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.

Greek Greetings

Well, we have safely arrived in Porto Rafti - tired - yes, sore from so much sitting - yes, sick of airports and airplanes - yes, massively excited - heck yes.

Glasses begin tomorrow, which is insanity. Wednesday should be a very exciting day - UEFA Champions league final will be held in Athens at the Olympic Stadium, and they said they're expecting 40,000 people from England and Italy to be coming for the game. I think I could very easily get caught up in the football hype.

It's just under 2 weeks until we go to Egypt, which I can't even believe.

Actually, I still can't really believe that we're here. It's a little surreal, but it's definitely starting to sink in.

So is the jet lag, so I'll have more for you later.

Stop the World, I Want to Get On!

Well, gang, I'm off to Greece for the summer.

I'll do my best to make updates here, so everyone can keep tabs on what is happening on the far side of the world.

Love you!

Bisons for Obama

Well, the political arena is heating up. The debates have begun; we've had the first Democratic one, and the first Republican one is coming up in just a few days. People are starting to take interest and get involved.

I am actually very excited to say that I'm doing the same. This will be my first presidential election to vote in, and I'm really anxious to take part and be involved.

I went to a meeting for Bisons for Obama tonight, and I've started to get excited about campaigning for Barack Obama. I've been continuing my research, and just to start with, something that encourages me most about, besides his personality and speaking capabilities, is his willingness to move across party lines in order to get things done. He, like many others, has spoken about changing the extreme partisanship in Washington, but unlike some others, he has made strides toward making it happen. He's been involved in a few different projects that have paired him with Republicans, and those projects have had positive results. I think working to decrease the strict party lines is an admirable goal.

Also, SelectSmart rates Obama as a 72% match for me, the highest of any candidate. While I know an online quiz is by no means authoritative, it's nice to see that he and I think along the same lines.

I encourage you all to start doing your research for the 2008 election, and to take time to get to know what kind of candidate Barack Obama is.