Freaks and Greeks, Pt.2 "Orientation"

My perception of time is all over the place right now. We've been in Athens for 4 days, but it already feels like I've lived here for weeks. The days go by very slowly, but they're overflowing with activity once you look back as the sun goes down and the streets cool off.

The majority of our time here so far has been spent getting oriented with the city and our program. We've had crash courses in Survival Greek for the past few days to learn some key phrases to get by. I promptly decided to drop one of my original classes and sign up for a full semester of Greek, because I think it will make my experience here exponentially better. The original Olympic Stadium is right by our school and a 3 minute walk from my apartment, and there's a running path at the top that offers some amazing views of the city. A few of us have started making morning runs a daily occurrence, because the longer the sun is up, the hotter it will assuredly be. Other than that, we've spent a lot of time with (and without) the faculty learning about our neighborhood (Παγκράτι, or Pangrati, as best as I can transliterate). It certainly has a lot of charm. I'm lucky enough to live above a mini-market, and I've already introduced myself to the shopkeeper. She's incredibly nice, and I'm sure she'll have some great advice about the city and the neighborhood.

I FINALLY remembered to start carrying my camera around. A few of us made the trek up to the Acropolis in our free time yesterday - we have free admission with our student IDs, so I'm sure we'll be heading up pretty often. 

The first thing that comes to mind in retrospect is how slippery the marble steps are. Millions of people have been climbing them for thousands of years, so it makes sense that they'd be slick. Note to self: never wears sandals up there again. I made my peace with life a few times at particularly slippery moments near particularly gut wrenching precipices, but that's honestly ok, because the Acropolis is truly stunning. I don't know what I loved more: the buildings or the view from above. The city sprawls out for miles from the central point near the Acropolis, and you can see all of the mountains and the sea in the distance. It makes sense why the ancients would consider it hallowed ground. The Parthenon was breathtaking as well, and it's one of those rare places on Earth where the stunning pictures you look at in books (thinking, there's no way it's that nice) don't lie. The sheer magnitude is astounding, and you barely notice the conservation scaffolding around the building. Fun Fact* - you can see the gouges in the marble columns from the cannonballs. Other Fun Fact* - if you didn't already know, the reason the Parthenon doesn't have a roof and is technically a ruin is because the Turks used it to store gunpowder and a stray Venetian cannonball "accidentally" hit the powder keg when they started their siege in 1687 (and by "if you didn't already know" I mean "Everyone not in the Classics department at Tufts, ie my family. PS Hi Mum!). I can't wait to go back up right before it closes to see Athens at sunset.

Speaking of sunsets, we spent last night broken into small groups with faculty members at local Tavernas for authentic Greek meals. The picture I have doesn't do it justice - it's a shame my camera can't change shutter speeds - but trust me when I say that it was wonderful. The food never stopped coming, and I've yet to have anything that wasn't delicious.

I could keep writing for days, but we have to go to the American Embassy soon to register and I have a feeling that isn't something I should miss.

Anthony