Goodbye and Hello!

Goodbye, America!  Hello, Greece!

After sitting in airports and flying for 20 hours, I have FINALLY made it to Thessaloniki! Jetlagged and with my red curls strewn about my head like a crazy person, I eventually found my luggage (Mom--you were right. It was too much luggage.) and was greeted by professor and program coordinator from Aristotle University, Dr. Soula Mitakidou. She drove me to my new studio apartment in the city and spent several hours getting me acclimated to my new space and the neighborhood. I am all too grateful for her generosity!

After a very long and well-deserved nap, I decided to do a little exploring. What a culture shock. For the first time in my life I am the cultural minority.  I understand NOTHING. I can't read ANYTHING.  Fortunately, the majority of Greek people are bilingual and will easily switch to English for me. I have not yet discovered what "vegetarian" translates as but I imagine it's something like "difficult person." I have a feeling I'll have to cross that cultural barrier soon.

I decided to walk to the ocean.  The Aegean Sea is hardly three blocks from my apartment. I spent some time walking on the boardwalk and looking at the sun beginning to set. One of the first things I noticed about the area is the variety of people you can find on the boardwalk. There were babies and toddlers with their mothers, teenagers skateboarding at a small skatepark by the sea, older people in couples on benches, and people of all ages running or biking along the coast. It was beautiful.

Once it started to get dark, I walked back to my apartment. I am staying in a studio not too far from downtown Thessaloniki. Its small but has plenty of storage and a very large balcony overlooking the garden between my building and several others. (Anne, I have already found two cats in the garden for us to play with when you visit.) Its very hot here so I am keeping all the windows and doors to the outside open. However, it sounds like everyone else in the city is doing the same thing. I am in very close proximity to three of the surrounding buildings and can hear EVERYTHING. As a small-town girl, I am not used to being so close to other people (even in Lexington). I can hear everyone's dinner conversations with their families (not that I can understand them), their tvs, their dogs, screaming babies, screaming cats in the alley...let's hope people quiet down soon so I can sleep off the rest of this jet lag!

Tomorrow I plan to walk the boardwalk as far as I can take it and start seeing sights in Thessaloniki before school begins Sept 1. Goodnight!