It's Greek to Me

I'm in Greece!! Yay! I am loving it already so I'm pretty excited.

I didn't have to carry my luggage around much at all, which made the whole transition pretty smooth. We got a shuttle that came on time and brought us right to the door where we needed to pick up our tickets. We got there early and were first in line. The flight went smoothly and we got a delicious meal that I wasn't planning on. My luggage came intact and we got a bus ride right from the airport to CYA, the school I am going to in Athens.

CYA is awesome! It's a really nice (actual) school! They had welcome packets prepared for us and tons of information so we can adjust quickly. We have resources here too, like laundry, clubs, a computer lab, a prepared lunch, and people to help us if we run into any problems. It's so different than Dilit, the last school I was at. When I got there I was given a key and told where my one classroom was.

I ran into trouble here because my computer is locked in a drawer. I tested it with a key once and it opened and now it won't. I told the receptionist about it and she couldn't have been nicer. She was going to take care of it tonight (a Sunday night), but I told her I could manage and wait until tomorrow. They are super nice here at CYA and so is everyone else I have encountered.

I went grocery shopping and bought a delicious gyro yesterday. I used my credit card at the grocery store, which is a process for them. They can't ring it in at a regular check-out so they have to hand it down to a special one. They were so nice about it all even though it was extra work for them. In Italy they would have been really rude about it.

I think I am really going to love Greece. The streets aren't as busy, and I feel a little safer here. We live close to landmarks and each other. We are going to really bond as a group with our apartments only 5 minutes apart. Plus I am only 5 minutes away from school, compared to the 45 minutes that I was in Rome.

The Greek language is totally different than anything I have been exposed to so far. I am really excited, but overwhelmed to learn it. So far I haven't had any trouble communicating using only English.

My apartment is pretty sweet. It's not quite as nice or colorful as my Rome one, but I still feel comfortable here. I decided to take the single room in my apartment, so I could make my own schedule. My room is so huge, it could probably be a double. Emily and Lisa are in one double room and Brita and Beatrice are in the other. Only Emily, Lisa, and I have moved in so far, so we have tons of room! Two things about my apartment...no hot water and no flushing toilet paper down the toilet. The hot water thing will get fixed, but it might take me a while to get used to throwing toilet paper in a garbage.

Tomorrow I think I am going to start my island hopping adventure. We usually don't start planning trips until a day or two before, which usually doesn't both me, but this time it does. We will have to see how it works out combining ferry schedules. I probably won't catch up with you until the end of the week! Take care!

Oh...one more thing. I had my first spell of homesickness yesterday. What did it? The airport. I thought about it and the next time I go there I will be meeting my family. I saw so many people crying because they were being reunited with their families, it made me a little sad.

I can't end on a sad note, so I will tell you again I am EXCITED to be here! Ok that's better! :)