In fact, I am alive, as well is friend Alanna, who is here in Athens with me this week for U of Michigan’s Spring Break. She got here on Sunday, February 24, and she leaves very early tomorrow (Friday) morning at 5:00am Greek time. It’s been a blast here with her—it’s so surreal having a person that I actually know in GREECE with me! She’s been staying at the girls’ apartment building, which is a half block away from where I’m staying. She’s been getting along very well with all the girls, which is awesome. When she got here on Sunday, I met her at the airport, then we took a “mini”-tour of Athens, as I took her to see the Temple of Olympian Zeus, which she was flabbergasted by, and then I walked her around and showed her Syndagma Square and the Parliament Building, the Plaka area, Ermou Street (the 5th most expensive shopping street in Europe), the National Gardens, the street with all the goofy-looking foustanella-wearing Greek army, the original marble Olympic Stadium, and finally the Pangrati area where I’m staying. It may have been a *little* overwhelming for her, but we had to combat her jetlag with a vengeance! The next few days, she’s been hanging out with this other girl named Erin that is visiting another girl in my program this week, so she’s had a companion while we’ve been in class ‘n’ stuff. Alanna came to the National Archaeology Museum with us for one of our classes, and after that she went to visit the Acropolis (or Acropolypse, as she likes to pronounce it?).
Yesterday we went to the Glyfada area of Athens to all the beaches. This is the same place I went about 3 weeks to a month ago, also when I went bowling. After we hung out at the beach yesterday, Alanna and the other girls shopped and whatnot, and then we bought Grecian McDonald’s, where Alanna got a Greek specialty: “The McFarm” which is a pork burger (it’s not bad, actually!). She also took a lovely picture of the little piece of America in Greece, a.k.a. the street corner which had McDonald’s, KFC, and Pizza Hut in Glyfada. Last night, Alanna, Ariste & Sophie (my other two friends from Michigan who are studying in Greece, in Athens and Thessaloniki), and 3 of Aristes’ friends from Michigan, all went out to this nice tavernaki (little taverna) in Pangrati as a “Michigan Dinner”. It was most excellent being with Michigan people and also being on the other side of the world!
Right now, Alanna is in the Plaka area of Athens, shopping for some sort of European boots that she “MUST find!” I believe she is planning on meeting our class at the Ancient Agora at 1:15pm as well, which should be pretty sweet! Tonight we are planning on hitting up the Carnival Festival in Athens (which is being celebrated all over Greece today). It should be amazing! Alanna will then take the bus to the airport around 1am and fly out… this week flew by, but I’m so happy she came to visit me (and also bring me some extra shirts, some crunchy peanut butter, Macaroni & Cheese [they have neither crunchy PB nor M&C in Greece!], and a travel bag that I forgot at home)!
Don’t worry, I did not forget about my 5-day trip to the Peloponnese from last week. My next post will be all about that trip, along with all the pictures from each of the 5-days I will upload this weekend (at the new high-speed internet cafĂ© I found a little while back). I was also busy writing my first paper from across the Atlantic during the beginning of this week for my Archaeology class. Luckily that’s done, but unfortunately I have two more papers due on Monday, both for my Philosophy class. Hurray!
…With hope of updates and pictures to be more frequent,
MANNY OUT!
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