The Acropolis, adventures, and Greece in general

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So today, Tuesday afternoon / evening here in Athens, is my birthday.

So first and foremost, I must thank everyone who sent an email, posted a comment, or in someone's case, hosted an adventure I'll remember always. Thank you all tons for caring about me and saying something nice; I know I'm getting to experience awesome things for a 21st birthday, but sometimes, hearing from the people you care about is as refreshing as seeing what I am seeing.

Ok, but with that aside, it's time to brag:

I got to see Athens up close and personal, both old and new, and I had a blast.

I know posted yesterday a bit about my travels up until Saturday night, so I guess that means I should continue with Sunday morning. We got up and got ready a bit later on Sunday than on Saturday, had some Nutella sandwiches (man, Nutella is so awesome. I have lit the fire in Kirsten for it now too and I couldn't be more proud), and made sure we knew how to get to where we were heading: the Acropolis.

Literally, the Acropolis is the hill that all of the awesome structures of old rest on, and going to the Acropolis gets you access to several of the city's more classic sights to be seen, like the Parthenon, the Temple of the Olympiad Zeus, the Theater of Dionysis, etc. But we went up to the Acropolis and immediately we remembered I didn't put on sunscreen, but we pressed on. I am now burned a little, but can't say it's all that bad.

We headed up to the Acropolis and walked by a large street filled with books and magazine stands, all selling just about anything they could to make a buck. We marched on up the hill towards the structure, passing monuments as we went, with views of escalating awesomeness, like the one to the right.

Then you reach the top of the hill and at that point, we were both already sweaty. Which is not cool, and at the top of the hill, meaning no shade. Also not cool. But you know what is cool?

The Parthenon.

Which I saw.

It's tough to really describe such an ancient and famous monument in a manner that justifies it's breathtaking beauty, but I'll give it a shot. It's about 2,500 years old, or you know, about 140 generations ago to put that in any perspective. It's really amazing to see the stonework and arrangement of such huge rocks in such a precise and beautiful order; everything is so symmetrical, aesthetically pleasing, and obviously really well built, since the damn thing has made it over 2,500 years.

We marched around and just went slack-jawed for a while. I mean, what do you really do in the presence of such an awesome sight, one that is known world-wide? We took pictures like tourists (and KK and I have both updated our picture sites, and with her permission, I'll link you through to hers too so you can see them all.)

picasaweb.google.com/kkgoestogreece
picasaweb.google.com/nomomentwasted

The plethora of languages spoken there alone was mindblowing, and let me just say: I have never had a more difficult time finding someone to take a picture of me than we had at the Parthenon. We finally tracked someone down who would, and they proceeded to take a picture WITHOUT THE MONUMENT BEHIND US! I mean, what were they thinking? "Oh these people want a picture taken that they're in but what they're seeing isn't, of course!"

So we had to find another person, and we did. And, touristy as we may look, we have now a really awesome picture next to the Parthenon, proving we were there. Mission accomplished!

There are other buildings on the Acropolis, too, and I shall post more pictures of them too. Apparently, you can't pose for pictures with Athena (the Goddess) statues, since it's offensive to the Gods. Although Greece is Greek Orthodox Catholic, which has one God. So, if they don't believe in these faiths, why can't you take pictures? I am culturally sensative and did not pose with them, but you can still take them, which I did.

It was soooo hot up there though, and we were both starting to overheat, so we took it all in for a few more minutes and decided to head down the hill.

Woohoo. What a sight-seeing day. But it's not over yet, oh far from it, in fact. We then decided to get some lunch at a cafe, and we got some Souvlaki, or a Greek Kebab, essentially, which took forever and a day to come, but it did eventually and was delicious. We then decided to go back towards The Temple of the Olympiad Zeus, which we could now enter with our Acropolis tickets. It's right near the National Gardens and the Olympic Stadium, which are on the way back to Kirsten's apartment, so it was very convenient.

The Temple is very much in shambles now, but that's not to say it wasn't beautiful and indicative of what used to be there, because it certainly was. We took some pictures, but it too was directly in the sun, so we didn't linger long. Too hot.

We went back and got cooled down, siesta'd for a while, and then just went out to get some pizza for dinner at a local restaurant, and had a few beers and some great pizza before heading back for the night to just relax. It was a hot day, and Kirsten had class early the next day, leaving me time to post to the blog yesterday. We did a little shopping, too, and I made some Pesto Pasta and turkey melts for meals, encouraging KK to use her little, under-equipped kitchen a bit more.

That was yesterday, though, and today I went (sans camera, unfortunately) to the Theater of Dionysis and got a nutella and Bailey's Crepe, which was awesome. The Theater was the birthplace of Greek Comedy and Tradgedy performances, and the ampitheater there definitely worth seeing, I'm glad I went back.

But that really wraps my Athens Trip. I took the Metro to the Airport and here I am, about to board. I hope that showed a few cool things off, and I'm sure I'll have more to say about this trip later, just thought I'd give a quick post.

Oh, and happy birthday to me.

As always, until next time.

Ciao.

Oh, you know, just seein' the world

Ciao everyone,

Or should I say, Yiasas.

So basically I'm chilling in Kirsten's apartment in Athens. It's 1:45 pm here, or 3:45am back home, and she's in class where I am not. This gives me quite the opportunity to give an update for everyone back home.

I guess the best place to start would be at the beginning of this trip, which would be my journey over. It in its own right deserves a post just to itself, but I'll condense here and maybe write about airports next time around. But I left on Friday afternoon for the Fiumicino Airport in Rome around 4pm and took the metro to Stazione Termini Centrale and then went on Metro line B to Tiburtina Stazione, a smaller yet accessible station, and then took an Amtrak style train to the Airport with about 7 girls from my program who were also heading to Athens, although for different reasons.

We made it Fiumicino with zero problems, and we made it through security, etc, with little hassle. I know my Italian is getting better since it is getting infinitly more useful by the day. We made it to the gate about 30 minutes before boarding, and then delays hit. I guess we just had to pick the day to travel on that huge thunderstorms rolled in off the Mediterranean, and I should've known: visability on the way was drastically reduced, and it was more humid than any other day I can ever remember.

We eventually got on the plane about half an hour late: not too bad all things considered. The worst out of the way?

Far from it.

We sat on the runway for about half an hour after leaving the gate, watching HUGE bolts of lightning strike all around, and lighting up the city to our West. It absolutely poured buckets, and we were just all in awe over its omnipotent crashing thunder and radiant strikes. But we eventually got in the air, and all seemed well for about 5 minutes or so.

Then turbulance. I can pretty safely say that none of you have ever felt it like this in a jetliner, and I say that since even the pilot himself said he'd never felt any like that, which says something. The girls from my program (we were all seated together by the attendant, how nice) all looked absolutely ghastly. It was like being in the spin cycle or in a high-impact dryer. I mean, overhead compartments opened, people were crying and vomiting, it was gnarly. Amber, who was sitting next to me, turned white as a sheet and started absolutely shaking. For some reason, and I don't know why for the life of me, I just wasn't nervous at all and I kept trying to calm everyone down, and after about 5 minutes, it all subsided and we were in the clear again. WOOHOO. I was universally thanked and I felt proud of myself for keeping a cool head. It took about half the flight for everyone's color to return, and when they brought the drinks around, they offered wine and beer for free.

And they ran out. Because they were treated like shots, not beverages.

But we landed about an hour late, and I ran off to catch a cab, which I promptly hopped in and told my driver where to go. It's 11pm at this point, and he nods that he knows where we're going, and then pulls over to get gas, lights up a cigarette, and puffs it down before we leave.

I was not amused, but still in great spirits.

I was in Athens, Greece, about to see my girfriend, and nothing was dampering that.

I got in and Kirsten met me and it was very happy. Yay. We then promptly went to bed and got up the next morning, and we decided to check out Lykavittos Hill, or a HUGE hill that juts up right into the middle of the city. We got ready and headed out into Greece.

Now Greece is beautiful, no doubt about it. It's fantastic, amazing, and wonderous beyond description. Is it very clean? Not really. Is it very organized? Not in the least. Is it hot? Beyond belief. I mean, 95, full humidity, and smoggy as all get out during the peak part of the day, which is only when we decided to go out, of course. But we brought water and stayed hydrated, seeing awesome sights such as the Olympic Stadium, seen left. It was really cool and you can tell it's important, since it's kept clean. We walked by and I took obligatory pictures, although you can't go in it, so it makes it difficult.

From there, we headed past the National Gardens towards the Lykavittos Hill, going through the shopping district, where it was a bit more clean and organized. We kept walking and kept getting sweaty, but that's to be expected, I suppose. We kept going up stairs, hills, and old streets, moving towards pretty much the highest point in the city, other than the Acropolis. But we eventually got to the hill and headed on up through the very much like Central-Oregon style park and both of us started to get a littleeeee overheated, but Kirsten especially. It was ridiculously hot and muggy, but we took appropriate breaks and kept on trekking.

When we got to the top, you could tell it was worth it. I'll try and post as much as I can from here, but the internet is a bit slow, so I'll get up what I can. Know this, however:

It was, for a lack of better words, pretty badass.

I mean, you can see if you enlarge this picture (which I highly suggest), the span of the view, it was just incredible. Athens is a HUGE city, which has existed for millenia, about twice as many as Rome, to be exact. And Rome is old! But man, it was insanely breathtaking (not that we had much breath to begin with after the hike). Still, it ranks in the top five views of my life without question. I took a video and it's not amazing, but it shows a bit more of how this all looked. So I hope I can upload it, fingers are crossed.



There is a little church at the top of the hill, which we only looked in since both of us were so hot and underdressed we didn't think it appropriate, but it was cool to see. I'll put up more pictures later, I promise. In addition to this church, there was a cafe at the top, which was insanely cool to see, but also, as expected when one has a corner on the market, very expensive. But we had some water and sandwiches for pretty respectable prices, cooled down in their air conditioning, and very narrowly avoided ordering one of the 13 euro Mojitos. But just barely.

We continued to take in the view, but then headed back towards home, checking out the President's House by the National Gardens and oohing and ahhing over the Acropolis, which really does loom over everything else in the city. But that was for the next day, and we were sweaty and nasty, so much so that I was soaked through two shirts and neither of us showed signs of stopping, so we decided to clean up and siesta to go out to dinner later at a Taberna, or Greek Tavern.

I am very glad we did. It was great, awesome, and so cool. The one we checked out online didn't open until 8, which saddened us after we walked over there at 6 because we were hungry, but we went to the one next door and ate outside in the much more pleasant evening-time garden of the Taberna. It was really cool, there were only Greek people there and limited English was spoken, so we just worked around a much steeper language barrier than exists in Italy. It's more Eastern Europe in Greece, and the language problems are more numerous, but everyone is polite and you just do your best. Which we did. Admirably, if I could say so myself.

We had some really awesome food here. We got some bread and water, and then had some delicious Tzatziki, which I'd never had but was delicious. If you are like me and haven't ever heard of it, it's yogurt, cucumber, and garlic dip-type substance, and we liberally applied it to all our food, and it was delicious. I ordered some Village Sausage, which was excellent, along with an Amstel. Kirsten had a beer too, and we both remarked over how weird it is to be drinking over here and not have anyone question it in the least, actually encouraging it.

On a hot day, there really is nay better drink than an ice cold beer. And sausage? Cold Tzatziki? Or Kebab (like Kirsten had . . . it was very good also). But whew, eating good in the neighborhood, no joke. We ate for about 2 hours, which is really the minimum you can take to eat a meal here, no joke. We got our bill and an absolutely delicious lemon-sorbet-shot thing that was the perfect digestif for an excellent meal.

That wrapped up Saturday.

Sunday was Acropolis and Temple of the Olympiad Zeus day, which cannot be accurately described, only shown. I hope my pictures will load a bit quicker so I can show a few off, but know that I have already taken 100 and I plan on taking a few more before I leave, but I have taken many that capture the essence of what it's like to be here. Only an essence, however. Some things just have to been felt. I say it's amazing, and I show you what I see, what I feel, what I smell, and it makes a composite picture, but when it's a reality, staring you in the face, it's a feeling that can only be recreated by those who've shared in such experiences with you. I'm so glad to be seeing this with someone I care so much about, and all of you who are reading this, know that I truly wish you were here.

My connection is very poor, which I can't get too discouraged with since it is being pirated at the moment, but know that I am really looking forward to updating you all with pictures and excitement when I have the chance . I think my stories about the Acropolis must wait, but I can leave you with a picture (hopefully) that can give you a glimpse.

Until later (probably tomorrow), know that I am here and thinking of you all, but enjoying my visit while I can. It's a hell of a place to see, and I can't wait to share all my stories with you in the future.

Until next time,

Ciao.

And away!

Ciao everyone! I am back and freshly showered, all prepared for my first of several trips this semester, and I leave in just about an hour for Athens, Greece. It's one of the cradles of western civilization, housing some of the worlds oldest and most wonderful man-made buildings, and not to mention where Kirsten Kay is. All very good things!

I am beyond excited to get going, part of me just wants to skip town this instant and just get to the airport obscenely early (my flight is in about 4.5 hours), but I'll leave in an hour with a group of people who are all on the same flight and we'll all make our way and make our mistakes collectively, leaving the only part I have to really be responsible for solely is my taxi from the airport to where I'll be crashing.

So, let me know if there's anything you particularly want me to look for or if there's any elaborations you'll want, I'll be taking tons of pictures an my computer as well so I'll be potentially able to upload, but that all depends on a multitude of things, namely if I find the time in seeing some of the world's wonders to do so.

I am now three weeks deep in Italian and I had my exams today, which I believe went pretty splendidly. I got an A on my composition, but that was only worth 5 percent of my grade, so here's to hoping I got an A on the Final and therefore an A in the class. I feel like I should, I mean, I can speak some Italian now, and I feel really awesome doing so. I did with my Pizza e Birra friends (the people who work at a Pizzarria near here). They know I spoke no Italian, as I couldn't just a few weeks ago. But today I spoke it with them as I passed by and got a snack to break a 50 Euro Bill and they were applauding my progress and I felt special. It's cool to be really learning a language and immediately putting it to use (unlike say, my French, which has been lying dormant for oh, forever?)

With that, I am going to get everything else I have together and get ready to get going I suppose. I hope you all have a great Friday and I'll send away to give you a hint of what I'm doing, but know I'll be having fun and taking pictures for everyone the whole trip.

And as always, until next time,

Ciao.

Oh, you speak English?

So today made me very happy for a litany of reasons. Firstly, today is only a day until I leave to go be with KK in Athens. I am far too excited, and I can't wait to be in such a historic place, one of the few in the world that makes even Roma look young. Secondly, Matt Damon's comments on Sarah Palin were fantastical in every way. If you haven't seen them, please, do yourself a favor and do. It's a very intelligent, honest, and eerily funny (not actually funny, since it's too honest-to-God true it does make me scared).

But really, I had a pretty awesome experience today after I got out of class around 1. We studied ALL class period for the exam tomorrow, worth only 40 percent of my final grade, no big deal. Our class was absolutely put through the ringer, and I felt at the end of it like I was sitting pretty nicely for the exam tomorrow. That is not to say that all night after I blog (and make dinner) I won't be studying, since I will be. Until I go to bed. How grand!

After that monsterous 3.5 hours of review, I just went for a walk to take a break. I walked over towards Piazza Navona, a rather famous Piazza which is home to the Fontana dei Quattro Fiume, or the Four Rivers Fountain, one of the alters of science in Angels and Demons, for those of you who have read that. I just walked over there about 5 minutes after I got out and just wandered around, taking a few pictures and checking out the arcitecture of the buildings surround the Piazza (they're Baroque and apparently a focal point of Baroque architecture, no big deal, right?). It was really cool to know that it's just right there, a few blocks away.

There are several fountains in the Piazza, but the biggest Quattro Fiume is under construction. Lameeee. But I still got the Obelisk in there, it's the center of the picture to the right. And I just like how all the fountains here are user-friendly as far as drinking out of, how awesome is that? Not to mention refreshing.

But from there, I browsed some of the artwork for no one in particular, and there were literally 2 dozen or so stands around vending their artwork, and I decided to ask about the cost, and of course, in Italian. I asked, he responded, and I told him what I was looking for, and he showed me a few things that I might like, and I mentioned how hot it was today and he laughed, saying he'd been out there all day. I only had a 50, and he went in to break it but gave me my purchase as leverage, came back, and I was getting ready to leave the stand when these two tourists did exactly what tourists do: speak in their native tongue, in this case, English. But they were talking a few feet away, and I overheard their conversation about how they wanted to have someone take their picture, and one of them gestured to me, but I was speaking Italian and they didn't know how to ask. So, they came up and asked if I could, and I said "ok"

They did not know I knew English at that point, and I was curious if they did or not. So, I counted to three in Italian and took the picture of them, smiled, and handed them their camera back and I told them (in English) to have a nice day, and they both looked surprised I spoke English, and affirmed that by saying:

"Oh, you speak English! How many of you over here do? It's impressive!"

Yup. So I fooled some tourists. Pretty awesome. Now for fooling the people who actually live here. That's much more difficult. I told them I wasn't from here, just lived here, and they were impressed. So cool for me, I suppose.

I wandered back here and got some money from the Bancomat (or the ATM) I took out 100 Euro, which before cost me 149 bucks a few weeks ago. Now it cost only 141. Or 8 fewer bucks. SCORE! Here's to hoping the Dollar keeps going up and the Euro falls a bit more! Anyway, I made my away, dealing with the insanity of heat today: 32 Celsius with 100% Humidity. Whew. I'm really going through laundry quickly, that's for sure. I always feel like a shower is a good idea, but I joked with the vendor about how hot it was and asked when it cooled down and the tourists leave, as if they were connected. Maybe they are, who knows?

That was sarcasm, by the way. I really like tourists (so was that).

I got back here around 2:15 and had to fix the internet for the whole floor by telling the front desk they needed to give us the new codes, which I then had to help everyone figure out how to enter. I really am just doing it all today I guess.

But yup, that's really about it for today. I think I'll include another picture of my walk home since hey, why not? I am leaving for Athens tomorrow and I'll probably get a quick update in before I go, but I'm not sure how plentiful the updates will be while I'm over there, so just know that much. I'll post my infinite number of pictures when I get the chance, fear not! But as always, until next time,

Ciao.

What 13 days of Italian feels like

Ciao tutti, voglio tu stai bene. Oggi e mio tredicesimo giorno di italiano e ho solo due giorni rimanere.

That, my friends, is my Italian skillage after 13 days of Italian. If you could suss it out, it means "hello everyone, I hope you're doing well. Today is my 13th day of Italian and I have only two days left." Three weeks ago, I was not even knowing how to say anything other than ciao or buongiorno, pasta and pizza. And look at me now! I'm really feeling pretty confident overall, and my verb knowledge is growing as is my comprehension, and it feels pretty good, I must say. I'm living in a country that I can now speak the language enough to survive. And I'm proud of it!

But yes, yesterday night after I blogged I was feeling a bit low on energy, but I went out and gioco un pico di calcio, or I played a little soccer, at the country club again. It was great, as usual. This was my second time and only the second time it's been offered, but yesterday we had 9 people, so it was 4 on 5, with the 4 being one who guy who's really good and three of us who are ok, and the other 5 having a really good player and some others who are pretty good too. It was fun, and I was on the 4 team, and we won like 10-3. I ran myself ragged, but I had to since we were always a man down. I love a good workout, and it was still pretty hot and humid over there at night, so I got a really good sweat going and came back here and showered, which was most excellent.

Then I got up this morning and made some scrambled eggs, nutella toast, cereal, and a glass of orange juice, which was most excellent. I am getting better and better with making food on the stove here, and speaking of, after this I'm going to make some Rigatoni con salsa alle funghi e carne. Woohoo. I am just feeling more confident in everything here, which makes me feel good.

I think part of this came from today when I saw two British people stumbling around, looking at a map and they had no idea where they were going. I stepped up and gave them street by street directions as I walked with them for a while, and told them a few things to see before they left, all in about a span of 5 minutes. It was really funny, I know I have a staple set of things you must see, and it's just awesome to know that I have a report with this city now. Too bad no one is coming to visit, I could lay out a hell of an itinerary.

But yes, other than just class, shopping, homework, soccer, cooking, sleeping and checking out the sights on my way to and from class, not a whole lot going on here today. It was new towel day today and they didn't bring any and I was disappointed, but hey, things go on. If that's the worst part of my day, then so be it. I have only two days of Italian class left, with tomorrow being totally review oriented and Friday being my final for the course and, of course, my departure day to Athens! Yeah, I am pretty much ecstatic about that. Couldn't get much more excited if I tried. It's going to be a blast and I'm going to take a billion pictures, so fear not!

Oh, and it's only 6 days til my birthday. 21. Somehow, it all gets lost in the mix. I always envisioned this one being the biggest and most eventful of all of them with the exception of maybe 18, and I have to say, waking up in Athens and falling asleep in Roma, I can't say I'm disappointed in the least. How about elated, how's that sound?

And really that's about it. I hope your September 10th goes well (happy Birthday Grandma Pat! Dad, maybe you could help me out with that thank you there) and know that I love you all and I'll be back soon with much grandeur and excitement. And as always, until next time,

Ciao.

Moving towards Athens

Ciao everyone. It's now Tuesday evening here and I am just taking it easy after finishing up my surprisingly large amount of homework. It's only 3 classes of Italian left in the practicum, which is exciting, and I just am ready to move on to more classes other than just Italian. But that starts after the break, and I am getting really, really excited for that day to come. It's Friday when I head off to Athens, and of course I'll take tons of pictures, but as excited as I am to see all the sights there, I am even more excited about the fact that I get to see them with KK. It's going to be fantastic to see a familiar face, and I miss her terrible, so it'll be great to see each other in one of the cradles of Western Civilization. Woohoo!

But that's Friday. Before that, I've got an Italian composition to write, two classes of learning left and a final exam on Friday morning before I head out that evening. I'll get through it pretty well, I'm sure. Every day it'll get easier to speak and to read, I really had to get over a hump today with some determinative articles, and the "le" over here is pronounced "Lay," not the French "luh." That is especially difficult, since "les" in French is "Lay," which has been all sorts of fun adjusting to. So belle is "bell-lay" (a major catch) and not "bell." But I'm getting closer, and today I officially moved past it.

Last night was the "Super Big Party" (I kid you not, that's what it was called) put on by our residence to meet the other college of kids who moved in two days ago. They're from Christendom College, a college of only 424 kids whose mission is to, and I quote: "to restore all things in Christ." Yeah, a very, very Catholic school that sends 45 kids over to Rome to study in the birthplace of Roman Catholicism.

The meet-and-greet had excellent food that was all free. Tons of pasta. Tons of Bruschetta. Tons of Prosciutto. And not to mention free beer and wine, and actual good beer and wine. Needless to say, we were sold. We went and had an awesome dinner, and slowly the Christendom kids filtered in, every one of them polite, almost too much so in some instances, such as getting food in an unruly line.

I met several and they were all very nice, but naturally, we harbor very, very different opinions. This should not surprise any of you. It all started with someone asking where I was from, and said California, and I said no, Portland, Oregon. He then said "same thing" and I took exception to that. I said San Diego and Portland are 1100 miles apart, so we are allowed to be very different. He laughed and said he didn't think so, and I asked him if he thought Charlotte (where he was from) was the same as Miami or New York, and he said of course not. And I said thank you very much, they're allowed to be different and I got quite a round of applause from our table.

I didn't see that guy for the rest of the night.

But I did see these three people who started talking to me just since there wasn't much else going on, and we eventually got around to the election. I said I was ardently Obama, and I asked if they had anyone pro-Obama they knew at their school, and they said if they are, they stay quiet. We began talking political shop, aka my favorite game on the planet, and with real, arch-conservatives! Oh what a treat!

It was an hour of back and forth, incredibly civil debating on Abortion, Gay Marriage, and religion in schools. It was awesome. Three on one, and I held my ground very strong, but their argumentation felt flawed to me in many ways, as I am sure they believed mine was at other times, but I just fought from the purely governing standpoint, such as a country shouldn't disallow anything that doesn't harm anyone else. This was especially contentious with gay marriage. They pulled up all these statistics that being gay is destructive to society and not right for anyone to be. After about 15 minutes of arguing this point and them saying it was natural law that man and woman are to be together and it's always been that way so it should stay that way, I asked them if slavery, which has been a staple of mankind for all time up until about 150 years ago, was acceptable just because it'd always been that way. They said it obviously wasn't. So I said what if just because gays have always been not accepted is just like slavery, where it was ok for a very long time, but as a society it was time to move past that.

That kept them quiet for a bit. Same with the "if someone is in love with someone else, what business is it of yours to tell them they can't see each other in the hospital?"

I'm sure this is boring, but it was riveting for me, and I could've talked to them forever about this and we never would have agreed, I'm sure, and there's something so beautiful about that. Had to come to Rome to find it though. We ended on the note of this Italian guy asking us what were talking about and we said American politics and he said "Obama is great!"

I had a pretty good laugh at that. Roman Catholics love him, what are you waiting on Bible belt? Ha ha ha.

But yes, that was fun. Then today I had class and I had to go to the post office for my Permisso di Soggiono, and after I got that, I came back, did my homework and made a Habenero Pecorino and Salami melt. Delicious. Now I am off to study a bit more, but know that pictures will be coming soon by hook or by crook, since with Athens, I'm sure there'll be plenty to go round.

Until next time,

Ciao.

Nutella, Aranciata, and Italian quirks

So today I really don't have all that much interesting to report about as far as my daily journey went. I got up, went to class, and sweated profusely on the walk. It was only (ha) 87 degrees today, but with the humidity about 80%, I was really, really feeling it. My skin? Never looked better. My metabolism? Doing fantastic. My comfort level? Low, for the most part. Personal hygiene is a big deal to me, and having to shower twice a day and apply deodorant all the time is fun. But not.

But yes, I only have 4 days left of the practicum, and that makes me really excited. I got my test back from Friday and I got about an 83 on it, which I wasn't too excited about. Combine it with my total test scores from the day, it was closer to an 86, but that leaves me at a high B, close to a low A. The final exam, as always, will bear that difference, and I really want to check out of here with at least an A-. Italian is tough, and the tests reflect it, but I can do better than I did, so I will.

But yes, after that I trekked back home for a bit of relaxing and escaping the heat. Everyone is feeling it right now, so it's easier to just hide a bit and go out later in the evening to do things. Plus now, having been here three weeks, sightseeing takes a bit of a dip and homework, studying, and life-living really picks up. I'm really getting to know a pretty diverse group of people here, and it's pretty cool to have lots of choices of people to go to the store with, for example.

Which really brings me to my next idea to discuss today: Italian food and drink differences, along with a bit of a cultural thing that really kind of shocked me. But first, the food. Chocolate here is popular, as it is everywhere in the world, but with that comes not caramel (haven't seen it since I've been here) or peanuts (also, very limited), but hazelnuts. Nutella, aka paste of the deities, is fantastic, and it's pretty much hazelnut chocolate in a creamy peanut butter paste. Since peanut butter isn't really a viable option here--they have it, it's just really expensive, and it's creamy, I mean honestly, who wants creamy?--Nutella, or Crema alla nocciola (hazelnut cream) is the popular spread.

And boy is it awesome. I mean, breakfast has really evolved since I got here. Since milk is about a 1.50 Euro a liter, or roughly 5.50 a gallon or about 8 U.S. dollars a gallon, I drink a lot less of it on a daily basis, and so I drink Orange Juice instead of milk for breakfast, which is just better for me anyway. Along those same lines, I am hungrier due to the diminished proteins and fats from milk--stepping up to fill that void recently has been either eggs or toast with Nutella and a banana to boot (I know I know KK, eww bananas). So it really is a balanced breakfast: two servings of fruit, a whole grain with my bowl of corn flakes and a serving of dairy, and some good fats and proteins from the Nutella and/or eggs. It's actually pretty cheap in relative terms, about 2-3 euro a breakfast after buying all the supplies in bulk.

And it's tasty. Can't forget that.

Another big thing here is Aranciata, or a sparkling orange beverage. It's soda-esque, but lighter. If you've ever had the Orange San Pelligrino drink, that's exactly what it is. And it too is very, very good. It's light and sweet, and totally refreshing. I get a cheap one from Todi's for about 50 cents for 1.5L, which is about 4 days worth of thirst quenching refreshment. There's no beating the San Pelligrino type though at the store, and I had some authentic, homemade stuff the other day, totally rocked my world. I often have it with my lunch / snack (I eat two meals a day with a snack in between usually. . . I have breakfast, come home around 2, eat some salami, cheese, and crackers or an apple, banana, maybe all of the above. Who knows?) and often I make like pasta of some sort; I make about 4 different types of noodle with like 4 different sauces (Funghi, Pesto, Pomodoro, and of course, alfredo). I'll toss in some fresh pepper, sausage, or salami depending on what I've got, and it makes for about 16 different combinations. All delicious. And relatively cheap if you can just budget correctly.

Finally, I just wanted to touch on something that really surprised me about Italy. A little did-you-know moment if you will:

Did you know that Italy has the lowest birthrate of any country in the world in 2005? It's lower in Germany, Japan, and Hong Kong now, but it's still the fourth lowest in the world today, with only 8.3 births per 1000 people, as compared to 15 per 1000 in the U.S. Its' population is actually shrinking here in terms of Italian people, but with tourism and people moving here, it's pretty constant. But still, the average couple has .8 kids, as opposed to 1.5 in the U.S. Most people have just one kid who lives with them until they're around 28-30 when they get married. Most never own a home either, but an apartment. Rome has near zero houses in the Aurelian Walls, so most just have an apartment or suite in an old building, which they get when they get married and rarely, if ever, move. If you don't marry, you ofter just live with your parents forever.

Just struck me as weird that that's normal and acceptable, not societally frowned upon. People are starting to get worried though in government that the number of true Italian by heritage people is dwindling everywhere in the country, and they can't seem to find a way to stem the tide.

Cool stuff, right? I thought so anyway.

But yes, I am going to be on a plane to Athens 4 days from this very instant, and I couldn't be more excited if I tried. I'll probably break my everyday of posting streak once I'm there, but I might get a post or two in. I am going to take a billion pictures, worry not, and post like you wouldn't believe after the fact. Plus, after that, it's less than 3 weeks until KK and I head to Interlaken and Milan, which will bear many, many more pictures I'd imagine.

I also found a way to get to Marrakech for pretty cheap, and I'm thinking we're going to head out there in November, along with a Munich venture thrown in there potentially and ending in Barcelona, not to mention my intended trips to Venice, Florence, Paris, and London.

So there's reason to stay tuned, worry not! Feel free to contribute to the Craig-goes-awesome-places fund (or my next-Tuesday birthday, / Christmas / really just about anything present) and you shall be rewarded with your wildest dreams coming true, that is, if your wildest dreams are for me to take a bunch of pictures and report back with a total book's worth of travels to talk about.

Oh! And that was something I was going to say: wouldn't it be cool to get my blog done as a book when I'm all done? Maybe I can figure out how to do that most efficiently after I get back, but I think it'd be pretty awesome if I could make a book or something in commemoration of my journey. Maybe if you contribute to my fund you could have a special mention in the forward (just kidding. Sort of).

And that's it and that's all folks. Hope you have a great Monday, and until next time,

Ciao.