September 21st-23th

 Hey there! Not much has happened the past few days; hence why I have not written. We've just been going through classes and normal day schedules. I've gotten up to running 6K. So only 4 more to go before the 10K on October 31st! I'm super excited! I've been reading a lot lately too. For classes, and for leisure reading. I've been a little homesick, but some of my friends are getting skype so that will be nice to talk to them(: Today, Thursday, Ashlee, Lia, Heather, and I went to the beach and took tons of pictures, and also found this graffiti-ed out spot and took some legit pictures. It was so much fun! Then later tonight, we went to Taz, and Skylar and Kaylie got crepes and I got some ice cream. It was all really good and the guy that worked there gave us some tips and talked to us for a while...it was really exciting and fun!

  From what I have heard, everyone at home seems to be doing well, and I can't wait to see you all again. I also figured out a way to text through my ipod/computer so that has made communication back home a little bit easier as well.  I don't know if I mentioned this, but in a few days we are going on our Peloponnese Cruise, and then in two weekends I am going to Barcelona, Spain with about half the group for our free weekend. I am super stoked for all of the above! <3

Day Eleven September 20th, 2010

Today was the first day that I actually played guitar since I have been here, and man did it feel good! We listened to Tyler and Nick for the longest time, and they are amazing! Then I took a nap, and other than that Ashlee and I have just been trying to cool down our sunburns. I have also been a bit homesick today which kinda stinks, but I'm guessing that that will go away soon :) Not much else happened today, so until next time :)

Day Ten September 19th, 2010

Shalom! Today was our first day off! Meaning no classes or anything until church time. So we got to do what we wanted to. Ashlee and I chose to go soak up some Greece sun on the beach. What we failed to realize is the time of day we went is the sunniest, therefore the most easy time to burn. Yeah, we're completely sunburned...but we are hoping that it turns to a tan! And so far, it looks like it will. Other than that, today was just a pretty relaxed day until a little mishappening. But in the end, it all worked out just fine :)

Day Nine September 18th, 2010

Hey there! This morning I woke up, we had classes and the normal day. However, I bought officially bought my tickets for the three day weekend to Barcelona! I am very excited about that :) Then, after that we got ready to go see the Temple of Poseidon to watch the sunset there in the southeast tip of Attica. It turned out to be beautiful and a great experience!! Ashlee, the girls, and I took tons of pictures and it was really fun! The sunset was so beautiful, I wish that all of you could have seen it! Afterwards when we got back, we went to the Taverna (no, it's not a tavern) and we had gyros! They were so delicious (but probably not the best thing for you)! And then of course, we had to follow that with some good ole' gelato icecream! It was a good day!

Day Seven/Eight September 16/17th, 2010

So not too much has happened the past few days. Thursday we had classes as normal, and that's about it. Then Friday after classes I decided to run and use the gym for the first time and ran 5k! I'm proud cause I haven't ran in a few months and that's a lot for not running a lot. Anyways, after that I jumped into the pool with Ashlee and Tyler was there too. It was really fun. Then later we had movie night and that's about it for those two days :)

Day Six September 15th, 2010

Hair in my face, but look at that view!

Skyler/Skylar :)

Today was probably one of my most favorite days. It's not like we went to an ancient piece of our history and learned something, (which would have been fun too), but today some of us decided to go on a hike! I was told not to pass up this opportunity because those who had previous semesters before really regretted it. So I didn't :) When we first started walking, we got to this street where it was literally straight up hill! And all you saw before your eyes was what seemed to be the biggest mountain, ever! As we started walking up the first hill, Ashlee and I were wondering what we were getting ourselves into and joking about heading back. Her container of ice kept her satisfied, however, and I just kept drinking water to stay hydrated. By the time we got to the top of that street hill, we looked down to see that we had to walk down another street hill and at the end up that one, walk up another one before we even started the mountain! HA! By the time we got to the mountain, we were already exhausted. As we started up, I tended to try to move fast, taking as little breaks as possible because once I stop, I get really tired. My favorite part was turning around and looking at the beautiful view that was behind me and thinking to myself, "this is ridiculous, I am in GREECE! and it is so beautiful!!" When we finally got to the top, my other room mate Mandy told me to take my pony tail out and so I did! The strong wind was gusting and we just stood there in awe of what we just climbed and the beauty that was before us. We could even see our little hotel that we are staying in. It was great! We took tons of pictures and group pictures, it was so much fun! On the way down I walked with Ashlee and we had a great time just talking and discussing how much this trip has been fun so far. When we finally got to the street level again, I kinda got goosebumps because I realized how much of a blessing it is for me to be here and what an experience I have in the tip of my fingers! I love being here <3

Day Five September 14th, 2010 The Acropolis!

Ya know...just standing in front of the Acropolis!

Hello there! Today was awesome! We went to the Acropolis, Parthenon, and the museum and it was amazing! Walking in the same places that all the Bible stories we here are about was crazy, so surreal. We even had a little devotional on the top of Mars Hill! As I walked through the Acropolis, I was amazed at the fact that archaeologists/excavators were able to restore a lot of the damage that had been done to the buildings throughout the years. The patience and detail that went into all of that must have been ridiculously hard. The parts that they had re-done were a little bit lighter marble, where as the old marble was more of a yellow tint. My favorite two parts were the Parthenon and the Temple of Athena. Listening about how the people would bring gifts and offerings to those places was so fascinating.  Historically, the Acropolis plays a huge role! It was the place where basically everything in the city happened and it was a very important part of their every day lives. Culturally, it was almost everything to them. It would be like in my world, the city of Seattle. It is where everything happens, where everyone gathers, and the most important people lived there. In that way, I can really relate to what this meant to the people back then. This also is how it relates to my personal experiences, and backgrounds. As far as my education goes, this was my first time really learning about the place. I had always heard the term "Acropolis" and "Greek Agora" but actually seeing the places put into perspective what they really were.

I was also really fascinated in the museum with all the statues, and learning that during different time periods, the statues of people changed. Whether they are smiling in the statues, wearing clothes or not, or even just how they were wearing their clothes can show you who made the statue, and what time period it was made in. I thought that was really awesome and it made every single statue unique.

Personally, this experience had an abundance of learning for me that I never would have gotten out of just reading a textbook and taking notes in class. I am so blessed to have been able to see and experience a little bit of what our ancestors experienced every day.

Day Four September 13th, 2010

I love&miss you all...

Today after classes we went to the beach! We walked down to a low key location where not a lot of people were and started taking pictures! Ashlee got in the water without shoes and then we were told that you have to have sandals or flip flops on though because there are sea urchins in this water at the bottom! It was a really fun day though :)

Day Three September 12, 2010

In the city of Glyfada!

On Sunday after classes and lunch, we headed out to the city of Glyfada, where we are going to be attending church every Sunday. Ashlee and I roamed the streets of the city for a while just window shopping cause apparently on Sundays, most stores are closed. The church service that we go to is held in a room of a hotel, and it was really nice and air conditioned! Haha. The service was much like any other church service that I have been to, and no, the lesson was not in Greek, so I could actually understand it! It was fun to meet the people that attend church there. One man we met could speak six languages! He tried to talk to Ashlee in German but she had to tell him to slow down. It was a good day, and a good service!

Day Two September 11, 2010

Riding the metro with our tickets(:

Hi again! Here at HUG, we have classes on Saturday and Sunday (most of the time), and so therefore Saturday morning was just like any other school day! We had classes in the morning, and went through our afternoon lunch routine. Then we got to go to Athens for a little bit. The bus experience there was quite an adventure. We had no idea what we were doing, and the bus was really full, so we all had to squeeze and stand. The Greek man who was collecting money got irritated with us at one point because we didn't understand anything that he was saying, but we ended up getting to where we wanted none-the-less. Once we got on the second bus, it was a lot easier and we knew what to expect. Since it began to rain during our adventure, we all decided just to go to the mall instead. When we got to the mall, lots of people stared at us, and we kinda felt like a zoo, but it was fun! I was really surprised that the Athens mall actually had a lot of the same stores as we did, and if not the exact store, they had the same brands, and styles of clothes. The mall was HUGE! Three stories! When Ash and I got hungry, we both decided to get food at the food court. This was an experience, because when I ordered, they took like 20 minutes to give me my "fast food." I was really confused and kinda stood there awkwardly while they kinda looked at me weird too. So it was an interesting experience. All in all, it was a good day and a good experience really dipping our feet in the Greek society :)

Day One September 10th, 2010

Skylar/Skyler at the Artemis!

Hello! This is my first time writing! I am very excited about sharing all my adventures on this blog! My first day seemed like it was the longest day of my life. Probably because it was! The time difference and lack of sleep made for some extreme jet lag. ON the way to the Artemis (our hotel we are staying in for the semester), the only thing that I could pay attention to was the crazy! driving that was going on before me. We seriously hit like 27 cars in my mind. Once we got to the Artemis I had to force myself not to take a nap until it was time for bed. Let me tell you, this was very hard to do and I ended up snoozing for like a half hour before dinner while Ashlee (my room mate) watched some Greek infomercials on the television. After dinner, we went to tour part of the town of Porto Rafti (where the Artemis is located). We went to ice cream, and then walked down to the board walk where there were restaurants, people fishing, and boats galore! It was such a beautiful view :)