I went to the market this morning. It’s fun to go and see all the people. I just bought some fruit for the next week or two. This afternoon, Sara, and Melanie and I walked around Athens. We saw the Greek Orthodox Cathedral near Monastiraki and spent time sitting at a café. We tried frappes, a cold coffee beverage that is very popular in Greece. It was good. Trying to do like the Greeks, we sat there for quite some time, talking about what we’d like to do for the rest of the weekend and reading a couple myths from our Greek Mythology book.
On our way back to our apartments, we saw a rally going on in Syntagma Square for the New Democracy party of parliament. Greece is having elections this Sunday, so people are showing their support for different parties. We were interested in what was happening, so we mingled with the crowd grabbing stickers and flags passed out by the rally coordinators. We met some students from the university who told us that they were marching to show their support. We decided to join them so we could get the full experience. It was exciting, but also made me a bit nervous because I was unsure if it was socially acceptable for us, as foreigners, to join in. The students informed us that we would be fine and helped us know what to do along the way. The group had cheers and songs they sang to support their party and boo the other party, PASOK. They tried to teach us one, but I can’t remember it any more. Security people walked alongside the marchers and every once and a while, they set off flares. Sara, Melanie and I walked with them for almost an hour before we had to head back to the school to meet our teacher. I kept the giant flag of Greece with which I was marching and now have it hanging on my bedroom wall. What an experience!
Our teacher showed Sara, Melanie, and I an area of Athens called Psiri where there are a bunch of restaurants, tavernas, and music. Naturally, we found gelato so we could eat our dessert first. Then, Sara, Mel, and I ate at a little taverna. We shared veal and pasta, a Greek cheese, and potatoes and cheese. Mmmmm. We sat there for a few hours just chatting. It was a nice evening.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
We went to the Pnyx and the Ancient Agora today for history class. It was a hot day (probably mid to upper 80s) and we went when the sun was shinning directly overhead. I still feel like it’s August and fall just hasn’t come. I keep waiting for it, but I won’t have a fall this year. I miss seeing the colorful trees and smelling the fall air.
This evening, we had our first Greek cooking class. There were 11 or 12 of us and the cook set us to work cutting, chopping, and adding ingredients here and there. We made Tzatziki, a cucumber yogurt dip/spread with garlic that goes with almost anything. We also made a meat dish of long meatball-shaped rolls of seasoned ground beef and breadcrumbs (I don’t remember the name of it, how to pronounce it, or how to spell it). We made traditional lentil soup to eat before the main dish and rice and fried pitas to accompany the meal. It was delicious. I hope we get the recipes at our next class so I can make it again.
This evening, we had our first Greek cooking class. There were 11 or 12 of us and the cook set us to work cutting, chopping, and adding ingredients here and there. We made Tzatziki, a cucumber yogurt dip/spread with garlic that goes with almost anything. We also made a meat dish of long meatball-shaped rolls of seasoned ground beef and breadcrumbs (I don’t remember the name of it, how to pronounce it, or how to spell it). We made traditional lentil soup to eat before the main dish and rice and fried pitas to accompany the meal. It was delicious. I hope we get the recipes at our next class so I can make it again.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Sara got her MCAT results today, so we celebrated. A bunch of us got together and hung out before checking out the Gazi neighborhood in Athens. This area is known for its nightlife, music, dancing, bars, and clubs. It was fun to see all the young people out, and we found places with good music, but we didn’t have much luck with the dancing. We’ll have to keep looking.
Monday, September 28, 2009
We arrived back in our apartments early Monday morning, went straight to sleep and didn’t wake up until almost noon. Once rested, a group of us decided to explore Athens some more and took a self-guided walking tour informed on the sites by tour-guide-Sara Kokkila and Rick Steves’ guide book. We saw many of the ancient sites including the Library of Hadrian, The Roman Agora and Tower of the Winds, The Temple of Olympian Zeus, and Hadrian’s Arch, and of course the Roman Stadium next to our school. We also took a bit of time exploring the Monastiraki neighborhood flea market. The evening was spent studying for the Greek Language and culture test Tuesday morning.
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