Life here is surreal. I wake up everyday and have to adjust myself to the surroundings. My house is down the street from an orthodox church, and when the sun sets, it looks as though God is reaching a hand out to touch the domed roof. It's amazing, and I just have to step out on my balcony to see it. I have been traveling a lot, and taking advantage of everything ( i hope).
Trip 1- METEORAThe first travel weekend, I went to meteora, it is this incredible town in northern greece where monasteries are spread out among massive rock formations. It was one of the most amazing spiritual experiences ever. The first day, Shani and I went up and looked at everything an
d stood in silence for a long time. Then, the next morning, it began to snow, and so we climbed up one more, as we were blanketed with white snow all around us. It was one of the most incredible things I have ever seen, and will never forget the experience.
Trip 2- Budapest, Hungary
The next weekend, I went to Budapest, which was cool, very different from Greece, but still fun. You can feel the sticky fingers of communism still threading their way through the eastern european, somewhat oppressed culture. We stayed with a friend of Sophie's who is in med school in the city. She invited her 
friends from school over for a "meet the americans party". I deemed the evening "The UN Christmas Party" as there were people from all over the US (california, new york, jersey, chicago, atlanta), Nepal, Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Canada, and many more. The night after that, we went to the hot baths, and then accidently stumbled upon a pork festival. I ate a huge sausage, drank some beer, felt ill, but took advantage of the situation.
friends from school over for a "meet the americans party". I deemed the evening "The UN Christmas Party" as there were people from all over the US (california, new york, jersey, chicago, atlanta), Nepal, Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Canada, and many more. The night after that, we went to the hot baths, and then accidently stumbled upon a pork festival. I ate a huge sausage, drank some beer, felt ill, but took advantage of the situation.Trip 3- The Argolid (Naplion)
The weekend after Budapest, I went to southern greece
and saw several archaeological sites (including Mycenae, and Tiryns), and the sanctuary/theater at Epidaurus. 
That particular greek theater is the one which all other Greek ones were based off of, so I basically felt like i was at the center of the theatrical universe. Since it was a school trip, there was a lot more structure, but I still had a blast. My friend Shani and I decided to walk up to the fortress in the town of Naplion early in the morning before anyone was awake to see the sun rise. To get up to the fortress, you must climb roughly 999 steps. We did it, but couldn't get into the fortress and therefore could only see a part of the sunrising, but it was still worth it.
and saw several archaeological sites (including Mycenae, and Tiryns), and the sanctuary/theater at Epidaurus. 
That particular greek theater is the one which all other Greek ones were based off of, so I basically felt like i was at the center of the theatrical universe. Since it was a school trip, there was a lot more structure, but I still had a blast. My friend Shani and I decided to walk up to the fortress in the town of Naplion early in the morning before anyone was awake to see the sun rise. To get up to the fortress, you must climb roughly 999 steps. We did it, but couldn't get into the fortress and therefore could only see a part of the sunrising, but it was still worth it.Trip 4- Rome, Naples, and Pompeii
I spent last weekend in Rome and Naples, and also went to Pompeii. Rome was cool,
I have been there before, so I stayed away from the hugely touristy spots as they annoy me greatly. Actually, the coolest thing I did there (other than spend a full hour writing an
d thinking in the Sistine Chapel) was find the church of a saint I had seen a statue of in the catacombs when i was there 5 years ago. Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music, I have her statue next to my bed at home, and I sought out her Basilica which is hidden in the boonies of Rome. It was a beautiful place, and I was there all alone so I got to create my own little spiritual moment. Being at the Vatican, and in the catholic mecca of the universe was really nice. There aren't many Catholics here, and in fact, the Catholic church I went to on Ash Wednesday was an Eastern Catholic denomination, and their calendar linked up with the orthodox one, which means their ash wednesday was a week later. It was one of the weirdest things I have ever experienced, along with mass in Greek.Naples was cool, I decided (on a whim) to stay the night on my own, and got close with all the mafia members living there aka the people at the hostel on a hill I slept in. I had a continental breakfast provided for me: two pieces of un-toasted white bread and a small packet of butter, oh and water :)
Naples is right on the water so I got to walk down the port and see all the beautiful castles they have built on islands right off the coast. The city is a lot more impoverished than Rome and a lot of its residents are immigrants. Imagine a huge marketplace with of over 100 vendors selling junk (shirts, boots, make-up, cell phones, hookah's, dvd's, everything except food) and no one speaks a word of english, and you've got a typical day at the Naples central marketplace. I got a shirt for 3 euro, so i'm not complaining, but it was quite overwhelming.
Pompeii, which is 30 minutes outside of Naples, was absolutely amazing. It has always been a life dream of mine to visit there, and actually going through the city was something I will never forget. My friend Jamie came with me, he decided at 2am the night before, and the train left at 6am that morning :) Pompeii was so huge, and is literally miles and miles and miles of preserved city. I mean, everything was still intact, it felt like a ghost town, and we ended up getting lost because there were so many streets.BAC
K HOME!I am back in Athens now and so glad to be home. I liked Italy, but Athens is a great city with a lot of culture. Italy is more like America in that is a hodge podge of people and customs, while Greeks are really unique in the way they live and act.
Yesterday, I got my second bad flu since I've been here. I think it's from traveling non-stop and pushing myself too hard (just trying to take advantage of my time abroad). There is a day trip with the school to the temple of Poseidon tomorrow, but I am going to pass and sleep instead. Next week is mid-terms, and I haven't thought about them... at all. C'est la vie.
P.S.
This is Brutus----------->
He is one of the many, many, stray dogs in Athens. I fell in love with him one night after many drinks and a street gyro.
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