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.