An Unforgettable Day

Snorkeling in the Aegean and a sunset at the Temple of Poseidon all in one day.

What a blessed life I lead.

Yarrr

The last two days have been great - we're all really settled here, and loving every minute of it.

Thursday was mostly a relaxing day for me. A big part of the group climbed the mountain again, to a different spot, and got stuck wandering in a cloud for 20-30 minutes. We had a big get together led by Leslie (with some input from Dr. Hopper) about free travel, which got us all thinking and excited about that.

It looks like I might be hitting 6 countries - Italy, Germany and/or Switzerland, France, Ireland, and England. Gina and I will (likely) take out from here, and meet Chris in Germany and/or Switzerland.

Yesterday (which was Friday, I suppose, but days have no meaning here), we had even classes, and I had Aerobics. Let me just say that Billy Blanks will kick your butt. Goodness.

Last night, a big group of us went to go see Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End here in Porto Rafti. The movie theatre is just a giant outdoor space with lots of separate padded chairs, some tables, and reclining lawn chairs as the front row (where I sat). Since my pictures aren't up yet, I've stolen this one from Beth. Anyway, we had such a great time. The movie was good (I could go into more detail, but this is not a movie review post), I thought, and the company was great. We took millions of pictures of this unique (but completely awesome) movie theatre - why don't we do that in the States? The movie started at 9:15, but we didn't get back to the Artemis until 12:30, because the movie had not one, but two intermissions. The first one scared us all - we were not expecting it. Well, we weren't expecting the second one, either, but the first one served its probable intended purpose - to buy Coke and popcorn. Even movies in Greece are better.

Tonight, we go to see the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion, and we get to watch the sunset over the water. I'm considering snorkeling (or napping!) after classes today.

(Aside: That's one of the reasons days have no meaning here - if we're not traveling, we're in class, Saturdays and all.)

But I wouldn't trade a second of it.

The Hike

Mid-morning on day two, and I'm already knackered. I went out hiking with a group this morning - only drawback is that this was in all likelihood the first athletic thing I've done since high school. I only made it halfway up, but, hey, I've got to start somewhere. I feel pretty good about it. I'll make it to the top before too long, and I'll be proud of it, too. I got a little bit of sun (but didn't burn - hoorah!), and I've started getting outside and moving again. I have Aerobics this afternoon, also, so I'm looking forward to getting more active.

Still no Coke, also, so I'm feeling good about that. Lots and lots of water just feels good. Also, I'm eating oranges like no tomorrow. I eat more oranges here than I do in Florida.

I'm excited about classes here - I really like the atmosphere. Small, relaxed, centered on our surroundings. And this group of kids and faculty members is amazing. I'm really blessed to be in this group. We've been here for two full days, and we've already begun to mesh exceedingly well. We used rope course activities to hold our very own Olympics last night - which my team (The Spartans) won with a flourish. We're a great group.

Our first outing is Saturday night - we're going to Sounion to watch the sunset. Sunday takes us downtown Athens to see the sights there. I'll be sure to have pictures and stories from there as well.

Acclimating

Well, day 1 is almost complete. And let me just tell you that it was amazing.

Everything here is very different than I expected it to be, as I was always sure it would be, but it's so much better than I could've thought. I had 3 of my 6 classes today (Paul, Humanities, and Sociology), all of which will be really great, I think. None of them seem like they'll be too heavy of a load, but they'll all be full of amazing information all centered on the journeys we get to take while we're here.

The food is excellent, and I've managed to go 2 days sans Coke, even though we have it available to us for just ,50 Euro. This evening, we had the HUG Summer 2007 Olympics, which my team (The Spartans) won by a landslide. I'm convinced that it was all due to Libby hauling off and slapping Matt in our skit and Ashley breaking her mug. It was a lot of fun, and the group is meshing so well. I'm here with great people, and great faculty.

Tomorrow, I'll get my first taste of Christian Home, Aerobics, and Greek (which I am so excited about - Vicky is so nice).

I can't say enough about it, but I'm putting pictures on Facebook and Photobucket, so be sure to look for them.

General Information

Well, it finally feels like we're here! In case you want to send a letter:

Sarah Bay
Harding University in Greece
37 Klm Porto Rafti Avenue, Markopoulou
Attiki, Greece 19003

And the classes I'll be taking:

ODD DAYS:
9 Paul
10-11:30 Humanities
11:40-12:30 Sociology
12:45 Chapel
1:30 Lunch

EVEN DAYS:
9:00 Christian Home
12:45 Chapel
1:30 Lunch
3:00 Aerobics
4:00 Greek

Our first little excursions are this weekend. I'll have pictures and stories after then for sure.