France was an absolute blast! As soon as I returned from the Peloponnese, I began to prep for my journey- washing clothes, quick trip to the hospital and packing! Wednesday finally arrived and I was off. On my first leg, I was unfortunately seated in the middle between two people- a super burley, wide older man and a super fashionable middle aged woman. What differences, right? It wasn’t too bad, but my leg space was mildly invaded by the man on my left. After 2 hours we arrived in Switzerland. The view just before landing was amazing and the Swiss Alps were just breath taking. I had a short layover before heading to Lyon as my final stop. I arrived in Lyon and immediately went to search for the bus that would take me to Grenoble where my love Jessica would be waiting for me! It was an hour bus ride, but the scenery was amazing. The sun was just setting, so I snagged a nice picture of it. There was a man on the bus who kept staring at me even though I was sitting behind him. I’m often glared at more than usual by minority men in Europe- something I took notice to a lot more while in France. Maybe it’s the golden brown skin or long head of hair? It was weird at first, but by now I am so use to the staring I didn’t give it much thought after a bit.

The bus finally arrived and there she was! My beautiful darling Jess was sitting in the station waiting for me. She just had surgery from appendicitis so I had to be gentle when hugging her, otherwise she would’ve been crushed! I was so excited to see a familiar face. We’re both at the 2 month mark, so it was refreshing to be with someone who knows me in and out. We began our journey to her house via tram. There was not a single moment of silence. Right away we started chatting about our different experiences and just enjoying being with one another. After a 45 min tram ride, we arrived to her neighborhood. It was after 8 and the house was waiting for us to start dinner. Upon entering the house, I met her host mom, Nicole, and host dad, Robert. I also had the pleasure of meeting two of her good friends from her program, Molly and Hannah. They were actually the ones who cooked dinner. One word: yum. I miss home cooked meals, especially since I cook most of my meals here in Greece. They do things quickly in her household. Plates are cleared after each course and no time is wasted before dishes get started on. Literally. They would wash dishes during dinner! So weird. Very different from Greece. Jess says it’s just their household that functions that way. In any case, the dinner was superb and just what I needed after all my travels. Both Jess and I were exhausted so it wasn’t a super late night. We chatted a bit more than crashed.

swiss alps!

sunset fresh off the plane!

cute home.

The next morning we had to wait for her nurse to come and clean her wounds. The first guy was a total hottie ;D After that, we headed to the tram stop to begin a day of shopping and exploring.  We both really wanted to get some boots, so she took me to a store she thought I would like. When we didn’t find ones we had liked, we decided to grab lunch before trying again. Hello creperie! I opted for a non-crepe dish and Jess went with a crepe. It was good, but way more pricey than I’m use to in Athens. After we finished, we again attempted to shop. It’s tough staying on a budget! We looked around some more and decided we needed sweet crepes to up our drive. Yummy Nutella and banana #ftw. Jess showed me a beautiful church and courtyard, then took me to the most incredible view of Grenoble. It was right off the river and the views were insane. We went on a bridge to snap some photos and enjoy the wonderful weather. We both decided we wanted to nap/rest so we headed home. Before we hopped on the train, however, I saw a pair of boots I just couldn’t resist. Success! Once home, we got a nice little surprise of none other than CREPES! Her host aunt made us mini crepes and tea for a snack. So many crepes. Post nap we watched my favorite movie, The Other Sister, then ate dinner. Again, so yummy. Guess what dessert was! CREPES! Bah, what a crepe kind of day. We finished the day with a wonderful skype session with our lovely Amilia.

chickens in the yard.

bunnies.

first day out.

st. andres church.

clouds!

quaint. 

first bridge.

fave spot.

miss these colors.

more crepes!

Friday was another beautiful day. Again after waiting for the nurse, we headed back into town. This time we were going to ride these mechanical ball shaped things to the Grenoble Bastille. Before we made it up though, we hit up the farmer’s market for sweet fruits/veggies then we ran into one of Jess’ friends from her program named Travis. He was nice and we all went to eat kebabs at a place called Batman’s. It was here that we met the owner who, when he saw me told me, “You’re Mexican”. I was kind of thrown off and when we continued to say we were all from America, he responded (pointing to Jess and Travis), “You, yes” and then to me, “You, no”. Bah, thanks for telling me what I am! NOT. We tried to explain that I was mixed with Native American as well as Latin American roots, but he wasn’t having it. It was interesting and mildly upsetting for him to immediately label me the way he did. It’s not uncommon in America for people to judge by looks, but it was just annoying that he continued even after I explained my roots. We left there and separated from Travis. At last we were on our way up in the bubbles! Everything was beautiful and so incredible to see. We spent about an hour there, then decided we needed some rest before dinner with Jess’ friends. Before we hopped on the tram, however, we made a cool friend named Jonathan. He was talking to people in order to raise money for this program he works for, but looked like he was failing. I had initially tried to avoid him because I don’t particularly like to say no, but I could see he was struggling so decided to stop and chat. We stuck up a friendly conversation that included names, where we were from and what we were doing in Grenoble. He had been there for a year so far, so I thought he was a good person to ask for places to dance/drink. I asked for his suggestions and decided that since we were pretty much buds, we should get his number. So I asked. He was more than obliging and excited. I told him that with Jess being here until December, it would be nice to have a contact into the younger crowd in Grenoble. Win.

That night we ate at a Mexican restaurant (fitting right?). A few of her friends came out with us and that was nice. We had some tequila poppers as well as margaritas. So yummy! After dinner Jess showed me her favorite pub called London Pub. We also made a swift entry into Plan B- so offensive. They had shots called ‘Abortion’. Gah, so wrong. We then went to the bar that Jonathan recommended to us. It was playing great music. Jess began to feel crappy, so we called it a night and headed home. I had a nice night.

farmer's market.

craving mangoes forever.

fountains=everywhere.

baby-sized coffees.

bubbles.

view from bubble.

heading up.

awesome.

best friends.

yellow!

bastille.

hey, grenoble.

barberousse!

london pub.

We spent Saturday being bums. This included laying in bed most the morning, watching movies and a quick little walk into her neighborhood shopping center. While there, we bought desserts and a baguette. We sat in a park eating avocado (bought at the farmer’s market) with the bread. It was nice to sit and have chats about life. It’s awesome to see the ways we’re growing. I’m so blessed to have her in my life. We then headed home with a quick trip to the store for Jess to buy me millions of airport snacks. Before we arrived home, Jess showed me the park where she usually runs. There was a random circus going on, so we got to see some cute animals and enjoy the wonderful sun setting in the clouds. We watched Bridesmaids after dinner and waited for 9:30 to roll around for my departure. I had a 7 a.m. flight the next morning, but since it left from Lyon, I had to take a bus the night before since there wasn’t one that left early enough the next morning to get me to my plane in time. PROBLEM: I read the schedule wrong and thought the last bus left at 11…when in reality the last bus left at 9! We looked for every possible option: trains- all were gone and like the bus, none left early enough the next morning, taxis- cost an arm and leg. We had hoped that when we told her host family what had happened, they would offer to drive me in the morning since they had a car. When Jess explained to them what happened, there was no such offer. We were both really upset because we thought they would offer since I had limited options. Her host dad instead insisted that my ONLY options were to pay for a taxi or switch my flight to later in the day when I could take a bus to the airport. It was frustrating since host families, in my opinion, should support their kids. This wasn’t the first time they had failed Jess, so she was disappointed. Luckily her real parents are freaking incredible and came to our rescue. Her dad managed to get Swiss on the phone to switch my flight to a later time. Thank goodness. I am so grateful for them. In the midst of everything, Jess and I kept positive and made a list of everything positive from missing the bus: more time together, no waiting in the airport for 7 hours, an extra hour due to daylight savings ending and of course a snuggle session.

view from jess' window.

marshmallows. 

amazing.

puff puff.

host parents.

jess stuffed my purse with snacks for the airport.

We woke up the next morning, hopped on the tram and began my departure back home. We made the bus with time to spare so we grabbed a quick croissant and a final chat session. There was a cute guy looking at us in the bus station, who after I boarded the bus began to talk with Jess. I found out later he’s Egyptian and been in Grenoble for 2 years. Another connection for her. Score.  All in all, my trip to France was splendid. I was able to spend time with one of my best friends, rest, EAT and meet some new people. I’m grateful for situations that challenge me and even more grateful to have such wonderful people in my life. I was happy to return home to Athens though :D 

just don't speak.

I love Athens. I full heartedly love this place. It's amazing. Today while walking in the open air market (greek version of a farmer's market+ flea market) with Sakina, I stopped, looked around and realized I am in love with this place. The sounds, sights and even the smells-including the garbage. The mounds of garbage are daily reminders that the people of Greece are standing up to their government in order to have better lives. If this means garbage collectors on strike as well, so be it. I know at first the smells of the trash annoyed me, but being here and talking to the people in Greece, I have a better understanding and appreciate for the strikes. Speaking of which, there has been a 48 hour strike of all transportation in Athens. Pretty intense and weird to see the streets full of cars but nothing else: buses, trams, and taxis. I have enormous respect for the people of Greece. Do your thing :D

On a different note, I had a wonderful evening today with Rahmat from volleyball and his Greek friend Areti. She's a lawyer who met Rahmat when they were working with minorities in Greece to get them better treatment. He translated for her. I absolutely loved chatting with her. We discussed the lack of appreciation for work with less fortunate and how if we had it our way, volunteering would be our careers. We all know we can live off volunteering, so it becomes a difficult path when there doesn't seem to be jobs in this field. Talk about my entire emotional roller coaster during the summer in India. It's so amazing to share views on these kinds of things with people in different parts of the world. We also had an enormous chat on the increase in immigrants to Greece from the Middle East. Because Greece is the eastern border to Europe, it gets so many people coming in from abroad looking for work and a better life. Sound familiar? I'm in a European version of America. So.many.similarities! It was intense, but also refreshing to be able to honestly talk on the subject. She touched on the fact that Greece, right now economically, can not, as she said, absorb the large amounts of immigrants. I've craved this kind of conversation and boy was I pleased after it all. She is extremely intelligent and I can't wait to spend more time with her. When I asked her what she thought I was ethnically, she said I could pass as Greek- as long as I just don't speak. Ha, I was happy for the compliment and encouraged to work on my Greek. She said that my round eyes, golden skin and wonderful hair make me appear like a natural Greek. Aw yeah! #winning.

The dinner was so delicious. After weeks of having to cook for myself, having a homemade meal was so  wonderful! What made it even better was that Rahmat opened his home to share with me a little of his Afghani culture and ways of cooking. We had incredible chicken with rice and then a chicken based soup that packed a punch. I MISS SPICY FOOD! India totally spoiled me in that realm, but here in Greece, I don't think they believe in spicy foods at all. I haven't had one spicy Greek dish. Maybe I just haven't found any? Anyways, I was in heaven. It was the funniest moment though when Rahmat brought our a Greek salad! Here we were having a Middle Eastern meal and then BOOM! Just goes to show the ways in which living in a different culture for a while begins to have its influence. Overall, the meal was ever so yummy.

After dinner, the 3 of us bonded over music- each showing one another which songs we liked. I totally passed on showing American music and opted for my new love of Bollywood music. It brought back a flood of memories from India and prompted me to share stories from the summer. Areti thought I was well spoken and versed for being so young. She's 26 and said when she was 20, she had no idea about stuff going on in the world. Shout out to my liberal arts educations and the opportunities it has granted me to travel! I felt proud to be able to hold my own with this well-educated woman who has done so much for the people around her.

Rahmat also had things to share with us other than his amazing cooking skills- pictures of his family back in Afghanistan! He has 6 siblings- 2 older sister, an older brother, 2 younger brothers and a baby sister. They're all 3 years apart. INSANE! I told him his mom is my hero. Haha. It was so nice to hear him tell us all about them and shows us his parents/siblings/nieces/nephews and people from where he grew up. I thought, "Wow, here are 2 genuine people sharing pieces of their lives with me". I don't think it could have been a better night. We continued to chat, drink coffee and listen to music. Soon Hussein (another guy we play volleyball with) came over for a bit. He's one of my favorites from the group, so I was happy to see him and hang out. It was getting late so Hussein offered me a ride back to my house. His English isn't as great as Rahmat, so we struggle communicating with one another, BUT he did know enough to say, "Now, we are friends". Gah, these wonderful human beings. I wanted to melt.

I'm really proud of myself for taking that first step to play volleyball with them. From taking that step, I have been blessed to meet some amazing people. They are kind, funny and easy going. It's a true blessing to meet people that honestly change your life. And I can whole heartedly say that they are changing mine. How beautiful, don't you think?

pancakes?

I've decided that for some odd reason, I miss pancakes the most out of any other food I have back home. Strange, I know. Luckily for me, I have a wonderful Greek host mommy that made me some yesterday! well, the kind they have here at least. They came in a frozen package that required an oven. Yes, I know- strange. Despite the weird method of preparing, they were actually quite yummy! I would describe them as a thick crepe with similar traits as a pancake. On top of that, she had like 4 choices of jam, including:

strawberry

fig

apricot

orange

I went with the strawberry and apricot. Boy was I one happy camper. Not only did I get fed something I've been searching for since being here, but my darling Alex told me all about his friends from school. He even has a girlfriend! 6 years old and already has swag. We're coming to a good spot in our relationship where I can tell he's really getting comfortable and when that happens, it also means kids start to tests some of their limits. For example, not wanting to clean up the games we were playing before going to the next one. I held firm in that no new game would be played until the mess was clean. So far, we're pretty good together and he's slowly making his way into my heart (per usual with children).

In other news, I've made it through my week of midterms. I have to admit, I didn't give studying as much attention as I shouldn't. I feel etsy-ketsy (greek for so-so) about one of my tests that I took yesterday. I guess I'll find out later! We head to the Peloponnese on Tuesday for a week then it's off to France for my to visit my love Jess. Pretty much school's out for the next 2 weeks. Aw yeah!

Oh the places you'll go.

25 hrs, 5 modes of transportation and 1 hurricane later, I have arrived in GREECE! man, my journey leading up to this was quite the adventure and I'm grateful for the lessons it has taught me. For one, don't be friendly to the Syrian guy who uses the phrases 'estas bonita' on the airplane. Or don't meet up with friends from your program who say they live on a hill that takes 25 minutes to climb. And my favorite, try the local drink Ouzo, but don't feel obligated to try it more that once. All that and I've only been in Europe for a day and a half! I'm excited for all the lessons I will learn while here.


The time it took to get here was ridiculously long and tiring, but I was able to meet my first classmate, Anna. We're pretty much the best of friends already. It's unfortunate we don't live together, but she's only a 5 minute walk away. She goes to Wheaton and we're already planning trips to visit each other when we get back to the states. We were literally the last students to arrive to our program. I found comfort in knowing I wasn't the absolute only one. We quickly jumped into save money mode and opted for the bus instead of a taxi to drive us to our program. We paid  € 2.5 instead of  € 35 and man were we stoked on that. Plus, we got to learn a little more of the bus system. The walk to find our intended location came with a little difficulty, but it was a time to test our gully (as my brother Rhoan would say). Alas we found it and were given a super fast intro to everything.


Once we were given our packets, they took us to our apartments. Mine is located in Pangrati- literally 2 min walk from my school. score! I live in a quad and within the quad, I live in the double. It's nicer and bigger than Bowdoin doubles, so I'm happy. The apt overall is snug, but cute. Here are some pictures.

Anna and I were super hungry so needed some food. There's a darling place right next to our apts that sold the tasiest baguettes and cheese. Yay for first meal in Europe and Greece! Soon enough it was time for a dinner at the president's house- Garden Style! His house was insanely gorgeous and we all sat in the garden. SO awesome. The food was amazing and the wine here is incredible. LOVE IT! A few hours there went by then a bunch of us wanted to go out in the city. After deciding we found a sweet bar outside where we learned more about each other and had a wonderful time. I didn't get home until 3- way different from Bowdoin where everything is done by 1. I slept 13 hours before I woke up the next day at 4p.m. but never left my bed until 8p.m. Talk about jet lag! We had a dinner at the most wonderful roof top. They gave us a sweet college deal that meant we had about 7 different dishes for  € 10. I was so content and everything I tried was delicious. Some dishes were pork, spring rolls, potatoes, beans and the most tasty watermelon! Gah, I love the food here. It's better than most things I've had back home. 


After a 4 hour dinner- even long for a Bowdoin student- we headed to a bar called Absinthe. I stayed away from drinking tonight, but my roomies went for the Absinthe. That stuff is no joke. I tried a baby sip and it burned my lips. Yeah, I shall be staying away from that stuff. I've already tried Ouzo and that's gross enough for me. Hey, I've tried and now know I don't like it in the least. Tomorrow I think I'm going to do some grocery shopping and exploring the area. I really love where I'm living and it's so fun getting to know people from schools all over America.