Posted by: wampwu001 | June 15, 2009

Strange Dreams

I’ve come to realize, through the Greece Abroad, that daily events have an effect on my dreams. I started a daily journal in Turkey, but unfortunately I did not keep up with it. I had another strange dream tonight, which reminded me of my journal.

I shall start off by listing all of the events and such that affect the dream, and then I will tell you the dream.

 

#1, Kusadasi

Events: We had been on a boat in Istanbul going up and down the Bosporus Strait. At the dock especially, hundreds of small jellyfishes could be seen in the water.

Dream: Dan and a jellyfish are fighting above water at a dock with rows of boats on either side. Dan uses a wood plank to beat the creature, who has been stinging him constantly.

 

#2a (I had multiple dreams this night), Prienne

Events: (a) I keep forgetting to buy myself a bottle of water, which causes me to be uncomfortable when I’m sitting in the sun for hours trying to focus on a drawing. (b)I have also been slightly obsessed with getting my Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone book collection in other languages going.  (c) I think I was also briefly thinking about Ice Age and Scrat the evening before the dream.

Dream: Harry Potter and Hermione Granger are frozen in a large ice cube. The cube melts on a small shore of a shallow river within a deep gorge. Once free, they enter a computer game that allows them to travel from planet to planet. Their objective: find a habitable planet with lots of fresh water.

 

#2b, Prienne

Events: (a) I had seen Nate juggling a soccer ball earlier in the trip. The night before the dream, the people on the Prin soccer team played against some Turks. (b) Nate’s fast footwork on the field makes me think he’d be good at tap dancing.

Dream: Nate and Fred Astaire are both in a dance hall wearing top hats and coats with tails. They are having a dance-off. Fred is just tapping, but Nate is tapping and incorporating a soccer ball into his routine. Fred loses, Nate wins. Go Nate!

 

#3, Prienne

Events: (a) I knew that the hostel in New York would have a lot of people, and that there was a chance that we would have to share our rooms with strangers. For a brief period of time, I was convinced that bathrooms would have to be shared by boys and girls. (b) I was grateful for the large towels that were provided, because I had forgotten my fresh clothes in my room and the ones I had been wearing I had washed and were now sopping wet. If I had had my green towel for emergency purposes, I would still have flashed a lot of people on my way from the shower to the room. How horrifying.  (c) Also, I trimmed my toenails recently, and recently trimmed toenails combined with the dry, cool weather we had been having usually meant that my toes would start bleeding if I didn’t keep them in socks (It doesn’t make sense to me either, but that’s generally what happens).

Dream:  I am sweaty and gross.  I enter a shower that is among other showers for boys and girls.  All of the other showers are taken by Greece Abroad people, and some people are waiting.  Guy is waiting for my shower.  I tell him that I’m almost finished.  Then, I smell the blood.  I look down to see that my toes have dried up and are bleeding again.  I put on a towel and open the door to tell Guy that I will need a few minutes more, showing him my toes.  I accidentally flash him, because my towel’s too small.  Woops.

#4, Prienne

Events:  (a) Some people on the abroad brought snorkels and stuff.  They offered to let me use them, but I haven’t gotten the opportunity to use the gear yet.  (b) Some conversations I had overheard involved CS camps.  (c) Someone asked me what sport I would play in if I could have my choice, and I responded with swimming, diving, or water polo.  (d) There were more soccer games against the Turks, and Paul usually plays on defense, and Nate became goalie at some point.

Dream:  The Greece Abroad group are playing water polo against the Turks.  I seem to have trouble getting my gear together.  For some reason, snorkels and air tanks are necessary.  The person in charge — a German man that had been a camp counseler at Kohana-Lelanau — is not very much help.  I talk with Hannah about something during half-time.  I finally get to join in the game in the second half.  I am in the defensive with Paul, and Nate is goalie.

 

#5a, Samos, Greece

Events:  Ummm… I don’t recall anything that specifically had an impact on this dream except for the fact that the only people in the dream are from the Greece Abroad.  I suppose my search for the Harry Potter book played some part, since the living room that will be mentioned looked like the Slytherin common room.

Dream:  There are secret passages the Prin group have to go through in order to get to their rooms.  I forget the password, and ask Paul and Sara in the living room.  Paul tells me to go look in the mirror.  I do, and I see “loon squared” scratched in the lower right corner.  The secret passage is located in a public bathroom.

 

#5b, Samos

Events:  (a) I’m always afraid I’ll be late, and everyone will leave without me.  (b) We have three rented cars on Samos to ride.  (c) There were a few women in Prienne, Turkey, who came up to me and watched me draw.  They also gave me snacks and some tea, which was so sweet of them.  (d) The dream takes place in my front yard at home, which I guess I was thinking about because I had been trying to figure out how to call home after four weeks of not talking to parents.  (e) I am also afraid that there may be some loose ends at Prin, and that because I am not there to take care of the issues I will be kept from graduating.

Dream:  I am quickly trying to pack up stuff for the day in my backpack.  I get a call from Prin, which distracts me.  I manage to hang up just as the three cars are leaving.  I don’t make it.  I sit on the curb, hoping one of them will come back.  Greek women and children cross the street to look at my artwork just as I’ve given up and am heading back to my home.  One kid offers me all of his drawings for one of mine.  I shake my head “no.”  I’m tearing up because I got left behind.  One of the women gives me a gentle kiss on my cheek as I turn around.  Out of the corner of my eye, I see David’s car do a “u” turn at the end of the street and drive away.  I run out again, but again, they don’t see me.

 

#6, Samos

Events:  (a) While in Turkey, I found I was obsessed with drawing fountains.  (b) I have a fear of heights, and hate walking downhill.  I’m mostly afraid of falling, and bringing others down with me and being the only survivor.

Dream:  A helicoptor drops me into a pool of water.  There are waterfalls all around and no dry land except below.  I realize that I am in a desert and I am on a mountain that is a fountain.  There is a dry mountain cliffside ten feet away from one waterfall.  I swim hard to it, and use my momentum to leap to the dry cliffside.  I grab hold of an outcropping rock, and pull myself to a level spot above the fountain mountain.  I can see other people swimming around and falling to the distant bottom.  I hear thuds and cracks as eight of them impact with the ground.  After three minutes, they sit up simultaneously, give each other high-fives, and laugh pleasantly at the situation.  I then realize that they are thrill-seekers, while I had been accidentally placed on the fountain.  I get irritated by their laughter and wish I could show them what fear and a near-death experience are really like so they would stop being idiots.

 

#7, Home (last night)

Events:  (a) I had been reading the blog yesterday and was chuckling over the one about the talent show.  For some reason, David’s talent stuck out the most, along with all of the talents that required Ricky’s drumming skills.  (b) Thinking ab0ut Ricky also reminded me that I had drawn his name for the awards ceremony that took place on the last day of the abroad.  (c) On our flight journeys, we had to stop in the London Heathrow Airport both ways.

Dream:  Some of us are in the London Heathrow Airport, in the large courtyard of Terminal 3.  It is mostly empty of chairs and tables, but there’s a white booth in the center.  An announcer calls David up to the booth to perform his talent.  David had drawn Ricky’s name, so his talent had to be in honor of Ricky somehow.  David hadn’t had time to prepare for this, so he improvised by running his fingers along the wooden shutters of the booth, and tapping his fingers against the walls in an interesting drum beat.  Too bad Ricky wasn’t with us to see it.

 

I do have strange dreams, don’t I.  There were many more during the trip, but I’ve forgotten them all.

Posted by: wampwu001 | June 15, 2009

Mass emails — a summary of the Greece Abroad

I am finally posting on the blog! Yay! Here are the emails that I sent my family and friends during the rare few times I had access to the Internet.

Dear Family (and friends),

Greetings from Turkey!

This keyboard is very confusing. It’s all English lettering, but all of the punctuation are on different keys, and the letter i is where the quotation marks usually are. Come to think of it, quotation marks are nowhere to be found on this keyboard.

İ went to the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia today. They were amazing. İt was very challenging trying to draw all those arches, from a difficult perspective. İ had to wear a scarf over my head to enter the Blue Mosque, but İ definitely saw a lot of tourist ladies not wearing any. The Hagia Sophia dome was being held up by something that obstructed the view, but it was still lovely nontheless.

New York beforehand was great, too. We went to MoMA (Museum of Modern Art), the Onassis Foundation, and the Metropolitan Museum of New York. However, the highlight of New York for me was learning how to use the subway system. So much fun! I was tickled that we had to ride a subway in Turkey to get to our hostel. For some reason, I had a hard time convincing myself that I was going to Turkey. It was much easier to convince myself that I was going back to China, which would explain my excitement over the subway systems. I also was excited about the sushi restaurant outside of MoMA, which also didn’t help me overcome my delusion that I was going somewhere Asian. Now that I’m in Turkey, though, I feel more settled.

It’s freezing at night in Turkey. The floors are all tile, and they cool the room down considerably. I put a lot of layers on last night, and that still didn’t help. I missed my opportunity to go shopping for a new sweater at the Grand Bazaar, but I plan to do it tomorrow. The people here at this hostel showed us how to turn on the radiator, so the room is getting comfortably warm now. I’m rooming with Sara, Gwyn, and CJ. The highlight for today was not visiting the Hagia Sophia or the Blue Mosque, but it was with Gwyn getting stuck in the bathroom. The door has a hard time closing and opening, and she somehow managed to get it shut so tight that Sara eventually managed to pound it open.We all learned our lesson about that door.

The food is fine. I am able to order vaguely American food still, so I’m happy. Turkish coffee, however, is awesome! You would love it, Colleen. It’s simply very strong coffee.

I have yet to convert my money into lira. So far, I’ve been getting money for food from Joy, so if I keep buying cheap food, I should have enough money to buy that sweater that I want. I also want to get a scarf that is dark purple, but that can wait a bit longer. I hope that the China/Mongolia abroad has gotten me better at bartering. Certainly the lack of money will help me bring the price down a bit.

That’s about all I have to say for now. I love you all!

Love,

Ivy

P.S. My name pronounced with a Turkish accent is Avee, with a flat A. It’s almost like saying it in a southern accent. I found out the pronounciation when a few elementary school students came up to me and asked me what my name was, where I was from, how old I was. They were so cute.

Hello family and friends!

Since last I wrote, we have been up to quite a few delightful things. The day after I wrote, I went with Heather to the Grand Bazaar to do some shopping for her friends. I kept my eye open for possible Christmas gifts for family members but didn’t buy anything. We met a guy who was willing to show us around and haggle good prices for us. For any of you who have heard of my Mongolia trip: this guy reminded me of Toogi. He was a teddy bear.
That evening, we had dinner with our dinner dates. Half of us had been assigned the task of asking one person we didn’t know to dinner. It was a good way of getting to know each other, and I hope we get to do it more often. I ate with Johanna at a purely Turkish restaurant which was conveniently located right next to our hostel. The waiter flirted with Johanna a bit, and I think the main reason we got free dessert was because he liked her a lot. ‘Twas amusing.
President Obama visited Istanbul the next day, so the streets were barricaded near our hostel (we were located right next to the Blue Mosque, which just happened to be one of the few buildings he would visit) and shops and events that we wanted to visit were put on a standstill. It was a free day for us, so I spent much of my day at the Grand Bazaar, where I bought a few scarves and a dress. I’m still on the lookout for the perfect belly-dancer costume at a cheap price, though. That afternoon, Gwyn, Heather and I went to a hamam, or a Turkish bath. It was… interesting. The process required that we strip naked in a large steamy room, and allow someone else to bathe us. We had an elderly, no-nonsense woman scrub us down, so it didn’t feel awkward. I would love to go to another hamam if I have the time. It made me feel cleaner than I’ve ever felt in my life.
The last day we were in Istanbul, we took a boat ride along the Bosporus Strait. It was awesome! It made me want to buy myself a boat and sail the world. The buildings along the strait were designed specifically with water access in mind, so we got to see some really beautiful housefronts. After the boat ride, we chilled for a while and had dinner before we packed into a super-crowded bus. The driver wasn’t very good at his job, because he bumped into another car, nearly crashed into a barricade, and hit a speed bump so fast I hit my head on the ceiling. This last offense I forgave because (a) it was my fault that I chose to sit in the back seat, and (b) I’m used to it from the Mongolia abroad. Finally, there was water mixed in with the gas, so we stalled on the hilly highway a lot and often couldn’t go past 20 mph. About four hours into the trip (1:30 in the morning), we arranged to take local bus transportation, and our group split in half. I still didn’t sleep much, but at least I had free drinks and more leg space. We got to Kusadasi (near Ephasus) at about 9am.
One of the first things we did (well, half of us) was we went to the beach, because it was a much warmer day than in Istanbul. I was one of the daring few who dipped into the water. Nate had brought a wetsuit and some snorkeling gear, so he was good for about an hour or two. I think even his camera was waterproof. Crazy guy.
Today, we visited some of the sites of Ephasus. We went to the Virgin Mary’s last home, to the famous theatre and Arcadian walkway (There was a palace under excavation there with some beautiful Roman mosaics and Greek frescos. I wish I could work on that site!), the Artemisium (ruins of the temple of Artemis), and a carpet factory.
That’s all of the adventure for now! More to come later!

Much love to you all!

Ivy

Dear Family and Friends,

Well, it certainly has been a while since I wrote. At least, a lot has happened. After Kusadasi, we went to a small town called Priene. The pension we were at didn’t have very good Internet access, so I thought I would wait for an Internet Cafe. However, the day I had access to an Internet Cafe was the same day I only had one hour to get dinner. I hadn’t been eating much lately, so I chose dinner. Sorry. I hope you know I still love you all anyway.

Food in Turkey. Hmmm. Chicken’s great. The pizza is awesome. Breakfast is awful. Eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, bread, bananas. At least there were oranges and strawberries. When we had to buy lunch for ourselves, all I saw were snack foods. I wish I could have indulged in the food that had to be heated up, but I had nothing with which to heat up the food. I got apples and carrots instead. It’s amazing how the only time I eat very healthily is on abroads. Amazing.

Priene was lovely. I was glad to spend some time in one location. The first day we spent drawing in town. A common mode of transportation there were tractors, I noticed. I found some parked and sat down to draw them. Catherine and Kayleigh were nearby. The ladies of the houses nearby came out with food and tea (the tea, by the way, was flipping awesome! I just always had to remember to ask for Turkish or Chai tea, rather than apple tea.), which was very sweet of them. One lady even offered for us to sit in her orchard back yard in the shade. We could not communicate in words, but the love was definitely felt. We got plenty of pictures with them.

The second and third days were spent at the ruins at Priene. It was great to have a place that we could spend at with no time limit, and that was close to home. I got my first pastel experience there, and loved every minute of the smudging process. Surprisingly, my face had no evidence of the colorful chalk in the end.

We spent a day at Miletus and another day at Didyma. I was very uninspired at Miletus, mostly because I wanted to keep exploring the huge expanse of well-preserved ruins rather than sit down and draw. I forced myself to sit and draw, though, which turned out to be a bad thing. I wandered for the last hour, and finally found the spot I should have been at all along. If I had waited just a few minutes before sitting to draw, I would have been inspired. But alas, that did not happen. I wandered a lot in Didyma, but I was inspired immediately by the friezes depicting Gryphons. I did an abstract pastel drawing of one. I wish I could turn it into a jigsaw puzzle. There’s enough color and uniqueness in each area to make the puzzle fun. When the day was over at that Temple of Apollo, we found an unopened resort and used it’s beach access. I had not known to bring my swimsuit, so I made do with my undies instead. The water was so refreshing! Salty, but wonderful.

A highlight of my stay in Priene was watching the Prin soccer players attempt to beat the Turks in soccer. We were close a few times, but they always managed to do slightly better. Our team played five games during our stay in Priene. Go Prin!

Our ferry trip from Kusadasi, Turkey to Samos Island, Greece changed its departure time to nine in the morning rather than in the afternoon. We had to wake up at 6:30 am to leave Priene and get there in time to go through customs. The ferry ride was about three hours long. I sat next to a Canadian woman who had been to Greece before, and she told me of the differences between Greek and Turkish stuff. She said the tea would be awful, but so far it’s been better for me. Turkish tea was a bit on the strong side, but I am able to regulate the tea strength here. Mmmmm. There wasn’t much to see during the first two hours of the trip. The island wasn’t visible at first, but eventually it came out into view. As we pulled into the bay, I could see trash bags and other rubbish floating in the water. So sad. Neither Turkey nor Greece have very good waste disposal systems.

Once we landed, Dan, David, and Joy got the mini rental cars. They had to make two trips to the hotel to get us all there. The drive took about 25 minutes to get there. Lovely scenery, windy roads: I’m in heaven. The hotel is pretty awesome. We’re all like the Brady Bunch, because we have rooms all along one side of a building, and we’re often on the balconies doing stuff and talking above and below to people.

The second day in Samos, we all met Donia Lilly. She gave us a tour of the nearby town of Pythagoria, where Pythagorus is a celebrity. I am currently writing to you from an Internet Cafe on the harbor of the city. Apparently, the streets are very crowded during the summertime. They’re practically empty right now. Also, Tom Hanks supposedly comes into this harbor in his yacht sometimes.

Two days ago, we traveled to a place that was about two or three hours away. Dan rented a larger van so we all could go at the same time. The town was lovely, and we were practicing a technique that Donia Lilly is trying to teach us. We draw quick sketches, then later in the “studio” we remember the image as best we can, and emphasize the qualities that impressed us the most. For me, it was the clouds. The horizon line wasn’t distinguishable, the colors were subtle, and the clouds were soft and streaky. The watercolor painting I did yesterday overemphasized the color, unfortunately. Not many students on this abroad like Donia’s technique so far, but I love it because I often work this way anyway. At the end of the trip, we drove about half an hour to a beach. The waves were crashing, which was exciting. I have this fear about swimming in open water, but I am determined to overcome that fear. I did a pretty good job that day, except when I swam out so far that I couldn’t touch the bottom. I was trying to match Guy in distance from the shore, but I drew the line at that point. Slowly, but surely, I’ll overcome my fear of open waters on this trip.

Today, we went to Heraion, or a site dedicated to Hera. We are continuing our quick sketches, but unfortunately I was unable to concentrate while at Hera’s site. I was mostly looking at my feet and where I was walking. The area is generally a swampy area, so snails are everywhere. They aren’t all big like in America, and most of them looked like tiny pebbles. I thought the crunching sound was pebbles at first, but then I realized that I had murdered about a hundred tiny snails. Ewww. Needless to say, I was glad to get out of there.

The monastery we visited afterward was pretty cool. The church was situated strangely within the walls, but in a neat way. It’s difficult to explain, so you’ll just have to go there someday to see for yourselves. I got a sketch from there that I will work on in the studio soon. The studio, by the way, is just the upper floor of the dining room at the hotel. No one but us is there at this point, so it’s okay to leave our artwork there on the tables. After the monastery, we visited another little town for lunch. Gwyn and I ate in a little playground. A small boy came to us and started playing with us. We understood nothing of what he said, but he was very friendly. I got a few good pictures with Gwyn’s camera of him and Gwyn playing together.

I suppose I should make some mention about the food in Greece, since I spoke so much about the food in Turkey. I’ve already said how awesome the tea is. I’ve tried various things with feta cheese. There was a breaded zucchini that I had the other day that tasted like pumpkin bread. The pizza is amazing in it’s own unique way. I’ve tried squid and octopus. Both taste like crab to me, and therefore they are delicious. The octopus was rubbery, as expected. The squid tentacles were long, skinny, and purple. This last factor grossed me out a bit, but the taste was good. I am definitely eating better here in Greece. I’m also eating more chocolate, because they actually offer something other than Nutella, which I really don’t like to eat at all. There’s a candy place nearby this cafe where I’ve gotten chocolate covered almonds. My stash is hidden in my closet at the hotel. Yum.

I hope all is well with you. More news to come later!

Love,

Ivy

Dear everyone,

For the past two weeks, we have been busy with Donia Lilly’s art workshop. We had our final critique session yesterday, during which Dan or David mentioned that I am heading in the way of Dali abstraction. I enjoyed drawing that picture the most, so I guess I like that style.

We’ve continued to visit various cities in Samos. My only regret is that I never got to step into anyone’s home to see what they look like on the inside. The outsides are beautiful. Every Easter-time is painting time, so people paint their homes fresh white. Also, white decorations are painted on the roads. Often it was a simple flower shape. We also visited a few monasteries. The churches were usually dark on the inside, because there were only lamps in there. Kinda creepy and gloomy. My favorite monastery was set on a mountain top, painted white inside (so the light was brighter inside), and the windows were bright colors. It looked like a child’s bedroom color scheme, but it still brought out the feel of a holy place with the arches and domes and stuff. Another favorite church of mine was located inside a cave. Absolutely creepy, but in a cool way.

The Mediterranean water is so clear! I have found that my fear of heights applies when I’m in the water and can see over ten feet below me. I’m working on this fear, but decided not to go snorkeling today because of it. Today is our free day, and I had opted to go scuba diving so that I could be close to the bottom. Unfortunately, the message got messed up about the number of people going diving versus the number of people snorkeling. So… now I can do other things! I’ve got fifty euros that I can spend on anything! I could buy a fancy meal (Or not. I prefer Greek gyros, which are only 2 euros), get another dress (I’ve already bought three, so I probably don’t need any more), finally get that sweater that I’ve been wanting this whole trip (If only I could find it), or I could just hold on to it. We’ll see.

Our abroad group had a talent show a week or so ago. We all laughed so much that our faces hurt afterward. Nate did a dance with his soccer ball. Hannah, Hillary, Bronwen, Lauren, and Makenna pretended to be the Spice Girls. Johanna demonstrated a cool tongue twisting thing that only she is able to do (we all tried it with her, that’s how we know). Gwyn sang a song from Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai (the one with Icarus, so it had a Greek theme). Brook and Guy demonstrated their mind reading powers. Guy and Ricky did interpretive dances that my mom would be able to appreciate. Ricky accompanied a lot of people with songs and dances by playing his drum. Joy made up a rap about the group and performed it. David did a bit of stand-up comedy, which involved eating oil pastels at the end of his act. Carey and CJ pretended to be siamese twins and did a few tricks. Heather performed the Jabberwocky. Paul sang a song about meatballs. Catherine taught us cha-cha steps. Dan gave an art demo with Carey’s arms being his arms. Alicia, Jodi, and Kayleigh did a dance to Weird Al’s “Amish Paradise”. Sara did her cool face morphing trick while singing along to “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” Donia did some animal sound imitations. And I quoted movies as I played the Links game. I chose to be bold with the “What About Bob” quotes and chose one of the Tourrets scenes. I lost it in the middle of it, but I made it through somehow. Everyone laughed, which was good. Johanna and I led everyone through a silly chant in the middle of the show, during which we managed to get everyone to admit that they were geese. Mwa-ha-ha….

That’s about all there is for now. We’ll be on a ferry for the whole day tomorrow, on our way to Santorini. Love to you all!

Love,

Ivy

Dear Family and Friends,

I am on the island of Santorini! We woke up by 6 am yesterday morning to take our ferry trips. The first ferry was huge and had plenty of room for semi-trucks and stuff. The second ferry was smaller, but much faster. We had stopped in Paros for a few hours. It was lovely, what we could see of it anyway. I drank too many cappucinos with ice cream in them. I thought I would be tired of ice cream after that, but the ice cream with hot gushy brownie that I had this evening was delicious. Ice cream will never get old.

Our hotel here on Santorini is located right next to the many switchbacks leading to the ancient Hellenistic/Roman city of Thera. It was quite a hefty hike. We stayed at the ruins for about four and a half hours to draw. I couldn’t make myself go back to using a pen after having spent two weeks working only with pastels, gouache (lovingly provided by my art buddy Kayleigh), and watercolors. I played with pastels. Mmmm…. I got plenty sunburnt while I was there, and have some pretty amazing tan lines. I kept my tevas off, so my feet at least are monotone.

As you have probably deduced from the title of this email, I walked down from Thera barefooted. Why did I do that, you ask? I did it to toughen up my feet so it wouldn’t be so painful for me to walk on the pebbly beaches we’ve been encountering. I want to run into the water, not step gingerly up to the shore. So, I made it back to the hotel after 23 switchbacks, 3 offers from strangers for a ride down, and a good variety of pebble, cobblestone, and cement paving. Yeah. My feet feel a bit raw, but I am able to walk around comfortably when I wear my nice cushy hiking shoes. It felt amazing to wash my feet in cold water. You have no idea.

I bet you’re wondering what I did immediately after my previous email. Well, I spent that afternoon shopping. I found a place that sold books! Yay! I bought three books in Greek: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (I was actually looking for the first one, but that was the only one they didn’t have. Oh, well. The third book was the best anyway.), Twilight, and something for my mom for Christmas. Um, I can’t tell you the title of the last book because this email happens to be going to my mom as well. Obviously. Anyhow, I’m pretty sure it was the books and all of the clothes I’ve been buying that have made my luggage unbearably heavy. I need to find a way to send some stuff home right now.

I will be visiting Io tomorrow, which is where all those amazing white buildings on many Greek postcards are. I’m very excited about that. I hope the buildings are just as pretty in real life as they are on the postcards. I will be in Santorini for a few more days, so I should be able to send one final update before I go to Crete next.

Love to you all!

Love,

Ivy

Dear Family and Friends,

Santorini was lovely, but I’m glad to be away from the crowded touristy streets. That isn’t to say Iraklio and Chania aren’t touristy. Santorini catered a bit much to the tourists, whereas this island still has a homely Greek feel.
On Santorini we went to Oia (pronounced EE-ya), which is a city that is often pictured on postcards. We watched the sun set there. It was gorgeous. The streets were crowded with people watching, and we all clapped when it had set. Another place we went to was Fira, which looks a lot like Oia. From there, people can take donkey rides down to the coast (I didn’t do it, but others in our group did), and boat trips to the caldera just off the shore. It was a hot day when we hiked the caldera, and I was glad when the boat took us to a “hot springs” area (which wasn’t very hot) to swim. We jumped straight off of the boat and swam to the opening leading to the lukewarm area.
We took a two hour ferry to Iraklio, Crete, where we spent two nights at Hotel Kastro. This hotel was probably the best one we’ve ever been to. It was air conditioned, had wireless connection, showers with curtains (a major plus), and warm sheets. For breakfast, there were delicious cakes and cereal as well (usually it consists of just bread, eggs, same old, same old…), and MINT tea. Oooooohhhh. So good.
While in Iraklio, we went to the art museum, where we saw a few ancient frescos and pots that we had seen pictures of in our art history class last quarter. I even saw the bust of a Roman lady that I remember looking at a picture of in a history book in middle school. I remember thinking when I first saw that picture: “someday I will grow my hair long enough to do that to my hair.” Speaking of hair, I had been thinking about cutting it lately, because it’s been getting so unmanageable. However, the shower at Hotel Kastro was so wonderful (no need to hold the showerhead, it’s already hanging!), that my hair finally got fully clean. It made all the difference. It felt so soft and smelled so good, I reconsidered my decision to cut it.
We also went to Knossos, where the labyrinth is. Gwyn and I went on a search for David Bowie, and found him in the form of a peacock just outside of the site. We weren’t allowed to go into the labyrinth, on the first floor, probably because they were still working on getting supports and stuff down there. It was really cool, though, what we did see of it.
The drive to Chania (the “c” isn’t spoken) took a few hours. About midway through, my bladder filled up to a painful extent. I was so glad when we finally stopped an hour later, but it was very difficult to find a spot to relieve myself. There were plenty of places away from the highway, but the other darned students were within viewing distance at the cove that they decided was a perfect place to swim. Grrr. In addition, there were a lot of prickly plants in the otherwise perfect spots. It wasn’t this difficult in Mongolia!
Finally we reached Chania. We woke up at 5:30 the next morning to catch a bus to the Samaria Gorge. It was about 14 kilometers of a hike downhill, so I and a few others decided not to do that. Instead, Joy, CJ, Makenna and I took a ferry to the other end of the gorge, and hiked in a ways to the most famous part of the whole trip, where the walls nearly touch each other. I sat there for a while, enjoying the view. The guide had estimated that the entire hike would take from 9 am to 3 pm, but imagine our surprise when we saw Gwyn at the end at 11:45! Dang, she’s fast!
The rest of our stay in Chania basically involves us working on our independent projects. I don’t remember if I told you in earlier emails what my project is, so I will tell you again now. I’m creating a graphic novel about the gods of Greece. I’ll be finishing up ten full pages, and the other pages will be sketches ready to be inked in. I’m trying to keep the project short enough to finish before the quarter ends, but I keep getting more ideas that make the project even bigger. Grrr.
On the abroad, we have had two “date nights” so far, with our third coming up tomorrow. Basically, we have dinner or lunch with just one person, and have a pleasant conversation. Otherwise, we’re in large groups and not getting to know individuals very well. My first date was with Johanna in Istanbul, and my second was with Lauren in Samos. Johanna asked me the first time, and I asked Lauren the second time because I didn’t know her too well. Lauren and I are a good deal alike, especially in terms of music tastes. We want to exchange iPods sometime on this trip, but we have yet to do that. Tomorrow, I’ll be dining with Dan. Should be fun. I also like the music he listens to. He played some rock classics on some long drives in Samos. My favorite is the one that has “Are we humans, or are we dancers?” in the lyrics. I’ll have to get Dan to write me a list when we’re on our “date.”
That’s about all for now. I don’t think I’ll have a chance to update again until I reach Athens next week, because the next place we’re going to in Crete is quite remote. I don’t remember the name of the place, but one fun thing we’re going to do there is have a water ballet contest. I think my group consists of Hillary, Nate, Gwyn, and Sara, but I’m not sure. I’m almost certain that someone will film it, so I may be able to refer you to a link on Youtube!
I’ll write to you later!

Ivy

Dear Friends and Family,

So much has happened! We went to one of the most beautiful places on earth after we visited Chania: Elafonisi beach! We stayed in some villas that were so comfortable and open! My villa housed Hanna, Cat, Jodie, Bronwen, and Lauren. I felt almost like I was in a dorm. There was a beach nearby that had pink sandy beaches, very clear waters, and very nude people. I would rather have done without the last item. At the beach, if you stand still for long enough, little white fishes nibble at your ankles. It was interesting, but also quite creepy at the same time.
It’s a wonder that we managed to focus on getting our independent projects done, with such a beautiful beach nearby. But, the place was so remote and quiet, we did manage to focus well. I managed to crank out two to three pages of my graphic novel per day, which was good. On the ferry trip to Athens (after about a week at Elafonisi) I managed to finish it overnight. I’ve never been comfortable sleeping in public areas like on that huge ferry. It wasn’t too difficult, then, to stay up all night working on my project.
Athens was okay. It was a bit too touristy for my tastes. When we visited the Acropolis, for example, I felt like I couldn’t get a good sense of what it must have been like long ago because there were so many people around with cameras, and saying such ignorant things like “will we be going to the Colosseum later today?” Oi. In case you didn’t know, the Colosseum is in Rome, Italy, which is an entirely separate city and country than Athens, Greece. The botanical garden in Athens was lovely. There were peacocks! So pretty. At one point, we found a quiet place where we could have our Wednesday meeting.
In between stays in Athens, we traveled north to Delphi by bus. Have I mentioned how much I love using public transportation? We took the subway to a bus stop, where we took a bus to the main bus station. Public transportation means I don’t have to focus too much on traffic (because I’m not driving), and that way I can look around. I also rarely get the opportunity to go on a subway, seeing that I live in a small town of 7000 people within a rural environment. Anyhow, enough of that. Delphi was awesome! It was great to have a museum housing artifacts from the site right next to the site. I got so excited when I saw the Charioteer, and then saw the place where it was found about half an hour later. After the tour was over, I spent about an hour or less at a spot and started my last drawing. I hurried through it, though, because there was one place that I’d been dying to see the whole time that was just off of the main site: the tholos of Athena. You’ve probably seen it on postcards or on any brochure or something that represents Delphi. It’s a circular base with stubs of columns coming up from the outer edge. Only three columns are complete, and have part of the frieze (?) on top of them. There are mountains surrounding the site. So pretty. The tholos ended up being much shorter than I had imagined, but it was still very cool!
Our last day abroad was fun and sad at the same time. Fun, because of the awards ceremony we held at dinner. Sad, because it was our last time all together. The seniors were the most teary of the bunch. I cried some. It was awful. Anyhow, awards ceremony! We each drew names for the person we would give an award to. I drew Ricky’s name, which couldn’t have been more fun! Ricky did a lot of pranks, and was often the life of the party. Having done some research on Greek gods, I knew that Hermes was the god of tricks and good luck, as well as communication (Ricky knew quite a few languages, and had a very easy time getting into conversations with strangers). I found a small statuette of Hermes, and gave it to Ricky like it was an Oscar, or something. Ricky, as only he is able to do, turned the award into a joke, saying I “gave him Hermes,” which sounds a lot like I “gave him herpes.” Augh. That man.
I got the “Most Endearing Swearer” award. For the talent show, I had quoted movies, and one of the quotes involved a man faking tourette syndrome. I had a hard time getting through that one, because I was laughing so hard. Everyone else was laughing because swearing was so uncharacteristic of me. That’s how I got my award. CJ gave it to me.
At five the next morning, Paul, CJ, Bronwen, Heather, Jodie, Kayleigh, Johanna, and I hopped into two taxis and went to the Athens airport. We all flew by British Airways to London, where we split up into four separate groups. CJ and Kayleigh flew on to Texas, Jodie stayed because she had a job lined up for the summer, Johanna got a flight to California, and the rest of us flew on to Chicago. I never managed to get a seat next to someone I knew, which was sad. However, I did get to sit next to a man who had been living in Turkey since last August, and we had a good conversation during the flight. I also had fun watching movies during the ten our flight from London to Chicago. I saw Life is Wonderful (I strongly recommend you see it), Memento, and part of Ferris Beuller (did I spell that name right?). After we got to Chicago, Heather and I flew together the last few hours to St Louis, where we got picked up by friends in a convertible. That was my first convertible experience, and I loved it! It was like a one hour long roller coaster ride, in terms of wind blowing through my hair, that is.
I was at Prin for about a week before graduation. I enjoyed having the opportunity to simply relax on the campus, as opposed to all of the other times when I’ve been stressing out about projects and stuff. I had finished all of my Greece abroad projects prior to arriving on campus, so I was free.
Graduation was okay, but I couldn’t help but be depressed by it all. It meant that we were all saying goodbye, and I wasn’t really able to hang out with friends because we were all being distracted by our families. I was quite grateful when it was all over with. My family and I flew back to California on Monday, changing planes in my favorite airport (Phoenix, because they have certain stuffed animals in a store that I love so much) on the way. We got to our home before evening, which was great because that meant I didn’t have to go strait to bed upon reaching home, unlike all of the other times traveling from Sacramento to St. Louis, or the other way around.
Pretty soon, I will be moving in with Colleen. Yay! I’ll also be looking for a job in Chico, and then… I don’t know. The rest of my life will begin, I guess.
Thanks for traveling with me through Greece! I hope you have had as much fun as I have! Ya sas! (Greek for hello and goodbye)

Love,

Ivy

Posted by: dankistler | June 10, 2009

Leaving and arriving

What is it that is difficult about leaving a city and country you have been living in for only short time? Why are airplanes and airports time machines? Do you really arrive home or do you just suddenly appear? Why does everything look so large, open and expansive? Walmarts are absolutely massive and why is this?
Over the past few days since leaving Greece and returning to the midwest (or really the mid as it is really the middle of nowhere and everywhere at the same time) these and hundreds of other questions have been flooding my thoughts. Although I was ready to return home and complete the abroad experience it was still difficult to leave. It feels like I have just barely gotten below the surface of what Turkey and Greece are as countries, locations, and people. I find there is so much more to know. I feel like I have left a great deal to see, experience and learn on future travels.
I have found the idea of sitting in essentially a long tube flinging itself through the sky a very strange way to spend time. I did not enjoy the man behind me who thought of my seat back as his personal punching bag nor did I enjoy the man across the aisle who seemed to spend countless minutes going through his stuff, standing in the aisle with his backside in my face. Then after he finally found all his stuff he promptly opened his can of soda and thoroughly doused me with sticky water. But I did thoroughly enjoy the British Airways professionalism and the use of the English language. Bravo and brilliant.
It is so strange to suddenly find yourself home again. The airlines and airplanes did their job of compressing time and making it seem as if by magic you are home. Coming home and seeing the family has been great. The other part of coming home that has been great can be summed up in two words- two wheels. Over the past few days I have had a chance to finally ride my bikes – motorcycle and bicycle. I had forgotten just how green this place is and how sweet late spring is and a couple of rides reminded me of this. The scent in the air is beautiful.
It is fun to make comparisons with places you have been and places at home. Shopping last night in a Walmart reminded me of just how big and spread out everything is in the states. The Walmart in Jerseyville could hold every single food market and store that I visited in all the time I was in Greece and Turkey and have room left over. Just one aisle is larger than most stores in Greece.
What I will take away or at least what strikes me as what has changed in me is the fact that I can be and need to be a better listener, to the world and people around me. When I take the time to silence my noisy mind and really listen I am constantly amazed at the richness and diversity of this world. I think the same is true of looking and seeing. Always making an attempt to “see with new eyes” and to leave behind my preconceived ideas of what I should be seeing.
I guess in life we are always leaving and arriving. This takes place daily in our lives. Leaving old ideas behind, arriving at new places in our thinking and seeing the changes that are taking place. Travel just makes this an even more deeply felt experience.
Special thanks to my 23 fellow travelers—companions and friends forever. This experience would never have been as rich and exciting without each one of  you. Let’s do it again!

What is it that is difficult about leaving a city and country you have been living in for only short time? Why are airplanes and airports time machines? Do you really arrive home or do you just suddenly appear? Why does everything look so large, open and expansive? Walmarts are absolutely massive and why is this?

Over the past few days since leaving Greece and returning to the midwest (or really the mid as it is really the middle of nowhere and everywhere at the same time) these and hundreds of other questions have been flooding my thoughts. Although I was ready to return home and complete the abroad experience it was still difficult to leave. It feels like I have just barely gotten below the surface of what Turkey and Greece are as countries, locations, and people. I find there is so much more to know. I feel like I have left a great deal to see, experience and learn on future travels.

I have found the idea of sitting in essentially a long tube flinging itself through the sky a very strange way to spend time. I did not enjoy the man behind me who thought of my seat back as his personal punching bag nor did I enjoy the man across the aisle who seemed to spend countless minutes going through his stuff, standing in the aisle with his backside in my face. Then after he finally found all his stuff he promptly opened his can of soda and thoroughly doused me with sticky water. But I did thoroughly enjoy the British Airways professionalism and the use of the English language. Bravo and brilliant.

It is so strange to suddenly find yourself home again. The airlines and airplanes did their job of compressing time and making it seem as if by magic you are home. Coming home and seeing the family has been great. The other part of coming home that has been great can be summed up in two words- two wheels. Over the past few days I have had a chance to finally ride my bikes – motorcycle and bicycle. I had forgotten just how green this place is and how sweet late spring is and a couple of rides reminded me of this. The scent in the air is beautiful.

It is fun to make comparisons with places you have been and places at home. Shopping last night in a Walmart reminded me of just how big and spread out everything is in the states. The Walmart in Jerseyville could hold every single food market and store that I visited in all the time I was in Greece and Turkey and have room left over. Just one aisle is larger than most stores in Greece.

What I will take away or at least what strikes me as what has changed in me is the fact that I can be and need to be a better listener, to the world and people around me. When I take the time to silence my noisy mind and really listen I am constantly amazed at the richness and diversity of this world. I think the same is true of looking and seeing. Always making an attempt to “see with new eyes” and to leave behind my preconceived ideas of what I should be seeing.

I guess in life we are always leaving and arriving. This takes place daily in our lives. Leaving old ideas behind, arriving at new places in our thinking and seeing the changes that are taking place. Travel just makes this an even more deeply felt experience.

Special thanks to my 23 fellow travelers—companions and friends forever. This experience would never have been as rich and exciting without each one of  you. Let’s do it again!

Posted by: greeceabroad | June 8, 2009

Epilogue

So the Greece Abroad is over (sad!) but my trip continues and I thought I would let all of you know how it is going.

It is going great! Guy Hillary, and I spent a few extra days in Athens so we got to go into more sites and really get to know the city. We eventually saw the M.C. Escher museum there and it was really sweet. Seeing the Metamorphosis print in person is pretty spectacular.

We arrived in Venice just yesterday after a two night ferry. Venice is pretty spectacular. No cars in sight, just boats, and the public transportation system here is ridiculous. There were probably 400-500 people on a boat that said its max capacity was around 220. Our hostile is really fantastic as well and is right on the water overlooking the city. We saw the Peggy Guggenheim museum yesterday which had some amazing pieces of work. I got to see my personal favorite piece by Picasso so that was a real treat. There was also a really exciting temporary exhibit on Rauschenberg there called “Glut,” which was about all kinds of excess. He used trash all over Florida to create these intricate pieces of scraps to put on a wall. It made me what I could put on a wall and call art.

What is really amazing though and is probably the single biggest reason I am not sad about missing graduation, is that the 53rd international Biennale art festival inVvenice opened just yesterday. It is a massive event here. Countries from around the world send their emerging artists here to blow the world apart. There is so much art that we just barely covered the first venue today. We started at 9:00am and got kicked out at 6am. My brain is fried because of all the amazing things I saw today. It was truly an amazing experience and we still have the other major venue to go visit it. There are also literally like 70 other venues through out the city by other countries exhibiting their most predominant artists. We talked to people in line for the event and it was amazing how many people came to Venice from all over the world just to see this. I feel so fortunate that we just happen to see this. It is on a World’s Fair scale. I think I might just have to stay longer in Venice.

Anyways I miss everyone… you guys should swing by Venice though, its pretty sweet. Congratulations also to all my friends who graduated! We did it! I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to walk with you all.

-Brook

Posted by: Brook Eschenroeder | May 31, 2009

The End is the Nigh

Haven’t had internet in a long time and it is nice to have a connection again.

It is hard to believe that we are going to be parting ways in just two days. I keep wondering to myself how the time we spent together can feel so short and yet it seems that Istanbul was ages ago. As a group we have just grown so close. I already said many of my goodbyes at the end of last quarter and I am dreading doing that all over again with so many of my close friends, new and old.

The abroad may be ending but the blog will be kept on-line as a way for us to keep in touch. I know that many of us were just too busy to write on the blog while traveling and, while I’m sure we will all be busy over the break, my hope is that as we look back on this trip we will be able to share some of our favorite moments or the ones that impacted us most as we think of them here with each other. For many of us another leg of our trips are just beginning and I hope that those of you who are doing other exciting things can keep us informed of how you are doing on the blog as well.

To start it off I thought I’d share one of my favorite moments from Elafonissi. We had an incredible place to stay, about 7 people in each of these 4 little villas which surrounded a swimming pool. One night we decided to try a pot-luck dinner where each villa was to make their own course for dinner using whatever we could find. It was really the first time I had cooked for any kind of large group and I used the one recipe that I know from memory. I made a giant vat of 25 potatoes with onions and carrots and rosemary, something I’m very grateful to my mom who taught me how to make it. They turned out fantastic which was a pretty big relief and all the other dishes (fruit salad, rice pudding, Paul’s meat dish, bruschetta, and hors deouvers crackers) were so tasty as well.We all had a feast outside as the sun set by the pool. It was so nice just to enjoy each other’s company and the food we all cooked for eachother. I’ll never forget it!

Posted by: CJ Green | May 26, 2009

From the pink sand to the bustling city

The group has finally made its way to Athens.  We just finished our lovely stay in Elafonisi, Crete for about a week.  I think I can speak for the group when I say that it was the best beach experience ever.  It is one of the few beaches that has pink sand.  Yes pink sand.  Also, the water was so warm and inviting.  There was a shallow section that people could walk across to get to a small island.  I truly felt at peace there. 

With only one week left (wow), the group is finally to the main land.  We have a pretty relaxing day here since we took an all night ferry.  I am going to go out to explore and perhaps even buy some more gifts for people.

Posted by: heatherjm | May 18, 2009

Feeling God’s Love everywhere

Hello all!   Haven’t written in this blog yet, and saw something a while back which I feel needs to be shared and hasn’t been, so here it is.  It happened in Santorini, on a hot, hot day when the Abroad group was exploring modern Fira.  There was a group of five of us, Brook, Dan, Jodie, Kayleigh and me, who decided to try and find a cheap lunch, an impossible task in Santorini.  We ended up at a nice little restaurant on one of the side streets which said it served sandwiches for 4 euro.  It neglected to mention that the sandwiches would only have a thin slice of cheese, anything else was extra (a big change from the filling 2 euro gyros we’ve found in Samos and Crete).  Despite the high prices, the restaurant was a very comfortable place to eat lunch, with a beautiful view overlooking the city and a very hospitable manager and waiter.

After the lunch, he came around and offered us each a piece of “Greek” (not Turkish) Delight, and then, as we were leaving, he came calling out after us, saying we’d forgotten something.  Turns out Brook had left his camera by his seat by mistake, and the manager came to give it back to him.  We were all relieved and thankful, Brook especially, and the manager continued on to explain that he’s always careful to check that his customers remember all their belongings.  He once had another customer leave his camera behind, and as the manager had no way of contacting the customer, he just kept the camera in his safe.  Two years later he got a customer who, he discovered, was a friend of the man who had left his camera at the restaurant.  The manager went to his safe and got out the camera, which the friend was then able to take back to the owner.

This story prompted Dan to tell a similar tale.  The previous year, when he and David and their sons were doing the scouting trip for this Abroad, David forgot a cell phone he’d bought to use while they were exploring Pythagorio, Samos.  He left it at a hotel they were staying at for a few days.  The next time they came back to the hotel was when we stayed at it this past month.  One of the first things the hotel owner did when we pulled up was give him that very same cell phone, which they had saved for the past year for when he came back.

These are just a couple of the stories of the people we have encountered going above and beyond to help us and care for us.  I am very grateful to see God’s one Mind connecting us all, and to feel His Love wherever we are.

Posted by: dankistler | May 18, 2009

Our scooter angel

5.13 Chania

Driving into Chania I am driving the first van. David and Joy are following in the other two vans. I have some idea of where I am going after checking out the city last June during the preplanning trip for the abroad. But since it took David and me three and half hours last time to find the old harbor and the streets are crazy, crazy, crazy saying I have some idea of where I am going is giving me too me far too much credit.

While sitting at a light a man pulls up next to us on a scooter. He is on the phone and talking very loudly. He finishes his call and looks over at me in the van. “Do you need some help?”, he asks. I tell him yes. I point to where we need to go on a map and he says “Follow me. I am going right there.”

He guides right to the spot. Right to the place we needed to go.

Our scooter angel all dressed in brown on his brown scooter with one big huge mustache and a smile to fill up the world.

Thank you.

Posted by: Brook Eschenroeder | May 16, 2009

Guy Walker: Charity Case

Dictated by Dan Kistler and transcribed by Brook Eschenroeder:

Okay lets set the scene: Hania Harbor, 10:30 at night, Ricky playing his drum, Gwyn is signing, and Nate is juggling his soccer ball, while Guy watches from the sidelines. A couple from Sweden walk up to Guy and asks if he is from Australia. They engage in a conversation about how to enjoy life while you’re young, not wait till your fifty. Guy asked them what they did and the husband does “black furniture” and I’m not even quite sure what that means. Guy gets their address and while they are leaving they give Guy 5 Euros and won’t take it back no matter how hard he refuses.

Okay I guess it was more funny if you were there but at least its something new on the blog right? Internet and especially time has been lacking lately. Okay Dan’s got another one about Guy here:

So, I’m walking behind Guy on the island of Santorini early morning, and I see three women pass guy going the other direction and just as they get near me, one women says to the other, “Do you you want to take him home with you?” That’s just like typical of the comments Guy gets when he’s out in public. Everyone talks to him or about him.

Thanks Dan. There’s no denying that Guy is a…

Yeah whats the word… I dunno, how would you describe that..? Not the life of the party… unique, unusual, intriguing, and approachable… how do you say that?…

I think you just did Dan.

And he’s always barefoot… always.

Well put Dan! Thanks.

Posted by: Brook Eschenroeder | May 8, 2009

The Island of Santorini

So no internet in our hotel but I found a signal in the little town of Kamari. It is quite touristy on the island of Santorini, and we passed maybe four cruise ships coming in on our blazing fast hydrofoil ferry, but anyone can see why. This island almost seems alien and is a world apart from the island of Samos. The island is basically a huge broken ring (caused by a gigantic volcanic eruption wiping out the ancient civilization here) surrounding a small inner island. Coming into the port, we were surrounded by dramatic cliffs 200 stories tall and a light haze on the horizon made the other island appear to be floating in the sky. The whole scene was completely bizarre, majestic, and looked like it came straight out of the exploration video game Myst. I’m actually thinking about making my own version of it here.

We got to our hotel and got settled and by that time the sun was setting and we split up to got to dinner somewhere. The group that I went with had a beach-side dinner and watched the moon appear on the horizon of the black, volcanic beach. As is got darker the moon started to reflect on the water and by the time we were just about done, the moon had stopped reflecting on the water in front of us. Instead, it created this really subtle line of light which reflected off the horizon, something I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. I hope to go out tonight with my tripod to hopefully get some pictures with a full moon.

This morning we went on a pretty major hike up to the ancient ruins which rest atop a mountain and were slightly preserved due to the volcanic ash. It is a pretty ridiculous place for a city but incredibly protected just because after your enemies get worn out climbing up the mountain, you only have to push them down to kill them. We spent a day up there drawing.

It was pretty hilarious though because all day there was this guard blowing his whistle at people for going off the much delineated path or not having their shirt on (like Ricky). It was definitely a case of someone having too little to do. It was unfortunate we could not explore more but it was pretty awesome to see anyways. Tomorrow we will be seeing all of the artifacts that Greece has in their possession of that site in their museum.

I uploaded a pretty sizeable batch of photos to flickr from today’s hike, yesterdays travel, and my hike with David Guy and CJ the day before. Feel free to check them out.

Older Posts »

Categories