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This past week was really good.

            I have a lot of down time so I spent a couple nights down town. I went with the American farm intern to meet a friend of her friend and his study abroad group for dinner. They are on a classical semester trip and spent a few days in the city. There were 9 of them and it was a really good time. We ate some mezedes and had some wine. There was a lot of good conversation and they were all very friendly.  After dinner, we stopped at a bakery with a baby grand piano. One of the girls on their trip was literally a piano virtuoso; I should have had my camera. We parted ways to try and catch a bus back to campus. It was too late and we took a wrong bus. After a while we got off and found a bar. A couple drinks later we caught a cab back to the school. It was definitely a good night.

            The next night my roommate took me to see a rock band from his hometown playing in the city. It was a neat venue and the band was better than expected. They played covers of several decades’ worth of American rock and pop. There was some Elvis, Blondie, and The Black Keys. We had some good conversations and I learned which bus gets you home late at night.

            Then the following night I went out with a multi cultural group of people: one Greek, a Romanian, and an Albanian. The first stop was a blues bar. We got there late and had a bad spot,  but it was awesome hearing some real blues in another country. The band knew what they were doing and the atmosphere was great. It is definitely my favorite spot down town as of yet. After a while we changed scenery and stopped in another bar. This one had a DJ pumping some euro-trance-dance into our heads. It was kind of empty so after another drink we headed to a club. It was loud, crowded, and smoky - not really my thing, but still a good time. We saw another boy from the school and stayed until something ridiculous like 4am. That is insanely late for me but definitely considered calling it quits early here. One of the boys has an apartment in the city center and was kind enough to let us crash there. He fed us breakfast and we walked around the city the next afternoon. We climbed the White Tower and got gyros. They were the best I have ever had too. I definitely should have had my camera for the White Tower, the view was incredible and the sky was clear for once. I have to remember to take it with me more.

            Saturday I went on a school sponsored ski trip. It was really cool to see some snow and walk around the mountain a little bit. I met some people that I don’t have class with which was nice.

            I have met quite a few of the students by now and it is great to hear why they come here etc. I especially enjoy talking to the other foreign students. I finally met the other American guys interning here. A guy from Romania plays guitar and let me play his for a while. It was really good. He later brought it up to the common room and got me to play for an audience - of course I was fumbling all over the frets and probably looked like a goon.

my favorite everything- you-could-want-in-one-shopping-trip store

            The dorm is finally starting to feel like home. After a few more trips to the Jumbo and one to the Praktiker (Ikea equivalent), I have everything I need plus a few things I don’t. I have a beautiful baby cactus adding a little bit of green to my very grey room. Who paints walls grey?? I also got a candle shaped like a log to offset the odors of dorm life and ice cube trays because I will never stop liking ice in my water. I picked up a chess set... and a coloring book and some play-doh for those times I revert to being a small child.

note the blurry things on my coffee table - cactus and candle

            Finally, I got to the grocery store in the closest town, Thermi. Of course, there is not as much to do there as in the city, but it is only a few minutes bus ride away. There is a large park in the center of the town with a huge abstract sculpture and stadium seating. There are some café-bars and restaurants and a lot of commissioned street art along with odd-looking fountains. Anyway, the point is I have food to eat tonight in addition to the meager ration they give us in a paper bag on Sundays. Tonight is a slice of bologna and cheese on bread, a brownie, and half a small coffee cup of orange juice.

I’m pretty sure that is everything I should be reporting this week.