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.