May 16, 2000

So this is going to be the final message in this journal. I went to Joanna's house and Sofia was there too. We just sat and watched tv. Alex called and we made plans to meet at 222 but hours later. Me and Joanna took her luggage to the house to get that out of the wy. We sat there until Alex called. We went to 222 and I had my last frappe. It was a bad one too. I was getting very sad about leaving. George came me a variety of teas. It was so sweet. We sat there for a long time but I did not care because I was dead tired. We all decided to go to Gus' for kabobs. Me, Joanna and Dina went and Alex was going to meet us with George. It was crazy in the store because the fan broke and they could not grill a lot of kabobs at a time. Christina came with Angela. We ate and then sat for a while so we could talk to Vicky a little too. Finally I said my goodbyes and went home. I cried a little. More because I felt bad for what I did to them then the fact that I was leaving. When I got home, I started fixing the luggage. Mom got up and was yelling and being crazy. Anyway. I was able to get two hours of sleep in. I woke up at 4 to shower and get ready. Mom heard me and woke up yelling again that I got up too early. She was planning on getting up at 5, fixing the luggage and being on the plane by 6:20. It is a good  thing I am anal about these things. Another crazy thing she did, I asked her to sew my pants a little and she only did one leg. We went to the airport and checked in. It all worked out very well with the luggage. Mom left and then I and to wait for one hour with Uncle Jim and Joanna. Not exactly the typical goodbye party. Finally the time came for me to leave. I cried saying bye to Joanna a lot. The plane was really nice. The seats were leather and I could actually sit Indian style in them. I slept most of that flight. My layover in England was very short and my gate was very far away. But I did have time to stop and buy my perfume, Dolce Gabana BY. When I boarded the plane I almost freaked. It was tiny and dirty and had that nauseating plane small. Luckily there was an empty seat between me and the other lady. She was a really cute English lady. She asked me if I was a yoga instructor beacue of the way I was bunching up int he chair to sleep. I had attempted to bring kabobs for dad but they would not refrigerate them for me so I had to throw them away. Anyway. I tried to sleep for most of the plane ride but it did not work well. It seemed like it was taking foreve. Then the pilot announced that we would be landing in one hour. I though we had three left. What I had done is changed by watch for England time then American or something but was off by tow hours. I was suddenly the happiest girl in the world. At the airport, I found mom right away. All of our luggage came in ok too. We went through customs and they opened the luggage with the olives but put them back. I went running out and Babs was calling my name. I left her all the luggage and I went running to my daddy crying. I was so happy. So then we all came home like a family. Rania came over that day and so did Sofie and Mrs Dina. It is really good to be home. 

May 14, 2000

This is many days later of so it seems. I never ended up sleeping that day. I tossed and turned forever. Mom told me that I could not go out so I decided to get up. Uncle Jim came by and picked up all of my luggage. Me and mom then went to Neon for dinner. We were home by 10 and mom went straight to sleep. I stayed up and was writing letters to Patty and Joanna. Joanna came home at about 12 and went straight to bed. She was pretty sick. A little while later Patty came over. We were supposed to go out one last time but that was not going to happen. Joanna actually gave me an attitude like I chose to toss and turn all night and to be dead tired all day. Patty left and we went to bed. I woke up in the morning to do some last minute stupid shopping. As I was walking, my feet started bleeding. I was wearing the same sandals I wore all last summer but for some reason I got bleeding blisters now. So I stopped and bought myself a new pair of shoes. I went by Vicky's for a little while. At 1, me, Joanna and Patty had a date and Takis for our last frappe. I was the first one there and Patty came a while later. We waited for Joanna but she did not come. She needed to so some shopping so she ditched us. I was very annoyed. But me and Patty just sat together and thought. She needed to spend a lot of money so we bought lotto tickets. Joanna and Patty then went to the airport and I went to Vicky's again. We ate lunch and then I came to Uncle Jim's. I started packing and I did a great job. There was a ton of stuff. Alex and Aunt Noni came by. They left and then Angela left and I was alone. I snuck a phone call to Babs to complain. I called Joanna then. She was very sick so she told me to go over. So I did. We started watching Ms Universe but I fell asleep. When it finished, I came home. I had problems falling asleep again. Listed to what happened to Patty. She go tot London at 9 and was supposed to leave at 12. What she had not realized was that was 12 the next afternoon. And they wanted her to take her five piece of luggage too but she told them she can't. Anyway. So this morning, I woke up and it was Mother's Day. The original plan had been to go with Vicky and Aunt Adi to the Hilton. Vicky had to see someone at the hospital so she couldn't. Then me, mom, Alex and Aunt Noni were supposed to go for coffee but that fell through too. So we decided to see Nick who had been bothering us for so long. He came and picked us up and we went by the house. We sat there and I was bored out of my mind. We lied so that we could leave. We came back home and ate a very good lunch. Now I am going to go to Joanna and then we are going to 222. Then next time I will probably write will be in the plane.

May 12, 2000

So yesterday Patty came and we went to 222. We just sat there doing nothing special. After a little while Joanna came too but me and Patty left because she had to go shopping with her grandmother. I came home to do my history essay. Then I went to school to take my last final. On my way there, I dropped my purple sweater from Alex and I thought I lost it so I was about to freak. Luckily, Kranin found it for me. The final went ok. I did it very quickly just to get out of there. I went and wrote my last emails from CYA and then I went to Vicky. I sat there and had a coffee until Patty came. Vicky gave me a really nice pair of earrings. Then we started heading towards home. We stopped in some stores on the way. When we got to her house, we attempted to repack her luggage. It was absolutely crazy. That girl bought so many things. She is going home with five luggage. We went through hell to get it shut but we worked miracles. She wanted to take them to her grandmothers but we were kind of late for our reservations. She went anyway and called and cancelled htem. In the meantime, Helen called and said she wanted to come with another group and we did not want that. So anyway, we decided we would go anyway so we all got dressed up and just walked in,  just me, Patty and Joanna. The menu only had one type of food with either chicken, steak or salmon. First the brought out French bread with this spread. It was green and buttery but I have no clue what it was. Then they brought the lettuce salad that had a delicious dressing. Next was the main course. I got salmon and the girls split the steak. Then they served these really think like French Fries and it was all covered in this sauce. Very good. And for dessert we had profiterole which did not thrill me. Afterwards, we went to Takis. Carrie came too. We sat there and had a drink until about 2. Bill came too. We had plans to go to one of the big clubs but Patty was dead tired and I could care less. So we cam home. I could not fall asleep for the life of me. It was horrible. I only ended up getting one hour of sleep. Dad called again, in the morning, no big surprise. I was supposed to meet mom at 9:00 to go shopping. She ended up coming at 9:30 with no money. We started fighting of course and she was telling me I don't know how to clean. We sat at Vicky's a little and then I went to the academic center. I ended up getting an A in Greek, a B in Art & Archaeology, a C in Byzantine Art and those are the only ones out so far. From there I stopped by the dining hall one last time. Then I went shopping! I bought some gifts for people and a lot of purses. It was so much fun. Me and Joanna then started packing up our little apartment. It is very strange. Mom is here too but she is sleeping. I think I am going to try to do that for a little while too. 

May 11, 2000

Yesterday morning I woke up extra early to go and study for my Byzantine final. I wen tot school and did not do too much. I guess that is why I did not do too well on the test either. I came home afterwards and mom came over too. I took her to Everest for lunch. Joanna and Patty went shopping but once again, I could not go with them. We stayed home a little bit, then I took her to the academic center to meet Nadia. She left and I sat there and productively did homework. Alex called so we could make plans but the lines got cut off. I got sick of waiting so I went to Uncle Jim's. Anna was getting ready to go on vacation. Alex finally called back and so did Kathy, at the same time.. twice. I needed to see Kathy, because she was leaving for Mykonos today. We decided to meet at the house. I said bye to Anna and then Uncle Jim drove us htere. We sat and ate. Larry came afterwards too. We were saying for me to sleep over but I decided to come home. Patty and Joanna came back from their soccer game. They had a great time. Then we all went to our respective beds. I wanted to wake up early this morning to go shopping but that did not happen. Who cares. I was tired. Now I am waiting for Patty to come and I am going to go for coffee. 

May 9, 2000

I only have a few days left in Greece and now I am starting to slack off on my journal writing. I guess it is either because I am too busy or too bored or simply too sick of being here. Yesterdays was the first day of finals. Greek went pretty well as expected. After the test, I came home and sat like a very good little girl and read for history. I think that test went ok too. I did a lot better than the other times. We hung out at the academic center for a while, then Joanna and Patty wanted Everest. We went to Metropolis too and I did some cd browsing. I was meeting mom and Sofie and Vicky's so we could go eat. We went to Ciao and had pasta. Mine was too spicy. Mom and Sof got one with shredded chicken. Afterwards, we went to the computer lab because Sofie needed to use the internet. She walked me home with a stop for ice cream. I wanted to study but I could not concentrate so I cleaned and went to bed. Joanna had gone to her cousins house because it was her birthday. I woke up early today to studay. I went to the academic center and read until I realized that no matter how much I studies, I would not be able to keep anything straight. The test was really hard (Attic Tragedy that is, and the second one yesterday was history). He asked easy things but no one thought they would need to study them. It was funny because Babs called in the middle of it and I actually answered. Later we met Angela, Anna and Sofie for coffee. We sat there for a pretty short while and then I came home to do some homework. Mom went to talk to people about coming to school here and it is pretty  much not happening. Mom went and got some teeth pulled today. Yesterday they introduced new mini Bake Rolls and they make this in pizza flavor. Not only that, but Greece got BBQ Ruffles.. 

May 7, 2000

Yesterday morning right now I cant even remember what happened. Mom came home from  the village pretty early and she came over. She brought with her some of Theia Pat's yummy pita. We sat just the two of us because Joanna had gone shopping again. When Joanna came home, we just sat some more. It was a very lazy morning. We wasted a beautiful day. Something weird happened though. I was packing my box and all of a sudden my legs got very itchy. I started jumping up and own. I lifted up my pants to see what it was an my thighs were bright red and puffy and burning. We put on some of Joanna's allergy cream and the itching stopped. I had packed my Benadryl so Joanna tried to find a pharmacy but had no luck. Luckily it passed on its own but I have no clue what it was from. Anyway. Barbara got back at around 5 after having left at 9 from the village. She said hat they kept stopping every hour for thinks like grapefruit. I forgot to mention that the bus I can home on even had a tv screen that they played a movie on. Babs and mom started fighting as usual. We got Bab's things ready and then we started getting ready because it was her birthday. First we went by Vicky's house. We sat there until Vicky got ready. Then we went to Gus to eat kabobs. I met some Americans from Michigan. I had to help them order. It was funny because they were asking about clubs and totally hinting for us to invite them with us. After dinner, we went to 222. Slowly everyone started ocming. We had a few drinks and cut a cake. I told Vicky to get a cake but she couldn't since we were going together so she called Alex but she had no ay of getting one so she called Angla. Personally, it made me sick. From there, we all went to Diplo. We danced and had fun. John at one point was not feeling too good and actually fainted. It was scary. We left at 4:30 and a bunch of us came home. We got some things ready and headed to the airport. It was actually not the saddest goodbye. At the club I was really sad because I felt like she was leaving and that I would be stuck here miserable again. We came home and slept for the night at 8am. I woke up at about 1 today. Mom came over with food and practically force fed me. Then the rest of the day was kind of boring. I sat and read about Alexander the Great. Mom slept for hours. When she woke up we had coffee together. Then Patty called and told me to go by her grandmother's to studay. We actually got no studying done. I really love that girl. I met her grandpa too and he is adorbale. Now I am home. Joanna just got back. She had gone to the goodbye party at the school. I have some studying to do now so I am going to stop writing. 

May 5, 2000 Part 2

Angela called and said she wanted me to go shop with her for Babs. I was thinking of going by the house anyway so I went over first. We ate tuna salad and rice with vegetables. They actually warm up the mayo which was kind of gross. Mom called and she did not come today. Uncle Jim had car problems so he went to get it fixed. They are going to leave bright and early tomorrow. We sat around the house for a while and Mrs. Dina called me again. She is so cute. We want shopping. I bought some make up at Hondos Center. Then the girls got Babs a funky necklace from the place by Vicky. We went to see Vicky for a little bit, then we went to Dinks for coffee. I am enjoying the time I spend with them now. They walked me home and left. Joanna was home already and she bought me a plain cute tank top. It was so sweet of her. She bought herself a lot of cute stuff. We spent the night at home literally doing nothing. Patty came over now and we are just sitting. 

May 5, 2000

Yesterday was officially the last day of classes. In a way, I totally don't feel it. That i probably because I still have so much to do . After class, I went and did some grocery shopping and bought a bunch of stuff that I have wanted to try and hopefully eventually will. Then I went back to the academic center and worked on my paper like a good girl. We were supposed to have our farewell party but the weather was bad so they moved it to Sunday. I was so relieved. So I went to Greek class and then I had plans to meet Sofie for coffee. I stopped by Vicky's first and then we all went to Dinks. Me and Sofie talked alone a little and she was very understanding. Sofie had a great time on her study abroad program and t travelled practically all of Europe again. We all walked home together and then she left. I stayed up till 4am working on my paper. When I finally finished it, I could not fall asleep from the coffee I had drinken. I woke up, or actually daddy woke me up, at 7:40 so I could go hand them in. Then I went up to the computer lab and got myself addicted to free dell. When I came home, I tried to sleep but for some reason it did not work. I got up and packed and did some other things. Patty came by and her and JOanna went shopping. Now I am waiting for mom to come home so I can go by Uncle Jim's.

May 3, 2000 Part 2

Some little things I forgot to mention earlier. Joanna came back from her village. She had an allergic reaction to something and has pimples on her face and back. The freaky Liz was talking and mentioned her father's boyfriend. I realized that I did not have ice cream even once in the village this year. Anyway. After history class, we went and sat in the academic center. I had all these plans to work on my paper but I ended up sitting there watching the Simpsons. I tried calling Sofie a few times but they were not home. At about 9, I realized nothing was getting done so I came home and did some small stuff. We were supposed to go out because Minnie is leaving tomorrow but we were too lazy. She will probably be mad but oh well. I am following orders. 

May 3, 2000

Continuation. We woke up only after 3 hours of sleep because we promised Aunt Irene that we would go for breakfast. When we were getting ready, I went to put on my contact and it really stung. Then I realized that I had soaked them in hydrogen peroxide. Anyway. We went and ate. It wasn't too good. We had planned to walk to church but of course mom opposed that. I got upset because I thought I could after being so good with food these days. At the end, we all got drived. We ended up getting to church very early so we were standing outside forever bored out of our mids. I fell coming out of church too because I can't walk in my glasses. Finally church ended and they started dancing right away. Everyone was dancing. We hung around and mingled a little bit. Then we went to visit Uncle Mitch and Ari and her family were there too. It was really nice. We stayed there and ate lunch. Their cousin was there too and she could have been my god-sister if we had stayed in Greece because her dad is mom and dads koubaro. Gus drove us down and we went to Aunt Irene's house. I went to say by to George and Uncle Chris. It was not at all a sad goodbye this time and I don't think it will be with anyone this time. We went back to Aunt Irene just to kill itme. Then we went back down tot he house because I have to get ready to leave. Me, Angela, Anna and Dina were all going home on the 8pm bus. I went back up to Aunt Irene to say bye but they were not there. Uncle Jim drove us to Filipidada. There were a lot of decent looking guys on the bus. There was a ton of traffic going to Antirio. We saw a burning car on the side of the road. After Rio, I fell dead asleep and we got home at 1:30. We went to get a can and the guy said that his meter was broken. So Angela told him it was about 1000. He said that she was ripping him of but told us to get in anyway. When we got to the house she went to give home 1500 and he got all pissed because he said he did not want her to think he was ripper her off and that he deserved it. Whatever. She really gave him more than enough. I went straight to sleep when we got home. I was the first one up this morning and I left right away. I should have mentioned that we all slept at Uncle Jim's house. I went home, unpacked, showered and came to the academic center. I emailed a little then did some homework. I have a whole lot to do this week. I have a feeling I am doing to fall back into my old ways. 

May 2, 2000

Yesterday was May Day. I got up early and got things ready to go to Galini. I called to wake up Babs and she could not get up because she had only slept for two hours. Uncle Jim drove us to Uncle Pete. George was there with the family. We just sat and talked for a while. Then we decided not to kill time to George drove us to Uncle Mitch but he was not home. So we went to Aunt Denise while he went shopping. He is cool. We were listening to a good tape so he gave it to me. We went back up to the house for lunch. I ate the best pastichio I have ever had and some good lamb. Dad wanted to mom to light a candle at the church so we walked over there and then George drove us back home. I took a really good nap for a while and then got up to go and dance Kaggelari again. There were so many people dancing. I would say close to 200. They only dance about three dances. We all went home and got ready very quickly. Then we went and sat at the cafe with Uncle Tom because it was his birthday. It was funny because Christina kept saying how bad she wanted a juice but did not order one because no one offered to pay. From there we went to Aunt Irene's house because we had to wait for Angela and Anna to get back from Arta. We were all getting hungry and antsy. Finally they came and we went to eat. I wanted to eat light so I ordered a plain chicken breast but he brought me a half chicken and I died again. It took them ten years to bring us our bill. We did not leave until about 12:30 and we went to the bar. There were a lot of people again but we sat outside most of the time. Kathy got a little tipsy. Supposedly the night before she was piss drunk. Too bad I missed it. We went home at about 3. I slept and Aunt Noni to spend time with the girls but we fell dead asleep. 

April 30, 2000

The first place I went was Aunt Irene's just to say hello and to see if anyone was around. Then I went to Alex to wake up Barbara so maybe we could go see people. We went back to Aunt Irene's because mom had to sew Barbara's outfit. I got os bored so we went back up to Alex. I was really hungry too so I ate their entire pot of pasta. Then we went to Helen's house a little bit and saw Steven's tree house. From there we went home to take our afternoon naps. So pretty much we did nothing productive. Mom is really lazy to go anywhere which is really bad because she is not seeing anyone. When we woke up, we started getting ready for church because there were a lot of us and there is only one mirror in this whole house. Grandma though my skirt was way too short. We went to church at about 11:30. It was weird because the men sat on one side and the women on the other. THey went outside for the resurrection. It was weird. I did not feel like it was Easter because they sang a little differently. They set off firecrackers too. After that, everyone just went around kissing each other. We were supposed to eat and Uncle Jim's but we did not like the food. Aunt Irene invited us too so me and Babs went there. I felt right going there but Babs didn't. We ate turkey and the best bread. It was one of the best meals I have had here. Then it was time for the party at the bar. It was packed like crazy in there. We stayed until about 5 and then came home. This morning, we woke up fairly early considering. We had to go to Natasha because it is her Name's Day. Mom is so lazy that she made John drive us there then she told him to go to Aunt Noni's so he could drive us back down later. So that is when we officially started the eating fest of Easter Sunday. I had a cookie and a piece of sweet bread. We just sat for a wihle. Dad called and told us about Easter in CHicago. He almost missed the liturgy because he was sleeping. It was 30 degrees too. After that we went to Aunt Noni. Helen and them were there too. Milt was roasting a lamb and I had a bunch of that along with half a cookie. Then it was time to come down for lunch. Uncle Gus did not cook the lamb well. But that did not stop me from stuffing myself with salads and tons and tons of bread. Uncle Jim got up and started dancing. It was so unexpected. Then we wall got up and danced a little. For dessert we had a small bough dessert and a chocolate covered cherry. Next was George's house. All four of the cousins were there. We had a cake with orange so I had a piece. Of course I said I like it so they gave me another one. And then of course I had to try a cookie. We had planned to go to Galini but Alex called and said they were going to the river. We did not stay long. THen we stopped at a gas station and got some ice cream. Then we stopped at some ruins and then we came home. We heard that they were going to dance Kaggelari at the square so we went running up. Nothing was going on so we went to Aunt Irene's I was falling asleep so we decided to go for a wlke. Then people started dancing. So we joined in and danced. It was no big deal today htough. Afterwards, we went back to Aunt Irene's. Everyone was going to go to their houses to get ready for the bar. I was so lazy to do that. The say seemed so long and I felt like it was really late. I just wanted to hand out for a little and just go home early today. We, as in me and the two girls, sat at the cafe for a little and then we came home. Paul came over for a little bit and now I am going to take a shower and kick back and relax.

April 29, 2000

Yesterday morning John was supposed to call and wake us up but he didn't like I expected. So we woke up by the alarm clock game. We got ready and cleaned and did things calmly. Then we went to the bus station and met up with the girls. There was crazy traffic leaving Athens. It took us 4 hours to get to Rio. I was ok with the whole thing but I do not think mom was having too much fun. We got to Filipiada at 4 so it was not too bad. It was so cute when mom saw grandma. They were both crying. We sat and ate some really good fasting food. Then we went up to Aunt Irene. Elena is not the cutest baby and she is really huge. Pat and Dina cleaning intestivnes. It was quite appetizing. There were shits coming out of everywhere. We sat there for a while and then came down to get ready for church. The liturgy was very nice. I saw a lot of the family outside. It was a whole bunch of those uncomfortable hellps. Then we went and sat at Aunt Irene's again until it was time to go to the bar. We sat in the square because we had to wait for the guy that drove Babs to the village to come. He seemed nice and looked like Leo. We went to the bar. Matt and Larry were there. Angela wanted to leave even though I did not want to. Alex walked us down and we talked. Meanwhile, I ate a bagel and almost half a loaf of bread. But I think this visit is going to be good. Alex was very understanding and I know she loves me and is going to stand by me. She is a good role model. I talked to Aunt Irene too. Generally, people are seeing me happy and they are relaxing. I am just afraid that I am going to have too much fun that I am not going to want to leave. I know for sure I don't want to go back to Athens. Anyway. This morning, I got up and went to church for communions. So I am going to get ready to start making visits. 

April 27, 2000

Last night me and mom had the scare of our lives. We got a call from Gus at 2am saying that he was in Filipiada and that he could not find Babs. I told him I thought she was stopping in Lelova. We did not know what to do so he was going to drive there. He called back at 4am saying they had not found her yet. I freaked and started crying. Uncle Jim had gone looking for her too. They called the police and there were no accidents reported. The worse feeling was that no one could do anything. Then she finally showed up at Kosta's house. But poor Uncle Jim was still driving around and no one could tell him that they found her. It turns out that she fell asleep and missed her stop and got off in Preveza. She did not know Natasha's phone number so could not call her. Some guy was very nice and drove her all they way to the house. Now this guys is 23, somehow tied to the village, studying engineering in Athens and potentially coming to Chicago for his masters. Anyway. Me and mom woke up at around 9. We got ready and went to the academic center. Then mom went to Vicky and I went to change the date on my ticket.  Then I went to Vicky for coffee. Mom came and we did a bit of shopping. Then we went home because she made me spinach rice for lunch. And she bought some delicious strawberries too. We spent the afternoon at the house watching tv. Then we came home and packed our stuff. I got a nice surprise phone call from Mrs. Dina and then John came over. We talked about stuff. I really love that kid. After he left, I ate, shaved and did some work. Now it is time for bed an din the morning time for the village. 

April 26, 2000

This morning we had class at the Byzantine Museum so that was cool because we were so close to home. After class, we came home and Angela came over. We just sat around until it was time for them to leave for the airport. Then me and Joanna wen to the dining hall and from there to the academic center. I got my ticket changed for May 15th, the same day as mom. I was very anxious to go home so I asked Niki if I could not go to class and she said yes. I got home and mom had just gotten there. She was me and we both started crying. But it was more of a good cry than a bad cry. She was so relieved to see me and I was so happy to see her. I just feel so secure and relaxed. She just looked at me and understood me. I guess that is what they mean when they say mother's instinct Patty came over and then Joanna came home and got ready to go to the village. Then Angela came and they all left to go to the bus station. Me and mom got ready and took a nice long walk Then we looked for a restaurant but could not find anything we liked so we got in a cab to head for Plaka. Anyway, we sat at the first one we saw. All of the food we had was horrible but it was so damn expensive. Mom was way too tired to walk home so we went crazy crossing streets to get a cab. When we got home she got all cozy and went to bed. It was a very rainy day today and my poor mommy got cold. I just of the phone with John and we had a nice tlak. I am going to try to see him tomorrow. I have 19 days left here in Greece and I am going to use them to relax and enjoy myself and the time I have with my mommy and sister. Everything is going to be ok. 

April 25, 2000

I got a call fairly soon after I woke up (I don't know why I wrote woke up, I meant went to bed) and it was mom for about the fourth time today. She said she was coming tomorrow. Then I went back to sleep and mom woke me up in the morning. She was cute. She asked me if I wanted her to shop for me. We had our first class at the Dionysus Theater so we had to leave extra early. The teacher was actually cool today and did not talk for long. Me and Joanna went to Plaka after and just walked around. Then we went to the Acropolis for our other class. It was so cold and he kept us really late. I came straight home to get ready to go to Vicky because it is her birthday today. When I got there, they were at Pizza Hut with Maria and Nick. We sat there and then went to her store. I had a doctors appointment so me and Babs went ther. He found nothing wrong health wise. Then we went to Greek class together. First though we went to the academic center and I introduced her around. I took her to Nadia and Bas mentioned wanting a job and Nadia said she would call some people and Babs got all excited. After Greek we went back tot he academic center and ordered pasta. Me and Babs came home because Alex was on her way. We had made plans with the girls from school to go to Takis. Then Angela was coming to sleep over. At the end, Babs went with Alex, we did not go anywhere and Patty came over. Angela and Anna came but are not staying. So now we are all just sitting reading Cosmo. Dad called and mom is on the plane. 

April 24, 2000

Today I had to go to class and after this weekend, it felt as if I had not gone in forver. I sat there writing out Easter cards and I was writing to Renee and I started crying. After class, we went to Vicky's Barbara was doing all of her shopping. From there we went to the dining hall for lunch. Babs got mad because she saw how far we walk everyday. I introduced Babs to a lot of people just so she can know. Me and Joanna went to class and Babs stayed home. We came home after class and Alex and Christina were over. We went and did some shopping. I bought a really cute shirt. Babs got hit on by some guys that was really freaky. We went to Goody's for dinner and then me and Joanna came home and Babs went to Alex. Someone called and said to go to Hagen Dazs and I said we were just staying in. I thought it was Patty. Then two seconds later the doorbell rang and it was Patty. I started talking to her about the phone conversation and she thought I was nuts. So pretty much we have no clue who was on the phone. Anyway. I am going to bed early today.

April 23, 2000 Part 2

Barbara and Joanna woke up and we slowly got ready. Joanna opened her present from Billy and it was just a bunch of the funniest junk. Me and Babs left to go to Uncle Jim and we told Joanna we would meet up with her. We took a cab and the charge was 800 and I gave him 1,000 and he told me he was keeping the 200 as his gift. I was so damn confused but of course I did not say anything. Later we found out you tip extra for Easter so I understand. Angela had found out about Barbara so it was not a surprise. We sat there for a while and just talked. Then Angela said she was going to make us lunch. In the meantime, me and Babs went to see Uncle Gus. The whole family was there. We did not stay long at all. Christina came back to Angela's with us. Angela made pretty good cod. And I ate lima bean soup which tasted just like moms so I was in heaven. Then I called mom and dad. We talked and I told them I wanted to go home and I think it made them happy even though it upsets them that I did not say it sooner. Me and mom made plans for the weekend too. She is going to come on Friday and we are going to spent the day together and then Saturday morning we are going to take the plane to Giannena. Me, Babs and Angela left and come home where we met Joanna. We went to Hagen Daz for ice cream and then we went to Vicky's house. We sat there for a little while. After that we finally met up with John for coffee. He has gotten himself involved in politics and with their older helpers if you know what I mean. But he seems to love his life. Sofie is coming on Saturday too. We cut it pretty short. We did not know what we wanted to do for dinner. We had planned to go to Gus' but we felt uncomfortable. Oh, on the way to meeting John, we snuck in to surprise Dimo. He just had the hugest smile on his face. We ended up at Pizza Hut for dinner and I loved it this time. Babs spent the night at Vicky's and me and Joanna cam ehome. We had a little talk again and this time it was the honest truth and no excuses. I'm happy!

April 23, 2000

Yesterday morning me and Joanna were so dead asleep that we did not hear our wake up call so they had to come pounding on our door. We went to breakfast and they served the hardest toast in the world. Then we had to go shopping for our picnic lunches. The bus took us to Mystra and dropped us off at the bottom. We climbed all the way up. It was quite a hike but it was beautiful up there. We started walking our way down and we were stopping at all the churches and looking at them. We walked all the way out and sat to have our picnic lunches. Then we headed up one more time so we can take our final. It was kind of raining too so we had to sit inside the church. And it kept on switching from hot to cold so I spend a whole lot of time putting my jacket on and off. In terms of context, I definitely did not do as bad as last time. I put some stuff down that made sense. We were supposed to go to Ancient Sparta but thank god she cancelled that. We stopped in Sparti for bathroom. I went to a kiosk and saw that they sell jelly beans. So naturally I got all excited. I asked the lady how much they were and she said she did not know. So she asked me what the box said and I said it did not and she did not say anything. They were with the small boxes of m&m's so I showed her those. She said she did not know. I told her that I wanted to buy them and I asked her what I should do and she told me to pick something else. I told her I did not want anything else and she told me I can't buy those. Can you believe that? So I threw them down and I left. I went to a little super market then and was late to the bus. From there we came straight home with a stop and Goody's and we actually made good time. Alex called and we made plans for that night. She had gone to the airport and gotten my package. The pen changes to purple now because from this moment on I became the happiest person. At about 9:30, the doorbell rand and I went to answer it because Joanna was in her bathrobe, which Joanna usually answers the door. So I open up and I see Alex standing there with some girl. I was kind of just staring at her because I thought she was Anna although she did not quite look like her. Then I realized who it was... BARBARA!!!! My mouth dropped. I was totally speechless. I was talking to the girl about her luggage. Anyway, we got ready and she got a little settled and we headed out. We called Vicky and told her to wait before she goes out because we were going over. Me, Joanna and Alex walked in and closed the door. Then Barbara came and rang the bell. When Vicky opened the door she freaked of ocuse. She called Natasha and her parents right away. She cancelled her plans to come to 222 with us and we called Anna to come too. All they way there I would not let go of her. We had a mini party there. I twas me, my sis, and Joanna, Alex and Kathy, Vicky, Patty and Bill came. Then Anna came, She was making the round of hellos and when she got to Barbara she almost had an asthma attack. We sat and then Babs got tired so me and her came home. Of course we did not sleep for another three hours. She was showing me stuff and I was showing her stuff. And of course we had a big talk about my problem. She said she got scared when she saw me. It turn out though that I am going to go home about after a week after school lets out and the truth is, I could not be happier. Then have it all arranged at home for me to go to the doctors and a psychiatrist. This is such a load off my back because I said I would do it on my won but this is going to make it much easier. Of course I am so embarrassed to go home. It is going to be very hard for me to face people. This is going to take a lot time but since my sister waked though that door, I knew everything is going to be ok. Vicky even said that she has not seen me happy like this since I have gotten here which I have not bene. And this morning, I woke up and at a whole bagel and I didn't even feel bad about it. And of course I should also mention that I am going to see my mommy on Friday!!! We went to bed really late and I got up early for some reason. I am waiting for Babs to wake up now so we can go surprise more people. 

April 21, 2000

We made it to the bus at 8 like we were supposed to. I did not sleep for a single minute of the night so I passed out on the bus. After the first rest stop, I did not even realize that people got on the bus or that we went anywhere. We stopped in Corinth and went to come ancient sites. Then we went to a place that they were excavating. It was cook because there people were actually discovering new stuff. Some guy was talking to us forever and I have no clue what he was talking about. From there we went to Acrocorinth and ate lunch. Then we went inside and she just let us wander around. We just hung out there because we were too lazy to walk. From there we went to see the monastery Coulson is doing her dissertation on. I was dead asleep on the bus again but supposedly the bus driver is an idiot. He did not know where he was going and Coulson was trying to tell him but he would not listed. Then he kept stopping and asking for directions. Anyway, after being cored at the church, we stopped and Nafplion for a littl. FInally we headed to Sparti. It took us forever to get there for some reason. They said 8 and we got there at 9. We met right away to go to a restaurant for dinner. Sparti looks nice but unfortunately I will not get to see it.

April 20, 2000

So Minne came and the fun began. We went to Taki's for drinks first. I got myself a frappe with Baileys because I actually wanted to be awake. We were formally introduced to Taki and Alek and on course there is our favorite waitress Nana that I have never mentioned. And then we met DJ K. Minnie had not eaten any dinner so we decided to get her drunk. We started doing shots. DJ K was really talking to Minnie. He gave us his number so he could take us to a club on Saturday. Alex asked Patty our, and he is a married man with a family. At about 3, they decided to close the place down so we left. DJ K offered to walk us to the club. On our way there, I was really talking to him. And then I invited him to come inside. We went to Wild Rose. It was very different from the places we usually go. There was no Greek music and it was a lot more pow-pow. But I had a blast. I don't know if it was the frappe or all the alcohol but i was so energetic for the first time. And the cool thing was that K knew the guy at  the club and we did not pay for drinks. At 5 we decided to leave. Now I am home and wide awake so I am going to do stuff before we have to be at the bus for the Mystra trip. 

April 20, 2000

This morning I got woken up to getting rubbed by Aunt Antigone. I got ready and we went to the doctor. He saw me and decided he wanted to run more tests so he took blood and urine samples. I though I did not have to pee and he said they and every says that but they do anyway and he was right. Aunt Antigone took me by bus all the way back to school and I went to class. Joanna did not show up because her phone battery ran out and her alarm clock did not ring. I went to the Acropolis and then me and Carrie went to the dining hall. I fell pretty badly going over but luckily did not really hurt anything. After lunch, we came home and Patty came over. Joanna finally cut my hair too. I was really tired so I took a nap before class. After class we went to Patty's grandma's house. She is really really cute. She is one of those hip grandmas. The lady even goes to Palm Springs. She took us to Pizza Hut for dinner. It was my first Greece Pizza Hut experience. It was pretty good. We saw Larry and James there too. Afterwards, she treated us to ice cream. THen we just walked home so we could get ready to go out. At about 12, daddy called and felt bad because he thought I might be sleeping. Little did he know that I was doing my eye makeup. Now I am sitting here writing waiting for Minnie to come. 

April 19, 2000

Yesterday I woke up and went to classes after not having been there for quite some while. I was in a very productive mood so I was making the most of my time in class. Then I went to Aunt Adi's right after and I went to Vicky and did some shopping. Aunt Adi made me a big pan of pastichio. She is so cute. Then I went home and continued being productive. It felt really good. Patty came over and we went for coffee before Greek class. After class we decided to got o Friday's for Helens birthday. It was me, Joanna, Helen, Patty Minnie, Larry and Melanie. They expanded their menu to be even more like America's. We told them it was Helen's birthday and they came out singing this really cute birthday song. Our waiter was funny too. He was confused with our half Greek, half English. Afterwards we went home and changed and went to Placebo. It was a cute place. It was only us and an Italian group. But we danced quite a bit. There was a 60ish man with this really young sleazy chick there. We were all so shocked. Helen drank a whole lot for her. She was hilarious. She started dancing Greek folk dances to American music and she thought it was the funniest thing in the world. We got home in time to get three hours of sleep. Ot got some semi good news. Patty talked to her uncle about a job and he said he wants to meet me. I am not going to get too excited but that is more than I expected to hear. This morning I went to classes and surprisingly, so did Helen. After class, Alex called and said she was at 222 so we went over there. George's hair looks really really good. Like I would stop and stare at him. Larry was there too. We left from there and they were going shopping. Joanna ditched and went with them but I could not since I missed on Monday. So I went to school and talked to Nadia. She is so sweet. And I told her about a job too and I think she will help me too. In class, she said she would let us out a little early. But she started with her sources and decided ten minutes before the end of class to start teaching. I wanted to hill her. When we got out, I took the train to meet the others. We just say at Larry's construction site of an apartment. Then George came. They got into another stupid fint. She is so mean to him sometimes. We went and did some window shopping. When I got home, I got ready to come to Angela's house. I decided to take a cab because I was so tired. There was another lady in there and she was getting the cabbie mad because she was not being clear as to where they were going. So he took her then asked me where I was going and I was not too sure iether. So instead of having him yell at me, I just told him to drop me off. I called to find out how to get to the house and after 45 minutes finally made it. We sat and ate and now we are all getting ready to go to bed very early. I forgot to mention my little surprise this morning, a huge mama roach in the kitchen! It was damn ugly. Luckily I remembered the Raid and killed it. 

April 18, 2000

My attempted nap yesterday did not work because I kept thinking about Aunt Adi. So I got up and went over to the restaurant to talk to them. I think she was really happy but I sill think Gus is a little doubtful. Then I went by Vicky and the one and only Dino was there. He is still as flaming as ever talking about his fat stomach. I left there and went and did some stupid shopping. Then I went to McDonald's for lunch to they there spring rolls. I guess they were nothing bad or good. Then I went and did some grocery shopping. I came home and was doing some work and then I tried to sleep again but it did not work. So I got up and did more work then I tried to sleep again but it did not work. I decided to go to dinner so I can come home and relax. I waked out with Joanna and we ran into Patty and Helen. She ended up leaving with them and I wen to Neon for the first and last time. I came home, showered, read and went to bed. It took me forever again but I did it. 

April 17, 2000

Yesterday morning I woke up with no particular plans in mind. I got ready and called Alex to see if she wanted to meet at 222 but she said she could not leave the house. So I called Vicky but she wanted to sleep. We called the girls from school and no one was there. So me and Joanna decided to go have coffee on our own. On the way there Patty called and said Bill wanted to go to Bo. Since we had some time to kill, we went to say to Sofia. The poor girl had an allergic reaction to something and had been in the hospital the night before. I forgot to mention a big detail. As Joanna was going to the pay phone to make plans, she ran into some guy Like. He was some random guy on a bile who pulled over to hit on her. Well he did a lot more than that because he started hissing her and she went ahead and kissed him back. I think the whole thing is hilarious and I think and I think that kissing him back was just something that had to be done to make the best out of the experience but what a weirdo. Anyway, back to the events. We went up to Patty's and Bill came and got us. We went to Bo which is a cafe that is Hawaiian style. It was really cool. We sat there for crazy amounts of hours. Patty got all enthused with the bathrooms. It was funny. Bill, I realized, is just like Jim Gold. Kind of the looks but definitely the expressions. When we left there we went to Everest for dinner. First us girls, ran to Goody's to take pee because we were dying. For some reason we all dead so we came home. That is when the bad stuff started. It took me three hours to fall asleep because I finally realized how big my anorexia problem is. That is the first time I have called it that, good girl Ang, and I decided to tell mom and dad. But they never called. Somehow I fell asleep. This morning, I woke up thinking I was going to go go class but I realized I couldn't. I called home and told them. We decided they are going to send me money so I can buy whatever food I need. Then we made a deal that if I do not gain weight by the time school is over, I am going home. That sounded good to me. Now I am going to take a small nap because it has been a long night. 

April 15, 2000

Today was such a random nice day. I totally felt all relaxes and like I was on vacation. I woke up the first time by a phone call from Daddy. It was so sad because I think he was crying. He was alone in the kitchen and was just thinking about me. Anyway. Then I really woke up and I went out for a wlk. I went to the academic center thinking they might be open but they weren't. So I waited until 12 and still nothing. I came back home, then me and Joanna went to Everest and then down to the academic center again. We made plans to meet Angela and Anna there and we went for coffee at Green Tents. It was another one of those uncomfortable coffee meetings. We spent most of the time listening in on the conversation of this guys with a dog. We walked back to our apartment and stopped for ice cream. We sat at the house and things got comfortable which made me really happy. Alex called us and told us to go to 222. It was a big day. First of all, it was her one year anniversary. Second, George cut his hair!! I wanted to go but Patty had made plans for us to go out with the Peter's cousin, Bill. We had made other kinds of plans but who cared. So he picked us up and then we went and got two of his friends. We drove forever and got lost a little bit but finally ended up it Loutsa. We went to club Palazzo. It was not hte created club or anything we we had fun. Bill is a really really nice fun guy. We already said that we will go out again which is cool because he knows lots of good places. After we left, Patty came over and is sleeping here because she thinks they locked her out again. Speaking of the night they locked her out, Helen had a much worse situation. She got home and her drunk trashy roommates had left all the burners on the stove open and the oven on with a loaf of bread inside. The whole house smelled like it was burning. She woke them up to tell them and they thought it was funny. Could you imagine if she had decided to stay over too. Idiots. 

April 14, 2000

Where can I start writing about the past two days. We got up and left the hotel. Whatever, I don't think I can remember the exact order in which we did things. First we went and saw some Macedonian tombs. It was pretty cool because the guys was very nice and opened it up for us so we can actually go inside. From there, we drove to Nymphaion and saws the school or Aristotle. They let us just hang out a lot which was nice because it was just gorgeous outside. Not only that, but everything was so far apart and we were in the bus forever. Next, we headed toward Ailane. It was supposed to close at 2:30 but they called and and said they would wait a while for us to go and see it quickly. Meanwhile, we had not dated lunch so they told us by 3:15 we would be. So we hike up there and see some empty cistern and some drains. It was way past 3:15 and we got back on the bus. Then they pulled over again so we could see more tombs. We were ready to kill them. We were thinking of ways to faint so we could go eat. Finally at 4:30 we were at the tavern. All they had on the menu was lamb and goat and they brought us out huge platters of it. I felts o bad because at the end there was so much left over. Then Kranin came to our table and helped us clean it off a little bit. From there we left to Meteora or Kalabaka where we were staying. Our hotel was the most ghetto thing in the world. We were going from room to room to see which one was worse. Me, Joanna and Helen got dressed up and headed towards the center. We found Minnie, Patty and Melanie. Then we went and had some coffee. We all decided to go to a club so we picked a place called Evie and that is when it all started. The place was dead until we got there sand then they started playing music for us. Most people were already drunk. So everyone started dancing and having fun. I got really hungry and went with Helen for a crepe that had been sitting out that they just warmed up. Anyway, we went back and I still had no every to dance but I had other forms of entertainment. Niki the history teacher managed to get herself piss drunk. So did Rea and Steve but not as bad. Steve was just dancing like a moron and Rea was being kind of flirty with George. Now Niki was being a little flirty with every guy in there. At first, its as Brody. Then we moved on to Eli and that is when things got out of hand. They were practically doing the forbidden dance and then they went to the bar and were very touchy. They made not the slightest effort to hide it. Niki by the way was dancing like crazy. She has no rhythm at all and at one point she was singing too and she is totally tone deaf. Carrie was really cute because she was trying so hard to Greek dance. Tigran was a total idiot. He was being so violent trying to get us to dance. Then at one point he banged his hand on the table and shattered three glasses. Overall, it was definitely an unforgettable night. We got home at 4:30 and were sitting there eavesdropping because Niki and Eli had just gotten back too but nothing interesting happened. So this morning we woke up at 7 to go down to breakfast that Niki did not show up to until way past 8. We had to sit there and listen to a speech that Prof Couson was giving. Then we went up to the actual Meteora. They are really really really gorgeous. We climbed up a while bunch of steps and wen tot the monastery. Some priest was talking to us about it but we were enjoying the weather. Poor Becky is afraid of heights and she was crying by the time she made it all the way up. From the, Coulson made us stop at another monastery. This time there were even more steps. Finally, we finished and went and had ice cream and lunch in Kalabaka. Then it was time to go home. We made as stop in Trikala and we got out of the bus and looked through the windows of a mosque. It was very exciting. The bus ride home was bad. For some reason I could not really fall asleep considering how little I slept yesterday. Niki spey the whole day flirting with the guys. I have lost all respect for that woman. We were playing Trivial Pursuit all the way home. Joanna got annoyed with me because I wanted to leave the curtain open to get some sun and I got annoyed with her because when she sits and the window she poses for it but now it was burning her.  But now I feel readily bad for her because her mom got into a car accident with her car. Other than some whiplash she is ok but it was a scare for Joanna. Well, it was a long and interesting week. Hopefully this will be a nice weekend. Right now, I just want to go to sleep. 

April 12, 2000 Part 2

This morning we woke up and went to another monastery. She was talking like usual and we had to meet the other group. She drives us nuts because she picks a few people and she talks to them only. Anyway, we left Thessaloniki and slept our way to Pella. We went to am museum there and saw some ruins. They were actually cool. They were the original stone floors from then. We left and slept our way to Vergina. We went to the coolest museum. We saw what might have been Philips grave and the gold wreath you see on all the Macendonian stuff. then we went to up to the palace and the theater. It is exciting because I stood where Philip one stood and where he was assassinated. It was 3:30 by the time we finished all of this and they finally let us eat lunch. It was at one of those funky cafeteria places. From there we came to Edessa. We check into our hotel that has no heat in our room. We realized a little and then walked down tot he waterfalls. They were gorgeous and we went picture craze - Me, Helen and Joanna. One day when I read this I am going to have no clue shoe the we's and she's are. Anyway. We wanted pizza for dinner so we walked ingot he center. It is really cute but there are no places at all. We ended up bad across from the hotel at DePepe Pizza. There was one guys who pretty much worked there. He took our special order and made it himself. It was really good. After we ate, he started talking to us. Then he sat down and treated us to a beer. He was a nice guy. Joanna pretty much drank all the beer. Poor girl. We did not know how to get up to leave. Then he told us that if we were going out to meet us. Finally after two hours we go the bill. We change our plans of going out and are going to watch tv instead. 

April 12, 2000

Patty came home yesterday and we took a really good nap. We woke up in time to meet the group that was doing to dinner because we had heard it was a really cool place and not a tavern. So we get there and it was not a really cool place, and it was a tavern. So we ate even though we were all miserable about it and we paid too much. We went to see if there was anything to do there and the place was totally dead. It was a small area called Milos and it had some cute places but no people. We walked back to the hotel, me Joanna and Patty down some really scary looking streets. When we got there, we tried planning what to do and then we found Larry, Melanie and Minnie. They were going to the Laladika to eat then to go out so we went with them. On the way there, Melanie went to stop at a kiosk and fell. As we were making fun of her, she fell again. It was so funny. We sat at place, Funk for coffee while they ate. The Laladika are really cool. It is a bunch of restaurants, cafes and clubs. And the clubs have the cutest names like Very Koko. And there were tons and tons of young people. We waited of them for a while and then we went to a club. It was really such a cool club. Mostly Greek music and only the really good American stuff. We danced like crazy. It was so much fun. Then Larry started talking to some German guys which was kind of weird. Then wanted to take pictures which us and stuff and they were not even hanging out with us. We left at about 4 in the morning and when we go to the hotel we were wondering why we left. I took a shower and got two hours of sleep. I am really upset that we had to leave Thessaloniki. It is really a great city and I don't think they gave us enough time to enjoy it. Part of me wants to get back on a bus and go there for the weekend. A lot of people actually left to go back to Athens. I am surprised  they are being so lenient about everything. I need to go for now.

April 11, 2000

First journal entry in a totally new place. Kind of exciting. Yesterday morning we headed to the bus to start our nice and long trip. Our teacher had scared us saying what a small bus it was but there was nothing wrong with this thing. We got on and slept more or less. We made on bath stop at some place heel Levedis which was really nice. They had muffins which I have never seen in Greece before. Then we made a stop to see a monument which I feel bad because I have no idea what the name is. Thermopylae accoring to the sheet. We and to cross the expressway which was funny because Dr. Phil was freaking out. There were hot springs on the other side. It was kind of a stream with really hot water. We drove a little more and stopped at Tempi for lunch. We had to go under a really smelly underpass then there were some ghetto shops and then we had to cross this long bring where only ten people were allowed at a time. We actually had a different lunch today. It was spinach pie, a boiled egg, bread, cheese, carrots and apple and a croissant. It was a good think we do not loose them when the thing flew open on the express way. When we got back on the bus, I totally passed out until we reached Thessaloniki. They took us to the hotel to pee and unload and then we drove to the top of the city. There are some long walls up there. We went to the churches of Hosios David and Saint Demetios and then we were free for the day. We came back to the hotel and relaxed for a while. We got ready to go out without really having any idea as to where. Helen called her cousins and it turned out that they lived really close and they told Helen to go over. So we decide to go with just to find out what to do. We could not find the apartment at first because the street only had one side. Then we found one of them on the street looking for us. They said there were going to one of those restaurants with the sexually named foods so we decided to go with. First we went to their apartment. They were really nice. We took a bus to the restaurant which I though was weird because it was walking distance. The restaurant was called Melathron and there are three of the same ones. We went to the one that played music. There were a bunch of drunk people from our school there too. The menu was impossible to understand. There were no descriptions and the names meant nothing. The food was very different too. Very saucy and rick. I got a chicken kebab that had bacon around it. Joanna had a Fez - pita with chicken breast and ham on top with a cream sauce and cheese. Minnie and a Dak - a flakey crust with chicken and tomato sauce and cheese and stuff. Hers was delicious. Patty had this pork thing that was served in a clay pot. Then we got a really cheesy baked potato. Then for dessert they brought a chocolate crepe. It was damn good but too much for so late. Then we took at cab home with was so stupid because we were right there. When we got home, we went straight to sleep. We got up this morning too early. We went to breakfast which once again improved. We sat there forever waiting for people to come. We were so damn late to leave. First we went to the Byzantine Museum, then Agia Sofia, then Agio Demetrio. There were very pretty but once you have been in one Byzantine church, you have been to them all. Agio Demetrio had this really cold downstairs thing though. Then it was way past time for lunch but she wanted to make it to some church by 3. We purposely went slow at lunch to miss it. We went to a place called Kamara and it was the best food they have taken us too. I had spaghetti with meat sauce but the good stuff was the zucchini, tzatziki and calamari. We kept on walking and where bored out of our minds. So me and Joanna ditched the group and went shopping. Now we are at the hotel relaxing again. I really like Thessaloniki. It is totally a city but just does not have that disgusting Athens atmosphere. It is just like a nice European city. It is hard to explain. 

April 9, 2000

Let me first mention some other details that I noticed in the village. First, there is this house that put up a really tacky fence. It has all of these funny gargoyles on it. Then, they put up garbage cans which is really a good idea but everyone is upset because they say Village of Thesprotiko on them  instead of Papadates. Then we noticed that they took down all the signs that said anything about Papadates. It is kind of as if they do not exist anymore. Anyway. let night we went straight to Aunt Irene's house. The whole entire family was there just sitting around and talking. Joanna had an uncomfortable situation where she said she wanted yogurt but did not really that she would be the only one eating it. She felt weird even though no one noticed and I felt kind of bad. I was so tired that I took a nap on Angela for a while. At about 1 we headed to the bar. It was the typical scene. I was kind of bored and annoyed because Joanna and Kathy were carrying on their own conversations. I was also really tired. We led at about 3 and decided to got to Matt's house. I confide up tot the heater and was falling asleep. At one point I almost fell off of the bed too. Finally we decided to go home. I went straight to bed because I wanted to walk up and do my paper which I did do with much difficulty. Jim came over too and we sat and had coffee. I got a call from Uncle Chris saying that he was going to be at the cafe. So I went down to see him and Joanna was going to come down when it was time to leave. We were originally having some problems getting tickets but then Dina's friend came to the rescue. He got gotten some for free and he gave them to us and Maddie went there and reserved the seats. I wanted to leave with the night one but Aunt Noni would not hear of it. We ran into a bunch of Aunts and Uncles at the restaurant and since I did not order anything, the only topic of conversation was how I should eat. Right as I was about to leave, Uncle Ted came with George. We left and Jim drove us to the bus. We spent the whole first hour driving around to the little villages. Everyone was being so cray and impatient. I spent the entire bus ride doing my paper so it was a long one. We reached the station at 8:30. It was the craziest place in the world. The line for the cab reached around the end. We stood there for a while and realized it would take forever. Not only that but one one would want to take up because the center was closed. Today was election day, by the way, which explains all of this commotion. We got out of the line to try the bus. We ran into Laura from school. We got on a bus fairly quickly. It dropped us of at Omonia and from there we took the Metro. We finally reached home at 10. I sat and finished that damn paper that is due tomorrow and now I want to sneak in two hours of sleep before I get up to leave for Thessalonika. This is the last entry in the journal. I am so proud of myself. I might sneak in here to add more things about the village but this is more of less it. It was nice writing in you!

April 8, 2000

The bus ride yesterday was long and annoying. First of all, our cabby did not want to go into the bus station so he made us walk a really long way. The bus was actually nice but they had the air on. We dilated a lot at the ferry and it was raining. We got to Filipiada at about 6:30. We were waiting for a cab because we were blind and did not see the line. Anyway, we got in a cab and it was 3000 drachmas to get to the village which seemed like a lot to me. We did a lot of house visits. It was pretty boring but whatever. Then we went to Aunt Noni's house and waited for the girls to come. Meanwhile, I ate the whole table. They were kind of drink and they were really funny. Then girls came at about 1 and we went home. We sat and ate Teddy Grahams, Rondo and really good cookies until we were literally sick to our stomachs, at least me. I slept considerable warm at least. Overall impressions, everything is gorgeous here. You automatically feel different. It is as if my worries kind of disappear. They put up a sign at Platano that says Papadates Cafe which is pretty funny since everyone calls it something else. They put Nestle ice cream too. This morning we woke up basically and started an eating fest and a greeting fest. We saw Aunt Renee and Uncle Pete and of course she was not too happy about my weight. Then we went to Aunt Irene's and Jim was there. Jim said he would have definitely done something and I feel bad now. We came home and ate lunch. I ate so much that it is 6 hours later and I still feel it in me. We decided to go to the river. It was nothing special but no big deal. Then we walked back home. It was actually not a terrible walk if my stomach was not killing me. Now we are home getting ready to go out. We were just looking at some pictures and I saw one of mom like I had never seen her before. She looked so much like Barbara. It kind of made me sad now. I am sure I am forgetting to mention things but I will do it when I remember. I am kind of starting to stress now because I really need to go down to the center to see more people. More later. 

April 7, 2000

I did end up enjoying myself yesterday. After class, I came home for a little while and then Joanna and Patty came to get me so we could go for coffee. We went to Taki's and sat outside. The sun was really hot and everything but it was so damn windy. They were sitting there doing Greek homework and I was just sitting. They made a damn good frappe there. Then Melanie and Helen came and later Minnie too. Poor Helen fell down the stairs and was all sore. Her schoolbag saved her. Anyway, we were playing dumb old games like adlibs and mash. From there we went to the academic center to kill some time. After Greek class, we went to Evereset for dinner. They all wanted to go out but I was so tired that I tried to convince them to do something low key. We were kind of sitting around the house drinking and I fell asleep. They had the music on and were dancing and singing and going crazy. Joanna, Patty and Helen that is. Before they knew it, time had gone by and they were not going anywhere. THen of course I had the energy and they were all exhausted. Patty was even kind of drunk. It is funny how things work out. They left and we went to bed. A few minutes later, Patty called because her roommates had locker her out of the house. So she came and slept over. Now we got up and getting ready to head to the village!

April 6, 2000

Notice how I have been writing in the most random places lately. The night before I ended up sleeping so well. I went to classes and then had to go and buy tickets so we can go to the village. I went to take a cab and no one would take me. About five empty ones must have said no to me. Anyway, I got there and got tickets for 12:15on Friday. We will be the first ones tog et there, but oh well. Then I took a cab home. I went to Vicky's house then. Natasha was there with the baby be he was sick so he was not that playful. I stayed there for a while and then came to school. Joanna had been at her aunts the whole itme. She brought me a package from Barbara. It was so cute. She sent me Teddy Grahams. Joanna's mom sent her a whole bunch of junk food too. Like we don't have any ehre. We went back to the apartment with Patty and sat for a while. Then we went to Mondial and got coffee. It is cute there but I thought it was kind of cold. We went back home and sat a little longer. We wanted to go back to Vicky's at night. Joanna went to her cousins and I went to Vicky. Aunt Adi was there and she drove me crazy with her worrying. First she was upset because she did not iron my clothes. She felt bad because she does not think I have time to do it. This all started because she saw me so tired yesterday. Then she told me she is going to call Aunt Noni because she did not know what to do with me. Let me mention that she turned my U of C sweatshirt blue. Then we started on the food hting. She forced me to go by Gus's. So I went there and he said he was ready to call dad. I told him not to do that. Then he wanted me to sit so he can watch me eat a kebab. I told him Joanna was waiting for me to eat and then he made them to go and said he was going to ask her if I ate. He even made them double and gave fries. Then he said he would give me a week to gain weight before calling dad. So I left and went to Joanna's cousins. I did not eat my kebab because I was fasting which they obviously did not care about. We sat there for a while. Raina called and we talked to her for a long time. When we got home we crashed. This morning I woke up and cleaned like crazy. Then I came to school and actually did some productive stuff so I plan to kind of enjoy myself the rest of the day. There is something so disgusting here in Greece that they call red rain. When it rains, everything gets this coating of dirt that is brown. All the cars look like they have never been washed. It is usually so thick that you cant even see the original color. I guess that is the pollution of Athens.

April 4, 2000 Part II

We had Art and Archeology in the Agora again today. I wanted to go to Vicky from there and it was a long hot walk. I could barely sit in the chair so I got up and went to the house and crashed. I woke up in time to go to have a cup of coffee with Vicky. She was working on a display and I was doing homework so we did not talk much. Natasha is coming tonight so I am going to try to see her otmorrow. We went to Greek class. It was so much fun in there. The minute the teacher turns her back, we all make faces at each other. Then I came home and I am going to bed soon. On the way home from the Agora we ran into Angela which was random. My brain is so not functioning! Bed!!

April 4, 2000

I cannot believe how much time I let go by without writing in my journal. But it was a little bit out of my control because I was busy writing other stuff. I will get to that later though. Back to Saturday night. The girls finally came at about 1 and we decided to go to Diplo Cafe. Alex went to meet George first of course. When we got there it was pack as hell. We could not move at all but we danced as much as we could. As the night went on, it got better and better. I really like that place and so did the girls. Alex ended up coming pretty late but whatever. We stayed and danced even more. By the end of the night, we were just sitting and listening to the music. I totally did not want to leave but it was past 6am. The next morning, Sunday that is, I woke myself up rather early. I got ready and called Anna. We decided to meet for coffee at McDonalds. I got there earlier and stood in the street for a while. Then when she came we went and sat at FloCafe. It was nothing special but I got something out of the way. At 3:00 I made my way to the academic center so I could work on my history paper. Lets just say that I was there till 10:00 working on the paper that still was not finished. It was crazy. I went home and foced myself to stay awake until it was almost finished. That is why I excused myself from writing in this journal. The day was rather boring and I had written enough for one day. Yesterday or Monday (which technically is still today) I woke up and went to class to finish my paper. Then I went to type it up and I was finally finished! So I went to lunch and then to history class. I actually had a nice surprise there. I got a C+ on my midtern. That must be the most undeserved grade in the world. Anyway, after class it was time to start the next paper. So we locked ourselves in the library and started. We took a small break to get food but that was it. When the academic center closed, I could not go home to work on it. So me, Sandy and Joanna went and sat at Hagen Dazs, drank coffee and did homework until closing. Then we went home to do even more work. Finally at 7:00 in the morning, I finished. Yes, an all nighter. I got ready, did a bunch of stuff around the house because I was so wired and came to school. Right this moment, my ears are totally closing. I am seeing spots and I can barely move my arm to write. But I must say I am one happy happy girl.

April 1, 2000

last night we got ready and went walking around town a little. We went and found the woman who owned our hotel that Patty kind of knows. She recommended two places for us to eat. One was Ambrosia and the other I can't remember. We found them both across form each other and Ambrosia seemed kind of yuckier. The other one had orzo too which Minnie wanted. When we actually sat, they did not have any of the food. I got briam which was actually good. It was really early and we were tired. The girls went and got a bottle of Bailey's to have a party in the room. I pretty much got ready for bed. They stayed up and watched Scarface till I don't know when. This morning I had to get Joanna and Patty up. Patty could not believe how much energy I have in the morning. We went down to breakfast and it was so nice. They had bread, cake, jelly, cereal, yogurt, ham and cheese, eggs, hot dogs, fruit salad, the whole deal. From there we wen to the museum of the modern Olympic Games and walked around for a few minutes. Then we went to the site to finish up some readings. We were taking pictures and I wanted to take Patty piggyback. She did not want to but I made her. The first time she went to get on, she jumped funny and I just fell. So she tried again and I thought I had her but I fell again. I felt horrible but I am so unbelievably weak. I got Joanna up but I don't think I could have lasted long. I don't think they are going to let me down about this one. After that we went to the museum and pretty much ignored Niki half the time. We went for lunch to Ambrosia which the school had arranged. Surprise, surprise, it was a different Ambrosia and it was damn nice with a selection of food. But they had chosen a menu for us. It was very good and we pigged out. We had some wine too and started making sangria. Then we put in sprite too and made a damn good drink. The rest of our time was free so we went for ice cream. By then it was time to go. I passed out on the bus. They played a joke on Dr. Phil and they took a bathroom stop and I did not understand a thing. I got up at Cornith and had another ice cream. I did not sleep the rest of the bus ride but when I went home, I slept a little bit. I was very dizzy. We had plans to go to a concert but plans fell through again. Now me and Joanna and Patty are waiting for Alex to come so we can go somewhere.

March 31, 2000 Part 2

Joanna was just doing stuff at home all relaxed. Alex came by and we all went to Hagen Daz. I got my sherbet again then finished Joanna's caramel cone explosion which I was dying to try and was so wroth it and then had Alex's muffin. I went home, got some laudndry and quickly ran to Vicky and then to school. We had a test in Greek class. Peter is such a freak. He took a rubber band and held his test to the desk. We were dying. After class the girls went for dinner and I went home to sleep. Joanna was supposed to wake me up at 10 but my crappy phone did not ring so she came home and 11:15 and woke me up. We were going to Kahlua club. We got ready and went to Minnie's. Melanie was telling us about her soldier Bill. We went to the club and it was dead at fist. It was a cute place but we did not know any of the music. Eventually it filled up with a lot of really cute guys. The bartender treated us to some strawberry slushier drinks! It ended up being fun. When we got home I literally got right into bed and woke up early go get ready to go to Olympia. I actually did not sleep the whole bus ride over because it was kind of cold on the bus. When we got to the ancient site, we had lunch. Then we went inside and looked at the tholos, the temple, the stoa and a whole bunch of other stuff. It was unbelievably hot out. The sun was crazy. Then we went to the stadium and just laid in the sun. We tried to run across but I could not make it. Then we came to the hotel. It was not the one they had told us because Rea had some connections. She put us in a damn nice one. We have a tv, a radio, a phone and just much nicer than any place they put us in. So now we are slowly getting ready to go out. Olypmia is a really cute place and then site was gorgeous.

March 31, 2000

It is a terrible time to start writing but I am so behind I need to. Yesterday morning I woke up with one thing in mind, the history test. I went to class and then started studying right away. I took a small break to come home and then continued studying a Goody's a little bit over a coffe. At 1:30 we had to be at school to take a group picture and then we were supposed to go to a speech by the US Ambassador to Greece. I tried to ditch in but Mr Kimon did not let me. So I could not study. I was hoping then that the speech would not take long but I am not that lucky. So I failed the test in other words. She asked some really random questions. After that I did not want to do a single thing so I went to the academic center and tried to sleep. Of course I could not do that either because I was having  breathing trouble. I could not inhale for some reason. A few other people complained about ti too.  They say it was from the pollution mixed with the humidity. Then Julie came with Revenge of the Nerds. It was exactly what I needed. At 8, we had another one of those dinnders. George was our entertainment. He would stick an entire baklava in his mouth at once and he ate about 8 of them. Afterwards, we kind of were saying to go out but Helen had to go to the hospital for class. We went and sat with her for a while but then we all went home. I was completely pooped by that time and went straight to bed. In the morning, I left Joanna in charge of the alarm clock which was a bad idea because we did not wake up until 8. It is a good thing I worry so much and woke myself up. Joanna decided not to go to school at all. I went and failed my Attic Tragedy quiz and then went to the Agora. I stopped at Wendy's for lunch and then headed home. I need to continue this later.

March 28, 2000

This morning started off very good. I went to class and finished my paper. And then I emailed and came home to do some stuff. I was very productive today and I had a good day of self control. I wanted to go for coffee so I called up Joanna to meet her. I sad a small run in with a lady at the card phone. I left my card in there and she want to give it to me but she gave me one of her cards instead. I took it because I had not noticed which one I put in. Then she realized it and yelled at me for stealing her points. I kind of snapped at her but she deserved it. So then we went to Perros and I got a flat Coke, confirming how much I hate that place. I went to the academic center and studied a little and then went to Greek. We decided to go to Gus' for kabobs with Patty and Helen. We left money on the table to pay and Gus chased us all the way outside of the store to give it back. I can never take anyone there again. We stopped by Vicky too before that and looked at some jewelry. Anyway, on the way home we went for crepes and a stroll by Taki's. Helen got totally drunk off of Malibu. It was so weird. Now it is really early and we are going to bed. Good because I am going to need the energy to hopefully study tomorrow.

March 27, 2000

So last night could have possibly been one of the worse nights of my life. First, right as I was about to fall asleep, Joanna calls me and tells me she is staying by her cousins. So that kind of pissed me off, but what could I saw. Then at about 3ish Babs calls me. I was actually so happy because I had been waiting to talk to her. But then she yelled at me for not going to Angela's and for how Alex is doing things as a favor to me and blah blah. So I got really annoyed and she got pissed. Then mom gets on the phone and she was bawling. She had seen a bad dream and was worried about me. I told her she could not get that upset about a dream but she was terrible. So I started crying too. She said she is going to come for Easter because she misses me so much. When we hung up, I just laid in bed crying and finally I fell asleep again. This morning I ran into Joanna on the street and we caught each other up. After class, I had this big plan of sitting in the academic center and studying but instead I sat there and ate. After history class though I was good and finished my paper. Then I came home and read a play. I was good. Then we had a surprise visit from Patty and she said to go to Hagen Daaz. Melanie, Minnie, Helen and Sis were there. I had a yummy pear sorbet and then I sad most of Melanie's sorbet thing too. Now I want to do a little more work because there is a lot to be done and tomorrow looks like a hectic day.

I later found out that my mom's dream was that we were walking on a bridge that goes over an express way and I fell over and she was watching the cars run over me and she was screaming and crying. I can definitely understand why she was shaken up.

March 26, 2000

We woke up at 7:30 this morning new time to get ready and did not end up  leaving the house until 9 thanks to no one being able to get a hold of Larry. We finally got on our way. We got to the little train that takes you up the mountain but the one leaving then was full and the next one was not until after 5. People wanted food so Taso stopped at a kiosk and bought them out of chocolate bars. He even took the box. Anyway. So we had to do everything by car. First, we went to a monastery that was a cave that had a natural fountain. It was interesting. THe whole building was practically in the rock that was the mountain. Then we went to another monastery where they made us put on skirts to go in. After that we went to the cave lakes and saw stalagmites. They were so gorgeous. There are a total of thirteen lakes but you can only see three. We ditched the tour group and were sneaking around taking pictures. Then we finally decided to go see the snow. We went all the way up to the ski station. There was actually a lot of snow and it was rather hot. Generally today was a gorgeous day. Matt really wanted to ski but we just sat for a while and had a baby snow ball fight. By that time everyone was starving so we went to eat. We sat at a restaurant that literally only had three things to eat. I ate french fries. By that time it was fairly late so we decided to head home. Lucky for us, Larry had not filled up his gas tank and the car stopped on the express way. We called Matt and they went and got us gas and drove back to fill us up. When we got moving again, I fell asleep but supposedly they drove by and accident where there was a dead guy laying on the ground. We stopped by the house so I can get my stuff and then Larry drove us to the train. Alex came by until George came to get her. Oh the train was filled with a bunch of obnoxious guys because there was a soccer game that had just finished. Anyway. Joanna had gone by her cousins house so I  cleaned and am going to bed. This is going to be a hard week and I am not allowing fun until my work is done. Weird thing today. Babas called me off her cellphone to tell me she could not talk. Do you get it? Oh and we had a history class to go to at Niki's house and Joanna said she was going to go and she ended up not going and I was really counting on it in a way. What do I say now? We'll see.

March 25, 2000

I did not write int he journal yesterday because I really thought there was nothing to write. I woke up in the morning and did a great clean up of the apartment. Then I went to Vicky to pick up my laundry and I sat there and had my coffee. From there I went to the academic center and began working on my paper. I actually did a good amount of work. But I got sick of it sooner than I wanted to. So I went back home and got ready to go to Alex's house. I took me forever to get there. The stupid trolley did not want to come. So then I finally made it and and only Dina was there. Kathy and Alex came soon afterwards. No one had any energy really to go out even though they had kind of made plans with their friend. So instead she came over and then we got a surprise visit from Larry. That was more or less the entire day. This morning we woke up fairly early. It was my psuedo-names day today!! I got some cute flowers. We got all ready to go to the city for the parade. We met Taso there and two of Kathy's friends. It was so hot out out there and so sunny. At one point I felt like I was going to pass out. The parade was ncie. At first there were a lot of tanks and stuff. Then the navy and air force. And the police, firefighters and a bunch of guys in some really weird costumes They had fighter plans too that popped my ear drums. Some man passed by us and beat up on Alex. It was so weird. Afterwards we came home to eat. So we sat to eat and I had a piece of fish, so garlic spread, some bread and salad. Then I had more garlic spread. Then some more. Me and Dina sat there and cleared the table. I finished all the garlic spread and clean off Alex's fish too. I died. Right after me, Dina and Taso went and got ice cream. They don't make the white Magic anymore. Today they came out one with a new one that is like the almond one but it has strawberry juice in the inside. Manny's girlfriend did not get any. She pissed us all off. She told us we smelled like garlic. No shit girl. Like she should not expect it today. Larry came by for a little too and then they all left. I forgot to mention how I talked to grandma today  but it was not exactly a conversation. Me and Alex and Kathy walked to this really nice park. We sat there for a while and talked. When we came home, I drank some tea and had some dessert. The plan was to to to 222 but we rethought it because we have to wake up at 7:30 tomorrow and the time changes today. I ended up falling asleep for two hours! I woke up and took a shower. Then we sat and ate some yogurt. Dina finally got a chance to fix my hair and now I am ready for bed again. Tomorrow we are going to Kalabrita so I am excited to spend the day with my village people. 

March 23, 2000

Last night I had yet another horrible nights sleep. At about 5:15 we had a little earth quake. I don't know if I was up for it or if it woke me up but I really felt the shake and I was not sure what it was and then I heard the ind chimes and I realized it. It actually did a good job of scaring the crap out of me. I stuck my head under the covers and hid. Then I woke up because I was too hot. I forgot to mention how long it took me to fall asleep because of the dumb coffee. Joanna kind of talked in her almost asleep mode. She goes to me "what flavor?". The girl was dreaming of Basking Robins. So during hte actual day, I went to classes. We were in the Agora today and I almost died walking home. I was so exhausted. After lunch we went by Helens for a while and then we went home so Joanna could get ready to go to her village. I walked to the academic center and was planning on going to Vicky but since my laundry was not ready, I decided to stay there and relax. I went to Greek class and then I came home and took a short but very sweet npa. Patty called me and told me to go over. I got dressed, down a whole otn of m&m's and went. I thought she was on the first floor and I sat there like a dork ringing someone else's doorbell. We wen to Argo and were going to meet Minnie and Helen. They came and so did Melanie and her sister. It was a really cute place but they need to work on their drinks. Minnie ordered a Banana Bliss and they did not have bananas so they made her a strawberry daiquiri instead and it sucked. Patty was the only successful one with her Kahlua Kiss! Yum! We did not end up staying long. I came home and did a lot of stuff because I was awake. Now I am tired and I want to be up at a decent time tomorrow. Unfortunately, I need to play the alarm clock game. 

March 22, 2000

This morning after Byzantine Art, I decided to talk to the teacher about my oh so wonderful midterm grade. She was actually nice about it. She said that I seemed overwhelmed and understood how the class might be kind of challenging for me since I was a math major. I just sat there and agreed But we decided that if I show improvement on the final, she will mostly count that. After class I went and emailed a little and then I went grocery shopping. Joanna called and said Alex was at 222 and wanted us to go. So we did but we weren't even able to say one hour. History class made me so happy today because she moved a bunch of assignments back. After class we sat in the academic center and I did some homework. Then Helen and Minnie came and they said they wanted to go to the moview. So we went to Friday's for coffee so I could stay aawake. We went and saw the Ninth Gate. Personally, I did not like it at all. After that we were exhausted for some reason so now I am ready to go to bed. Hopefully I will be able to sleep through the night. We got our midterm grades in today too. I am not doing as bad as I though. I have an A in Greek thank God! A B+ in History, a B- in Attic Tragedy, a B- in Art and Archaeology and of course my D in Byzantine Art. I am satisfied but then again, these really do not mean anything. 

March 21, 2000

This morning in Attic Tragedy, I had to do a presentation on Alcestis. I was extremely unprepared. I gave a small synopsis of the play and then made one comment on what Euripides is trying to say about gender roles and the teacher totally took over. I did volunteer to do this but I don't know how much it will count towards my participation. For Art & Archaeology, we had to go to the Acropolis museum. I saw the metope with the man I had drawn on the back of the Greek Club t-shirt in high school. From there we went and got our France pictures. They are not too exciting. And then we went to the dining hall. I went and checked my email then and Joanna came to the apartment. I got an email from Amber and she is thinking of coming to Grece. I was going to go to Vicky and Joanna called me at about 4:30 and said she was there. I told her she could not go to the house so I assumed she would go to her cousins or somehting. So I rushed and left and when I got to the house I called her and she had gone to the academic center. Nice confusion. Anyway, so I went and bought a cd for Barbs to give to Becky. Then I went and had tea with Vicky. After Greek class I realized that I had gotten a visitor and I should not have so I started crying. Joanna went to her cousins but I just wanted to come home. I walked with Patty and I told her everything and it was nice to talk to someone who did not blame me. So I came home and spent some quality time with myself. It was nice. Now Joanna came home and is filling me in on gossip. Me and Joanna have been getting into dumb fights lately and we laugh about them later. I feel like I am with Babs. Like the other day when I did not let her carry my bag and Joanna threatened not to talk to me if I did not let her help me. Or the other day I offered to mail her postcards because I was going to the postoffice anyway. And she insisted on taking them herself. And today, she got the pictures from the concert and I said I was going to take the double and she had to give them to her cousins and I snapped and told her how I let her take all of the pictures I take with my cousins even if she is not actually in the. Personally, I think they are healthy fights and I am just writing them because they are something I am doing to want to remember eventually.

It seems more likely that I was writing them because I had to tell someone what was going on and this journal was my only trusted source. But this just goes to show how much I was in denial about what was really going on in my life and what I was really feeling.

March 20, 2000

I woke up ok this morning considering that last nights sleep was kind of uncomfortable. I decided to that I am going to pay attention all the time in Byzantine Art from now on. I did not talk to the teacher about my F because she never showed up to the academic center. I left right away to do some stuff around the apartment and then I went to lunch. I left from there to go work on my history paper. So pretty much I spent the entire day leaving people to do pointless things. In history we had some absolutely boring lecturer. Then I tried to work on my paper again but Joanna go the impression that she wont't care if they are not handed in on Wednesday. So I stopped and watched tv forever. Joanna ordered food and I came home to eat. When Joanna came home she was crying. Her grandma is sick and she feel bad because she can care less. She was PMSing too to make things worse. Patty and Minnie came by then and we wen to Takis. Then changed the sign outside so it is officially Alek and Takis Bar.  Our waitress was not there though. Patty spent the enter time on the phone and Minnie tried  to get through to me. They both decided they are leaving early. Minnie might be gone before May and Patty is leaving in May. That is really to bad. I wanted to travel with them a little. 

March 19, 2000

Last night we ended up staying and Joanna's aunts house. I did not mind at all. I actually kind of wanted too. I had a need for that homey feeling and it was just nice to have other people around. All we did was look at pictures and watch tv. They boys had planned for us to go to the movies but we were both so tired that we got out of it. Joanna has this really bad head cold. Her aunt has a really nice apartment. It is filled with stuff but it is nice. She is a big collector of Swarovski crystal and she showed us this really tacky necklasce. Anyway. I slept horribly at night. They left a light on the whole time and people kept on turning the tv on and off and they had a chiming clock and the bed was angled the wrong way. So I got up at 8:30 and sat in the kitchen and wrote a letter to Babs. Everyone else slowly started getting up and then she drove us to a cab. We paid 2000 to get home which technically we could have done  yesterday. Oh well. At home we just did any and every stupid thing you could imagine. And then I got bored out of my mind. Patty came over for a few mintues. They had fun in Spain. They actually went out clubbing ands tuff. Then we went next door to see Bianca and yes, she is engaged! She spent her week in Santorini and Crete and they had a great time. Tomorrow unfortunately classes start again. And I have all these papers to write the next two weeks and all these little things to do tomorrow. To top it all off, it is really really cold outside. 

March 18, 2000

Yesterday morning, Joanna and I woke up ready to spend the weekend partying and relaxing on some ilsand. So we took the train to the port. Of course we wanted to switch at Omonia but the train did not go there so we had to go backwards a stop. Anyway. We got to the port and we had missed all the boats for Hydra and for Spetses. So we decided to suck it up and take the dolphin. But we would have to wait three hours for it. We want and sat for at Cafe Veneti. That place has some good looking foods. I got the chance to write out all my postcards and letters and stuff so it was cool. The dolphin was kind of shaky but not too bad. When we got to Spetses, it was cold and raining and there were absolutely no people out. So Joanna stood outside for a little while and I tried to find a hotel. I went into to hotels and that was about it. We chose Hotel Klimis. They lady told me 10,000 a night and when I said that to the man he seemed pissed but he could not do anything. So then we went for a walk. It was a cute island but totally dead. All the places close for winter I guess. We sat at a cafe for coffee. We played backgammon and checkers. It was weird because we really have nothing to say to each other. It is not a bad thing and I did not care but it gets kind of boring. After a while some people started coming. There were actually a lot of good looking guys and there was an abundance of guys too. I don't even know how many hours we sat there. Finally we decided to go and eat. We went to this Italian place. The guys inside was really nice to us. Probably because we were his only customers. By the time we finished we were ready to pass out and it was only 10pm/ We went to the hotel and went to sleep. All I can say about the entire day was that it was an experience. We should have done a lot of things differently. In the morning, we woke up and I went to find out about boats. Joanna did not want to sit on a boat for six hours so we decided to take the dolphin again. We walked to the other side of the port and saw more cute stuff. Then we sad and had what I though was very good coffee. But were were sitting outside so I did not last too long. We walked a little more and then had more time to kill. So we went and sat at the hotel. Once again, we just sat and looked at each other. Finally it was time to go. There ride back was pretty bad. Then dolphin dropped us off and we were not sure where we were. So we started walking and when we asked where the train stop was, they said it was a fifteen minute wlak. So we started walking. Joanna got mad at me because I did not let her help me carry my bag. We had no clue where we were going again so we asked and we were in between two train stops. I suggested calling her aunt so that is what we did. We took a cab to her bakery. Thank God the cabbie was really nice because he could have screwed us over. When we got there her uncle took us to the house and have us spaghetti. Now her aunt came home and we are going to sit. I forgot to mention what we saw yesterday on our way to Vicky. We walked past McDonalds and they had a huge sign for McLent.