So, the day started off interesting. We got to our metro on time and everything was going smoothly-- we arrived in the part of Athens that has the bus station. We tried to follow our handy dandy map from a Greek mapquest, but we soon found it unreliable. We asked for directions from different people, but they all sent us in different directions. We went back and forth, back and forth for about an hour. There were these guys working in a car garage that we passed like 3 times that began to laugh at us. It was getting comical. We were getting worried that we would miss our 8:45 bus, but we finally found an English speaking man on a motorcycle that led us to the bus. We made it at 8:43 a.m. Haha! Talk about a sigh of relief!
The ride here wasn't too bad, and the ferry was actually a fun ride. On the bus, I sat with a little old lady who was Greek Orthodox. Every time we passed a church or cemetery, she would chant softly to herself and do all the symbols. She didn't speak English so she would just look over at me and grin. Isn't smiling such a blessing? It's so universal.
When we got on the island, it was an immediate sense of wonder and excitement. It was like we left reality at the door of the ferry and entered this Disney World-esque community all its own. When we got into town, it was a movie-like town with cafes, icecream shops and stores door-to-door as far as the eye can see. We explored for a while, darting in and out of various shops. We went down to the water for a while and took lots of pictures. We are going to the actual beach tomorrow to lie around and relax. We are also hoping to check out the Smuggler's Cove. We ate supper at this cute little restaurant and had the best pizza we've had all semester! Tonight we got gelato icecream, which has become a new tastebud sensation of mine. Yum! They are celebrating some sort of festival here and people are dressed up in Halloween costumes and music is playing-- it is so neat!
Our hotel is really nice minus one minor detail: THE SHOWER. A tiny 12x12 inch square of tiles, it has a wrap-around curtain that doesn't even reach the ground. The shower head does not hang from the top of the ceiling, but instead becomes a juggling mess as you try to hold it and shampoo your hair. I dropped it several times and occasionally sprayed the outside of the curtain, soaking the floor. I noticed once that the water was beginning to overflow onto the floor so I panic and try to shut off the water-- instead I knock off my razor and it breaks mid-shaving. I search around in the puddle of water for the razor and instead come up with a huge clump of hair that is not my own. I scream-- it is then that I turn the water back on and spray myself in the face-- my contact falls out because of the water pressure (luckily I brought extras..) Something tells me I might just dab on some extra deo the rest of our stay and skip the trauma.
The people here are so nice and it is a unique town. We have a balcony that looks over the town square and the water can be seen as well. Tomorrow we are thinking about watching a play from our balcony. I am looking forward to the relaxation tomorrow-- it is much needed. I am so glad we decided to come here-- words can't adequately express what emotion washes over me as I look around and see the beauty of this part of the world. Mountains and ocean, two of the wonders of nature work hand in hand to create one of the most gorgeous landscapes. They might have to drag me kicking and screaming back to the Artemis. Haha.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Drinks With Umbrellas
Why did I title my entry in such a way? Because this weekend will not be complete until I have some sort of drink that has a tiny umbrella in it. It is the epitome of relaxation and beachlife-- fruit punch is refreshing, but if you stick that little umbrella in there it immediately results in a change of lifestyle. If you are sitting up straight, you will immediately slouch back into your chair. If you are lying down, this peace comes over you and you could instantly take a nap if you wanted to. The power of the tiny umbrella.
We are leaving at 6:30 in the morning. DiMy (Mrs. Myhan) is taking us to the metro, where we will then go catch a bus. Throw a ferry in there and we are on our way to island bliss! I really hope this weekend turns out like we want it too, but if not-- it is still good to get away. I'm done with all my tests-- some I did good on-- some not so much-- but I am going to clear my head of all disappointments.
Tonight, after class was over, I felt like a bird that had just been let out of its cage. We all did. Card games started, movies began and I went out and played basketball against Ben. It is so beautiful outside and the weather is nice-- such a blessing! It was kind of cool, but I still continued to sweat profusely after playing Michael Jordan. He doesn't take it easy on me because I'm a girl, which is flattering and frustrating at the same time. Haha.
We have good talks while we're shooting around-- we talked about today's chapel some tonight. Dr. Hopper talked and once I got passed his dry, gruff humor I really understood what he was talking about. Dr. Hopper is one of those people that is hard to decipher-- he says things that are totally "non-old-person-like" which is unexpected and funny at the same time. He was talking about how it is okay to question God-- and that when we have questions who is better to go to then our maker? I feel like at Harding sometimes people put up these fronts of strength and I end up feeling like such a weakling. It was nice to hear David pour out his soul in Psalm 13 about his fears and frustrations with God. I have asked some of those same questions. I think that until we acknowledge our weakness, we will never appreciate the strength when we receive it. I think instead of giving people cookie cutter answers-- we should be real with them and let them see insecurity. Just some thoughts from my heart.
You know when you find out someone is super talented and you didn't know it-- that this light just glows around them from now on. That happened the other day. Dr. Hopper started playing the piano beautifully (he's amazing at it!) and then good 'ol Mr. Griff started singing this song. Oh my goodness. He is so so so good! I've heard him lead singing in chapel, but that just doesn't do much for displaying the extent of his skill. I was trying to study Greek with Jake, but he would get frustrated because I would venture off into a daze-- listening to the two of them create this wonderful collaboration of instrument and voice. I asked Kiwi (Mrs. Griff) if that is what made her fall in love with him and she just kind of turned pink, stuttered and avoided it altogether. I think that's a yes. Haha.
To close off this random collection of ideas, we might have internet at the hotel we stay at so I will try to keep in touch if possible. If not, I'll update you when I get back. Just pray for our safety! I am looking forward to this and I hope it exceeds my expectations! God Bless You!
We are leaving at 6:30 in the morning. DiMy (Mrs. Myhan) is taking us to the metro, where we will then go catch a bus. Throw a ferry in there and we are on our way to island bliss! I really hope this weekend turns out like we want it too, but if not-- it is still good to get away. I'm done with all my tests-- some I did good on-- some not so much-- but I am going to clear my head of all disappointments.
Tonight, after class was over, I felt like a bird that had just been let out of its cage. We all did. Card games started, movies began and I went out and played basketball against Ben. It is so beautiful outside and the weather is nice-- such a blessing! It was kind of cool, but I still continued to sweat profusely after playing Michael Jordan. He doesn't take it easy on me because I'm a girl, which is flattering and frustrating at the same time. Haha.
We have good talks while we're shooting around-- we talked about today's chapel some tonight. Dr. Hopper talked and once I got passed his dry, gruff humor I really understood what he was talking about. Dr. Hopper is one of those people that is hard to decipher-- he says things that are totally "non-old-person-like" which is unexpected and funny at the same time. He was talking about how it is okay to question God-- and that when we have questions who is better to go to then our maker? I feel like at Harding sometimes people put up these fronts of strength and I end up feeling like such a weakling. It was nice to hear David pour out his soul in Psalm 13 about his fears and frustrations with God. I have asked some of those same questions. I think that until we acknowledge our weakness, we will never appreciate the strength when we receive it. I think instead of giving people cookie cutter answers-- we should be real with them and let them see insecurity. Just some thoughts from my heart.
You know when you find out someone is super talented and you didn't know it-- that this light just glows around them from now on. That happened the other day. Dr. Hopper started playing the piano beautifully (he's amazing at it!) and then good 'ol Mr. Griff started singing this song. Oh my goodness. He is so so so good! I've heard him lead singing in chapel, but that just doesn't do much for displaying the extent of his skill. I was trying to study Greek with Jake, but he would get frustrated because I would venture off into a daze-- listening to the two of them create this wonderful collaboration of instrument and voice. I asked Kiwi (Mrs. Griff) if that is what made her fall in love with him and she just kind of turned pink, stuttered and avoided it altogether. I think that's a yes. Haha.
To close off this random collection of ideas, we might have internet at the hotel we stay at so I will try to keep in touch if possible. If not, I'll update you when I get back. Just pray for our safety! I am looking forward to this and I hope it exceeds my expectations! God Bless You!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Banana Split Guilt Offerings
Well, I am taking a break from this crazy frenzy of studying to write. I have had 2 big tests already and I have 2 remaining. Aagh! When you get done with one, you have enough time to take a deep breath and get started on the next study guide. I can't help but daydream off into island bliss, awaiting our upcoming adventure. I think the plan is to leave Friday morning really early. Not crazy about the morning wake-up call, but we can sleep on the bus. It is 5 girls and 2 boys going on this little adventure. Yeah, the fellas are a little outnumbered, but I think they can handle it. :-) Other than me, of course, it's: Lauren, Lacey, Alana, Ashley, Ben and Jake. Jake is our little travel agent-- he thrives on finding hotels and spots and booking things. He will be so busy planning while there that the whole sea of estrogen around him shouldn't phase him. If I had one word to describe Ben it would be "chill." He is so calm and never raises his voice. I think if he ever yelled at me I would cry-- because it would mean that I had really done something over the top. I think he will take everything in stride.
We have our big Humanities 270 test tonight-- which is the killer class here. Afterwards, though, we always get dessert as a peace offering. People stomp out of the classroom until they see banana splits on the table-- we are pacified for about 30 minutes before someone goes, "Can you believe that short answer question! That was ridiculous!" Then, the banana split high is gone and we moan about our lives.
I always like to point out when a small blessing happens in my life and today it was because I got a message on facebook from Mrs. Phyllis Bachelor! I gave her my blog address, so if you're reading this, hey! :-) It has been so long since we've caught up-- and I got a little teary that I finally got the chance to!
Better get back to work. Blah-de-blah-de-blah! Love ya'll!
We have our big Humanities 270 test tonight-- which is the killer class here. Afterwards, though, we always get dessert as a peace offering. People stomp out of the classroom until they see banana splits on the table-- we are pacified for about 30 minutes before someone goes, "Can you believe that short answer question! That was ridiculous!" Then, the banana split high is gone and we moan about our lives.
I always like to point out when a small blessing happens in my life and today it was because I got a message on facebook from Mrs. Phyllis Bachelor! I gave her my blog address, so if you're reading this, hey! :-) It has been so long since we've caught up-- and I got a little teary that I finally got the chance to!
Better get back to work. Blah-de-blah-de-blah! Love ya'll!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Valentines Day Part 2
Hello everyone! I was so excited this morning because I finally got my letter from Mema and Papa (thanks, guys!) and my Valentine's Day package from home. I was like a little kid on Christmas morning. I ripped open the box to find one of my favorite treats ever-- gummies. Lifesaver gummies, brite crawler gummies, Jolly Rancher gummies-- oh yeah! Thanks, Mom-- you know the way to my heart. The mail system here stinks, and other people got lost packages as well. Lauren got the cutest poster from her mom's elementary class. The misspelled words, of course, made it even more adorable. One of the lines said, "You are swet."
I am supposed to be working on World Christian online bible class work, but I always seem to type in www.facebook.com or my e-mail address instead..whoops. The class is just kind of frustrating and the teacher counted off 4 points on one of my assignments because I used "I've" instead of "I have." Give me a break. Haha. I'm (I mean, I am) pressing on though!
Dr. Hopper flew in today because two people are coming tomorrow to try out for the Myhans' positions. They are finishing out their term this summer before heading back to the states. I'm glad that I got to have them before their time was up. They are such great people and I have been blessed to know them.
I have two big tests tonight so I am trying to stay out of panic mode. I have become more "chill" the more I've been here-- I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing-- haha. Last night, Lacey, Lauren and I made videos instead of being really studious. They were HILARIOUS. One of my hobbies is imitation so that was my role in it. I imitated one of our teachers perfectly and had people rollin'.
Lauren and Lacey also played a mean prank on me. I won't disclose total details, but it involves putting up pictures of a boy that they think I have a crush on (I don't!) in my room in strategic spots. One of them they printed off facebook and he is making a weird face and they put it on the back of the bathroom door. I am going about my business when I see him staring at me with an "I've got my eye on you" caption. Can you believe that? I screamed. Though a picture, it still gives me the heebie-jeebies to know that I am being watched in one of the worst moments of life. Others were places around the room with different captions. Girls, girls! I love them though-- I always have to give them props for creativity. :-) Any ideas on how to get them back? Haha.
I am supposed to be working on World Christian online bible class work, but I always seem to type in www.facebook.com or my e-mail address instead..whoops. The class is just kind of frustrating and the teacher counted off 4 points on one of my assignments because I used "I've" instead of "I have." Give me a break. Haha. I'm (I mean, I am) pressing on though!
Dr. Hopper flew in today because two people are coming tomorrow to try out for the Myhans' positions. They are finishing out their term this summer before heading back to the states. I'm glad that I got to have them before their time was up. They are such great people and I have been blessed to know them.
I have two big tests tonight so I am trying to stay out of panic mode. I have become more "chill" the more I've been here-- I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing-- haha. Last night, Lacey, Lauren and I made videos instead of being really studious. They were HILARIOUS. One of my hobbies is imitation so that was my role in it. I imitated one of our teachers perfectly and had people rollin'.
Lauren and Lacey also played a mean prank on me. I won't disclose total details, but it involves putting up pictures of a boy that they think I have a crush on (I don't!) in my room in strategic spots. One of them they printed off facebook and he is making a weird face and they put it on the back of the bathroom door. I am going about my business when I see him staring at me with an "I've got my eye on you" caption. Can you believe that? I screamed. Though a picture, it still gives me the heebie-jeebies to know that I am being watched in one of the worst moments of life. Others were places around the room with different captions. Girls, girls! I love them though-- I always have to give them props for creativity. :-) Any ideas on how to get them back? Haha.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Dreaming of the Beach...
Ok, I think we finally decided on the whole Zante (it has a more formal Greek name..I'll get it to you as soon as I can so you google it!) beach thing. Jake looked it up and we found a nice hotel for 21 euro a night, which isn't too bad for the view! We also get a nice breakfast the next morning. It is only a 5 hour bus ride and a 1 hour ferry ride. We saw some pictures and it was amazing! We will get to visit this Smuggler's Cove and hang out at the beach and recover from this test week! And when we get back-- we're headed straight for our trip to Northern Greece! Can you say major VACATION? I think all colleges should run like this. A week of class, trip, a week of class, trip...I think less students would drop out.
Before supper tonight, I worked out again (hurray!) and then played basketball with Lauren, Ben and Tony. Little Demetri wandered the court, but I wouldn't count him as an official player. It was girls vs. boys and the boys slaughtered us. They weren't allowed to pack us, but unfortunately we didn't think to make "no stealing" a rule as well. It was so much fun though! I love playing basketball and I love that the weather has gotten nice again so we can do so.
Have you ever had a hamburger where the cheese was inside the meat? Me neither-- until tonight. We came in to find that was the meal. I was super excited and bit into the hamburger only to find cheese ooze out of my hamburger patty. Weird.
I'm fixing to finish my Humanities 201 study guide and look over my slides for the test tomorrow. Prayers! :-)
Before supper tonight, I worked out again (hurray!) and then played basketball with Lauren, Ben and Tony. Little Demetri wandered the court, but I wouldn't count him as an official player. It was girls vs. boys and the boys slaughtered us. They weren't allowed to pack us, but unfortunately we didn't think to make "no stealing" a rule as well. It was so much fun though! I love playing basketball and I love that the weather has gotten nice again so we can do so.
Have you ever had a hamburger where the cheese was inside the meat? Me neither-- until tonight. We came in to find that was the meal. I was super excited and bit into the hamburger only to find cheese ooze out of my hamburger patty. Weird.
I'm fixing to finish my Humanities 201 study guide and look over my slides for the test tomorrow. Prayers! :-)
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Subway and Soft Bread! Hallelujah!
What a beautiful day today! The sun was shining, gentle breeze-- such a stark contrast to last week's weather. The unpredictability kind of reminds me of good 'ol Arkansas. We headed for Athens, dressed in skirts, t-shirts and light jackets and for once didn't feel out of place. The Greek people, however, are still bundled up with scarves and leather jackets. They still look at us like we're crazy, but part of me wanted to smile and point up at the sun. When we got into Athens, a few of us went to eat at Subway. I thought that maybe it would be Subway + stone bread, but when the lady pulled out bread resembling ours I wanted to climb over the glass and give her a hug. I usually go for the 6 inch bread, but celebrating this momentous occasion I got a foot long of that scrumptious goodness. That was a fresh start to the afternoon-- I now understand their little "Eat Fresh" logo. Stick a kid in a hard bread country for over a month and that is eatin' fresh!
We looked around for a little while and then headed to church. Church tonight was special to me for two reasons. Isn't it exciting when a preacher reads a scripture you've heard your whole life and it suddenly comes to you in this new light? Dino read the passage where Paul talks about running the race that is before you-- he talked about how important games and competitions were back then and how it was such a proper analogy to make during that time period. After going to Olympia and Corinth, it all made sense. After seeing how much they put into their stadiums and their competitions (they were, after all, in honor of their gods) it made sense that Paul would compare the Christian life to a race. And isn't it neat that after all these years that same analogy fits us today? We put so much time and effort into athletic competitions-- shouldn't we also strive to complete the most important race of our lives?
I also enjoyed church tonight because we had some visitors. There was a younger gentlemen from Connecticut (it was so good to meet another American outside of the group!), a Greek man who just came back from New Jersey and a man from Iraq. (The guy from Iraq was a translator for the American army). I enjoyed talking to each of them and getting to know a little bit about them. The guy from Connecticut was really nice and from what I gathered, he is just kind of "chillin" in Greece-- not here for study or anything in particular. Oh to be able to do that! I hope they come back because most of the time, we are the majority of the church.
We came back tonight and had leftovers like we always do on Sunday nights-- it is my least favorite food night because we all have to fight over 3 microwaves! A tough school week awaits me tomorrow-- test after test. I'm trying to keep my cool and view the long weekend ahead. I think we have decided to go to the island of Zende. (I think that's what it's called!) I don't have a lot of details at this point, but Jake has done some research and it is apparently a beautiful place. He found a postcard of it today while we were shopping and it was great-- he says the weather forecast is nice too. He's supposed to call Aristotle Travel and get some price estimates and information. I'll keep you updated on if it works out! :-) Some people are going as far as Russia, but I don't have $400 just lyin' around. Some are going skiing, but I don't have ski gear nor the patience to fall a hundred times while the pros dart around me. Haha.
All my love!
We looked around for a little while and then headed to church. Church tonight was special to me for two reasons. Isn't it exciting when a preacher reads a scripture you've heard your whole life and it suddenly comes to you in this new light? Dino read the passage where Paul talks about running the race that is before you-- he talked about how important games and competitions were back then and how it was such a proper analogy to make during that time period. After going to Olympia and Corinth, it all made sense. After seeing how much they put into their stadiums and their competitions (they were, after all, in honor of their gods) it made sense that Paul would compare the Christian life to a race. And isn't it neat that after all these years that same analogy fits us today? We put so much time and effort into athletic competitions-- shouldn't we also strive to complete the most important race of our lives?
I also enjoyed church tonight because we had some visitors. There was a younger gentlemen from Connecticut (it was so good to meet another American outside of the group!), a Greek man who just came back from New Jersey and a man from Iraq. (The guy from Iraq was a translator for the American army). I enjoyed talking to each of them and getting to know a little bit about them. The guy from Connecticut was really nice and from what I gathered, he is just kind of "chillin" in Greece-- not here for study or anything in particular. Oh to be able to do that! I hope they come back because most of the time, we are the majority of the church.
We came back tonight and had leftovers like we always do on Sunday nights-- it is my least favorite food night because we all have to fight over 3 microwaves! A tough school week awaits me tomorrow-- test after test. I'm trying to keep my cool and view the long weekend ahead. I think we have decided to go to the island of Zende. (I think that's what it's called!) I don't have a lot of details at this point, but Jake has done some research and it is apparently a beautiful place. He found a postcard of it today while we were shopping and it was great-- he says the weather forecast is nice too. He's supposed to call Aristotle Travel and get some price estimates and information. I'll keep you updated on if it works out! :-) Some people are going as far as Russia, but I don't have $400 just lyin' around. Some are going skiing, but I don't have ski gear nor the patience to fall a hundred times while the pros dart around me. Haha.
All my love!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Sleeping In, Pizza, and a Good Ballgame
Today is my favorite day of the week. Saturday! Actually, it is only my favorite day when it falls on a day off. Ha! I slept in today which was very much needed. After lunch, I made a trip back to the workout room-- it was nice to see it again. I have been out of the game for a while and I was starting to get to that couch potato stage. They have a really nice workout room here and I should take advantage of it!
I updated a lot of my blogs today so that they will meet the qualifications of the trip journals we have to turn in. So-- if you are bored and want to check out the ones that deal with sites, I added a little more information.
A few of us girls watched a chick flick tonight and then we went downstairs for pizza! Several of the group members left for different occasions so those of us left got to enjoy more pizza! Harding is playing Henderson State back home and it is a big televised game-- Captain put it on the big screen. I wish I was there with the Rhodes Rowdies, but I'm glad I'll atleast know the outcome. I'm fixing to go down and watch the rest of it! :-)
I think the movie chosen for tonight is "Monsters Inc." Finally-- a victory! I love cute animated films! Tomorrow is Sunday, which means we will head into Athens for a little while before church. The weather was really nice today and I hope it keeps up. The snow was fun, but there is only so much of it I can take. I hope you enjoyed my travel updates-- I feel like I can never quite convey how amazing they are! Our next trip is to Delphi and other parts of northern Greece. Can't wait! :-) Each trip brings new adventures and each trip we get a new roommate. It gives me a chance to get to know different girls a little better.
I am already having "things will be all different when I get back" dreams. I dreamed about the James' bible study in Searcy that I have gone to since freshman year. Instead of having their cute little terriors, they got rid of them and got two huge sheepdogs. I walked in and everyone kind of looked at me like they didn't know who I was. (I usually get a big greeting from everyone) All the couples that went there had switched partners and a lot of the familiar faces were gone. I remember feeling out of the loop when I woke up. I am starting to realize that I need to accept change; some of it may actually be for the better. I have realized that people can't put their life on hold just because I am not ready to change. People will get married. People will move houses. I will grow up and eventually get a job. Yes, I am one of those people that tries to interpret my own dreams. I always have these when I know big changes are coming up in my life-- and I always dream I have a baby when I know I'm facing new responsibilities. (I have given birth in dreams a few times here..scary..) What do ya'll think? Interpretations are welcome. Haha.
Well, I know this entry was just a rambling session, but I try to keep this updated or I will fall away-- much like the lack of working out. I love you all and think of you often. I also got a neat comment from my senior high English teacher, Mrs. Hamilton! If you read this again Mrs. H-- thanks for the comment! It made my day-- you had a big influence on my love for writing!
Love ya'll! Take care!
I updated a lot of my blogs today so that they will meet the qualifications of the trip journals we have to turn in. So-- if you are bored and want to check out the ones that deal with sites, I added a little more information.
A few of us girls watched a chick flick tonight and then we went downstairs for pizza! Several of the group members left for different occasions so those of us left got to enjoy more pizza! Harding is playing Henderson State back home and it is a big televised game-- Captain put it on the big screen. I wish I was there with the Rhodes Rowdies, but I'm glad I'll atleast know the outcome. I'm fixing to go down and watch the rest of it! :-)
I think the movie chosen for tonight is "Monsters Inc." Finally-- a victory! I love cute animated films! Tomorrow is Sunday, which means we will head into Athens for a little while before church. The weather was really nice today and I hope it keeps up. The snow was fun, but there is only so much of it I can take. I hope you enjoyed my travel updates-- I feel like I can never quite convey how amazing they are! Our next trip is to Delphi and other parts of northern Greece. Can't wait! :-) Each trip brings new adventures and each trip we get a new roommate. It gives me a chance to get to know different girls a little better.
I am already having "things will be all different when I get back" dreams. I dreamed about the James' bible study in Searcy that I have gone to since freshman year. Instead of having their cute little terriors, they got rid of them and got two huge sheepdogs. I walked in and everyone kind of looked at me like they didn't know who I was. (I usually get a big greeting from everyone) All the couples that went there had switched partners and a lot of the familiar faces were gone. I remember feeling out of the loop when I woke up. I am starting to realize that I need to accept change; some of it may actually be for the better. I have realized that people can't put their life on hold just because I am not ready to change. People will get married. People will move houses. I will grow up and eventually get a job. Yes, I am one of those people that tries to interpret my own dreams. I always have these when I know big changes are coming up in my life-- and I always dream I have a baby when I know I'm facing new responsibilities. (I have given birth in dreams a few times here..scary..) What do ya'll think? Interpretations are welcome. Haha.
Well, I know this entry was just a rambling session, but I try to keep this updated or I will fall away-- much like the lack of working out. I love you all and think of you often. I also got a neat comment from my senior high English teacher, Mrs. Hamilton! If you read this again Mrs. H-- thanks for the comment! It made my day-- you had a big influence on my love for writing!
Love ya'll! Take care!
Friday, February 22, 2008
Mycenae and Olympia
Heinrich Schliemann loved the stories of Homer and decided in the 1800s to excavate and try to locate artifacts from this time period. Though an amateur, he was successful and played a pivotal role in what we got to see on this day. We first looked in the beehive tombs. They aren't 100% sure who these belonged to, but they are tall structures with some stones weighing up to 60 standard tons! I got a picture of me in the doorway and I literally look like an ant. Want to drop 20 pounds? Stand by a beehive tomb-- it's a very flattering photograph. :-)
We also got to see the famous "Lions Gate" which was an entryway specifically designed to protect from enemy invasion. Lions represented royalty and power and stood as the emblem of Mycenae. Surrounding the area are grave sites, creatively named Grave Circle A, Grave Circle B and so on. They found 19 bodies in these tombs, with lots of gold inside-- Homer actually wrote about Mycenae being rich with gold. The Mask of Agamemmon (from the movie "Troy"-- the leader of the Greeks) was found and it was made of gold. I've only seen pictures, but I think we get to see it later on in a museum. On the way to our hotel in Olympia, we saw a lot of the damage that the August forest fires did to Greece. Not being very culturally aware this summer (because I was at camp), I didn't know much about this-- but for 4-6 weeks, forest fires raged and destroyed much of the lush greenlife that makes Greece beautiful. Luckily, they stopped it before it destroyed the museum we visited today in Olympia. There was damage surrounding it, but everything inside was still in tact.
I'm not usually a huge museum fan, but I really enjoyed the one in Olympia. The statue depictions of different gods towered above me and their detail was amazing. Their facial expressions were so realistic, you could almost feel what they were going through. I thought these structures were impressive on the ground, but Catharina informed us that these would have been up high in the temple, leaning slightly forward for a 3-D effect.
We went outside of the museum to see the training grounds for the Olympics. We saw where the wrestlers would have trained and where the torch would be lit. We also saw the workshop of Phidias, who is the man that created the statue of Zeus (which is one of the wonders of the ancient world.) I would have LOVED to see this statue, but no one knows what happened to it. We saw a model of what it would have looked like in comparison to the building and a person in the building and it was a jaw-dropper. Even seated, his head touched the roof of the temple! The remains of the Temple of Zeus were some of the most impressive ruins we've seen. After a while, all the stones start looking the same and whining wants to escape, but the fallen pillars of this temple blew me away. I tried to reassemble them in my head and form them into a column-- wow. I was almost as tall as one segment of the column-- imagine about 6 or 7 more of them piled on top of each other! We also saw the oldest preserved temple, Hera's temple-- and we saw her altar-- where the Olympic torch is now lit every 4 years.
The COOLEST part of this was seeing where they held the Olympic games. You walk through this archway like they would have-- I personally chose to victoriously walk through with my hands in the air-- and you see this long track in the distance with a marble strip as a starting line. A huge hill goes up on both sides and Catharina tells us that everyone would have just sat on the ground, except for the 10 judges who had marble seating. Before some of us chose to run (or jog) to the other side, Catharina explained that false starters back then were flogged in front of everyone. The runners used to run with just loin cloths on, but the winner one year accidentally lost his loin cloth before finishing. Because of his victory, they took it as a sign from the gods that they wanted them to run nude. So...for the rest of time, all the competitors competed naked. Glad they've changed the rules presently. Also, coaches had to coach in the nude because a woman once dressed up like a man so she could see her sons compete (women weren't allowed to watch the games). To keep this from happening again, coaches shed their clothes as well. What do you think about that, Coach Reely? Haha. Just food for thought: Gymnasium literally means "training in the nude."
More than just the exciting places and new information, this trip was a blessing because of friendships I've formed. We had a girl's devo on Wednesday night in the hotel and it, of course, turned into an emotional sharing time. We each had to talk about our fears, our passions, anything that was on our heart. I felt like I got to know more about the girls and what they were going through-- and we all found common themes of insecurity and fear that rang true for almost everyone. I have truly been blessed to have a group to laugh with, but also cry with. Though I am good-naturedly teased about my constant waterworks, I know that they are there whether I'm crying over "Father of the Bride" (It gets me every time!) or a real struggle in my life. I feel like I have had more brain-stimulating conversation since I've been here than I have in quite some time-- I stay up late with these girls and we talk about our faith rather than the latest gossip; we share books that have lifted us up rather than talk about the latest episode of a drama. It has been a breath of fresh air.
I am also celebrating the fact that my teeth cooperated and allowed me to enjoy my trip to the fullest. God has really come through for me again! Every time I feel beat down, something pulls me back up again. Hopefully this therapeutic filling will hold out for me!
The past few days went by in a flash, but it was a journey I was proud to take. Paul is one of my favorite Bible characters and I got a small glance into his life. I have always admired him, but now added to that list is his ability to trek through the mountaneous terrain that is Corinth. I have walked in the footsteps of Paul-- and I am sore. Haha.
We are back at the Artemis, fixing to start another grueling academic frenzy of a week. Our "holiday" is coming up though-- and we still haven't decided where we're going! We were going to go to Florence, but it is too expensive! Any ideas? It's for 3 days. Anyway-- I am looking forward to that little excursion.
Lots of love, Ashton
We also got to see the famous "Lions Gate" which was an entryway specifically designed to protect from enemy invasion. Lions represented royalty and power and stood as the emblem of Mycenae. Surrounding the area are grave sites, creatively named Grave Circle A, Grave Circle B and so on. They found 19 bodies in these tombs, with lots of gold inside-- Homer actually wrote about Mycenae being rich with gold. The Mask of Agamemmon (from the movie "Troy"-- the leader of the Greeks) was found and it was made of gold. I've only seen pictures, but I think we get to see it later on in a museum. On the way to our hotel in Olympia, we saw a lot of the damage that the August forest fires did to Greece. Not being very culturally aware this summer (because I was at camp), I didn't know much about this-- but for 4-6 weeks, forest fires raged and destroyed much of the lush greenlife that makes Greece beautiful. Luckily, they stopped it before it destroyed the museum we visited today in Olympia. There was damage surrounding it, but everything inside was still in tact.
I'm not usually a huge museum fan, but I really enjoyed the one in Olympia. The statue depictions of different gods towered above me and their detail was amazing. Their facial expressions were so realistic, you could almost feel what they were going through. I thought these structures were impressive on the ground, but Catharina informed us that these would have been up high in the temple, leaning slightly forward for a 3-D effect.
We went outside of the museum to see the training grounds for the Olympics. We saw where the wrestlers would have trained and where the torch would be lit. We also saw the workshop of Phidias, who is the man that created the statue of Zeus (which is one of the wonders of the ancient world.) I would have LOVED to see this statue, but no one knows what happened to it. We saw a model of what it would have looked like in comparison to the building and a person in the building and it was a jaw-dropper. Even seated, his head touched the roof of the temple! The remains of the Temple of Zeus were some of the most impressive ruins we've seen. After a while, all the stones start looking the same and whining wants to escape, but the fallen pillars of this temple blew me away. I tried to reassemble them in my head and form them into a column-- wow. I was almost as tall as one segment of the column-- imagine about 6 or 7 more of them piled on top of each other! We also saw the oldest preserved temple, Hera's temple-- and we saw her altar-- where the Olympic torch is now lit every 4 years.
The COOLEST part of this was seeing where they held the Olympic games. You walk through this archway like they would have-- I personally chose to victoriously walk through with my hands in the air-- and you see this long track in the distance with a marble strip as a starting line. A huge hill goes up on both sides and Catharina tells us that everyone would have just sat on the ground, except for the 10 judges who had marble seating. Before some of us chose to run (or jog) to the other side, Catharina explained that false starters back then were flogged in front of everyone. The runners used to run with just loin cloths on, but the winner one year accidentally lost his loin cloth before finishing. Because of his victory, they took it as a sign from the gods that they wanted them to run nude. So...for the rest of time, all the competitors competed naked. Glad they've changed the rules presently. Also, coaches had to coach in the nude because a woman once dressed up like a man so she could see her sons compete (women weren't allowed to watch the games). To keep this from happening again, coaches shed their clothes as well. What do you think about that, Coach Reely? Haha. Just food for thought: Gymnasium literally means "training in the nude."
More than just the exciting places and new information, this trip was a blessing because of friendships I've formed. We had a girl's devo on Wednesday night in the hotel and it, of course, turned into an emotional sharing time. We each had to talk about our fears, our passions, anything that was on our heart. I felt like I got to know more about the girls and what they were going through-- and we all found common themes of insecurity and fear that rang true for almost everyone. I have truly been blessed to have a group to laugh with, but also cry with. Though I am good-naturedly teased about my constant waterworks, I know that they are there whether I'm crying over "Father of the Bride" (It gets me every time!) or a real struggle in my life. I feel like I have had more brain-stimulating conversation since I've been here than I have in quite some time-- I stay up late with these girls and we talk about our faith rather than the latest gossip; we share books that have lifted us up rather than talk about the latest episode of a drama. It has been a breath of fresh air.
I am also celebrating the fact that my teeth cooperated and allowed me to enjoy my trip to the fullest. God has really come through for me again! Every time I feel beat down, something pulls me back up again. Hopefully this therapeutic filling will hold out for me!
The past few days went by in a flash, but it was a journey I was proud to take. Paul is one of my favorite Bible characters and I got a small glance into his life. I have always admired him, but now added to that list is his ability to trek through the mountaneous terrain that is Corinth. I have walked in the footsteps of Paul-- and I am sore. Haha.
We are back at the Artemis, fixing to start another grueling academic frenzy of a week. Our "holiday" is coming up though-- and we still haven't decided where we're going! We were going to go to Florence, but it is too expensive! Any ideas? It's for 3 days. Anyway-- I am looking forward to that little excursion.
Lots of love, Ashton
Castles and Fortresses..Where's the Prince?
I have to say that Corinth and Olympia have been my favorite part of Greece thus far. Though it is beautiful everywhere we go, these particular spots held special significance to me.
Our first stop in the adventure was at the Corinthian Canal. On the east side is the Aegean Sea part and on the west is the Ionian Sea. The water was a beautiful blue and the drop was amazingly far down. My friend Sara is going back to bungee jump the canal in April-- luckily it is too cold for it to be opened now or I might have been talked into doing something incredibly spontaneous and stupid. (I tend to live spontaneously here for some reason; I climb mountains and shove entire pieces of cake in my mouth-- it was a double dog dare-- I can't resist those.)
Next, we stopped at the ruins of an old Corinthian theater, the theater of Erastus. The huge boulders everywhere were impressive and we saw green grass for the first time in a while, but I think the most impressive thing at this site was a long, flat stone with Erastus' name carved in it. Historians believe this is the same Erastus that is mentioned in Romans 16:23, Acts 19:22, and 2 Timothy 4:20-- the treasurer who used his own money to pay for the pavement of this area. Another historical feature is a stone with Sostanes' name carved in it-- many believe this could be the Sostanes mentioned in Acts 18:17-- the synagogue ruler. Our tour guide told us that they also used this area as a gladiator arena. They turned the orchestra pit (which we saw) into a body of water and would act out naval battles. Seeing this theater/arena was neat because I just pictured movies like "Gladiator" and other movies that depict this type of recreation. (I guess those "boy" movies do come in handy..haha).
We then made our way to the museum. The first thing that we looked at before we went in was an ancient fountain. One of my favorite plays from World Literature class last year was "Medea," the story of a woman driven mad by romantic love (and you wonder why it's my favorite..) In the story, Medea's husband Jason leaves her for another princess. Medea gives his new bride a poison-robe wedding present. The princess puts it on-- and dies-- but legend has it that she burst into flames and jumped in this particular fountain. It was neat to see my favorite literature intertwined with what I was looking at.
I am very grateful that most of the statues in the museum were from the Roman period. Why? Because the Romans knew to put clothes on them. With the exception of a few, most had togas on. Most of them were headless, unfortunately, because of all statues-- the ones with clothes on should be the least ashamed to have a face to their figures-- right? Catharina told us that torsos were mass produced and then people paid to have a portrait face made-- makes sense. We also saw a statue of Octavian (who defeated Cleopatra and Marc Antony) and head busts of Nero and Julius Caesar. These were my favorites because I am familar with their stories.
Other neat museum features: There was a small, strange-looking statue of the god named Pan. Pan liked to cause trouble or "panic." This is just one of many things that we say that branches from this country's history. I have found that our language would be next to nothing without Greek language backing us up. On a completely random note, we also saw ancient tweezers (apparently Greek women liked to pluck now and then) and we saw fossilized fish scales.
The part I looked forward to the most was going to the Corinthian agora, where they have a spot where they know without a shadow of a doubt that Paul was there. It's called the Bema-- which was the central place where public speeches were heard. Paul was brought before Galliel (the procounsel of Achaia) here in Acts 18:12. We stood there as a group and sang-- and then Mr. Griffith prayed. I wish we could have stayed here longer, but our tour guide kept talking and walking. It was still a really moving experience.
Probably my favorite part of this day was climbing up the Acrocorinth. Like with the acropolis here, it is the highest point of the city. It is where everyone would go in time of war. This is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. Though it's quite a hike, the view from the top is worth the journey. Being quite the little princess, of course I would love a place with castles and fortresses! While walking up I would picture the romantic nature of the view. Boys behind me were like, "I wonder how many people died right here. I bet a ton of people were slaughtered where we are right now." Boys! I wanted to run with my arms open wide through the wildflowers singing a Disney princess number while they just wanted to picture a man in armor getting impaled with spears. We had a picnic lunch on the top and it was just perfect. I did, however, get a little bit of the taste of the time. Whitney and I decided to take a "short cut," but soon found ourselves surrounded by a huge fort. We had to scale the walls and occasionally a few stones would fall down. I ruined a bit of world history. I admit it.
One of the other highlights of this tour was going to the famous theater of Epidaurus ( in honor of Dionysus the god of wine). This place is known for its perfect acoustics. Though it seats thousands, the people on the top row can hear just as well as those in the third row. Catharina stood in the middle of the orchestra and spoke with her soft little voice-- and we still heard her instructions. Being the singing group that we are, we had to try out this for ourselves. We sang a few songs, but we ended with my personal favorite, "The Greatest Command." It was so powerful-- some tourists from another group (who didn't even speak our language) clapped for us and some even took pictures. I bet they thought we were famous. I did sing a mad soprano part that day. Haha-- just kidding. They perform plays there in the summer and I would love to see one performed. Maybe I'll get to return someday.
The first night we stayed at a hotel that overlooked the ocean. It was just a quick walk and you were already at the water. The water, even in the night sky, was as blue as I've ever seen-- and the snow-capped mountains in the distance had a mesmorizing presence. The moon was full and reflected off the water. I felt like I was in a romantic movie, minus the boy-- except that for some reason it didn't bother me that I was alone. Occasionally, I would just wander off by myself, soaking it up. Later, Ben and I collected rocks from off the beach. Purple ones, blue ones-- every color you can imagine! One word for this place: magical. Wait til you see the pictures. I forgot to add: There is a small island in the water and there is just one house on it. I thought that would be the neatest place to live-- it's definately a good spot for a dad with many daughters. A guy would literally have to get in a boat to pick them up for prom. Our hotel rooms were nice-- but I have figured out that Greeks not only like their bread hard, but their beds as well.
If exploring dungeons and bastions (castle-like buildings) is for you-- if you like to see holes in the roof where they poured hot tar on their enemies-- then there is a place in Corinth for you. On the second day, we went into the Palamidi castle and saw the bastions of different saints-- one even named for the king from "300." There were no real safety features to this site so you felt like you were actually an "explorer." You could also fall to your death too. I absolutely loved this place and felt like I could use some more time there. We went into pitch-dark cisterns and dungeons. You could literally not see your hand in front of your face and your eyes were so adjusted to darkness that when you got to a less-dark part (that on the way in you couldn't see anything) on the way back out you could see because it wasn't as dark as the pit of the cistern. Before we left, we walked down 800 steps to get to the bottom. You could choose to do that or take the bus, but I chose to live the spontaneous life and go down the stairs. My legs were shaking when I got to the bottom, but it was so worth it. The view on the way down took your mind off the walking and instead of exhaustion-- I felt inspired and uplifted.
We'll call this part I. I'll briefly wrap up the Mycenae portion of our trip in the next entry.
Our first stop in the adventure was at the Corinthian Canal. On the east side is the Aegean Sea part and on the west is the Ionian Sea. The water was a beautiful blue and the drop was amazingly far down. My friend Sara is going back to bungee jump the canal in April-- luckily it is too cold for it to be opened now or I might have been talked into doing something incredibly spontaneous and stupid. (I tend to live spontaneously here for some reason; I climb mountains and shove entire pieces of cake in my mouth-- it was a double dog dare-- I can't resist those.)
Next, we stopped at the ruins of an old Corinthian theater, the theater of Erastus. The huge boulders everywhere were impressive and we saw green grass for the first time in a while, but I think the most impressive thing at this site was a long, flat stone with Erastus' name carved in it. Historians believe this is the same Erastus that is mentioned in Romans 16:23, Acts 19:22, and 2 Timothy 4:20-- the treasurer who used his own money to pay for the pavement of this area. Another historical feature is a stone with Sostanes' name carved in it-- many believe this could be the Sostanes mentioned in Acts 18:17-- the synagogue ruler. Our tour guide told us that they also used this area as a gladiator arena. They turned the orchestra pit (which we saw) into a body of water and would act out naval battles. Seeing this theater/arena was neat because I just pictured movies like "Gladiator" and other movies that depict this type of recreation. (I guess those "boy" movies do come in handy..haha).
We then made our way to the museum. The first thing that we looked at before we went in was an ancient fountain. One of my favorite plays from World Literature class last year was "Medea," the story of a woman driven mad by romantic love (and you wonder why it's my favorite..) In the story, Medea's husband Jason leaves her for another princess. Medea gives his new bride a poison-robe wedding present. The princess puts it on-- and dies-- but legend has it that she burst into flames and jumped in this particular fountain. It was neat to see my favorite literature intertwined with what I was looking at.
I am very grateful that most of the statues in the museum were from the Roman period. Why? Because the Romans knew to put clothes on them. With the exception of a few, most had togas on. Most of them were headless, unfortunately, because of all statues-- the ones with clothes on should be the least ashamed to have a face to their figures-- right? Catharina told us that torsos were mass produced and then people paid to have a portrait face made-- makes sense. We also saw a statue of Octavian (who defeated Cleopatra and Marc Antony) and head busts of Nero and Julius Caesar. These were my favorites because I am familar with their stories.
Other neat museum features: There was a small, strange-looking statue of the god named Pan. Pan liked to cause trouble or "panic." This is just one of many things that we say that branches from this country's history. I have found that our language would be next to nothing without Greek language backing us up. On a completely random note, we also saw ancient tweezers (apparently Greek women liked to pluck now and then) and we saw fossilized fish scales.
The part I looked forward to the most was going to the Corinthian agora, where they have a spot where they know without a shadow of a doubt that Paul was there. It's called the Bema-- which was the central place where public speeches were heard. Paul was brought before Galliel (the procounsel of Achaia) here in Acts 18:12. We stood there as a group and sang-- and then Mr. Griffith prayed. I wish we could have stayed here longer, but our tour guide kept talking and walking. It was still a really moving experience.
Probably my favorite part of this day was climbing up the Acrocorinth. Like with the acropolis here, it is the highest point of the city. It is where everyone would go in time of war. This is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. Though it's quite a hike, the view from the top is worth the journey. Being quite the little princess, of course I would love a place with castles and fortresses! While walking up I would picture the romantic nature of the view. Boys behind me were like, "I wonder how many people died right here. I bet a ton of people were slaughtered where we are right now." Boys! I wanted to run with my arms open wide through the wildflowers singing a Disney princess number while they just wanted to picture a man in armor getting impaled with spears. We had a picnic lunch on the top and it was just perfect. I did, however, get a little bit of the taste of the time. Whitney and I decided to take a "short cut," but soon found ourselves surrounded by a huge fort. We had to scale the walls and occasionally a few stones would fall down. I ruined a bit of world history. I admit it.
One of the other highlights of this tour was going to the famous theater of Epidaurus ( in honor of Dionysus the god of wine). This place is known for its perfect acoustics. Though it seats thousands, the people on the top row can hear just as well as those in the third row. Catharina stood in the middle of the orchestra and spoke with her soft little voice-- and we still heard her instructions. Being the singing group that we are, we had to try out this for ourselves. We sang a few songs, but we ended with my personal favorite, "The Greatest Command." It was so powerful-- some tourists from another group (who didn't even speak our language) clapped for us and some even took pictures. I bet they thought we were famous. I did sing a mad soprano part that day. Haha-- just kidding. They perform plays there in the summer and I would love to see one performed. Maybe I'll get to return someday.
The first night we stayed at a hotel that overlooked the ocean. It was just a quick walk and you were already at the water. The water, even in the night sky, was as blue as I've ever seen-- and the snow-capped mountains in the distance had a mesmorizing presence. The moon was full and reflected off the water. I felt like I was in a romantic movie, minus the boy-- except that for some reason it didn't bother me that I was alone. Occasionally, I would just wander off by myself, soaking it up. Later, Ben and I collected rocks from off the beach. Purple ones, blue ones-- every color you can imagine! One word for this place: magical. Wait til you see the pictures. I forgot to add: There is a small island in the water and there is just one house on it. I thought that would be the neatest place to live-- it's definately a good spot for a dad with many daughters. A guy would literally have to get in a boat to pick them up for prom. Our hotel rooms were nice-- but I have figured out that Greeks not only like their bread hard, but their beds as well.
If exploring dungeons and bastions (castle-like buildings) is for you-- if you like to see holes in the roof where they poured hot tar on their enemies-- then there is a place in Corinth for you. On the second day, we went into the Palamidi castle and saw the bastions of different saints-- one even named for the king from "300." There were no real safety features to this site so you felt like you were actually an "explorer." You could also fall to your death too. I absolutely loved this place and felt like I could use some more time there. We went into pitch-dark cisterns and dungeons. You could literally not see your hand in front of your face and your eyes were so adjusted to darkness that when you got to a less-dark part (that on the way in you couldn't see anything) on the way back out you could see because it wasn't as dark as the pit of the cistern. Before we left, we walked down 800 steps to get to the bottom. You could choose to do that or take the bus, but I chose to live the spontaneous life and go down the stairs. My legs were shaking when I got to the bottom, but it was so worth it. The view on the way down took your mind off the walking and instead of exhaustion-- I felt inspired and uplifted.
We'll call this part I. I'll briefly wrap up the Mycenae portion of our trip in the next entry.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Greek Dentists
I have decided to make it my goal to visit every health professional office in Greece. Two down. The teeth on the left side of my mouth had been throbbing for days. After my last hospital visit, I didn't want to put anyone out so I chugged Tylenol like candy and tried to get through it, hoping it was just my wisdom teeth coming in. Today it drove me to tears so I swallowed my pride and saw Mr. Myhan. After examining my mouth, we discovered that it appeared that one of my molars was severely chipped off. We decided that it would be best for me to go to the dentist. So...we once again loaded into his cute blue Toyota Corolla and headed for the city. I apologize immensely to him for being the 'trouble child.' A normally very healthy person, it blows my mind that my body has picked this time to fall apart. Haha. What's next-- the eye doctor?
I sat in the dentist chair when this young, hip lady in a mini-skirt walks in. Just the cute little hygienist, right? Wrong. She grabbed a huge needle and aimed it for my mouth-- it was then that I realized that Barbie was, in fact, my dentist. She numbed half of my face and had me wait in the waiting room while she dealt with another patient. Captain talked to me a few times and I tried to answer without drooling all over the place. I stuck to reading a magazine. The dentist was very nice and as gentle with me as a dentist can be. She told me the verdict which was very bleak. Apparently, when my dentist back home filled in a cavity, he left some decay at the bottom. The decay had eaten its way to the top, leaving my tooth exposed-- thus the pain. It's never good when a health care professional uses explicits when examining your mouth. I wondered if my breath was horrific or if I was going to have to get dentures. She gave me a therapeutic filling and said that if it doesn't get better, I will have to get a root canal. Either way, I'm going to have to get a root canal, but I'm hoping it can wait for the states. This filling is supposed to last for 6 months if it works. Pray that it does.
We are leaving for our trip tomorrow so I won't be able to write for a few days. Just pray that my teeth don't start acting up and that I can enjoy our travels. Don't think this mess is ruining my time-- I am going to conquer all this! I say this now, numbed completely with Novocaine (spelling) but I hope that I can say that no matter what situation I'm in. I am learning about Paul, but the whole "thorn in the flesh" aspect of his life is starting to sink in. Maybe it's a disguised lesson!
I won't be able to write for a few days, but know that I will come back with tales of Corinth and Acrocorinth and all those places! :-) Thank you for your comments and overwhelming support! Happy Birthday Ryan! Good job at All-State Kelsey! Sorry I can't be there for you guys! Save me some cake ;)
I sat in the dentist chair when this young, hip lady in a mini-skirt walks in. Just the cute little hygienist, right? Wrong. She grabbed a huge needle and aimed it for my mouth-- it was then that I realized that Barbie was, in fact, my dentist. She numbed half of my face and had me wait in the waiting room while she dealt with another patient. Captain talked to me a few times and I tried to answer without drooling all over the place. I stuck to reading a magazine. The dentist was very nice and as gentle with me as a dentist can be. She told me the verdict which was very bleak. Apparently, when my dentist back home filled in a cavity, he left some decay at the bottom. The decay had eaten its way to the top, leaving my tooth exposed-- thus the pain. It's never good when a health care professional uses explicits when examining your mouth. I wondered if my breath was horrific or if I was going to have to get dentures. She gave me a therapeutic filling and said that if it doesn't get better, I will have to get a root canal. Either way, I'm going to have to get a root canal, but I'm hoping it can wait for the states. This filling is supposed to last for 6 months if it works. Pray that it does.
We are leaving for our trip tomorrow so I won't be able to write for a few days. Just pray that my teeth don't start acting up and that I can enjoy our travels. Don't think this mess is ruining my time-- I am going to conquer all this! I say this now, numbed completely with Novocaine (spelling) but I hope that I can say that no matter what situation I'm in. I am learning about Paul, but the whole "thorn in the flesh" aspect of his life is starting to sink in. Maybe it's a disguised lesson!
I won't be able to write for a few days, but know that I will come back with tales of Corinth and Acrocorinth and all those places! :-) Thank you for your comments and overwhelming support! Happy Birthday Ryan! Good job at All-State Kelsey! Sorry I can't be there for you guys! Save me some cake ;)
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Let It Snow!!!
I woke up this morning (well, afternoon if we're being completely honest..) to find that it was snowing outside! Lauren pulled back my curtains and I saw that the mountains across the way were covered in white. The wind was blowing snow everywhere and it was a Greek winter wonderland. Lacey, after deciding to eat icecream on our balcony in the snow (haha), put on some Michael Buble Christmas songs. I love Michael Buble's slow, melodic voice-- so I suddenly felt all warm and fuzzy inside as he sang, "Let It Snow." We decided not to make our trip into Athens for church because of the weather so we had a devotional in our livingroom instead. Mr. Griffith plans the devotionals and today seemed very Christmas-oriented. I suppose he was feeling that stirring that snow brings as well. We sang "Joy to the World" and read scriptures of Jesus' birth and life. Adding to the holiday feel, we also busted out all the songs that boast long, dramatic "Hallelujahs" and "Glo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-rias." I think you know the songs I'm referring to. The ones that make you take a deep breath in and challenge yourself to finish the musical phrase before you need to gasp for another one. Love 'em. And, just to brag, I finished all of them in one breath. :-)
I was standing by the fire when I saw Fofi (our cook) out the sliding glass window. If I had to choose one word to describe Fofi it would be "spunky." She is the hip mother of Tula (15) and little Demetri. She looks cute in her hot pink sweatsuits and everything she says rings with good-natured sarcasm. She and Demetri were outside creating giant snowballs. She has someone go get Captain (our nickname for Mr. Myhan) and challenges him to a snowball fight. Of course, Captain can't refuse. He goes outside and Fofi and Demetri pelt him with snow. He puts up a good fight, but Demetri (who is quite the stinker) is a force to be reckoned with. (To prove my point: A few nights ago, one of our guys, Bobby was kidding around with Demetri. Out of nowhere, he rears back and kicks Bobby really hard in a not so great place. The kid is a mastermind.)
I am not sure what being "snowed in" here entails. I suppose it will involve card games, movies and chatting. We are postponing our trip by one day, so we have class tomorrow instead. :-( It is still going to be cold when we go on our trip, but it is supposed to be warmer than what is expected for today and tomorrow. Most of our wardrobes are lacking and we are praying for it to warm up. As cool as snow is, it is only so cool in capris, a t-shirt and sandals.
God Bless all of you! :-)
I was standing by the fire when I saw Fofi (our cook) out the sliding glass window. If I had to choose one word to describe Fofi it would be "spunky." She is the hip mother of Tula (15) and little Demetri. She looks cute in her hot pink sweatsuits and everything she says rings with good-natured sarcasm. She and Demetri were outside creating giant snowballs. She has someone go get Captain (our nickname for Mr. Myhan) and challenges him to a snowball fight. Of course, Captain can't refuse. He goes outside and Fofi and Demetri pelt him with snow. He puts up a good fight, but Demetri (who is quite the stinker) is a force to be reckoned with. (To prove my point: A few nights ago, one of our guys, Bobby was kidding around with Demetri. Out of nowhere, he rears back and kicks Bobby really hard in a not so great place. The kid is a mastermind.)
I am not sure what being "snowed in" here entails. I suppose it will involve card games, movies and chatting. We are postponing our trip by one day, so we have class tomorrow instead. :-( It is still going to be cold when we go on our trip, but it is supposed to be warmer than what is expected for today and tomorrow. Most of our wardrobes are lacking and we are praying for it to warm up. As cool as snow is, it is only so cool in capris, a t-shirt and sandals.
God Bless all of you! :-)
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Chickens Like To Wear Jeans
I love to give my entries very interesting titles. In journalism, we are taught that headlines are the hook line to keep our readers. I want to keep you; therefore, I begin with "Chickens Like to Wear Jeans." I will get to the meat of the story momentarily.
Lacey, Alana, Lauren, Danielle and I went wandering around Porto Rafti today. It was FREEZING, but we put on our jackets and pressed onward. We stopped in shops that were open and looked around. Here in Greece, family is very important and it is perfectly normal for a shop owner just to close up shop for a while until he wants to come back. That being said, it is hard to find stores open sometimes. We went into this one store that looked interesting. The strange-looking, weirdly posed child mannequin drew us in. I mean, what store couldn't be awesome when they know a cool mannequin when they see it? Lauren was browsing through the jeans when suddenly she exclaimed, "There is a real live chicken over here!" Sure enough, we joined her at the jeans rack and there was a chicken in a box behind the jeans. I suppose it was looking for its size. (As discussed in a previous entry, good luck with that chicken..your thighs are probably too big for European clothes!)
We enjoyed some of the other shops-- even though we were disappointed by the lack of poultry. After we got back, we watched chick flicks in our room. Since the boys have once again picked "The Patriot" for movie night, we will probably finish up some more movies in our room. You are probably wondering why the girls haven't joined together to fight this movie unfairness situation. It is because Pete Davidson, president of the College Republicans, is a true politician in every situation of life. He actually lobbies for movies like it is life or death. Tonight, he appealed to everyone's patriotism or lack thereof based on movie choice. I saw him grab two girls while they were by the voting booth and sing "I'm Proud to Be An American." Oh, Pete. Gotta love him. He keeps "letters to the editor" a comin' when I'm working for the college newspaper though so I gotta give him props on that. Controversy is his middle name.
We were supposed to wake up early and go to a Greek Orthodox church service, but the weather is supposed to get really bad tomorrow so he has postponed it. I am kind of glad that we are waiting because I don't have any warm church clothes. I'm ready for it to warm up around here-- I love hanging out by the water, but don't like getting blown over by the wind.
We are leaving Monday for our trip to the Pelopponese so I will have more "educational" writings at that time. :-) I'm sure you just love my ramblings in the meantime though. Haha. I mean, you love my descriptions of the Parthenon-- but a live chicken in a clothing store. Come on! That is excitement! God Bless! ~Ash
Lacey, Alana, Lauren, Danielle and I went wandering around Porto Rafti today. It was FREEZING, but we put on our jackets and pressed onward. We stopped in shops that were open and looked around. Here in Greece, family is very important and it is perfectly normal for a shop owner just to close up shop for a while until he wants to come back. That being said, it is hard to find stores open sometimes. We went into this one store that looked interesting. The strange-looking, weirdly posed child mannequin drew us in. I mean, what store couldn't be awesome when they know a cool mannequin when they see it? Lauren was browsing through the jeans when suddenly she exclaimed, "There is a real live chicken over here!" Sure enough, we joined her at the jeans rack and there was a chicken in a box behind the jeans. I suppose it was looking for its size. (As discussed in a previous entry, good luck with that chicken..your thighs are probably too big for European clothes!)
We enjoyed some of the other shops-- even though we were disappointed by the lack of poultry. After we got back, we watched chick flicks in our room. Since the boys have once again picked "The Patriot" for movie night, we will probably finish up some more movies in our room. You are probably wondering why the girls haven't joined together to fight this movie unfairness situation. It is because Pete Davidson, president of the College Republicans, is a true politician in every situation of life. He actually lobbies for movies like it is life or death. Tonight, he appealed to everyone's patriotism or lack thereof based on movie choice. I saw him grab two girls while they were by the voting booth and sing "I'm Proud to Be An American." Oh, Pete. Gotta love him. He keeps "letters to the editor" a comin' when I'm working for the college newspaper though so I gotta give him props on that. Controversy is his middle name.
We were supposed to wake up early and go to a Greek Orthodox church service, but the weather is supposed to get really bad tomorrow so he has postponed it. I am kind of glad that we are waiting because I don't have any warm church clothes. I'm ready for it to warm up around here-- I love hanging out by the water, but don't like getting blown over by the wind.
We are leaving Monday for our trip to the Pelopponese so I will have more "educational" writings at that time. :-) I'm sure you just love my ramblings in the meantime though. Haha. I mean, you love my descriptions of the Parthenon-- but a live chicken in a clothing store. Come on! That is excitement! God Bless! ~Ash
Friday, February 15, 2008
Day Off Tomorrow, Sigh of Relief
Our vigorous academic week has come to a close this evening. We had a slide test at 8:30 (yes, Ryan, to answer your post question, it does seem that we have slide tests every day! Haha!) I feel like I did decent, but I am always stumped by pottery. I do not usually pay particular attention to pots and pans, but apparently I am going to have to change my ways. I wonder if, years from now, students will be looking at a screen naming off Pampered Chef equipment. "This, class, is a Pampered Chef 2000 nut grinder. It was used for chopping up walnuts, pecans and other types of nuts. It could also be used for celery and other vegetables as great salad toppers." May they be granted better luck and a ready recollection.
I was very excited that we were going to watch a movie tonight to unwind, but once again the
boys have triumphed. I walked in and sat for a moment, but soon lost interest. I don't know what it was called, but it had "boy pick" written all over it. I believe on our next trip we are going to see some of the places where 'their' movies took place. The Battle of Thermopoli (spelling) which was the story of "300". There is supposed to be a statue dedicated to the head king-- I forget his name, but he is played by Gerard Butler-- and that is all one needs to know. His face and physique were the only thing that kept me in the livingroom amidst the chopping off of heads and bloody battle scenes. Even though I'm not a huge fan of those kind of movies, it will be neat to be where they took place. I respect their stories and their lives-- I just can't quite stomach the reality of what they faced. I love Spartan women though-- man, they were feisty. I would definately have been a Spartaness (I may have just made up that word..) In one scene, the king's wife says that she has a right to speak out because she is a "Spartan woman and they are the only ones who give birth to real men." Wow. You go, girl!
I think tonight some of us girls are going to stay up late, maybe watch a chic flick and dye Lacey's hair. Though a part of me always wants to be bold and highlight my hair or something, I always chicken out. I feel boring sometimes and want to do something to prove to myself that I'm not, but I always retreat back. But anyway--I am looking forward to spending time with them tonight and then sleeping in in the morning. I have been so blessed by the girls here. Though we have been together 24/7 for almost a month, there has been no drama or hurt feelings. They ask how you are doing and they genuinely mean it. They have been a big part of me getting better.
Speaking of that, thanks for your prayers. I am pretty much back to the old Ashton! I felt like I wasn't getting to be the person I wanted to be and that I wasn't being as great an influence as I wanted, but now I feel like I'm able to do that. I smile, I laugh-- and I have noticed how much greater my relationships have become because of it. I learned that I can't do things on my own and that I need to rely on God more. In our devo Wednesday night, Danielle talked about relying on God and it just hit me that I haven't been. At the end of the day, I feel like everything is ultimately up to me. When all this happened, I realized that it's not up to me anymore-- that there are times that I have to give up all of me so that there is room for God. I, for the first time, actually cried out to God. Embarrassing as it is, I literally let myself look like a fool and shouted, "Help me God! Heal me! I need you!" Being in the shower with the water running, I was hoping that Lacey didn't hear me and think I was dying. Haha. It was after that lowest point that I finally got the chance to go to the doctor and everything slowly seemed to resolve itself. Wow. I needed that. It was faith-building.
I got incredibly personal in this entry, but I feel like being far away from you, I need to keep my spirit alive back at home. :-) And as much as this is a rundown of where I'm going and where I've been, it is also documenting a spiritual and personal growth.
I love all of you back home and I enjoy hearing from you, via comments, e-mails-- it doesn't matter. And Mr. Fred-- it was so good to get your comment! I'm glad you are reading!
I was very excited that we were going to watch a movie tonight to unwind, but once again the
boys have triumphed. I walked in and sat for a moment, but soon lost interest. I don't know what it was called, but it had "boy pick" written all over it. I believe on our next trip we are going to see some of the places where 'their' movies took place. The Battle of Thermopoli (spelling) which was the story of "300". There is supposed to be a statue dedicated to the head king-- I forget his name, but he is played by Gerard Butler-- and that is all one needs to know. His face and physique were the only thing that kept me in the livingroom amidst the chopping off of heads and bloody battle scenes. Even though I'm not a huge fan of those kind of movies, it will be neat to be where they took place. I respect their stories and their lives-- I just can't quite stomach the reality of what they faced. I love Spartan women though-- man, they were feisty. I would definately have been a Spartaness (I may have just made up that word..) In one scene, the king's wife says that she has a right to speak out because she is a "Spartan woman and they are the only ones who give birth to real men." Wow. You go, girl!
I think tonight some of us girls are going to stay up late, maybe watch a chic flick and dye Lacey's hair. Though a part of me always wants to be bold and highlight my hair or something, I always chicken out. I feel boring sometimes and want to do something to prove to myself that I'm not, but I always retreat back. But anyway--I am looking forward to spending time with them tonight and then sleeping in in the morning. I have been so blessed by the girls here. Though we have been together 24/7 for almost a month, there has been no drama or hurt feelings. They ask how you are doing and they genuinely mean it. They have been a big part of me getting better.
Speaking of that, thanks for your prayers. I am pretty much back to the old Ashton! I felt like I wasn't getting to be the person I wanted to be and that I wasn't being as great an influence as I wanted, but now I feel like I'm able to do that. I smile, I laugh-- and I have noticed how much greater my relationships have become because of it. I learned that I can't do things on my own and that I need to rely on God more. In our devo Wednesday night, Danielle talked about relying on God and it just hit me that I haven't been. At the end of the day, I feel like everything is ultimately up to me. When all this happened, I realized that it's not up to me anymore-- that there are times that I have to give up all of me so that there is room for God. I, for the first time, actually cried out to God. Embarrassing as it is, I literally let myself look like a fool and shouted, "Help me God! Heal me! I need you!" Being in the shower with the water running, I was hoping that Lacey didn't hear me and think I was dying. Haha. It was after that lowest point that I finally got the chance to go to the doctor and everything slowly seemed to resolve itself. Wow. I needed that. It was faith-building.
I got incredibly personal in this entry, but I feel like being far away from you, I need to keep my spirit alive back at home. :-) And as much as this is a rundown of where I'm going and where I've been, it is also documenting a spiritual and personal growth.
I love all of you back home and I enjoy hearing from you, via comments, e-mails-- it doesn't matter. And Mr. Fred-- it was so good to get your comment! I'm glad you are reading!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
A Happy Valentine's Day Without the 'Happy' Omitted For Once
Happy Valentine's Day everyone. I would usually say that with a negative tone that would make a Hallmark card shrivel up and burst into flames on its own, but today I can truly say that it was a fairly happy occasion. There are a few couples here (some that were formed beforehand, some that have resulted because of our close quarters) and I pictured this day as a tribute to them. Snuggling by the fireplace. Whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears. (I've always found this phrase interesting. I, amazingly enough, always get sweet NOTHING whispered in my ear on this special day!)
Why was this day so special you ask? The boys here at HUG got together along with our faculty advisor Mr. Griffith and composed a little song for all the girls. They sang, in beautiful harmony, "Let Me Call You Sweetheart." At the end, most of them got down on one knee and ended in a Frank Sinatra-like "I'm in love with you!" They had each picked a girl and gave us a rose! How sweet is that! Granted, I know that they are not in love with me and I know that Mr. Griff probably gave them a speech about being gentleman, but it is the first time in my WHOLE life that I have ever been romanced by 20+ college boys. Ok. Rewind. That is the first time in my life I have ever been sang to at all.
All the girls made Valentine cards for the boys last night. In true elementary school fashion, we cut out hearts and glued them to construction paper. Bethany wrote a cute little poem and we wrote it in our best handwriting on the paper hearts. Some of the girls who didn't have early classes baked a marble cake with vanilla frosting and sprinkles for all of us to share today at lunch. Cake+boys singing+Valentine cards=Greatest V-day ever!
We also went to the mall today. It was fun to browse and shop, but I have noticed two things about European fashion. It is expensive. And it is for women who prefer to wear baby doll clothes. When you have to call in the rescue squad and the jaws of life to tear a large shirt from your body, it is time for a European Union fashion awareness meeting. "Ashton," you may say, "perhaps you have eaten too much Greek bread and too much marble cake." Though you are entirely correct in your assumptions, I was not the only one groaning in the dressing room. I did, however, manage to buy a zip-up gray sweater to mix and match with things I already have, some underwear (the mysterious laundry bandit is at it again!) and some sunglasses for the next few trips we go on. A few of us girls went to eat at Ruby Tuesday's to celebrate single awareness day. It was kind of expensive, but it's not something we can do all the time.
I hope that you were blessed with a good Valentine's Day. Whether you have a sweetheart or not, use this day. Eat chocolate. Lots of it. Splurge a little and blame it on the holiday. Look over at lovey-dovey couples and laugh--really hard. It's therapeutic, I promise.
All my love to you on this day!
Why was this day so special you ask? The boys here at HUG got together along with our faculty advisor Mr. Griffith and composed a little song for all the girls. They sang, in beautiful harmony, "Let Me Call You Sweetheart." At the end, most of them got down on one knee and ended in a Frank Sinatra-like "I'm in love with you!" They had each picked a girl and gave us a rose! How sweet is that! Granted, I know that they are not in love with me and I know that Mr. Griff probably gave them a speech about being gentleman, but it is the first time in my WHOLE life that I have ever been romanced by 20+ college boys. Ok. Rewind. That is the first time in my life I have ever been sang to at all.
All the girls made Valentine cards for the boys last night. In true elementary school fashion, we cut out hearts and glued them to construction paper. Bethany wrote a cute little poem and we wrote it in our best handwriting on the paper hearts. Some of the girls who didn't have early classes baked a marble cake with vanilla frosting and sprinkles for all of us to share today at lunch. Cake+boys singing+Valentine cards=Greatest V-day ever!
We also went to the mall today. It was fun to browse and shop, but I have noticed two things about European fashion. It is expensive. And it is for women who prefer to wear baby doll clothes. When you have to call in the rescue squad and the jaws of life to tear a large shirt from your body, it is time for a European Union fashion awareness meeting. "Ashton," you may say, "perhaps you have eaten too much Greek bread and too much marble cake." Though you are entirely correct in your assumptions, I was not the only one groaning in the dressing room. I did, however, manage to buy a zip-up gray sweater to mix and match with things I already have, some underwear (the mysterious laundry bandit is at it again!) and some sunglasses for the next few trips we go on. A few of us girls went to eat at Ruby Tuesday's to celebrate single awareness day. It was kind of expensive, but it's not something we can do all the time.
I hope that you were blessed with a good Valentine's Day. Whether you have a sweetheart or not, use this day. Eat chocolate. Lots of it. Splurge a little and blame it on the holiday. Look over at lovey-dovey couples and laugh--really hard. It's therapeutic, I promise.
All my love to you on this day!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
R.I.P. GPA..haha
I have never been very good with civilization/ history stuff. Give me a story to cover and I will interview and write it in 25 minutes flat. I don't know why I didn't think all these humanities classes through. It is giving me flashbacks of my first semester at Harding when I had Jan Fortner for Western Civilization to 1500. I can still see her fiery eyes as she banged on my front row desk trying to make a point. She gave me my only B while at Harding. I am such a straight A mentality kid. I am driving myself crazy. Here I am, in a foreign country, taking my worst subject 3 times a day. Every person needs a moment to have a minor meltdown. Let this be mine. I need to learn to let go. I need to learn to enjoy life experiences, not just believe an A on a paper makes me an educated person.
Ok. Minor meltdown over. Tonight, after a Humanities 201 test, we had our supper. Sandwiches! Never underestimate the power of a good sandwich. Once you get passed the hard-as-a-rock exterior of the bread here, you are rewarded with that fresh turkey taste. Back to the bread-- I don't know how they don't crack a tooth here. I can see a family dinner where a child is misbehaving. Forget the belt-- grab the bread. A few bangs and the child straightens up and it is still in perfect eating form.
Tonight we are having "girl's tea" which we have every now and then. We all meet in the Myhan's apartment and have a little devo and "girl talk." I don't know what I'm going to do when I don't constantly have girl friends around to talk to. I mean, a good laugh or cry is only a door away. There is a part of me, however, that misses my alone time. There is never a moment here (except on the toilet..and even that gets interrupted at times) that you are alone. When it gets warmer outside, I am hoping to find a quiet place I can go every now and then and just read a book or the Bible.
I have been feeling better and that is such a blessing. I am still quite tired, but I think I just need to build up my immune system some more and rest up completely. I made my first trip to the workout room yesterday so it was good to make a comeback.
Tomorrow we are moving classes up early so that we can go to the mall. There have been a lot of transportation strikes here so the trip there might be stressful and unpredictable. I am looking forward to shopping though once we make it there.
I love all of you and I am really getting to that "really missing my family and friends" stage. I'm trying to stay strong! :-)
Ok. Minor meltdown over. Tonight, after a Humanities 201 test, we had our supper. Sandwiches! Never underestimate the power of a good sandwich. Once you get passed the hard-as-a-rock exterior of the bread here, you are rewarded with that fresh turkey taste. Back to the bread-- I don't know how they don't crack a tooth here. I can see a family dinner where a child is misbehaving. Forget the belt-- grab the bread. A few bangs and the child straightens up and it is still in perfect eating form.
Tonight we are having "girl's tea" which we have every now and then. We all meet in the Myhan's apartment and have a little devo and "girl talk." I don't know what I'm going to do when I don't constantly have girl friends around to talk to. I mean, a good laugh or cry is only a door away. There is a part of me, however, that misses my alone time. There is never a moment here (except on the toilet..and even that gets interrupted at times) that you are alone. When it gets warmer outside, I am hoping to find a quiet place I can go every now and then and just read a book or the Bible.
I have been feeling better and that is such a blessing. I am still quite tired, but I think I just need to build up my immune system some more and rest up completely. I made my first trip to the workout room yesterday so it was good to make a comeback.
Tomorrow we are moving classes up early so that we can go to the mall. There have been a lot of transportation strikes here so the trip there might be stressful and unpredictable. I am looking forward to shopping though once we make it there.
I love all of you and I am really getting to that "really missing my family and friends" stage. I'm trying to stay strong! :-)
Sunday, February 10, 2008
What's in a Name?
Today I slept in really late; sad thing is, I could have slept more! I think all the medical issues are taking away from my stamina and I just need to stay in bed for a whole week and not do anything-- and I would be good to go! There's no time to rest, however, because we are once again cramming everything in before next week's trip to the Pelopponese (spelling)-- where we will see Corinth, Mycenae and other places. Considering those are some of my favorite books of the Bible, I am looking forward to our visit. Catharina will rejoin us as our guide.
We went into Athens later in the afternoon and sat at Starbucks until it was time to walk to church. They have this huge Starbucks building here-- it looks as though it should house a bank or something more official. It was nice to get out of the cold and recline though. It was freezing today and I was not properly dressed. For one thing, my laundry day doesn't come until Tuesday and I have not washed since Egypt! For the first time, when I say "I have nothing to wear" I literally mean it. I am actually washing underwear in the sink with body wash...it has gotten to that point. When I packed for this trip, days like today were not in my mind. I could almost feel the sun on my skin as I packed, picturing myself sitting by the water sipping a Dr. Pepper. They don't sell Dr. Pepper here and on days like today I am left freezing, looking like a college hippie girl in my long blue skirt, shirt and light blue jean jacket.
Tonight at church, our preacher Dino was talking to me about how his daughter in the states is having a baby. He was not pleased about her name and what it meant-- and that it had no Greek origin. To my shock and surprise he said, "It means 'Leave him alone'. She wants to name her 'Leave him alone'." Bells went off in my head. "She's naming our granddaughter Ashton." When I told him my name was Ashton, he asked me how it had worked for me and how I liked it. Hahaha. I told him that I liked the name and that his granddaughter would probably enjoy it. (I decided to leave out the 'how it had worked for me' part.)
We're starting one of our 6-day academic overkill weeks so if I don't write, just assume that I am doing the study/test/study/test cycle. I will write when something funny or of interest happens. :-) All my love. Comment so I know you're still reading!
We went into Athens later in the afternoon and sat at Starbucks until it was time to walk to church. They have this huge Starbucks building here-- it looks as though it should house a bank or something more official. It was nice to get out of the cold and recline though. It was freezing today and I was not properly dressed. For one thing, my laundry day doesn't come until Tuesday and I have not washed since Egypt! For the first time, when I say "I have nothing to wear" I literally mean it. I am actually washing underwear in the sink with body wash...it has gotten to that point. When I packed for this trip, days like today were not in my mind. I could almost feel the sun on my skin as I packed, picturing myself sitting by the water sipping a Dr. Pepper. They don't sell Dr. Pepper here and on days like today I am left freezing, looking like a college hippie girl in my long blue skirt, shirt and light blue jean jacket.
Tonight at church, our preacher Dino was talking to me about how his daughter in the states is having a baby. He was not pleased about her name and what it meant-- and that it had no Greek origin. To my shock and surprise he said, "It means 'Leave him alone'. She wants to name her 'Leave him alone'." Bells went off in my head. "She's naming our granddaughter Ashton." When I told him my name was Ashton, he asked me how it had worked for me and how I liked it. Hahaha. I told him that I liked the name and that his granddaughter would probably enjoy it. (I decided to leave out the 'how it had worked for me' part.)
We're starting one of our 6-day academic overkill weeks so if I don't write, just assume that I am doing the study/test/study/test cycle. I will write when something funny or of interest happens. :-) All my love. Comment so I know you're still reading!
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Greek Hospitals
Don't panic when reading the title. I am fine. I am not going to go into details about the extent of some of the medical issues I am having right now, but I just want to ask for your prayers. Ever since I've been here I've been struggling with problems of a feminine nature and they worsened to the point that I had to go to the hospital early this afternoon. It was not as horrific as I thought it might be and I was blessed to have a very nice doctor. He gave me his slant on what the problem is and I think it should work itself out in a few days to a week. He gave me some pain medication for the meantime. God has blessed me with people around me here who care about me and the Myhans who drove me to the hospital. All the students, boys included (bless their hearts ), have shown concern and care for me. Most of the girls have known about my struggle since day 1 so they have constantly been there for me.
I know this entry was a little too personal and for that I am sorry. I just know that I haven't relied on prayer as much as I should-- and it's in cases like this that I am pushed to my knees, where I should always be anyway. I hope to update you in the future letting you know that everything is 100%, but just pray for me and this situation. I am trying to keep my head up and still be a positive influence on everyone. I am still loving this place-- I just want to love it a little more by being totally healthy. I'll get back to writing funny stuff soon-- I promise. So don't tune me out just yet. Granted, I could make today's adventure into quite the funny entry, but I will spare you from my dark humor. Haha. God Bless! Keep up the comments-- they are very encouraging.
I know this entry was a little too personal and for that I am sorry. I just know that I haven't relied on prayer as much as I should-- and it's in cases like this that I am pushed to my knees, where I should always be anyway. I hope to update you in the future letting you know that everything is 100%, but just pray for me and this situation. I am trying to keep my head up and still be a positive influence on everyone. I am still loving this place-- I just want to love it a little more by being totally healthy. I'll get back to writing funny stuff soon-- I promise. So don't tune me out just yet. Granted, I could make today's adventure into quite the funny entry, but I will spare you from my dark humor. Haha. God Bless! Keep up the comments-- they are very encouraging.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Near Death Experience + Don't Read 2nd paragraph if you get grossed out
Don't ask me why I am giving this its own entry, but I forgot to include this in my other Egypt blogs. There are so many things I left out that you will have to hear about when I get home (lucky you!) but I can't forget to tell you that I almost died. At 21, that's kind of a big deal. So-- don't ever fly EgyptAir if you can help it. I seriously think they like raffle off piloting rights to the winner. We have many intelligent boys on our trip who explained our near-death in that "it was a very windy day and the pilot over-compensated for it." If that makes sense to you, great. If it doesn't: we started swaying back and forth and hit the ground way before we were supposed to. It was this blurry, rocky, scary scene of people holding on to each other and screaming. I, as with every emotion I feel, began to cry uncontrollably. It was a mixture of relief, sheer terror, and embarrassment that I thought I was actually going to die before I got to ride a camel. The stewardesses and pilot had the nerve to wish us a "good day" as we stepped off the plane. Oh my goodness. It is times like that that I step back and thank God for one more day-- and the sense of humor to look back and laugh at how tight I held on to Lacey and that Brian captured my face on videotape.
Almost equally as scary is the train station bathrooms. Mr. Myhan told us that their bathrooms were gross, but I was picturing Junior Foods at 2 a.m. gross. WRONG. I'm talkin' hole in the ground where many have been before you. (And have left their mark. And I'm NOT talking grafitti!) You take a deep breath, laugh and squat. You try to get done before the roaches get you and you pretend the tiny hole is a basketball goal and you shoot the toilet paper to score. (I scored..thanks Coach Moon!) More? You PAY for this. That's right. You actually get euro out of your pocket to have the most humiliating experience of your life. One of the toilets was wonderfully decorated if you get my drift. I literally think that someone made this their mission. There is no way in this world you could naturally achieve such grotesque grandeur.
I'm sure I will be adding random tidbits like this as they reappear in my mind. :-) Not necessarily to gross you out, but just so that I will remember them.
Almost equally as scary is the train station bathrooms. Mr. Myhan told us that their bathrooms were gross, but I was picturing Junior Foods at 2 a.m. gross. WRONG. I'm talkin' hole in the ground where many have been before you. (And have left their mark. And I'm NOT talking grafitti!) You take a deep breath, laugh and squat. You try to get done before the roaches get you and you pretend the tiny hole is a basketball goal and you shoot the toilet paper to score. (I scored..thanks Coach Moon!) More? You PAY for this. That's right. You actually get euro out of your pocket to have the most humiliating experience of your life. One of the toilets was wonderfully decorated if you get my drift. I literally think that someone made this their mission. There is no way in this world you could naturally achieve such grotesque grandeur.
I'm sure I will be adding random tidbits like this as they reappear in my mind. :-) Not necessarily to gross you out, but just so that I will remember them.
Egypt (Part 2)
One of my first impressions of Egypt is how it is the epitome of primitive meeting the present. Horse carriages, Honda Civics, donkeys carting people and every other mode of transportation you can possibly think of share the road together. Spending most of my time in a large charter bus, I got to view this spectacle from a safe perspective-- leisurely picturing myself back in the old days. The last day, however, Osman paid for us to have a horse and carriage ride. Four to a cart, we were thrown into the hustle and bustle-- without the safety of Magdi's old faithful charter bus with bathroom and refreshments included. If we were safely trotting on the sidewalk that would have been one thing, but these mad drivers actually try to merge traffic with their fairytale carts. As my family knows well, merging is not my strongpoint. If I can't merge onto the interstate with my dependable Toyota Camry, imagine the fear in seeing Mr. Ed plunge between two cars and a public transportation van.
I have never in all my life seen traffic like in Egypt. Osman says about Egypt: "The number one rule in Egypt is that there are no rules." He is exactly right. There are no lines on the roads, no traffic signs, no speed limits, no traffic lights. Six lanes of cars fill the area that is supposed to hold 3 lanes and no more. Honking is more like a game than a warning signal. Many have their own unique horn, and they like to show off its stellar sound.
As to the forwardness of their men, our teacher's warnings were very much appreciated. I have never in my life (except in one horrific incident in high school that was quite close) ever had a guy lick his lips at me. I wanted to begin by throwing up on him and end with a dramatic throwing of a mouth-watering steak at his face to fulfill his desires. All I could manage at the time was a quick gasp and a girly grasp of my mouth. On the cruise, my housekeeping guy was always waiting at my door. He called me "Nefertiti," who is one of the most beautiful Egyptian queens we have seen. I began to think maybe my Grandpa had "Demetri" mistaken for "Mahammed" and that perhaps Egypt was the place for love-- but I soon started piecing together that other girls were soon called "Cleopatra" and on and on. I suppose "player" is a worldwide concept.
Old City of Cairo- Adding to the list from before, I also got to go into the church that is built on top of the place that they believe Mary, Joseph and Jesus stayed when they fled to Egypt. They have that part roped off, but you can look down into it. Even though they can't be 100% positive about the spot, they know it was in that area-- and that, to me, is neat. We also visited a mosque here and the girls had to wear green robes with head coverings. We saw a few people carrying on their rituals and it was just a very beautiful place, inside and out. Children flocked to us when we came out, wanting ballpoint pens that we had. Sitting up high in a nice charter bus really makes me feel miles away from these people. They look up at us like we are from two completely different worlds-- and we are. It breaks my heart.
The King Tut exhibit (within the Egyptian Archaelogical museum) and his tomb were also highlights of the trip for me. I didn't realize how many of his belongings were still in tact. We saw his beds (which were beautiful, but looked very uncomfortable), his chariots, his jewelry, his shoes (that they found on his body!), and so many other things. We paid a little extra to get into his tomb, and besides the annoying clapping man (who claps 5 times to tell you you have stared at Tut's dead body for your allotted amount of time), it was so amazing! The amount of time and detail they put into decorating his sarcophagus (spelling?) is unbelievable. They put him in three different ones, all equally detailed. His death mask is magnificent. I just kept staring at it. The pushy, chattery Japanese tourists couldn't even push me away from this exhibit.
I learned how to write in hieroglyphics. One one-hour class doesn't make me an expert, but I now pride myself in reading animal drawings. If you lay out a box of animal crackers (frosted, preferably), I will tell you what it means. Haha. I am only kidding, of course, but it is a very neat way of writing.
Alexandria is home to the world's largest catacomb and we got to go in it. It had a very eerie feeling to it, with all these slots where you knew dead people had once been. It seems to go down forever and it has all these different passageways. This was where the early Christians hid and there are still remants of crosses that they carved. I am getting pretty used to going where dead people are. I can't tell you how many tombs I've been in-- when we went in the pyramid (Shh-- don't tell anyone..) me, Noah and Sarabeth crawled in the actual tomb where one of the Pharoahs had been. While the back-on-the-ground, crook and flail position had been my goal, knees on the floor was all I could manage. I don't want to be all-the-way cursed, just partly. We also saw the famous Alexandrian library and where the lighthouse would have been. I have seen so many wonders of the ancient world this semester! (Sadly, I didn't know about a lot of them until I was told!)
I GOT TO RIDE A CAMEL. This day in Nubia was probably one of the coolest days. We had just hopped off a night train and we looked pretty rough and had not showered-- but it did not even matter. So you don't get on camels like you mount a horse. They are squatted awkwardly on the ground (it looks like it hurts) and you sit on them. The guy tells you to hold on tight and he whips the camel until it makes one jerk forward, then up, then back, then gets steady on its feet. The only thing scarier is when it lies back down at the end of the trail. We walked around the edge of this village and interacted with the village people (we're past the YMCA here, people). We got some cokes at a nearby house and some guy stuck a crocodile on me. It was alive. It had teeth. It was scary. I overcame my urge to be a girl and scream and instead remembered a time on America's Next Top Model where they posed with tarantulas on them. I decided to make this an artistic moment and posed with a crocodile prop while people took pictures. I also got a henna tattoo (when you see the pics-- it's fake, Mom..)
We got to go to a carpet shop (Egypt is known for their handmade carpets..) I bought a small one for $10. We also went to a papyrus store and I spent a lot of money in there on this Nefertitti painting. It is so mysterious and beautiful-- I had to get it. I got King Tut thrown in for free because of my purchase. I didn't know this, but many of the perfumes from America are from Egypt. They make them with their essences and send them to America where they re-name them and raise the price because Britney Spears or whoever puts their name to it. There was this one scent called "Secret of the Desert" that the man passed around and said this was a special scent that was "only to be worn at night and on special occasions" which got lots of laughs. Apparently it makes the manfolk wild. What seemed to be all for kicks ended up to be really desired because it ends up a lot of girls bought it-- apparently I'm not the only one needing an extra scent of good fortune. Yes, I bought it. You got me. Maybe the secret of the desert will be revealed in the states. I also got another scent that I liked and a few things for Mom ;-) (Sorry, Dad-- no secret of the desert..)
That doesn't BEGIN to cover the extent of my knowledge and appreciation for this ancient land, but I hope it gave you a taste of my adventures. If you have any questions or want more detail n something, just let me know. :-) Love you guys!
I have never in all my life seen traffic like in Egypt. Osman says about Egypt: "The number one rule in Egypt is that there are no rules." He is exactly right. There are no lines on the roads, no traffic signs, no speed limits, no traffic lights. Six lanes of cars fill the area that is supposed to hold 3 lanes and no more. Honking is more like a game than a warning signal. Many have their own unique horn, and they like to show off its stellar sound.
As to the forwardness of their men, our teacher's warnings were very much appreciated. I have never in my life (except in one horrific incident in high school that was quite close) ever had a guy lick his lips at me. I wanted to begin by throwing up on him and end with a dramatic throwing of a mouth-watering steak at his face to fulfill his desires. All I could manage at the time was a quick gasp and a girly grasp of my mouth. On the cruise, my housekeeping guy was always waiting at my door. He called me "Nefertiti," who is one of the most beautiful Egyptian queens we have seen. I began to think maybe my Grandpa had "Demetri" mistaken for "Mahammed" and that perhaps Egypt was the place for love-- but I soon started piecing together that other girls were soon called "Cleopatra" and on and on. I suppose "player" is a worldwide concept.
Old City of Cairo- Adding to the list from before, I also got to go into the church that is built on top of the place that they believe Mary, Joseph and Jesus stayed when they fled to Egypt. They have that part roped off, but you can look down into it. Even though they can't be 100% positive about the spot, they know it was in that area-- and that, to me, is neat. We also visited a mosque here and the girls had to wear green robes with head coverings. We saw a few people carrying on their rituals and it was just a very beautiful place, inside and out. Children flocked to us when we came out, wanting ballpoint pens that we had. Sitting up high in a nice charter bus really makes me feel miles away from these people. They look up at us like we are from two completely different worlds-- and we are. It breaks my heart.
The King Tut exhibit (within the Egyptian Archaelogical museum) and his tomb were also highlights of the trip for me. I didn't realize how many of his belongings were still in tact. We saw his beds (which were beautiful, but looked very uncomfortable), his chariots, his jewelry, his shoes (that they found on his body!), and so many other things. We paid a little extra to get into his tomb, and besides the annoying clapping man (who claps 5 times to tell you you have stared at Tut's dead body for your allotted amount of time), it was so amazing! The amount of time and detail they put into decorating his sarcophagus (spelling?) is unbelievable. They put him in three different ones, all equally detailed. His death mask is magnificent. I just kept staring at it. The pushy, chattery Japanese tourists couldn't even push me away from this exhibit.
I learned how to write in hieroglyphics. One one-hour class doesn't make me an expert, but I now pride myself in reading animal drawings. If you lay out a box of animal crackers (frosted, preferably), I will tell you what it means. Haha. I am only kidding, of course, but it is a very neat way of writing.
Alexandria is home to the world's largest catacomb and we got to go in it. It had a very eerie feeling to it, with all these slots where you knew dead people had once been. It seems to go down forever and it has all these different passageways. This was where the early Christians hid and there are still remants of crosses that they carved. I am getting pretty used to going where dead people are. I can't tell you how many tombs I've been in-- when we went in the pyramid (Shh-- don't tell anyone..) me, Noah and Sarabeth crawled in the actual tomb where one of the Pharoahs had been. While the back-on-the-ground, crook and flail position had been my goal, knees on the floor was all I could manage. I don't want to be all-the-way cursed, just partly. We also saw the famous Alexandrian library and where the lighthouse would have been. I have seen so many wonders of the ancient world this semester! (Sadly, I didn't know about a lot of them until I was told!)
I GOT TO RIDE A CAMEL. This day in Nubia was probably one of the coolest days. We had just hopped off a night train and we looked pretty rough and had not showered-- but it did not even matter. So you don't get on camels like you mount a horse. They are squatted awkwardly on the ground (it looks like it hurts) and you sit on them. The guy tells you to hold on tight and he whips the camel until it makes one jerk forward, then up, then back, then gets steady on its feet. The only thing scarier is when it lies back down at the end of the trail. We walked around the edge of this village and interacted with the village people (we're past the YMCA here, people). We got some cokes at a nearby house and some guy stuck a crocodile on me. It was alive. It had teeth. It was scary. I overcame my urge to be a girl and scream and instead remembered a time on America's Next Top Model where they posed with tarantulas on them. I decided to make this an artistic moment and posed with a crocodile prop while people took pictures. I also got a henna tattoo (when you see the pics-- it's fake, Mom..)
We got to go to a carpet shop (Egypt is known for their handmade carpets..) I bought a small one for $10. We also went to a papyrus store and I spent a lot of money in there on this Nefertitti painting. It is so mysterious and beautiful-- I had to get it. I got King Tut thrown in for free because of my purchase. I didn't know this, but many of the perfumes from America are from Egypt. They make them with their essences and send them to America where they re-name them and raise the price because Britney Spears or whoever puts their name to it. There was this one scent called "Secret of the Desert" that the man passed around and said this was a special scent that was "only to be worn at night and on special occasions" which got lots of laughs. Apparently it makes the manfolk wild. What seemed to be all for kicks ended up to be really desired because it ends up a lot of girls bought it-- apparently I'm not the only one needing an extra scent of good fortune. Yes, I bought it. You got me. Maybe the secret of the desert will be revealed in the states. I also got another scent that I liked and a few things for Mom ;-) (Sorry, Dad-- no secret of the desert..)
That doesn't BEGIN to cover the extent of my knowledge and appreciation for this ancient land, but I hope it gave you a taste of my adventures. If you have any questions or want more detail n something, just let me know. :-) Love you guys!
Walkin' in Memphis...The Real One (Part I)
Greetings from back in Athens! I took a few days off from writing because I am fighting off respiratory congestion and all the glorious symptoms that come with it. I guess you could call it my parting gift from Egypt. Now it seems that we are all fighting it. The Artemis Hotel used to resound with the joyous echoes of laughter and singing...now you go down the hall and hacking and sneezing is all you hear. There is a trail of tissues leading from the bathroom to our bedroom because Lacey and I were too sick to even dispose of it. Lacey said that last night amidst other talking in my sleep I rolled over and announced, "I want to die." The good news is-- I feel better today. I am still coughing a little bit, but my voice has risen from deep bass to that of a young male whose voice just changed. My head is much clearer, I'm cutting down on the medication-- so I wanted to write. I was very blessed to feel great the whole time we were in Egypt-- it was only on the last day to Alexandria that I began to feel sick. So-- let me, in the best way I know how, try to convey to you how blessed I was by this cultural experience. I have been a lot of places, but I have never been to a place that contrasted the life I am used to in such a vast way. I am going to, in no particular order of importance, tell you ways in which I was touched by my time in Egypt.
1. The relationships-- Our group became very close to our tour guide, Osman-- and our bus driver Magdi-- they love to give tours to Harding students. Osman is perhaps one of the greatest people I've ever met. He prefaced and concluded every statement with "God willing" or "If the Lord wishes.." It made me realize how much I say "good luck" or "this place is so beautiful." I am trying now to replace that with giving credit to God. Osman loved to hear us sing worship songs. Tears would fill his eyes, which usually led to most of us crying. He is still a practicing Muslim, but he is strongly leaning towards Christianity. He knows what he would have to sacrifice if he fully dedicated his life to Christ and that is weighing on his heart very heavily. Osman-I am convinced--has connections everywhere in Egypt. All we had to say was "I know Osmen" and people would let us through. We had ear pieces in at all times where he would help us and give us advice. He helped us shop and get good deals-- and would tell us when people were ripping us off. He was actually quoted as saying, "Jake, if you buy that at that price, I will hit you over the head very hard." Haha.
2. The Temple at Luxor-- We have seen more temples than I can count over the past few weeks, but this one held special importance to me. This is the temple where Moses studied and grew up as a child. Osman showed us the spot where the men studied and we sat on that spot and sang. It was one of the most moving experiences (and led many of us to tears)-- knowing that this hero of faith we have learned about my whole life was at this very location.
3. I love mummies-- Call me weird, but I LOVED the mummy room. You only had to pay a few extra Egyptian pounds to go in, but it was so worth it. I couldn't believe how well preserved they were. You could still make out distinct facial features, some hair-- even eyebrows on a few! Most impressively, I stared into the faces of the two Pharoahs that are the final candidates as to being the "Exodus" pharoahs. King Ramses II or Thutmoses III. If it was Thutmoses III, Queen Hatshepsut (who I also saw) would have been the daughter who picked up Moses as a baby out of the Nile. That just gave me the chills as I stood there over their bodies. Totally unrelated and not as sentimental, there was one mummy who I swear was smiling-- and another who died in battle-- and his skull was crushed by a battle ax-like thing. Guys would love this exhibit.
4. The Nile--Speaking of picking baby Moses out of the Nile, I was blown away at how massive the Nile River is. I guess when I heard all the Bible stories, I pictured Moses being drawn out of a nearby stream-like body of water. Try again. Our cruise boat was joined with several other cruise boats and the look-out was farther than the eyes can see. On Sunday, Mr. Myhan told us to look out the window and imagine all of that being turned into blood. After seeing that, I would have let his people go!
5. I think the world needs to dance-- I wish our problems with the middle east could be solved with a dance. Case in point-- dance nights on the ship. After dinner, this DJ would turn on weird Egyptian music and we would go on the stage and dance around to the best of our ability to a sound very foreign to our American ears. For the first few nights, a group of Muslim women, men and children would sit in the audience, watching us with a mixture of confusion and laughter. The last night, I suppose after seeing us butcher their native music all they could bear, they joined us on stage. Shy at first, they stood at the edge of the stage. We asked them to join us and included them. They soon taught us how to dance to their music and I have to say it was one of the most memorable experiences I will ever have. We laughed together, struggled to find the beat together (haha), and found similarities within our differences. We asked the DJ if he had any American music-- to which he proudly boasted the Macarena and the YMCA. Though not as impressive, we too got to teach them some of our moves!
6. The Pyramids-- Pictures do not do these structures justice. Standing at their base, you feel small and somehow insignificant. I couldn't help but wonder how in the world they built these structures without the construction equipment we have today. I think if you called up Bubba John & Co today (pretend construction company) and asked them to bring out their cranes and tractors and build one of those, they would moan and groan-- imagine doing it without the help of modern equipment. 2.3 million blocks of stone. 120,000 workers. Even the small pyramids, taken apart, would build a wall around France. The sphinx was just as impressive as I thought it would be. I have seen this structure since my days watching Disney's "Aladdin" and it was amazing to see it standing before me in all its glory! I even got a picture kissing it. :-) OH! And it was in Giza that we got to go in one of the pyramids. Despite feeling claustrophobic and having to breathe in years of body odor, this was an amazing experience! We crouched down and walked until we got to Khafre's tomb at the bottom of it. So neat! The Solar Boat museum here was pretty impressive as well. We had to put weird sacks on our feet to keep from dragging in the sand. (That was random, but we all had sliding races and enjoyed this feature!) They found all the pieces to this boat and reconstructed it. We found out these were used for carrying the body of kings to their place of burial. The thing that went through my head was: If I was one of the builders, would I be bitter that my hardwork would only be used once in a short trip across the sea? They probably felt honor and pride-- shame on me.
7. Step Pyramids in Sakkara-- Though to me they weren't as impressive as the Giza pyramids, I was still in awe of these being so OLD. They are the oldest pyramids and are built in step form. I understand their reasoning in not letting us climb them (like maybe because they would eventually decay and fall down..haha) but that's what I really wanted to do. The desert went on forever it seemed and men on camels just added to the stereotypical scene I would expect.
8. The massive Ramses II statue in Memphis-- Let's face it: we've seen a lot of statues. This is the statue above all statues! It is lying down on its back and I go up to its fist! If there is a statue you are unsure of in Egypt, a guess of Ramses II will probably result in praise. Apparently, the guy was pretty fond of himself. I just couldn't take my eyes off of it. I saw it from every angle. I climbed some stairs to get a better look at him. Memphis was the first capital of Egypt and was a cool place to visit. I enjoyed the outdoor museum there.
9. Valley of the Kings-- First of all, the warmth of this day was amazing. When we visited the pyramids, it was FREEZING and non-Egypt-like. It was nice to feel like I was exploring this desert country I've studied my whole life. We visited many different tombs, but I think my favorite was one where we had to climb up the side of this mountain to get to it. (Thutmosis III). It was on this day that Jordan got his camera taken away for snapping photos in a tomb-- he got it back though because our security guard helped him out. Sneaky Noah still manages to get away with taking shots.
1. The relationships-- Our group became very close to our tour guide, Osman-- and our bus driver Magdi-- they love to give tours to Harding students. Osman is perhaps one of the greatest people I've ever met. He prefaced and concluded every statement with "God willing" or "If the Lord wishes.." It made me realize how much I say "good luck" or "this place is so beautiful." I am trying now to replace that with giving credit to God. Osman loved to hear us sing worship songs. Tears would fill his eyes, which usually led to most of us crying. He is still a practicing Muslim, but he is strongly leaning towards Christianity. He knows what he would have to sacrifice if he fully dedicated his life to Christ and that is weighing on his heart very heavily. Osman-I am convinced--has connections everywhere in Egypt. All we had to say was "I know Osmen" and people would let us through. We had ear pieces in at all times where he would help us and give us advice. He helped us shop and get good deals-- and would tell us when people were ripping us off. He was actually quoted as saying, "Jake, if you buy that at that price, I will hit you over the head very hard." Haha.
2. The Temple at Luxor-- We have seen more temples than I can count over the past few weeks, but this one held special importance to me. This is the temple where Moses studied and grew up as a child. Osman showed us the spot where the men studied and we sat on that spot and sang. It was one of the most moving experiences (and led many of us to tears)-- knowing that this hero of faith we have learned about my whole life was at this very location.
3. I love mummies-- Call me weird, but I LOVED the mummy room. You only had to pay a few extra Egyptian pounds to go in, but it was so worth it. I couldn't believe how well preserved they were. You could still make out distinct facial features, some hair-- even eyebrows on a few! Most impressively, I stared into the faces of the two Pharoahs that are the final candidates as to being the "Exodus" pharoahs. King Ramses II or Thutmoses III. If it was Thutmoses III, Queen Hatshepsut (who I also saw) would have been the daughter who picked up Moses as a baby out of the Nile. That just gave me the chills as I stood there over their bodies. Totally unrelated and not as sentimental, there was one mummy who I swear was smiling-- and another who died in battle-- and his skull was crushed by a battle ax-like thing. Guys would love this exhibit.
4. The Nile--Speaking of picking baby Moses out of the Nile, I was blown away at how massive the Nile River is. I guess when I heard all the Bible stories, I pictured Moses being drawn out of a nearby stream-like body of water. Try again. Our cruise boat was joined with several other cruise boats and the look-out was farther than the eyes can see. On Sunday, Mr. Myhan told us to look out the window and imagine all of that being turned into blood. After seeing that, I would have let his people go!
5. I think the world needs to dance-- I wish our problems with the middle east could be solved with a dance. Case in point-- dance nights on the ship. After dinner, this DJ would turn on weird Egyptian music and we would go on the stage and dance around to the best of our ability to a sound very foreign to our American ears. For the first few nights, a group of Muslim women, men and children would sit in the audience, watching us with a mixture of confusion and laughter. The last night, I suppose after seeing us butcher their native music all they could bear, they joined us on stage. Shy at first, they stood at the edge of the stage. We asked them to join us and included them. They soon taught us how to dance to their music and I have to say it was one of the most memorable experiences I will ever have. We laughed together, struggled to find the beat together (haha), and found similarities within our differences. We asked the DJ if he had any American music-- to which he proudly boasted the Macarena and the YMCA. Though not as impressive, we too got to teach them some of our moves!
6. The Pyramids-- Pictures do not do these structures justice. Standing at their base, you feel small and somehow insignificant. I couldn't help but wonder how in the world they built these structures without the construction equipment we have today. I think if you called up Bubba John & Co today (pretend construction company) and asked them to bring out their cranes and tractors and build one of those, they would moan and groan-- imagine doing it without the help of modern equipment. 2.3 million blocks of stone. 120,000 workers. Even the small pyramids, taken apart, would build a wall around France. The sphinx was just as impressive as I thought it would be. I have seen this structure since my days watching Disney's "Aladdin" and it was amazing to see it standing before me in all its glory! I even got a picture kissing it. :-) OH! And it was in Giza that we got to go in one of the pyramids. Despite feeling claustrophobic and having to breathe in years of body odor, this was an amazing experience! We crouched down and walked until we got to Khafre's tomb at the bottom of it. So neat! The Solar Boat museum here was pretty impressive as well. We had to put weird sacks on our feet to keep from dragging in the sand. (That was random, but we all had sliding races and enjoyed this feature!) They found all the pieces to this boat and reconstructed it. We found out these were used for carrying the body of kings to their place of burial. The thing that went through my head was: If I was one of the builders, would I be bitter that my hardwork would only be used once in a short trip across the sea? They probably felt honor and pride-- shame on me.
7. Step Pyramids in Sakkara-- Though to me they weren't as impressive as the Giza pyramids, I was still in awe of these being so OLD. They are the oldest pyramids and are built in step form. I understand their reasoning in not letting us climb them (like maybe because they would eventually decay and fall down..haha) but that's what I really wanted to do. The desert went on forever it seemed and men on camels just added to the stereotypical scene I would expect.
8. The massive Ramses II statue in Memphis-- Let's face it: we've seen a lot of statues. This is the statue above all statues! It is lying down on its back and I go up to its fist! If there is a statue you are unsure of in Egypt, a guess of Ramses II will probably result in praise. Apparently, the guy was pretty fond of himself. I just couldn't take my eyes off of it. I saw it from every angle. I climbed some stairs to get a better look at him. Memphis was the first capital of Egypt and was a cool place to visit. I enjoyed the outdoor museum there.
9. Valley of the Kings-- First of all, the warmth of this day was amazing. When we visited the pyramids, it was FREEZING and non-Egypt-like. It was nice to feel like I was exploring this desert country I've studied my whole life. We visited many different tombs, but I think my favorite was one where we had to climb up the side of this mountain to get to it. (Thutmosis III). It was on this day that Jordan got his camera taken away for snapping photos in a tomb-- he got it back though because our security guard helped him out. Sneaky Noah still manages to get away with taking shots.
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