Public Transportation...

On Monday, February 2, Sarah, Steph (Sarah's roommate), and myself went downtown to meet some other study abroad students at the other dorms that are closer to Aristotelous Square (downtown). We didn't have any bus tickets and when we finally realized that we needed to get them, we just bought them from the machine in the middle of the bus. Well, this was a little interesting because all of the directions were in Greek... NO PICTURES on this machine... Go Figure! We all just kind of stared at the thing and then a lady came up to us and asked if we needed help. What a life saver! We gave her our 3 euro (they are 0,60 euro each) and she said that we couldn't use that because it you can only buy one ticket at a time. So one of us would be without a ticket because that was all we had in coins. She reached into her pocket gave us three of her tickets and showed us how to use it. We tried to pay her for them but she just smiled and said that we didn't have to, that she was glad to help!

We got off at our stop and then called Katie Maack, one of the girls we were meeting. She told us to walk straight up the road until we saw London University and then turn right and keep walking up this road until you see the cemetary. She was going to meet us there! Sounds simple right!??!??! Well we didn't know it was over 12 blocks to this cemetary after you turned on the road by London University. We thought we were completely lost so we called Katie back and she told us to just stay where we were and she would come to meet us!

After about 20 minutes, she showed up with Dewey Thoner and we started to walk back to DYZEPI Taverna ("The Chicken Taverna"). The food was amazing... The chicken was so tender it basically melted in your mouth! We had fried zucchini, Greek salad, chicken souvlacki, and flan for dessert! The food was so good, I was surprised because it had a lot of onions and tomatoes in it all and those are not my favorite foods!
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Classes started this past Monday, February 9; Sarah Frost and I took the city bus home. I was ready for it this time because I had some tickets! We knew we had to take the #58 bus until it made a complete right turn and then get off at the next stop. Walk behind the bus across the street and then get on the #30 at that stop and ride that until the Vasilis Olgas stop!

The #58 came and it was so packed, we couldn't see through the windows to the other side. We decided we should wait for the next one because we had full backpacks and really didn't want to take them off to set on the floor because we had our computers in them and with our luck, something would happen to them. The next #58 came, and it was just as full as the previous one! We weren't going to wait for the next one so we squeezed our way on... Seriously talk about fitting 10 gallons of water in a 5 gallon pail!

We braced ourselves for take off; the city bus drivers do not have exactly what we would call smooth acceleration skills. It is kind of like slamming into a brick wall every time they take off. After a little while, I was like ok Sarah, I think the next stop is the one we need to get off at... She was like "Britney, settle down, we need to be on here for 15 minutes... It has only been about 5!" I guess I was a little anxious...

The bus made the full right turn and we found our stop, we got off and crossed the street to the next bus stop. Everything was going relatively well, surprisingly! The #30 came and it was about as packed as the first #58 bus... Fantastic... We were not going to wait for the next one because it would take another 30 minutes before it would come again. So again we squeezed onto the bus (this time it was like 20 gallons into a 5 gallon pail)... Crammed. There are 3 entrances and we got on the middle one. I could get all the way up the steps because it was so crammed; I thought it was ok though because I had a railing to hang onto and didn't have to frantically grab the rope above me everytime the bus slammed on its breaks and then took off like a bat out of hell again.

Boy was I wrong about standing in the stairway. When we hit the next stop, people were trying to get off on both sides of the stairs and I was caught in the middle. I forgot I had my backpack on and would turn one way, but the people behind me would hit my backpack and I would swing back the other way but then those people would hit my backpack... I felt like I was going in circles. I was also hanging onto the railing for dear life because there were so many people (trying to fit 3 people out a door for 2 and I was caught inbetween them all). I looked up and all I could see was Sarah laughing! I started laughing after that, but she said that the look on my face looked like I was about ready to be trampled in a buffalo stampede!
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The next day, Annie, Sarah, Kelsey, Steph, and I took the bus home and Sarah and I handled it like pros. However, it was a different story for the rest of them!!! When the bus driver accelerated, Kelsey stepped back to brace herself and stepped on a crabby old woman's foot (She got crabby after her foot got stepped on -- Who wouldn't??) But then Annie's bag swung back and it hit the railing right where this same woman's hand was... She was being attached by the brutal acceleration. She started whinning something in Greek and no one could understand her. She would point to her foot and say something and then hold her hand and say something else. I felt so bad... but then we couldn't understand her at ALL... It was so hard to keep from laughing just because we couldn't understand her and all Annie and Kelsey were saying was "Signomi, Signomi, Signomi, Signomi" (Signomi = sorry in Greek). That was all we knew how to say that would sound considerate. When we got off the bus, we all burst out laughing... It was quite a scene!
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I think my sole purpose for taking the city bus from now on is when I need a good laugh and when I need another STORY!!!

DIFFICULTY WITH THE ELECTRICITY AND MY GREEK GRANDPA!

I had a little difficulty getting the whole wall outlet conversion thing to work when I first got here and blew a fuse the first night I was here. I was just really hoping the outcome was not going to be like what happens in the movie "Just Married" when the whole building starts on fire... I know, a bit extreme but that is all I could think of at the time. I ended up blowing the fuse in the converter so I cannot use that anymore (Sorry Marcus... I cannot find a fuse here for the life of me).

I figured that the converter/adapter would be pretty easily found at an electronic store or I had heard someone mention that IKEA would have one. We were going to IKEA on Wednesday after orientation so I was sure I would find one there! Well, I was wrong… Every person I asked looked at me as if I was crazy and then realized I didn’t speak Greek so they found basically the only English-speaking employee to talk to me. He said they didn’t have one but to try ELECTRO-MART across the road. So Dewey and I ventured across the road and checked it out… NO LUCK! I was beginning to think I just wouldn’t find one and be stuck without a computer for the rest of my trip… I know over dramatic but I was not having a great day at the time either! On our way back to IKEA to meet the bus, we saw a McDonalds and an Applebee’s – who would have thought they would be in Greece! (I guess when I start to miss American food, I know where to go now!)

We got home from IKEA and I went to the little electronic store next to our building. I asked the older man, he really reminded me of a Grandpa, about getting an Ethernet cord because I had lost the one I had bought the day before (only 3 euro) and he found me one! It was 4 euro! The other stores sell them for 25 euro so I was a bit relieved when he said it was only 4. I asked him about my computer and then he brought me what he thought I was asking for. It was an adapter for a European plug to go into another European plug… Not what I was looking for. He told me to go back home and bring in my computer cord and computer and he might have a solution! I was so excited at this point! I went and got all of my stuff and brought it back! He found a cord that would go directly from my computer to the wall so I would not need the adapter. I was so excited but very nervous to see the cost of the cord. They sell in the States for about $40. I really didn’t want to pay that much for a cord but at the time that was my only option. He rang everything up (including my Ethernet cord) and the total came to 7.50 euro! It was only 3.5o euro! He seriously made my day!

As I was leaving the electronic store, I stopped and asked where the nearest pharmacy was so I could get some antibiotic cream for my finger. I had cut it on a knife in the drawer and sliced it open pretty far. I was using another girls antibiotic cream but it was almost gone so I needed to get some more. He really didn’t understand what I was looking for and then he was like “Show me; show me what you need the pharmacy for.” I showed him my finger and he said “Wait right here!” I did and when he came back, he had a box of Band-Aids and a bottle of antibiotic iodine ointment. He told me to take and when I asked him how much he said, “No price, just come back when you need more Band-Aids!” He was the nicest person I have met in Greece so far! I will always remember him as my Greek Grandpapa!

First Night Out On The Town!!! (Monday, February 2, 2009)

After we all got settled in, Sarah, Annie Mahoney (my roommate from sophomore year), Megan Cain, Sarah Grassel, 3 other girls and I were going out to find a place to have a few drinks and relax. We met up with about 12 other people from Αλεξανδρείας, my apartment building, and we all decided we could just all go together!

They said they knew of a place that was only a couple of blocks away... To me that means like 2-3 blocks... Apparently not to them... After about 10 blocks I asked one of the other kids if they knew where we were going because we had passed about 10 different bars/clubs on the way to this place. They said "Ok, so we don't really have a specific place in mind but we just thought we would keep walking until we found a place that looked like it would be a fun time.

I looked at Sarah and was like "Ok, I vote that we just turn around and go back to the live music bar I saw a couple of blocks/streets back towards the apt." So the six of us that were originally planning on going out together turned around and went to InSieme - Live Music Bar.

When we walked in, it was really dark and it didn't look like too many people were inside but there were a few. The waiter came up to us and took us to our seats (very different from the US, you usually wait to be seated in any place here). I started to look at the menu and realized there were no prices and that usually means that the stuff is expensive... OH BOY... I asked him how much a mixed drink was and he said everything is 10 euro (that is about $13-$14 USD)... I had to clench my jaw together to keep it from dropping to the floor. I could not believe that it was so expensive. I split my drink with another girl so we only paid half of that but still... it was outrageous. After a little while, the waiter came back and brought us some mixed nuts, plate full of bagel chips, dip, boiled eggs and caviar, and some sort of meat with vegetables. I was really getting nervous now because I was just thinking about how big the bill was going to be...

When he came back around and asked how we were doing, he saw that none of the food was touched. He asked why and Sarah asked him how much it would cost... He said "No, no it is on the house!" So we got a bunch of food and 2 big bottles of water (1 liter each) and the 10 euro paid for the singer as well! So all in all it wasn't that bad!

Throughout the night, the waiter kept asking us questions and asked us why we were in Thessaloniki and how we found this spot. We explained that we were studying abroad and were going to be here for the semester. He couldn't understand why we would want to leave the US to come to school in Greece... All we could tell him was that we wanted to try something different! Then he asked how long we had been here and most of us got to Greece the night before! He was like "And you are already out at the bar??? School must be tuff, huh!?!?!?" We then told him that it was ok because we hadn't started classes yet!

The waiter asked if any of us could speak Greek, and we all looked at each other and were like... ummm... nope. He said "I will be right back" (it sounded like "I vill vee righ bach") and then he went to talk to the singer. He came back and told us he asked her to sing something in English so we would feel more at home and comfortable in the bar! As the lady was singing, she came and got us out of our chairs and brought us to the front of the stage (it was set up kind of like the T-Bar has the stage in the corner but then the bar was right next to it.) She was like "OK, everybody dance!" She gave us 3 tamborines and wanted us to give her a beat!" It was so much fun!

Another lady that worked at the bar started throwing carnations in the air and we all started dancing on them. It is tradition for them to start throwing flowers when they have a celebration.

All in all it was quite a celebration and it was well worth the 10 euro we paid for a drink!

My Apartment in Thessaloniki, Greece!!

Hello again!

After leaving the Thessaloniki airport we arrived at our apartments, Αλεξανδρείας (pronounced Aleksandrias). They are definately bigger than a dorm room. About twice the size, however; you don't have a kitchen and a bathroom in your dorm room either.










































My apartment! Do you notice how close my toilet is to my shower??? You have to basically put your feet on the lip of the shower to sit down! It's just a little crammed! The bottom right photo is a picture of my key to my apartment. All the keys look like this... it reminds me of a puzzle piece!

You also do not have a fabulous view of the city from your balcony in a dorm room either!!
































View from my balcony, overlooking the city!


That is all for now!!


LOVE YOU ALL! Stay tuned!

Greetings from Thessaloniki!!!

My journey to Greece started out in MSP, flying to Chicago O'Hare airport, which took approximately 50 minutes. Crazy how fast flying is compared to driving! We literally reached the altitude we needed to and then started to descend again! As we started to break through the clouds on our way to the ground, there was a Northwest plane flying parallel to us. But no worries, we won the race to the runway!
If you look really close you can see the Northwest plane that we beat to the runway!





Dewey Thoner and I were going to meet up with Sarah Frost at Chicago O'Hare and give her some encouragement because it was her first time flying... (Not a good flight to start out on) 9 hours for her to Heathrow, London. But it turns out there are a ton of terminals in that airport and she was clear on the other end of the airport! We couldn't get passed security without having to go through customs twice and we really didn't want to go through all of that. We began to wait for our flight to board which took about 2 hours. A total of seven of us met up in Chicago and made the trip to Thessaloniki.
Me in the Chicago O'Hare Airport, on the way to our terminal to catch our plane to Frankfurt, Germany!








On my way to Frankfurt, I was relying on the fact that I would fall asleep but guess what... That didn't happen - go figure. So I watched Night to Rodanthe, two episodes of Grey's Anatomy (the same episode), and the beginning of Burn After Reading… I watched the map as we crossed the Atlantic Ocean and talked with Dewey for a while.


Morning finally came and I tried to watch the sunrise through the plane window but I was blinded every time I opened the shade. The flight attendants brought us our yogurt and piece of bread for breakfast and I think it was because of my nerves but I felt really sick. I really didn’t want to finish it but I didn’t know how long we would have before we could eat again and I was not paying the outrageous airport prices for food. Everything went down ok but I still had an uneasy feeling but once we landed in Germany it instantly went away! I was over half-way to Greece and only 1 time zone away!

As we got off the plane and boarded the bus (we got off the plane in the middle of the plane “parking lot,” near all of the gates that lead into the building. We got inside and then tried to figure out where we were going. After asking someone and then getting frustrated because we didn’t understand her directions, we just started walking in what looked like the right direction! It was but when we came to a T in the hallway we went the wrong way and had to go through customs on the wrong side of the airport. That was a fantastic experience let me tell you! I figured you couldn’t take liquids through security because Dewey had to throw his Pepsi away in MSP. So I hid my water bottle in my backpack… I knew they could see it but maybe, just maybe they wouldn’t say anything. Boy was I wrong… They pulled my bag aside and asked me to open it. So I did and they said they would confiscate the water bottle or I would have to drink it. It was my Nalgene bottle so I didn’t want to throw it away because then I would be stuck without a water bottle in Greece. So even though the thing was approximately all the way full, I started to drink it. The security guard starting chanting “ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh…” It was rather disturbing.
Then he was like “look at the beautiful frouline,” as I looked at him as if I was going to puke. I was not a BEAUTIFUL FROULINE at the time let me tell you!
Seven of the UWEC Students in Frankfurt!

After we made it through customs, we went back upstairs to try and find a place where we could get our boarding passes. After we found that we went back through the passport verification and ended up in the same spot we were when I had to chug my water! FRUSTRATING! We had gone in one complete circle and didn’t want to go through customs again. But at least I didn’t have any more water to drink! We read our boarding pass and that is when we realized that we had taken a wrong turn before so we went left and found our gate (after going through the other terminal’s customs – which were far less painful!).

After we found our gate and took a little time to rest, I ventured out to find a bathroom. After all I had just downed a huge bottle of water ;). So of course the stall that I go into has a little left over in it from the person before me. It was the only one open at the time and I had to pee real bad. I flushed it – BAD IDEA! In America, the water sits in the toilet and then as you flush it, it fills back up. Sounds pretty simple huh… NOPE. In Europe, the toilet is empty and after you flush it, the water washes everything down and then empties. Guess What! I didn’t know that. I flushed it and the water level kept rising… I didn’t know what to do… I just started to giggle (because I was tired) and pray that it didn’t flood the entire bathroom. It kept rising and rising and it finally started to empty after about 3 teaspoons of water came out. I have never been that scared in my life… I really didn’t want to be known as the AMERICAN that flooded the Frankfurt, Germany Airport bathroom.

After that little incident, I decided I should just go and wait for our plane to board. After it did, I settled down into the “comfy” plane seat that reclines about 2 inches and was as hard as a rock and finally fell asleep. I had maybe 30 minutes of solid sleeping in when Dewey tried to wake me up. Apparently I was out and he had to basically nudge me REALLY HARD. When I finally woke up, I felt really disoriented. My ears hadn’t popped yet from taking off and they were hurting pretty bad. But they finally did after looking like an idiot and moving my jaw around enough so that they would pop. The rest of the flight was pretty much smooth sailing.

I finally landed in THESSALONIKI, GREECE! I ACTUALLY MADE IT! I was in Greece! It felt AMAZING! Again, we were dropped off in this little plane parking lot and were told to walk toward the gates. As we neared the doors, there was a tall, muscular man calling out “All Americans come with me.” I ws getting a little nervous because we were not told that some random guy was going to meet us out in the parking lot. I was beginning to wonder what we were in for… Turns out they had all of our luggage on a pallet from MSP and it was taken to a different baggage claim so it was so much easier to find! We found our luggage and were greeted by the Anatolia – American College of Thessaloniki guide we were told about! Everyone for this bus run was in except for Sarah, because she was coming from London and it took longer. We all, there were about 13 of us now, sat out by the exit and just relaxed! I kept my luggage close to me in one of the little carts they let you use. There was this odd looking person that kept walking by and she made me kind of nervous. So I reached up to grab my purse and just set it by me. It was less than arms reach away and I could see it from where I was sitting so I thought it would have been ok. It was stuck underneath my backpack but I kept my hand on it as I got up to move my backpack. As I was turning to hoist myself up, my purse came free and as I looked up the girl was hanging onto the other end and smirking a bit. I was really nervous. She let go of it as soon as I turned around and it looked like she was just trying to help me get it unstuck but everyone else around me said she was trying to JACK it from me. I seriously think I would have cried if that would have happened. That was the last thing I wanted to happen at this point.
Landing in Thessaloniki!

Sarah got in and we all boarded the bus! WE were HOME!!! I couldn’t wait to go to bed!! Sarah, Dana bauer, Rohit, and I went out to get some din din and went to “SUBITOS” and the whole menu was in Greek. That is when I knew the language barrier was going to be pretty interesting throughout the next four months. I ordered what I thought looked like a club by pointing to a picture on the menu. It was a club and it was really good! I even ate the tomato off of it! I really didn’t care at that point! We got back I unpacked my stuff and clonked out! I had my alarm set for 1oam, it was about 2am at the time, and fell into my long awaited slumber! It felt so good to be laying in a bed, and not in a plane chair. 3pm came around and I finally woke up! I didn’t hear my alarm go off, Sarah came and knocked on my door, rang my door bell, and called me. I was zonked out!

All in all, I would say I had a fantastic trip to Thessaloniki, even with all of the mishaps!!!

LOVE YOU ALL! Stay Tuned!

The Text in Green describes the picture above it!