दय 5

(Leaving Athens, Monday Morning)

We’ve arrived.

From the port of Athens, carrying cups of sweetened black coffee, to “The Blue Star” ferry which shuttled us into the Cyclades, we finally arrived on Paros late Monday morning.

Talk about having a room with a view.

From the side of the ferry (which was actually a large ship, carrying trucks, cars, people and misc.), we leaned towards Paros and tried to wrap our mind around its existence. No longer a sketched map. This was a place we could finally feel, so we laughed and let the Mediterranean wind carry us closer.

From the port, we carried our bags twenty minutes to “Jimmy’s Apartments” where we’ll be living for the next three months. We passed red blossoms wrapped around everything, Greek men drinking wine and playing dice near the waterfront and lot of mopeds.

My apartment has a tiny bathroom, with a bathtub, a kitchen with a fridge and two burners on the stove, two double beds, a huge closet and a patio door which opens onto a balcony the size of a king bed (where I’m writing now) and a view of the island alongside a busy street. Everybody has their own apartment.

When I unpacked my tiny suitcase, my cloths only took up a corner of the closet. My groceries consist of rice, oranges, grapes, yogurt, olive oil, chamomile tea and Greek honey (made with thyme). If I walk fifty meters, I can see the Aegean. If I walk three minutes, I’m on the beach walking with topless women and naked children. If I need something, the store is a ten minute walk along the waterfront.

I like the simplicity.

Classes start today, but I don’t have class on Wednesday’s or Friday’s, never before 10 a.m. I’m taking:

Cross Disciplinary Philosophy (2 credits)
Historical Sites of the E. Mediterranean (4 credits)
Black and White Photography (4 credits)
Creative Writing (4 credits)
Advanced Creative Writing (4 credits)

I dropped my literature class, because I came here to write and that’s where I want to focus my energies. I met a girl from Michigan State named Brianna who want I want to paint and sketch on the beach with. Outside of class, we have plenty to keep us occupied.

Last night the group went to a beach bar (the locals recommend a beer called Mythos) and before that, my friend Molly (from Washington) and I wandered around Paroikia। We followed a set of crumbled stone steps alongside side of a wall on the shoreline, towards a tiny beach at the edge of town and found an old stone walkway which turned a corner. Instead of ending it led to a tiny building with a cross outside the door, hidden from the road above by over hanging rocks.



After that, we wandered some more, climbed a set of stairs and ended up walking through the ruins of an old temple from 400 B.C. as the sun was setting.

There is so much more to explore.

There’s a castle on the other side of the island, monasteries hidden in the mountains, an ancient marble quarry (which supplied marble for the Venus d'Milo, Praxiteles' Hermes, and the Parthenon ) and tiny towns just a cheap bus ride away. This Sunday we’ll take a trip to the island Dios, and the following weekend we’re going to Santorini.

This experience has been moving, and not always easy. I’ve felt incredibly happy most of the time, but also slightly homesick, usually at night after a long day. It takes a lot of energy and confidence to meet twenty-five new people. I won’t be close friends with all of them (we have twenty girls and five guys), but there are a few girls (Molly, Suzanna, Brianna, Lindsay, Caitlyn) who have already made this experience memorable.

I am so far from home, but I know, everyone I love will be waiting in December. Until then, I have a bowl of yogurt and a cup of tea waiting.

I love you. I miss you. Be kind. Be well.



(Me, Madeline, Suzanna, Lindsay, Brianna, Molly and Molly)