Kalimera apo Ellas.

I know that I have a lot of catching up to do, but I have to say right off the bat that I love it here in Greece.

Thursday evening was my last in Cadiz, so Bethany and Saira decided to take me to ice cream at the Heladeria one last night. While we were walking there, we ran into Paqui, Papa, and Lidi (their daughter) in a plaza. They were sitting with Paqui's brother and his family, and they invited us to sit down to have some drinks with them. She proudly introduced us as her American daughters and bragged about being a mariposa. We were laughing because earlier that day I had discovered that she had been referring to me as "pelota" (peh-LOAT-ah) during my entire stay, and I just caught onto it. Pelota means ball, but when I asked her why she was calling me pelota, she replied that it means "suck-up." She said that I always tell her, "The food was wonderful Paqui. You make the best food in Cadiz. You should open a restaurant." So for the past four weeks she had been calling me a pelota, and I had just realized it my second to last day. After we sat with them for about an hour, we ran into our Belgian friends at the Heladeria. I ate my favorite flavors one last time, and then we said our goodbyes. The three of us went back and studied for our final exams until 2:00am.

On Friday, I gave my presentation and took my final. Then I said goodbye to all of the API people and went shopping one last time. I went to a souvenir shop, and the shopkeeper's daughter (who was about nine) sold a shirt to me in a very professional manner. She also taught me some new vocabulary. (I have learned that children are the best teachers, which reminds me of a quote that Papa taught us. "Solamente los barrachos, los locos y los ninos dicen la verdad."-- Only the drunks, crazies, and children tell the truth.") Anyway, I went back to the house for my final home-cooked meal in Cadiz. Papa and Lidi ate with us while Paqui smoked her cigarettes and drank her beer on the couch, claro. ("Oh, Pac.") We joked and laughed with each other, so we were one typical, loud familia. It was the perfect way to spend my final hours in Cadiz. Later, Papa called his nephew, who is a real taxista, to pick me up and take me to the train station. Papa, Bethany, and Saira started to bring my luggage down for me as I said goodbye to Paqui. Then Paqui suggested that we take my luggage down the "Spanish way." Over the past month, they've been renovating the apartment across the hall, and because there isn't an elevator in the building, the workers had been using a puller to raise and lower equipment. Paqui grabbed my suitcase, hooked it to the rope, and yelled to Papa below. So...my latest memory of Paqui is perfect. On the street, Papa helped load my things into the cab, and gave me "besitos" (kiss on each cheek). I gave my two amigas big hugs, and waved goodbye to Cadiz.

The overnight train wasn't too bad. I felt very safe, which is most important. For the first few stops, I was the only one on my cabin. But with each stop more and more people boarded, so there were four of us in the compartment. There were two women from Spain, and a young woman from the Dominican Republic. So, I got some final practice in. One woman was from Barcelona, and she gave me a juicy nectarine for dinner. I didn't sleep too well. All three of them snored, and one of them must have had the garbanzo sopa before boarding.

When we woke up around 8:00am, the train pulled into Barcelona. I walked to the bus station, and took a bus to the Henneberger family's neighborhood. I had never met the Hennebergers, but Paul, Linda, and their daughter, Katherine (who is 10), greeted me and made me feel at home. They are from Morgantown. Paul received a grant in Barcelona for a year. Katherine attends my father's school. They had a delicious breakfast waiting for me, and we enjoyed each other's company for a while. Then we went to a funicular to Montjuic, a hill overlooking downtown. At the top, we went to the Joan Miro art museum. He was an abstract artist, and I didn't understand most of his art. But the four of us had fun walking around looking at the paintings and trying to guess/invent the titles. Most times we were wrong, until we realized that about 1/3 of them were titled "Mujer y parajo" (Woman and bird). I think I would have been highly insulted if he would have painted/sculpted me.

Later we went downtown and had lunch. They speak Catalan (which sounds like Spanish but looks like French) and Castellano (Spanish of Spain), so I don't remember the Catalan word for the sandwich, but it means "flute" because it's very narrow. Anyway, we ate those and drank "cava," which is very Catalan and tastes like champagne. From lunch we split up, and I went to La Padrera, an apartment complex designed by Gaudi. This was probably one of the my favorite sights in Barcelona. I really never too much about Gaudi (other than he was un poco loco). He was an architect at the beginning of the twentieth century, and he was great influenced by the shapes of nature. I can't even begin to describe this building, so here you go:

http://www.lodgephoto.com/galleries/spain/barcelona/lapedrera-casamila/

After touring the complex, I walked down to another one of his houses, Casa Batlio, but the line was longer, price was higher, and according to the Henneberger family, the house isn't as exciting. So I took pictures of the exterior, and then walked to Sagrada Familia, the famous cathedral designed by Gaudi (he had a huge influence on Barcelona.) I go in or take a tour, so I don't know too much about the history behind it, but I know that he wanted to construct about 18 towers, each with a Biblical symbolism. Around the exterior, relief sculptures around the bulding depict the life of Christ. But construction started in the early 1900s (I want to say around 1906), so the sculptures are not your typical cathedral artwork. They have a very modern Gothic feel. Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure:

http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Sagrada_Familia.html

Afterwards I caught the Metro to the Old City, and went into the Cathedral. This was the first cathedral during my Euro trip that enforced the whole "shoulders and knees must be covered" rule. (It suddenly made sense to me why all of the street vendors were selling scarves to women with tank tops.) Anyway, I sat in for a little bit of mass (in the tourist section), and walked around the gardens. I also walked to Plaza Real, and then I made my way down Las Rambalas, which is a very touristy street with street performers, shops, and cafes everywhere. I got on a train, and went back to the house, just beating the thunderstorm. We had dinner together and then conversed for the rest of the evening.

The next morning, they took me around their neighborhood, showing me the more historic parts. Then we went up the hill to Park Guell, which is a park designed by...yes...Gaudi. He originally designed it to be a residential area, but Paul told me that no one wanted to move out of the city, so it wasn't successful. Now it's it's simply a touristy area. But I really enjoyed walking through more of Gaudi's work. We also toured his house, which is in Park Guell.

Barcelona is a beautiful city, very different from any other city that I had seen in Spain. It's kind of like the West Coast of Spain in that it's a little more artsy, and the people are more liberal. It was very clean, but Linda warned me how you have to watch your belongings like a hawk. She had story after story to convince me. During lunch, I even saw one homeless man walk by the outdoor tables of a restaurant and nonchalantly take sandwiches from one table and ask for cigarettes at the next. Apparently, this is very common. But other than that, Barcelona was gorgeous and very modern.

When we returned to the house, we had a quick lunch, and I caught a cab to the airport. I said goodbye to the Paul, Linda, and Katherine, and we told each other, "Hasta Morgantown." I think it was so ironic to meet Morgantown residents for the first time on the other side of the world.

Anyway, I caught a flight from Barcelona to Athens around 4:25pm. On the flight, almost all of the passengers were Spaniards going to Greece for vacation. I must admit that when we landed, it was nice for once to see the Spaniards out of their element. I know that I'm not full Greek, I don't really know the language, and I don't know the area very well, but I was more familiar with the airport and language. I enjoyed watching them wander around like tourists. (Don't worry; I know that's wrong of me). And it was one of the few times that I could say "Signomi" to one person and "Perdon" to the next. (Being able to use both Greek and Spanish in the same location doesn't occur very often.) When I gathered my luggage, Jason met me right outside of "customs" (I didn't even have to present my passport), and we found Takis, our Greek cousin who is about 28. He speaks very good English, and we taught each other some Greek and English words on the 45 minute ride back to his house. When we arrived, we dropped off our luggage and then walked to Thios Akis (Uncle Aki), his Papou and my Papou's uncle. Takis lives literally two minutes away from his Yia Yia and Papou. For those of you who went on the Greek trip last year, he lives right down the main road along the water where the little playground is.

When we arrived at Thios' "spiti," Thia Despina had cooked one of the best meals I've ever eaten. There was fresh feta, tomatoes and cucumbers, Greek potatoes, pork that melted in your mouth, tiropites (cheese pies), and the food I missed most...Greek yogurt. (You wouldn't believe how fresh and delicious it is). Now, neither Thios or Thia speak English, so we had Sophie (their daughter with whom I arranged this trip) and Takis translate for us. (Jason and I could only say, "Hello, how are you?" "Thank you very much."). When we first sat down, Thios, who is 94, sat down with his cigarette and asked Jason what his wife's name is (he was referring to me). It took a few times, but Takis explain how I was the granddaughter of "Jimi."

We all sat down for dinner, and Thios could not get over the fact that Jason and I were American and drinking water and not Coca Cola. He pointed at his class and said with disbelievingly, "American!" (Next time we eat with him, I'll have Coke.) While we ate, I felt very guilty for not knowing Greek. We really couldn't converse with Thios and Thia, so Thia just watched us and made sure that we were eating enough, like your typical Greek woman. Sophie explained how we had the choice of either staying in Athens for the rest of the week or returning to Nafplio with her the next day. Since we didn't get a very good tour of the Acropolis last summer, and Takis has a waterfront view with Piraeus (the largest port in Europe) right down the street, we chose to say another week. She then explained how every day we would meet Takis during his siesta at 2:30pm at Thios' house for lunch. So every day, we get a home-cooked meal from Despina. We finished up our meal, and walked with Takis back to his flat. Jason and I were laughing because we felt like we were little kids following around "our cool, Greek cousin who rides a bike."

The next morning, Takis went to work, and Jason and I woke up to an empty apartment. We realized that we didn't have a key, we didn't know the address, and we had no idea what to do. But between the two of us, we generated enough of brain power to find a beach and hang out there until 2:00pm. On the way to Thios, we had time to kill so we sat down at a cafe, and I ordered a Coke. Now I know why Thios couldn't believe that we didn't drink it. For some reason, it tastes so much better when you're sitting on a Grecian shore sipping it out of a glass bottle. We met everyone for lunch, which was as equally excellent as the first meal. Afterwards, Takis insisted on taking us grocery shopping in the little market directly below Thios'. Takis grew up in the apartment in which he lives, and when he got holder, his parents moved out and his twin moved to an island. So he has his own flat, but he's lived there his whole life. So while we were shopping, people were greeting him left and right. It just added a hometown feel to everything. I loved it. "Takis! Ti kanis?" (How are you?)

We came back, and Takis had a few hours to kill before he had to go back to work. So we sat down and shared music with each other on the Internet. Then I saw two guitars on the table, and he told me that he was learning how to play. So the two of his played together, and I taught him a few additional chords. It's such a strange feeling to befriend someone who is your relative, yet stranger on the other side of the world. What an experience. Jason and I feel like we're actually hanging out with a friend now instead of imposing. (It's going to be a fun week.)

After Takis left, Jason and I got ready and caught the tram to downtown Athens. Aside Jason falling on his face when the tram started, we felt like we didn't stick at as tourists until the Acropolis came into view, and we both impulsively gasped. It was as if we couldn't help it. It's such a sight in the evening as the sun is setting. Once we got to Athens, we realized that we forgot to notice the name of the stop in front of Takis' house. But once again, with our powers combined we figured it out as soon as we got off and looked at map. Anyway, the tram dropped us off right in front of Parliament in Syntagma Square. We both felt a little pompous knowing the area and not needing a map. It was fun. We took pictures of the guards for Stephanie (that was her favorite thing to do last year), walked through the square, and made our way down to the Plaka, where we could see the Acropolis lit up. We ate in a little restaurant and ordered souvlaki in a pita, tzitziki (my breath still reeks of garlic), and drinks. All together, it was 10 Euros (I love Greece). Then we walked around for a little bit, and caught the tram back to meet Takis.

At Takis apartment, we hung out with his friends, Chris and Katherine. Katherine was pretty quiet, but Chris was very outgoing. He's really into a rap and hip-hop, and because Jason is from "ATL," the two of them had a lot to talk about. We also watched a bunch of YouTube videos (Takis has his computer set up to his big screen, and he has a wireless keyboard and mouse. Actually, as I write I'm lounging on the couch with the Sea (we're not sure which one...Ionian, maybe?) in view behind the TV.) Because we did all of the sight-seeing and touristy things last summer, this is exactly what I wanted to do this summer...live like a Greek. So pretty much, life here is perfect. Takis' apartment is spacious and overlooking the water, and he has an AC unit!!!!

I've decided to study for about an hour a day so that I can eventually have a short conversation with Thios and Thia. I'm also carrying around my red notebook to write down new vocabulary words, but now I have a Greek section.

They don't have USB ports here, so I can't download pictures. But here is last year's photo album with pictures of everyone. If you look at pictures 6-11, that's the Greek family.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2136168&l=b873c&id=25815473

Photo #7 shows Thios, and in #8 you only get an idea of what Thia Despina's food is like. In Photo #8, Takis is all the way on the left in black, Thia Despina is looking down at Thios Akis, and Sophie is right next to her. The rest (aside from Aunt Angie, Uncle Steve, and Aunt Helen Ann) are Greek, and I haven't seen them during this trip.

We're only two days into the Greek trip, and I just can't get over how amazing it has been. Not only are we living our dreams, but we're getting to know our Greek family so that they're more than just blood relatives to us. They're true family. And Jason and I were talking how awesome it is that our mothers came to Greece together for a month when they were younger. I know that I'm not full Greek and that I'm mostly American, but I'm so glad and proud to have that Arslain blood running through my vains. Learning and exploring your cultural identity is priceless.

Well, it's almost 11:30am, and Jason is still asleep. I think I'm going to wake him up so we can go to the beach. Tonight we may go to Piraeus with Takis. He also mentioned something about a bouzoukia, which is a restaurant where they play more modern bouzouki music, but they still Greek dance. And they also buy flowers and throw them at the singers. Tomorrow I we're going to catch a bus to Sunio, which is a bout 2 hours away. According to both of our mothers, it is the most beautiful beach with ruins setting about the mountain behind. Later this week, we're going to attempt the Acropolis again. Then once we get to Nafplio, Sophie says that she insists that we got to at least one island for a few days. I think she's taking us to Sifnos.

I'm begging you to move here. That way life in Greece would be absolutely perfect.