Beginning in Athens.

I don't think I have the words right now to explain what an amazing city Athens is. I've been here 3 days now and each day seems to surprise me all the more. But let's backtrack a bit to actually arriving. It was by far one of the longes journeys I've ever taken. From leaving the house at 2 AM to arriving at SFO with a 6:30 flight. A one hour layover in Philly after a 6 hour flight only to get back on the plane for another 9 hours to finally arrive in Athens. Good thing Hotel Palmyra is only about 20 minutes away from the airport, which by the way had been moved and rebuilt from its original location to accommodate the Olympics in 2004. Luckily, along the way, I met some people in my program - so I wasn't exactly traveling alone.

First impressions. I love how pleasantly surprised I was to find that Athens is not what I pictured it to be. I've come to learn, and even as we have already discussed in class, that there is a dual presence, both of an ancient and modern Greece. A lot of times, I think we tend to forget that Greece itself is an industrialized nation. We think of Greece and we picture beaches, blue and white buildings setting themselves in beautiful islands, donkeys as transportation... The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants even? And I'm afraid that we in the US, and sadly, myself included have fell victim to the image that society tries to feed us about Greece. It is a socially constructed image that has caused us to fail to see that although this stuff is indeed incorporated into this wonderful country, there is so much more to it than that. And all that stuff we don't realize, I hope to learn and experience in my time here. So, back to my the impressions that being in Athens has left me with.. It's very commercial. There are billboards, department stores, even US chain stores such as STARBUCKS! You can find a new railways system that was built for the Olympics, people everywhere drive a Mercedes, and tons more... So yo can imagine how shocked I was to not see one donkey in sight. But then again, this is the capital. At the same time, you head downtown into the Plaka area and you can find all the traditional Greek restaurants, a flea market, and then just above it, the amazing and ancient remains to the Acropolis. It is an exquisite sight, and truly an amazing place to be!


By far, one of my favorite moments has been last night when our program went to dinner. First of all, it was late. Second of all, we were there for more than 3 hours! Dinner here is not just dinner - it's a show! And a fantastic one in fact. We were entertained with live traditional music and dancing... Lots of dancing. Enough to drag a few of us up to dance with them. It was a night worth noting. I remember sitting there and realizing how much I loved the relax and joyous atmosphere. That dinner was not just time to eat, but a time to enjoy oneself in the company of others. It's not an eat and run as I have now noticed us Americans tend to live.

Another memorable moment which almost put me to tears was today. We were up top on the Acropolis (If you look at my pictures you'll see the breathtaking vies which look down on all of Athens. It's amazing!) I tour guide starts to talk about this huge rock a little bit lower in elevation. She mentions that it was called Mars Rock and it was where Paul used to preach to the Greeks when he came into Athens. This struck so much! To think that I was walking the steps of the New Testament really blessed me and caused me to appreciate all the more the rich history and value of this country. It's magnificent, and leaves me at a loss for words to describe it beauty.

With that said, my last words for now are that I absoltely love it here. It's no wonder why I was so obsessed with Greece. I can only wish I was even a little Greek myself. But then again, I am at heart! [=




Pictures: (Facebook only) Album 1 Album 2
(Open to all) Athens Album

With love from Athens,
Carla