It's Carnival Time!

I just want to start by stating the number of days when my mother and oldest sister arrive in Greece. They visit me in 13 days!!! Can't wait to see them!

Okay. Got that out of my system. :)

Since I last blogged, Monica turned 24 years old, my group made two day trips, and pitchers and catchers reported for spring training!

On Friday, Feb 12, we visited Corinth and Acrocorinth. It is a little more than an hour away from Athens. Professor Guy Sanders, an expert of Corinth, gave us a lecture at the site and took us on a VIP tour. So we visited and saw a bunch of things normal visitors would not be able to see. We then got lunch at a local taverna and made our way to Acrocorinth. Acrocorinth is a medieval fortress looming above the ancient site of Corinth. My group got a little lost wandering around the site, but eventually met up with the rest of our program group. We headed back onto the bus, we were still short two kids. We jokingly said they were going to get locked in the fortress, but when we saw the guards for the site closing the gates, we panicked! We yelled to the guards and luckily the two kids showed up right at that point in time. Whew!

Last weekend was carnival time because the Orthodox lent was coming soon. On Saturday we saw many people of all ages dress up in costumes and have a great time. We wanted to take part in the festivities, so we all bought some masks. Mine was pink and sparkly and went very well with my dress. The carnival lasted the entire weekend. Monday was Clean Monday, so that meant more festivals and no school! A bunch of us headed downtown close to the acropolis to check out the festivities. There were bands, food, and lots of kites! Apparently, kites are still a big deal here in Greece and everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, was flying or attempting to fly a kite on Monday. It was great to sit down and do some people-watching.

However, we could not celebrate the entire day since we had to study for our first midterm, which was the next day.

On Tuesday, we had our first midterm on the Trojan War. I think the exam went well and I hope I got a good grade.

Then we had our second midterm on Wednesday and it was on Crete. The exam was similar to the one on Tuesday, so I think I did well, again. I hope. Wednesday was also the day when pitchers and catchers reported for spring training. Not many kids on my program are interested in baseball, or at least not as interested as I am, so they didn't understand this holiday. Oh, well. I was happy. :) Later that night, my professor was lecturing on the Philistines, so we all went out to hear her lecture and give her support. She was so happy that we were all there for her.

There was some time before our first class, so I and two other girls went shopping. I bought some black boots for a very good price because nearly every store has sales, but it ends soon, so I had to buy some sooner than later. We then had class so it was a rather normal and boring day.

On Friday, we had our next day trip and it was to Rhamnous and Marathon. The first site was cool because we saw a temple dedicated to Nemesis and an ancient fortress near the sea. Marathon was the site of a major battle in Greek and all of world history. The Athenians were able to defeat the mighty Persians and prevented them from expanding their empire westward. The battlefield itself is covered with crops, but we saw some tombs dedicated to the 192 Athenians who died during the battle. After we visited the sites, we stopped at a tavern that was next to the sea. It was too cold, windy, and cloudy for me to go swimming. Also, there was a lot of seaweed on the beach, so that was really gross. But, overall, the day was really good.

Today was a very relaxing day so far. I did some very early spring cleaning and went to a burger joint with my roommates. It was surprisingly good, but incredibly filling. I probably won't be eating until much later tonight. We might head up to St George later today because some kids have not been there yet, but I don't know if the weather will be good enough for us to climb up.

This coming week will also be very relaxing because I only have class on two days. Two of my professors are away, so their classes are cancelled. Sweet! Then on next Friday we will head south to Sounion, where the famous temple of Poseidon is located. I can't wait!

I think that's all for now folks, but don't forget to look at my pictures on my picasa webpage.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mkwitzig

καλό Σαββατοκύριακο!

Center of the (Greek) world

Γειά!

I haven't written in over 2 (almost 3) weeks, so I figured this would be a good time for an update!

On Wednesday, January 27, we visited the acropolis museum here in Athens. The museum has a modern design that works with natural light and is situated at the base of the acropolis. Essentially, the museum is designed on the actual features of the acropolis, with the third floored entirely modeled on the Parthenon itself. It is a pretty neat museum, which only just recently opened. We didn't have time to explore the acropolis, but I am waiting for the day when we do.

Thursday, January 28, we took a field trip to the National Archaeological museum with our Aegean class. We only explored one room of the museum for an hour and a half! But, it was really cool to see a lot of the ancient pieces that I have studied before coming to Athens like the mask of Agamemnon.

We took our first weekend field trip was during the last weekend of January. We left on Friday and stopped at Chaeroneia before getting to Osios Loukas and Delphi. Chaeroneia was a battle in the 4th century BC between Philip of Macedon and the Greeks. Phililp won. We then stopped at a beautiful monastery called Osios Loukas or St Luke. The view of the valley below and the monastery itself was just absolutely gorgeous. Then, we finally arrived at Delphi and had the entire afternoon to ourselves. That night, I and my other roommates celebrated Mary's 21st birthday.

Saturday was the day we went to the famous oracle of Delphi and the surrounding area. We walked through the ancient road in Delphi, but we could not go into the actual temple where the oracles were made. We also saw a stone that was shaped like a navel. Apparently in the ancient Greek world, Delphi was considered to be the navel or center of the world. After our time in Delphi, we made our way to Kalambaka, the village close to Meteora. Since it was officially Mary's birthday on Saturday, we had a program dinner celebrating it.

On Sunday, we drove up the long hill to Meteora. There, we visited two monasteries and one nunnery. We first visited Great Meteora, the largest monastery in Meteora, then went to Varlam, and ended with the nunnery. At each one, all the ladies had to wear skirts, even though our legs were already covered by our pants. Oh, well. I am truly amazed and just how those monks were able to climb those mountains and subsequently build monasteries on top of them. Just, WOW. After our visit, we got back on the bus and made the 6-hour trek back to Athens.

I know I am a bit late, but Happy February, everyone!

On Thursday the 4th, we went to the agora, which is at the base of the acropolis. A beautiful and mostly intact temple was located there called the Hephaestion, which was dedicated to the god Hephaestus. The view from the agora of the acropolis and of the city of Athens was spectacular. The weather was nice and we had blue skies.

This past weekend, we went on our second field trip and went to the Argolid. The Argolid is a small part of the Peloponnse on the eastern side. It is just west of Attica, the state where Athens is located. We first stopped at Mycenae, the "home" of Agamemnon. There we visited several tombs, including the most famous one called the Treasury of Atreus. We then hiked up to the old city itself and it was really neat to be there. Not much remains (obviously) but the view from it of the surrounding plain is wicked pretty. That afternoon, we made our way to Nauplion (also spelled Nafplion). It is this gorgeous little town near the harbor that has Venetian and Turkish fortresses. It is a more modern city compared to those that we saw in the Argolid, but it has the BEST gelateria in Greece. We went several times during the two days we were there.

On Saturday, we made our way to Epidaurus and Franchthi Cave (when pronounced fast, sounds like Frank the Cave). Epidaurus was an ancient healing site that was attributed to the god of healing, Asklepius. Also there at Epidaurus was a cool theatre that awesome acoustics and could seat many people. From there we made our way to Franchthi Cave, which was an old cave that housed people way back in the day. First we had a picnic of bread, cheese, and wine, then hiked to the cave. It was super awesome and we also did a little bit of rock climbing inside the cave. We then returned back to Nauplion.

Sunday, we visited the Nauplion Museum, then left for Lerna and Tiryns. Lerna is famous for the House of Tiles, which was two-storied and had tiles covering the roof. Tiryns was another Mycenaean-period settlement. Unfortunately, we didn't spend too much time at Tiryns because it was raining heavily. Then we made our way back to Athens in the rain. Boo. Also, Sunday was the 1-month anniversary of being in Athens. I can't believe a month and some has already gone by. Jeez.

This week has been different from the other weeks. On Monday, we learned to learn to dance Greek dances in Greek class. It was super fun. Additionally, we only had Byzantine history once and won't have it for a few weeks. Today, Wednesday, we only had one class and it was our Trojan War class. So, that means we have Greek tomorrow. It is just a weird week.

On Friday, also Monica's 24th birthday, we are doing a day trip to Corinth and Acrocorinth. I am excited, but I hope we have time to visit the farmers' market before we leave, since it was been several weeks the last time I was there. I miss my cheap and fresh veggies and fruit.

I spoke to my parents this past weekend on ichat and learned about the massive snow storm that is hounding the east coast. I am glad that I am not there right now. :)

In less than 4 weeks, my mum and oldest sister will be spending spring break with me here in Greece! I cannot wait to see them! Although, I wish my dad and Monica could spend it with us as well.

Oh, and pitchers and catchers report in a week!

I think that is about it, folks. So, until I blog again,

έχουν μια καλή ημέρα (Have a good day)