So, I'm currently uploading the photos from Meteora. Those will actually be up for view as soon as this is done.
Also, new videos will be up by tonight.
Unfortunately, I'm running out of Flickr bandwidth. I think the best way to handle this is to start deleting pictures, oldest to newest, based on how much space I'm going to need to keep uploading the new ones. What this means for you, reader, is that if you'll want to reference my earlier pictures at a later point, you'll probably want to start downloading them onto your hard drive.
On a related note, I've found a web site dedicated to uploading, tagging, and geo-tagging panoramic photos. It will let me upload all of the panoramas that were rejected from my Flickr albums for one reason or another (no, I haven't been sharing all of my photos -- I need something to show you all when I come home!). I've already uploaded my Meteora Panorama onto there. I'll be moving my panoramic shots onto there from Flickr, which should help to alleviate the pressure on my Flickr account.
Also, I have found a piece of software that lets me do panoramas much better than the one I was using before. So, if I find time, energy, and drive I will redo the existing panoramas with this new software.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Friday, May 9, 2008
Santorini and Meteora (Another Delayed Update)
So, quickly before I start. Forgot to mention on Mykonos we went to a club called Clavo Paradiso. Place didn't open until 3 am, got to watch the sunrise from a cliff on the water. Very cool.
Anyway, not much more happened on Ios. A lot of relaxing on the beach. Played some volleyball. Met a lot of Australians and a Canadian named Connor Knickerbocker who said "eh" a ridiculous amount. Good guy, though. Found out that Canadians get really offended if you ask them if they are American based on the way they talk. From now on, when I hear someone speaking North American English the best bet is to ask if they are Canadian first.
Santorini was beautiful. We stayed at this little place called Villos Manos about a kilometer outside of town. Rented ATVs again, which was, again, a great decision. Made it really easy to get to town, run to the supermarket, etc. Also, we got to visit a black sand beach that the buses don't run to.
Also there was Ancient Thira, way up on a cliff overlooking the aforementioned beach. There is no way we would have made the trek all the way up there without the quads. Went up there the first day and were so amazed by how high up we were, and the amazing views. Then we realized the actual site was closed for the day. Came back the next day, went even higher up on the hill and actually got to see the ruins there. Very cool. Got some great pictures of the whole thing.
Our ferry was five hours late getting into Piraeus (the port in Athens) from Santorini, making that leg of the trip 15 hours, total. Got into Piraeus at about 11:00 pm, and rushed to the bus station to try to catch the overnight bus back to Ioannina. Missed that bus by about 45 minutes and our group of about 10 people spent the night outside the Athens long-distance bus station. Not fun. Didn't sleep until the bus left at eight the next morning. Anyway, caught up on missed sleep on the 7 hour bus ride back to Ioannina. 31 hour travel adventure, all thanks to GA Ferries -- the most economical line in Greece, and now I know why.
Had a really quiet week of school once we got back. Everyone is tired from their trips, and pretty broke.
Today we went to Meteora, which is in Thessaly (Central Greece) which was a 3 hour bus ride from school. Meteora is the biggest and most important group of monassteries in Greece after those in Mount Athos. This place has 14th century monasteries atop enormous cliffs. They are strange cliffs, though. More like giant pillars on the outskirts of the city beneath them (Kalampaka). More great pictures of that online.
That's really all for now. I think we're heading to Albania next weekend on a field trip -- that should be really interesting. All is winding down as our big exam and final paper are due before we leave for our 5 day excursion all around the country. Only a few more weeks until I find myself stateside again.
Anyway, not much more happened on Ios. A lot of relaxing on the beach. Played some volleyball. Met a lot of Australians and a Canadian named Connor Knickerbocker who said "eh" a ridiculous amount. Good guy, though. Found out that Canadians get really offended if you ask them if they are American based on the way they talk. From now on, when I hear someone speaking North American English the best bet is to ask if they are Canadian first.
Santorini was beautiful. We stayed at this little place called Villos Manos about a kilometer outside of town. Rented ATVs again, which was, again, a great decision. Made it really easy to get to town, run to the supermarket, etc. Also, we got to visit a black sand beach that the buses don't run to.
Also there was Ancient Thira, way up on a cliff overlooking the aforementioned beach. There is no way we would have made the trek all the way up there without the quads. Went up there the first day and were so amazed by how high up we were, and the amazing views. Then we realized the actual site was closed for the day. Came back the next day, went even higher up on the hill and actually got to see the ruins there. Very cool. Got some great pictures of the whole thing.
Our ferry was five hours late getting into Piraeus (the port in Athens) from Santorini, making that leg of the trip 15 hours, total. Got into Piraeus at about 11:00 pm, and rushed to the bus station to try to catch the overnight bus back to Ioannina. Missed that bus by about 45 minutes and our group of about 10 people spent the night outside the Athens long-distance bus station. Not fun. Didn't sleep until the bus left at eight the next morning. Anyway, caught up on missed sleep on the 7 hour bus ride back to Ioannina. 31 hour travel adventure, all thanks to GA Ferries -- the most economical line in Greece, and now I know why.
Had a really quiet week of school once we got back. Everyone is tired from their trips, and pretty broke.
Today we went to Meteora, which is in Thessaly (Central Greece) which was a 3 hour bus ride from school. Meteora is the biggest and most important group of monassteries in Greece after those in Mount Athos. This place has 14th century monasteries atop enormous cliffs. They are strange cliffs, though. More like giant pillars on the outskirts of the city beneath them (Kalampaka). More great pictures of that online.
That's really all for now. I think we're heading to Albania next weekend on a field trip -- that should be really interesting. All is winding down as our big exam and final paper are due before we leave for our 5 day excursion all around the country. Only a few more weeks until I find myself stateside again.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Mykanos and a bit of Ios
So I fell into a little free internet on Ios, so I figured I'd write a quick update and save you all the inevitable exhausting post at the end of the trip.
Bus ride to Athens was nice, seven hours and I slept through most of it. Walked about two miles around the entire port of Piraeus to get from where the subway dropped us off to our actual gate -- then found out that a different (free) bus would have taken us there.
Ferry ride itself was fun. Took about 8 hours, and we arrived in Mykanos almost an hour and a half late. Everything was ridiculously expensive on the ferry, I guess they kind of had a captive audience. Read, played backgammon, and talked to a longwinded Grecian about everything from religion to politics. Actually, I listened (or pretended two after about three hours into his monologue) and he talked.
Mykanos was allright -- the weather was not exactly cooperative. The place we were staying wasn't really busy at all so they upgraded my group from bungalows to actual rooms for free. Paradise Beach hotel was far from town, and the bus didn't run very often (or very fast for the price). Quickly, we figured out that splitting ATV rentals throughout the group was the best way to go for daily travel. Saved a bunch of money on taxi / bus rides overall, and had a great time on them. Without the quads we couldn't have gone off the beaten path and seen a lot of the things we did see. Plus, for how much we were able to explore the island on a quarter tank of gas, it would have cost an arm and a leg in a taxi -- and we would have just driven past them. Last night we were there we sat around eating an enormous greek salad of our own making and playing rainy day games. That is, until the power went out for a little while.
Easter was wild. Everybody goes out and parties hard around three a.m., after midnight mass.
Took a much faster ferry from Mykanos to Ios. Met some girls from New York studying in Paris and swapped Birthright Israel stories with them.
Staying at a place called the "Far Out Beach Club" in Ios. It's great (sunny). Everything here is really relaxed. Also the island's motto is "Twice as much fun as Mykanos for half of the price." Very, very true. Our place has a (semi)private beach, a great patio area with a restaurant and bar. It's a flat fee 2 euro per person cab ride into town, and the 1 euro bus runs every other hour on the even hours. There is one main road around town, which is very easy to walk coming home at night, because it is downhill on the way home. In retrospect, we could have skipped Mykanos with all its jetsetting honeymooner types (and prices), but it was good to see.
That's all for now, hopefully there will be another update from Santorini, but if not pictures, videos, and stories to come when I get back to Ioannina.
Bus ride to Athens was nice, seven hours and I slept through most of it. Walked about two miles around the entire port of Piraeus to get from where the subway dropped us off to our actual gate -- then found out that a different (free) bus would have taken us there.
Ferry ride itself was fun. Took about 8 hours, and we arrived in Mykanos almost an hour and a half late. Everything was ridiculously expensive on the ferry, I guess they kind of had a captive audience. Read, played backgammon, and talked to a longwinded Grecian about everything from religion to politics. Actually, I listened (or pretended two after about three hours into his monologue) and he talked.
Mykanos was allright -- the weather was not exactly cooperative. The place we were staying wasn't really busy at all so they upgraded my group from bungalows to actual rooms for free. Paradise Beach hotel was far from town, and the bus didn't run very often (or very fast for the price). Quickly, we figured out that splitting ATV rentals throughout the group was the best way to go for daily travel. Saved a bunch of money on taxi / bus rides overall, and had a great time on them. Without the quads we couldn't have gone off the beaten path and seen a lot of the things we did see. Plus, for how much we were able to explore the island on a quarter tank of gas, it would have cost an arm and a leg in a taxi -- and we would have just driven past them. Last night we were there we sat around eating an enormous greek salad of our own making and playing rainy day games. That is, until the power went out for a little while.
Easter was wild. Everybody goes out and parties hard around three a.m., after midnight mass.
Took a much faster ferry from Mykanos to Ios. Met some girls from New York studying in Paris and swapped Birthright Israel stories with them.
Staying at a place called the "Far Out Beach Club" in Ios. It's great (sunny). Everything here is really relaxed. Also the island's motto is "Twice as much fun as Mykanos for half of the price." Very, very true. Our place has a (semi)private beach, a great patio area with a restaurant and bar. It's a flat fee 2 euro per person cab ride into town, and the 1 euro bus runs every other hour on the even hours. There is one main road around town, which is very easy to walk coming home at night, because it is downhill on the way home. In retrospect, we could have skipped Mykanos with all its jetsetting honeymooner types (and prices), but it was good to see.
That's all for now, hopefully there will be another update from Santorini, but if not pictures, videos, and stories to come when I get back to Ioannina.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Slow Week With One Major Exception
Ten days since the last update, wow. I would say I'm sorry for not keeping up but really not much has been going on. There was a bit of an altercation between some people in my group and a Georgian students that prompted us all to sort of lay low this week. Actually, it didn't require all that much, we were all sort of burned out after a few weeks of nonstop class to party action, and everyone seemed to want to rest up before our Easter break to the islands. Even in a slow week and half, however, there were some exceptions.
Visited that Dodoni oracle I mentioned in my last post. Pictures on flickr, and I added some videos to a YouTube Channel I just created. Also, that Wednesday we visited a wax museum of Greek National History done entirely by an P. Vrelis. I don't like wax museums -- they creep me out. And while I'm not trying to disrespect the artwork (because it's more than I will ever be able to do) I feel like if you are really that good a sculptor, then get a slab of marble and sculpt. Stop playing with crayons and candles. Anyway, the whole thing was tedious, long and felt like I was in line for some uber-bloody Revolutionaries of the Balkan States ride at Disneyland.
On Friday we took the best excursion yet. First we visited the Ancient Nicopolis (Actium) where there was an amphitheater that we could actually run around in. Some good pictures on my photostream and circulating facebook from that one.
-- SIDE NOTE --
The group is working on something where we'll all be able to share high-res photos. So what you're getting now is (hopefully) not all the photos I'll have of myself, my housemates, and group mates. However, this is looking like it won't happen until we get back to the states and have access to desktop computers / server space etc. I'm not a techie so I don't really know what's going to be involved in setting this up.
Back to the excursion. After the Actium we visited Nekromanteio. This was the oracle for the dead, and there was actually an underground room where people went to communicate with their dead relatives. The scenery around the place was great, but the oracle itself was a little disappointing.
After Nekromanteio we drove past the river formerly known as Styx, which happens to run into one of the most pristine, most visited, and most swimable beaches in Greece. Glad I got to see that out the bus window.
It was all good though, because we drove past this on the way to Parga, one of the most beautiful places I've seen in Greece. It's this little town on the west coast with a huge castle up on a hill. It's sort of hard to describe but this hill separates two beaches with all these little islands. Sort of reminded me of Eilat, sans Venice Beach factor. Plentiful pictures and videos of this online. The two panoramas are of the two views from the castle.
That's it for now -- I take of for ten days between Mykanos, Ios, and Santorini early tomorrow morning, so expect no updates, photos, videos, or anything until (at least) May 4.
Oh, and because I don't know when exactly I'll be back on the 4th right this instant -- Rachel and Rick, congratulations!! I hope the wedding is amazing, and I'm sorry I wont be there to celebrate with you and (probably) embarrass myself... again. And happy birthday Dad! And by then my siblings will have officially committed to colleges, so congrats to David and Alexis as well for making the biggest decision of your lives in a calm, collected, and very mature manner. Hope I was actually some help to you two through this.
Anyway, May 4, same bat time same bat blog.
p.s. a group mate of mine is in the hospital for a low platelate count. he's bruising really easily and will bleed terribly if cut. they say it's hereditary and he's going to be fine (he looks and feels fine already but is bedridden and connected to a bunch of, to quote him, "ridiculous tubes.") Anyway, his vacation is being indefinitely delayed -- so give your thoughts to Karl so that he can come through and enjoy this time with us. Few people in the group deserve this as much as he does.
Visited that Dodoni oracle I mentioned in my last post. Pictures on flickr, and I added some videos to a YouTube Channel I just created. Also, that Wednesday we visited a wax museum of Greek National History done entirely by an P. Vrelis. I don't like wax museums -- they creep me out. And while I'm not trying to disrespect the artwork (because it's more than I will ever be able to do) I feel like if you are really that good a sculptor, then get a slab of marble and sculpt. Stop playing with crayons and candles. Anyway, the whole thing was tedious, long and felt like I was in line for some uber-bloody Revolutionaries of the Balkan States ride at Disneyland.
On Friday we took the best excursion yet. First we visited the Ancient Nicopolis (Actium) where there was an amphitheater that we could actually run around in. Some good pictures on my photostream and circulating facebook from that one.
-- SIDE NOTE --
The group is working on something where we'll all be able to share high-res photos. So what you're getting now is (hopefully) not all the photos I'll have of myself, my housemates, and group mates. However, this is looking like it won't happen until we get back to the states and have access to desktop computers / server space etc. I'm not a techie so I don't really know what's going to be involved in setting this up.
Back to the excursion. After the Actium we visited Nekromanteio. This was the oracle for the dead, and there was actually an underground room where people went to communicate with their dead relatives. The scenery around the place was great, but the oracle itself was a little disappointing.
After Nekromanteio we drove past the river formerly known as Styx, which happens to run into one of the most pristine, most visited, and most swimable beaches in Greece. Glad I got to see that out the bus window.
It was all good though, because we drove past this on the way to Parga, one of the most beautiful places I've seen in Greece. It's this little town on the west coast with a huge castle up on a hill. It's sort of hard to describe but this hill separates two beaches with all these little islands. Sort of reminded me of Eilat, sans Venice Beach factor. Plentiful pictures and videos of this online. The two panoramas are of the two views from the castle.
That's it for now -- I take of for ten days between Mykanos, Ios, and Santorini early tomorrow morning, so expect no updates, photos, videos, or anything until (at least) May 4.
Oh, and because I don't know when exactly I'll be back on the 4th right this instant -- Rachel and Rick, congratulations!! I hope the wedding is amazing, and I'm sorry I wont be there to celebrate with you and (probably) embarrass myself... again. And happy birthday Dad! And by then my siblings will have officially committed to colleges, so congrats to David and Alexis as well for making the biggest decision of your lives in a calm, collected, and very mature manner. Hope I was actually some help to you two through this.
Anyway, May 4, same bat time same bat blog.
p.s. a group mate of mine is in the hospital for a low platelate count. he's bruising really easily and will bleed terribly if cut. they say it's hereditary and he's going to be fine (he looks and feels fine already but is bedridden and connected to a bunch of, to quote him, "ridiculous tubes.") Anyway, his vacation is being indefinitely delayed -- so give your thoughts to Karl so that he can come through and enjoy this time with us. Few people in the group deserve this as much as he does.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Birthday to Today
The day of my birth was the one day that week we had seven hours of class. I haven’t done that since high school, and at least at RUHS I could leave if I really wanted to. But I’m actually interested in this stuff and the last hour and a half was traditional Greek Dance class anyway. Greek dance is a lot like Israeli dance. A lot of circles, and hand holding, and cross stepping, and kicking. We got a little too wild, I think. The teacher actually said that we were some of the worst students she ever had, but our “natural talent” was amazing. I think Johnny got told that he needs to focus more at least four times – but we were having fun with it, so whatever.
That night we started out with a chill dinner at a “Tex-Mex” place called Poco Loco. Now I know you’re spazzing out all like, “you go halfway around the world to eat Mexican food,” but lay off. There are four Californians here, the Seattleites enjoy their (different but equally good) Mexican food too and we’re all having withdrawal of sorts. I mean, Taco Bell is like a food group at home – you can’t just cut that out. Anyway, the food wasn’t terrible, wasn’t great, and wasn’t Mexican. The only thing that was “authentic” were the nachos pollo, which, when Johnny ordered, the waiter responded “Okay, one Nachos Pole-Oh.”
Culture note – birthdays are not a big deal in Greece, and here’s why: the custom is that on your birthday YOU BUY EVERYBODY ELSE DRINKS! I didn’t. Sue me. Over here, your Name Day is the big deal where your friends get you plastered for free. Anyway, went to a couple of the same clubs we’ve been going to and kind of kept it low-key until…
Dimitri’s Bar
Dimitri is one of the University of Ioannina bus drivers. Occasionally he’ll be behind the wheel of our bus when we go out on excursions (like to that cave, or the Zagori village, for example). More frequently, he bartends at this place I can’t remember the name of. And no, it’s not because I blacked out – that didn’t happen (or did it?). The bar is a Greek word with twenty or so letters. Thus, it is referred to as “Dimitri’s Bar.” Anyway, Dimitri bent the birthday/name day rules a little bit and bought me (and all of my friends, actually) a bunch of drinks. I think he just likes seeing us make asses of ourselves in the bar. When one of our group accidentally elbowed a glass off of the bar Dimitri made a big thing about how it was no big deal, don’t worry about it, blah blah blah, I’ll clean this up right away. And by, “I’ll clean this up” he meant, “I’ll go in the back and grab the teenager we pay to clean this up.” No wonder he didn’t seem to mind. Got home, went to bed. Anticlimactic 21 Run, but loads of fun nonetheless. I’m sure my friends stateside won’t let me get away without a redo in Seattle and again in LA.
Wednesday we tried to go to the site of the Dodoni oracle. This thing sounded really cool. The Oracle’s answers used to come as a rustling of the leaves, or a flight of a specific bird. In later years, visitors would strike a copper object and take an answer based on what kind of sound it made. The latest version a statue sat atop a pillar holding a tri-whip. After a visitor asked a question they would wait until the wind caused the whip to strike one of many metal objects placed around the base of the pillar. The answer depended upon which object was struck and what sound it made. Apparently this oracle was used for more trivial questions like “did I lose my wallet or was it stolen.” But, like I said, we tried to do this. It was closed when we arrived. Rescheduled for next Wednesday.
Had a painfully boring lecture on ancient Greek antiquities. Somebody lectured at us in Greek over a microphone, but we had to wear headsets through which some out-of-sight heavy-breathing lady translated. Occasionally she would burst out a sentence of Greek that one of my group mates translated for me as “I can’t do this anymore, he’s talking so fast and I don’t even know what about.” Her and I, both.
Friday we took an excursion to the island in the middle of the lake Ioannina sits on. There’s a lot of history on this Island from during the Ottoman rule, and a good deal of Jewish history as they were the master silversmiths in the region. A lot of mosques converted into museums and mausoleums for Ottoman governors that have been sufficiently defaced. Saw an ancient church tended by an equally ancient nun (What is the Greek Orthodox term? I don’t know). Frescoes in there were awesome, aside from all of the usual Jesus as God, Jesus as Man, Saints, life of Mary type of stuff there were some really gnarly ones of hellfire and people being skinned alive and all that good stuff. Someone almost fell down a well outside.
Yesterday took a nice hike up to the top of the hill with all of the houses on it you can see in the pictures from my dorm window. Actually, we were a little to the left of that – it’s higher up. Took a couple of hours and we would have had a great view from the top if it were a clear day. Looks like we’ll have to do it again sometime soon.
That’s it for now, more pictures on my flickr. I can’t create any more sets without paying for an account, so looks like you’ll have to click through them all to get to the new ones.
That night we started out with a chill dinner at a “Tex-Mex” place called Poco Loco. Now I know you’re spazzing out all like, “you go halfway around the world to eat Mexican food,” but lay off. There are four Californians here, the Seattleites enjoy their (different but equally good) Mexican food too and we’re all having withdrawal of sorts. I mean, Taco Bell is like a food group at home – you can’t just cut that out. Anyway, the food wasn’t terrible, wasn’t great, and wasn’t Mexican. The only thing that was “authentic” were the nachos pollo, which, when Johnny ordered, the waiter responded “Okay, one Nachos Pole-Oh.”
Culture note – birthdays are not a big deal in Greece, and here’s why: the custom is that on your birthday YOU BUY EVERYBODY ELSE DRINKS! I didn’t. Sue me. Over here, your Name Day is the big deal where your friends get you plastered for free. Anyway, went to a couple of the same clubs we’ve been going to and kind of kept it low-key until…
Dimitri’s Bar
Dimitri is one of the University of Ioannina bus drivers. Occasionally he’ll be behind the wheel of our bus when we go out on excursions (like to that cave, or the Zagori village, for example). More frequently, he bartends at this place I can’t remember the name of. And no, it’s not because I blacked out – that didn’t happen (or did it?). The bar is a Greek word with twenty or so letters. Thus, it is referred to as “Dimitri’s Bar.” Anyway, Dimitri bent the birthday/name day rules a little bit and bought me (and all of my friends, actually) a bunch of drinks. I think he just likes seeing us make asses of ourselves in the bar. When one of our group accidentally elbowed a glass off of the bar Dimitri made a big thing about how it was no big deal, don’t worry about it, blah blah blah, I’ll clean this up right away. And by, “I’ll clean this up” he meant, “I’ll go in the back and grab the teenager we pay to clean this up.” No wonder he didn’t seem to mind. Got home, went to bed. Anticlimactic 21 Run, but loads of fun nonetheless. I’m sure my friends stateside won’t let me get away without a redo in Seattle and again in LA.
Wednesday we tried to go to the site of the Dodoni oracle. This thing sounded really cool. The Oracle’s answers used to come as a rustling of the leaves, or a flight of a specific bird. In later years, visitors would strike a copper object and take an answer based on what kind of sound it made. The latest version a statue sat atop a pillar holding a tri-whip. After a visitor asked a question they would wait until the wind caused the whip to strike one of many metal objects placed around the base of the pillar. The answer depended upon which object was struck and what sound it made. Apparently this oracle was used for more trivial questions like “did I lose my wallet or was it stolen.” But, like I said, we tried to do this. It was closed when we arrived. Rescheduled for next Wednesday.
Had a painfully boring lecture on ancient Greek antiquities. Somebody lectured at us in Greek over a microphone, but we had to wear headsets through which some out-of-sight heavy-breathing lady translated. Occasionally she would burst out a sentence of Greek that one of my group mates translated for me as “I can’t do this anymore, he’s talking so fast and I don’t even know what about.” Her and I, both.
Friday we took an excursion to the island in the middle of the lake Ioannina sits on. There’s a lot of history on this Island from during the Ottoman rule, and a good deal of Jewish history as they were the master silversmiths in the region. A lot of mosques converted into museums and mausoleums for Ottoman governors that have been sufficiently defaced. Saw an ancient church tended by an equally ancient nun (What is the Greek Orthodox term? I don’t know). Frescoes in there were awesome, aside from all of the usual Jesus as God, Jesus as Man, Saints, life of Mary type of stuff there were some really gnarly ones of hellfire and people being skinned alive and all that good stuff. Someone almost fell down a well outside.
Yesterday took a nice hike up to the top of the hill with all of the houses on it you can see in the pictures from my dorm window. Actually, we were a little to the left of that – it’s higher up. Took a couple of hours and we would have had a great view from the top if it were a clear day. Looks like we’ll have to do it again sometime soon.
That’s it for now, more pictures on my flickr. I can’t create any more sets without paying for an account, so looks like you’ll have to click through them all to get to the new ones.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Caves, Canyons, and Clubs
Ok, so this could be another fat post, but I'll spare you. I've come to terms with the fact that this blog will be a few days behind our actual trip, so you should too.
Left off the last post right before our first tensions class. This is one of the most interesting and engaging classes I've ever taken. We started by discussing the difference between ethnic-states and nation-states and the steps central to every nationalist movement in history. Sometimes I feel really uneducated in this class. But this professor is a PhD in history, and has a deep knowledge of the social, political, and religious history of every Balkan state. Aside from the fact that he gave us reading packets enough to have killed a small South American forest to print, he is also very understanding of the fact that while we are at school, we are essentially on holiday here. He's assured us the final exam is not going to cover anything that we did not expressly discuss in class -- and that most of the readings are enrichment.
Went on an excursion to a cave in a nearby hill. The cave was discovered by locals hiding from bombardments during WWII. There were a lot of big rooms in the cave, stalactites, stalagmites, the whole nine. Also, a lot of spiders. Our tour guide said that they are the only thing that live inside the cave. On the way back to the bus, we saw the guy who actually discovered the cave sitting in a cafe. Unfortunately, my camera died earlier in the day so I have no pictures of the cave.
Later in the week we went on another excursion to the Zagori villages in the hills near campus. Saw a weaving factory. Only two people work on each rug, and they take about a year to complete. They go for 4,000 Euros each. No younger Greeks want to live in these villages anymore, and are moving to the city. Because of this, it is mostly younger Albanian immigrants working in the weaving houses now. Nearby, we saw one of the biggest canyons in the world. It was impressive and really beautiful. Pictures of all of this available on my flickr.
Tried to go to a club called Privilege this weekend. Apparently we weren't privileged enough -- they didn't let us group in.
Today we went to see the local division 2 soccer team, Pas Ioannina, play against a team from Athens. Beforehand we stopped at the team shop and picked up a bunch of gear so we wouldn't be singled out as tourists. Everybody was actually really excited to see that us students had adopted the local football club. The hooligans took a big group picture and said they would post it on the club web site. I'll try to find that link for the next post.
Left off the last post right before our first tensions class. This is one of the most interesting and engaging classes I've ever taken. We started by discussing the difference between ethnic-states and nation-states and the steps central to every nationalist movement in history. Sometimes I feel really uneducated in this class. But this professor is a PhD in history, and has a deep knowledge of the social, political, and religious history of every Balkan state. Aside from the fact that he gave us reading packets enough to have killed a small South American forest to print, he is also very understanding of the fact that while we are at school, we are essentially on holiday here. He's assured us the final exam is not going to cover anything that we did not expressly discuss in class -- and that most of the readings are enrichment.
Went on an excursion to a cave in a nearby hill. The cave was discovered by locals hiding from bombardments during WWII. There were a lot of big rooms in the cave, stalactites, stalagmites, the whole nine. Also, a lot of spiders. Our tour guide said that they are the only thing that live inside the cave. On the way back to the bus, we saw the guy who actually discovered the cave sitting in a cafe. Unfortunately, my camera died earlier in the day so I have no pictures of the cave.
Later in the week we went on another excursion to the Zagori villages in the hills near campus. Saw a weaving factory. Only two people work on each rug, and they take about a year to complete. They go for 4,000 Euros each. No younger Greeks want to live in these villages anymore, and are moving to the city. Because of this, it is mostly younger Albanian immigrants working in the weaving houses now. Nearby, we saw one of the biggest canyons in the world. It was impressive and really beautiful. Pictures of all of this available on my flickr.
Tried to go to a club called Privilege this weekend. Apparently we weren't privileged enough -- they didn't let us group in.
Today we went to see the local division 2 soccer team, Pas Ioannina, play against a team from Athens. Beforehand we stopped at the team shop and picked up a bunch of gear so we wouldn't be singled out as tourists. Everybody was actually really excited to see that us students had adopted the local football club. The hooligans took a big group picture and said they would post it on the club web site. I'll try to find that link for the next post.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
The Massive[ly delayed] Spring Break Update
Sorry the first post was so delayed to all who have been checking. Our travel schedule didn't allow much time for blog updating until we reached school in Greece.
And, because I know not everyone will read all the way to the bottom. Pics are here.
Flew British Airways out of Sea-Tac to London Heathrow. Sat in the last two rows of the plane. It was little loud, but we had room behind our seats for backpacks, so leg room was maximized. This was the nicest plane I've ever seen in my life -- sleeper chairs, complimentary drinks, and about four different sections of first classy seats. Barry sat next to an Italian from Milano. He spoke no English and Barry speaks no Italian, but somehow (according to Barry) they were having a conversation.Cam and I watched Beowulf with no sound so we could talk. I don't think we really missed much. A stewardess cut Cam and I off from drink service for no real reason. Something about Americans and the altitude. We weren't being loud or uncivil even, and a steward came and actually apologized to us for her, which was nice but put no more drinks in my stomach.
Got to Amsterdam after a short layover and an even shorter flight. It was pitch black out and dumping snow when we got out of the central station. Took a ridiculous cab ride to a hostel (which, by the way, were not as cheap anywhere as people had us thinking -- but I attribute at least some of that to people traveling on Easter holiday), where we shared a room with a Scottish expat. That was a linguistic adventure, to say the least.
Met some British rugby players on the tram into town, ended up hanging out with their team for a while the first night. They were a wild bunch.
Second night we had to find a new place to stay. Found a hotel in a very central location for only 2 Euro more a night each than the hostel. Coffeeshop (all one word there) / Red Light alleyways were... interesting. One of the "ladies" actually came out of her little box and grabbed me by the jacket. I wasn't about to stick around until a Ukrainian tried to make me pay him something just to leave, so I got out of that situation quickly. The novelty factor of it all wore off really quickly. Aside from a few museums, there really wasn't much to do there other than spend money in restaurants, pubs, and coffeeshops. Almost everybody working there admits the city is good for holiday, but not a great place to be permanently.
The van Gogh museum was amazing. I used to think it was just stylistic how he portrayed Holland as having crooked buildings that lean on each other and tilt inward toward the streets. It's not -- the place is actually built like that. It really looks as if you found the right building in Amsterdam and knocked it down, the rest of the city would come crumbling down.
Four days in Amsterdam, then we left for Roma, which is, of what I have seen in my life, my favorite city in the world. Ryanair only allowed us 15kg a bag (even though we already paid 14 Euro with the tickets just to be able to check a bag). Actually, we could have checked our heavy bags, for 10 Euro per kilogram over that we were. We were all facing between 60 and 100 Euros in fees. So we were all unpacking our entire lives in the middle of Eindhoven airport. I ended up having to wear a couple of shirts and all of my jackets through the ride so that I could get my bag checked.
Stayed in a one-star hotel near the Colosseum. Had Spaghetti Carbonara, a dish I've yet to see really done correctly in America. Fettucine alla Bolognese is also high up on my list. Actually ate no pizza in Italy.Drank way too much Chianti and ended up in a jazz bar, where jazzy Italians grilled us about New Orleans (music, not hurricanes) for about an hour before we found our way back to the hotel. Next day Cam and I led a (10 mile) walking tour of the city. Did The Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill, hit most of the piazzas, and climbed to the top of Basilica di San Pietro. 551 stairs. Everyone in my cohort agrees we should have done the inverse of what we did -- one night in Amsterdam and four in Roma, but what can you do?
Left Roma out of Leonardo da Vinci airport. Saw some (not black) kids wearing "Black Panthers Harlem Fight Club" sweatshirts. Kindly informed them that if they ever make their way to America that those should not be donned if severe beatings wish to be avoided.
Got to Ioannina after a four hour layover in the Athens airport and my first plane ride in a bird without jet engines. Propellers are LOUD, and don't make for the smoothest rides. This city is beautiful. Isolated enough to be quiet and relaxing, but close enough to really anything we're going to want to do in Greece. Everybody at the University is extremely helpful. the Starvos Niarchos Int'l Student dormitories put every single dorm at the UW to shame. two beds (as opposed to bunks), desk, bedside tables, deskside drawers, reading lamps, a table and two chairs, closets with built in dressers, and a private bathroom with a tub in every room. I think some of the native Ioanninans are a little resentful that we get the nicest building on campus -- but I think the university knows no Americans would come if we didn't.
Cafeteria food is... well cafeteria food, just Greek. Luckily, there is a little kind of cafe called the Kilikio, where 1.5 liter waters and enormous ham and cheese HotPocket-esque snacks run between 1 and 2 Euros.
The group is great, everyone is friendly and excited to be here. Also nice, we've got a couple of kids with us who are Greek, speak Greek, and visit Greece every summer. They have been really good about helping us get around so far. These guys actually spent their spring break in Athens with family, and then drove to Ioannina. They are the only ones with a car, and I think the only ones who would really want to drive around here. For any Angelenos reading this -- for as nuts as we are behind the wheel, you drive like an old woman on the Greek standard.
An American woman from Georgia named Kat took a big group of us out last night, determined to teach us how to party hard on less than 10 Euro (a nice break considering .5 liter beers were pushing 5 Euro in Roma and Amsterdam, and we did shop around for the best deals). Enter, Cipro. Think Greek Grappa. Pretty much, moonshine made in the mountains by locals and sold to the restaurants by the lake. The nice thing about the Cipro -- aside from it being less than 2 Euro for a little personal pitcher approximately 50 milliliters -- is that little snacks are included with it. Probably so you don't get alcohol poisoning and die in somebody's restaurant.
School is...well I've only had two classes, and both have been in Greek language. I thought I would have a leg up because we had to learn the alphabet during pledge quarter. Wrong. That alphabet is americanized to the extreme, and has done next to no good thusfar. Our first history class is in a few hours, and we've got our first excursion coming up in a few days.
Pics from all of this, and for the rest of the trip will be uploaded to flickr sets, visible here.
More to come soon, hopefully in smaller posts for your dry eyes and short attention spans.
And, because I know not everyone will read all the way to the bottom. Pics are here.
Flew British Airways out of Sea-Tac to London Heathrow. Sat in the last two rows of the plane. It was little loud, but we had room behind our seats for backpacks, so leg room was maximized. This was the nicest plane I've ever seen in my life -- sleeper chairs, complimentary drinks, and about four different sections of first classy seats. Barry sat next to an Italian from Milano. He spoke no English and Barry speaks no Italian, but somehow (according to Barry) they were having a conversation.Cam and I watched Beowulf with no sound so we could talk. I don't think we really missed much. A stewardess cut Cam and I off from drink service for no real reason. Something about Americans and the altitude. We weren't being loud or uncivil even, and a steward came and actually apologized to us for her, which was nice but put no more drinks in my stomach.
Got to Amsterdam after a short layover and an even shorter flight. It was pitch black out and dumping snow when we got out of the central station. Took a ridiculous cab ride to a hostel (which, by the way, were not as cheap anywhere as people had us thinking -- but I attribute at least some of that to people traveling on Easter holiday), where we shared a room with a Scottish expat. That was a linguistic adventure, to say the least.
Met some British rugby players on the tram into town, ended up hanging out with their team for a while the first night. They were a wild bunch.Second night we had to find a new place to stay. Found a hotel in a very central location for only 2 Euro more a night each than the hostel. Coffeeshop (all one word there) / Red Light alleyways were... interesting. One of the "ladies" actually came out of her little box and grabbed me by the jacket. I wasn't about to stick around until a Ukrainian tried to make me pay him something just to leave, so I got out of that situation quickly. The novelty factor of it all wore off really quickly. Aside from a few museums, there really wasn't much to do there other than spend money in restaurants, pubs, and coffeeshops. Almost everybody working there admits the city is good for holiday, but not a great place to be permanently.
The van Gogh museum was amazing. I used to think it was just stylistic how he portrayed Holland as having crooked buildings that lean on each other and tilt inward toward the streets. It's not -- the place is actually built like that. It really looks as if you found the right building in Amsterdam and knocked it down, the rest of the city would come crumbling down.
Four days in Amsterdam, then we left for Roma, which is, of what I have seen in my life, my favorite city in the world. Ryanair only allowed us 15kg a bag (even though we already paid 14 Euro with the tickets just to be able to check a bag). Actually, we could have checked our heavy bags, for 10 Euro per kilogram over that we were. We were all facing between 60 and 100 Euros in fees. So we were all unpacking our entire lives in the middle of Eindhoven airport. I ended up having to wear a couple of shirts and all of my jackets through the ride so that I could get my bag checked.
Stayed in a one-star hotel near the Colosseum. Had Spaghetti Carbonara, a dish I've yet to see really done correctly in America. Fettucine alla Bolognese is also high up on my list. Actually ate no pizza in Italy.Drank way too much Chianti and ended up in a jazz bar, where jazzy Italians grilled us about New Orleans (music, not hurricanes) for about an hour before we found our way back to the hotel. Next day Cam and I led a (10 mile) walking tour of the city. Did The Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill, hit most of the piazzas, and climbed to the top of Basilica di San Pietro. 551 stairs. Everyone in my cohort agrees we should have done the inverse of what we did -- one night in Amsterdam and four in Roma, but what can you do?
Left Roma out of Leonardo da Vinci airport. Saw some (not black) kids wearing "Black Panthers Harlem Fight Club" sweatshirts. Kindly informed them that if they ever make their way to America that those should not be donned if severe beatings wish to be avoided.
Got to Ioannina after a four hour layover in the Athens airport and my first plane ride in a bird without jet engines. Propellers are LOUD, and don't make for the smoothest rides. This city is beautiful. Isolated enough to be quiet and relaxing, but close enough to really anything we're going to want to do in Greece. Everybody at the University is extremely helpful. the Starvos Niarchos Int'l Student dormitories put every single dorm at the UW to shame. two beds (as opposed to bunks), desk, bedside tables, deskside drawers, reading lamps, a table and two chairs, closets with built in dressers, and a private bathroom with a tub in every room. I think some of the native Ioanninans are a little resentful that we get the nicest building on campus -- but I think the university knows no Americans would come if we didn't.
Cafeteria food is... well cafeteria food, just Greek. Luckily, there is a little kind of cafe called the Kilikio, where 1.5 liter waters and enormous ham and cheese HotPocket-esque snacks run between 1 and 2 Euros.
The group is great, everyone is friendly and excited to be here. Also nice, we've got a couple of kids with us who are Greek, speak Greek, and visit Greece every summer. They have been really good about helping us get around so far. These guys actually spent their spring break in Athens with family, and then drove to Ioannina. They are the only ones with a car, and I think the only ones who would really want to drive around here. For any Angelenos reading this -- for as nuts as we are behind the wheel, you drive like an old woman on the Greek standard.
An American woman from Georgia named Kat took a big group of us out last night, determined to teach us how to party hard on less than 10 Euro (a nice break considering .5 liter beers were pushing 5 Euro in Roma and Amsterdam, and we did shop around for the best deals). Enter, Cipro. Think Greek Grappa. Pretty much, moonshine made in the mountains by locals and sold to the restaurants by the lake. The nice thing about the Cipro -- aside from it being less than 2 Euro for a little personal pitcher approximately 50 milliliters -- is that little snacks are included with it. Probably so you don't get alcohol poisoning and die in somebody's restaurant.
School is...well I've only had two classes, and both have been in Greek language. I thought I would have a leg up because we had to learn the alphabet during pledge quarter. Wrong. That alphabet is americanized to the extreme, and has done next to no good thusfar. Our first history class is in a few hours, and we've got our first excursion coming up in a few days.
Pics from all of this, and for the rest of the trip will be uploaded to flickr sets, visible here.
More to come soon, hopefully in smaller posts for your dry eyes and short attention spans.
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