The best day ever!!!

Before I tell you about the best day ever, I will say that we ended our trip through the Peloponnese well. We held our athletic race at the Olympic stadium and I am sad to say that I did not win. I did, however, reach my goal of beating one of the guys, so I think that's saying something! (Sorry, Ibuken. I just had to immortalize the moment by expressing it in writing :) Chris has been our winner of both races, but what was even more impressive was that he ran this race while being injured and he still beat us all (we are all hanging our heads in shame)... and as the ancients Greeks believed: it doesn't matter what you place. If it's not first, then it doesn't matter.
Despite all of the swarms of tourists, I really enjoyed our stay in Olympia. Our ride back to Athens was basically a day of sleeping on the bus with intermittent stops to a medieval castle (Chlemoutsi), back to Isthmia, and along the Corinthian canal. I was also frequently awakened by the downpour on my head... and by that I mean the leaking air conditioner on the bus. I always managed to get the seat on the bus where the leakage was the greatest. At one point, I set up a "window curtain contraption" to block the water, but eventually the water even soaked through that. Just another adventurous aspect of the trip, I suppose. :)

Returning to Athens is always a spectacular treat because I feel so excited to be "home". I realize that any space I can claim as my own little private sanctuary is enough to make me happy. Here I have my own room, regular meals, and clean clothes. What more could I want? So, Sunday ended up being the best day ever not only because I was home, but because our Professor had given us the entire day off! Finally a day of rest... and it was spectacular! I slept in later than usual and I woke up to go shopping! (Get excited, family! I bought you some gifts!) I had a leisurely afternoon reading and hanging out at a coffee shop just chatting with some of my classmates. I hate to admit it, but we went to Starbucks and it was delicious! I did my laundry (clean clothes is such a luxury!) and then a group of us decided to get Indian food for dinner. This was the start of a super adventure! We decided to go to the Indian neighborhood in Psiri to this Indian restaurant that had great reviews online. I read that it was in a very shady part of town, but was still safe. So as the four of us got off the metro to this area and started wandering around the streets, within the span of one block it went from being normal to extremely sketchy. There were crowds of Indian and Pakistani groups all over the streets just huddled together. Other parts had a mass of Asians, others Africans. I must say, I tried not to show it, but I was kinda scared. We Americans stuck out like a sore thumb in that area. I'm not sure how the guys felt who were with us, but I think it's in my nature to be super cautious. We found the restaurant, but it was so expensive that (despite the adventure of getting there) we decided to go somewhere else. We took a different route back and needless to say, we made it through safe and sound. Not that there was anything to be worried about, but it's in my nature to worry (I get that from you, dad!). We ended up eating at this Asian/Thai/Indian restaurant that my friend, Kris, had recommended (in a completely different area of town) and the food was pretty great! We ended our great day with a game night and today we went back to work as usual! :)

I have to make a correction about my description of my classmate, Josh, from my last posting. He complained that I misrepresented him by calling him 'goofy', so I'd like to take back this comment. Sorry, Josh. You aren't goofy. :) But he is loud and reminds me of my little brother because of his funny sarcastic comments. One of my other favorite people is Alex S. because he's also from Florida and reminds me of my friends from UF. For some reason everyone loves to make fun of Alex the most, but it may be because he takes it so well. He's pretty fun and is the epitome of everything I associate with Florida... right down to the subtle southern accent which he refuses to admit that he has. So, as you can see, I'm making good friends and having a good time, even though I do still miss you all.

I really like this city and I can't believe I've been here for a month now! The program is ending in a couple of weeks and I can't wait for Jason to come visit so I can show him the highlights of everything I've enjoyed the most! The weather here is depressingly hot, and rumor has it that there will be a heat wave this weekend. But the good news is that we'll be traveling up north then on our final trip, so hopefully we'll escape the scorching weather.

Hope you all are doing well also. I miss you and would love to hear from you!