple things that I particularly liked were as follows:
- Each time someone enters the church, they light a candle and place it within a elaborate holder.  Our professor explained that this is meant to represent Christ bringing light to our sins, which is the wax.  As His light finds us, our sins are melted away and His light overtakes us.  It also meant to represent a prayer for others or for a life of blessings.
-  For communion, they put so much thought and meaning into the preparation.  Beforehand, numerous prayers are said over the bread & a stamp is placed on top of the bread, or a seal.  Christ, Mary, and the Apostles, Saints, and Prophets are a few examples of some its representations pictured.  They also cut the bread in specific order while saying different prayers throughout the whole process.
-  Greek Priests don't like to be quiet.  Our professor said that they hardly stop praying or reciting Scripture throughout the mass.  There usually isn't a quiet moment he said.  For example, when they are cutting the communion bread before mass, or putting on their vestments, they never stop reciting Scripture.  Pretty cool I'd say.
Beyond that, two nights were spent baking cookies!  Now, this is a lot trickier than you think.  You try buying ingredients only written in Greek, and then deciphering the instructions!  Oh and we don't have measuring utensils so we pretty much guessed everything.  Overall, this was a blast & yes, successful.  One night we even watched Hercules to top it off!  Just wonderful.

I am so thankful for this life.  We tend to forget about the little things that happen throughout the week, but that's what adds up to our incredible daily lives.  Living in Greece has been such a blessing & I've had way too much fun.  These simple things really are everything.  Enjoy them, find life in the small things & be thankful!

I'll be writing again soon. Godbless.