arrived

Yia su!

It is Monday and I've been in Athens, Greece for 2 days now.

My flights over from New York left me 30+ hours deprived of sleep and completely exhausted but I believe I am now getting back to a daylight = awake schedule. Just now I realize this shouldn't be completely true since I am writing this as the daily siesta from 2p-5p ends. Greeks are brilliant. All people, not just small children, are happier with naps. This is a tradition that I gladly will try to grow accustomed to.

Speaking of getting accustomed....
the bathroom situation is a bit different than America's. I'm sure many have already travelled and learned to deal with these changes but it is still quite new to me. For those who haven't had the joy of experiencing this, let me share. After using the toilet, whether it be number 1 or 2, the toilet paper you use does NOT go into the toilet with it. Rather, it goes into the small garbage waste basket that sits next to the toilet. I'm sure some people would read this and be like....yea AND?  But it is still strange. Me and the 5 girls were extremely hesitant to be the "first pooper" because essentially everyone gets to see/smell the leftovers. This is grosssss... So sorry to those who are reading this. Moving on.

My first long flight from JFK to Munich, I got to sit next to a very sweet girl named Prina who was on her way to India to shop for her wedding. That's weird I thought.
She also had lasik surgery done 2 days prior and was not wearing sunglasses. That's weird too I thought. Apparently they aren't really doing the sunglass thing as I had heard they did. This $6000 surgery took about 20 minutes to complete. She has eye drops that she has to put in pretty frequently for a week or 2 and some clear science-lab looking glasses to wear at night so she doesn't scratch or rub her eyes. Seems like a pretty sweet deal to get to wake up in the morning and be able to see.

I want lasik surgery. I guess the only downside is having 6k to spare.

I had my first airplane meal on this flight. Dinner. And free wine! The chicken was very questionable and sweet potatoes were weird but I usually don't like them so I can't say it was their fault. It was still fun to get a meal on a plane though. When not chatting with Prina about her very speedy engagement and wedding which she needs 4 different dresses for, I watched Zoolander, Modern Family (thx to Jennie Dixon), and the Mentalist.

My brain was mostly fried during my flight from Munich to Athens and I slept for a short period on my food tray (ooo also which I had BREAKFAST on which was more delicious than the dinner). When I woke up, the lady next to me started chatting. She had a really strong Greek accent so I had assumed she was just visiting America and was on her way back home. Not true- she has been living on Long Island for 39 years and comes back about every 5 or 10 years for short visits. She was very sweet and told me not to be stupid and get into trouble while there. Thank you Greek lady! :)

Finally at the Greek airport, me and 2 other students from the program waited for the remaining 14 students to arrive. A few hours later we were driving through Greece to our apt in the heart of Athens. I am in a lovely apt with 5 other girls. The common area and kitchen are small but adorable. Two other rooms have balconies where we can hang our clothes to dry. Dryers are rare in Greece. One balcony has a wonderful view. Ooo also- if anyone has seen the new Karate Kid movie with jackie chan (ahem*phil) they do the switch thing to heat up the water for showers. So far the water doesn't warm up a ton. Either that or we aren't waiting long enough before we take showers because it usually gets cold pretty quickly. It's fun though. I like it.

I missed grocery shopping today because mondays and wednesdays the stores close at 2p and don't open up. The other days of the week they close at 2 and open back up at 5p. The siesta thing is real!!!!

Today we took a walking tour just around the main blocks surrounding the small campus and our apartments. We got to see where we can buy our groceries and fresh produce and bread, good places to eat, the one mcdonalds in the area, the main Syntagma Square, bus/tram lines, banks, post office, shopping area, all that good stuff. One of the head guys of our program took us to a store where we all bought phones and sim cards.

My first class was today- greek language. We didn't learn anything today but I am excited about it because it truly sucks to not know how to say anything in the language of the country you are in. I'm very eager to get going with that one.

I miss people at home. There is so much that is new here. Well i guess everything is. I'm ready for a siesta.