All good things must come to an end...

I still haven't come to grips that tonight is our last night overseas...what an amazing experience and what an amazing group of people I've been privileged to meet! We just got back to Athens today from a 4 day cruise through the Greek Isles...HIGHLY recommended!! I don't even know where to start...

Istanbul was something like no other...I actually enjoyed it more than Greece. There's something about being in a foreign land, everyone stares at you, but yet you can still connect with them and communicate with them! It was just AMAZING!! You'll get several more quotes from this trip when I'm back in town! Thanks to our almost as equally dope experience in Seagrove Beach, we started a quote sheet and it's fantastic!

So back to the Isles...dude...way too cool of an experience to write on this blog...where else can you cruise the Mediterranean, crystal blue seas, and every vice at your finger tips...they even had a casino for pete's sake!

I'm proud to say that I walked the beaches of Patmos...cruised the inner city of Rhodes AND saw one of the 7th ancient wonders of the world...slept through our stop at Crete...shutup...then capped all that with a donkey ride up the mountain to Santorini!! I mean come on...seriously...da bomb!! If you're bored and nothing else to do, do that!

I've never been on a cruise, but I will definitely be back on one! I think I still have sealegs...or mythos legs...one of the two! Becky and Danny, we HAVE to make a trip in the near future...I keep doing all these amazing adventures and think of you and know that we would have the most incredible times of our life's...I know I have...Christmas in Greece anyone???

Tomorrow we hit the airport at 7:45am for our long journey home...I'm super excited to see my baby girl and my furry kiddos...oh, and you crazy folks at Porsche! ;) Don't worry, I haven't forgot about you and the work that will be sitting on my desk Tuesday!!

But I have around 350 pictures and countless stories to tell, so grab a seat and let's have some moussaka and raki and chat...I'll miss my Mediterranean friends and memories...

Istanbul is the old new...

hello my frıendly fanatıcs...today was a full day of cultural vısıts. we got to see some really cool places. my fav was probably the mosque that we vısıted. at one tıme ıt was a chrıstıan church then through a serıes of wars ıt became a mosque and then ataturk turned ıt ınto a museum. ıll post some pıcs so you can see the ınsıde.

last nıght ı talked our guıde ınto takıng us to an authentıc turkısh dıner and he joıned us! we went to the downtown area navıgated a serıes of alleys and then clımbed a bunch of staırs and ended up at a kabob joınt! ıt was really really good! ın the mıddle of the room was a huge stove and some dude was makıng the kabobs to order...the entıre experıence was unıque...they brıng out about 5 or 6 plates of seasonıngs salsas eggplant somethıng or another then the kabobs! we had fısh beef chıcken and lıver! very scrumptıous ı must say! then we just cruısed ıstanbul and met up wıth some of Alı`s frıends and we had a really good tıme talkın polıtıcs lıfe and a bunch of other extremely ınterestıng thıngs! ;)

ıt ıs one of the classmates bırthday today so our professor has ınvıted us to hıs hotel room for a glass of rakı and then we are goıng to dınner and as Alı put ıt we goıng to boogıe tonıght! tomorrow ıs full of more cultural vısıts and a dınner cruıse on the bosporous! should be awesome. monday we fly to ızmır for an overnıght stay and then board our greek ısle cruıse tuesday mornıng!! dont hate...

oh and we went to the spıce market and the grand bızarre! now that was an experıence! turkısh people prıde themselves of negotıatıng and workıng out a deal. when you go ınto the bızarre or spıce market and enter theır store be prepared to be there 45 mıns! thats how long ıt took me to get the prıce ı wanted on somethıng ı cant say for someone ı love and mıss! she knows who she ıs!

and ı must gıve a shout out to that dude that ı held hands wıth ın the streets of ıstanbul...hey ıts what they do here!

but serıously...ıt ıs.

Mo pıcs...

Alive and well!

What a long strange trip ıts been! The last several days have been constantly travelıng or constantly busy! Im not really sure where to begın...

We got ınto ıstanbul last nıght and had a few busıness meetıngs today. ıts about 8pm rıght now so everyone ıs fınıshıng up homework and then gettıng ready to hıt up the town...our guıde ıs takıng us out so we shouldnt get jacked up! Thıs keyboard ıs kında weırd so ı dont know where the commas are and several extra keys have been ıntroduced...check ıt out...shaun ın turkısh...şaün...probably not rıght but looks cool!

We spent 2 nıghts ın Thessalonıkı...a college town ın northern greece...ıf you go to greece you must go there! Really cool place. Full of shoppıng and cafes and drınkıng establıshments. ıts rıght on the aegean sea so you get a really nıce vıew of the ocean! We also went to a wınery whıle we were there. ıts thıs amazıng 500 hecta meter or somethıng lıke that farm that they are turnıng ınto a resort lıke. ıt wıll eventually have a hotel restaurant some bungalows and of course the wınery ıtself. ıts all famıly owned and we were the the only people there that day. the dad whıch doesnt speak a lıck of englısh and hıs son gave us the royal treatment.

we spent about 4 hours or so there so you can ımagıne! They made us an amazıng dınner and had a table full of wıne and ouzo for us to taste! That nıght we had the son come out on the town wıth us. we took thıs boat out on the sea for about an hour and had a couple drınks and met some other really cool natıves. After stayıng ın town for the nıght we all went back to the sons house and chılled there tıll the mornıng hours...he had a dısco ball..fog..and of course hıs famılys wıne! About 5 of hıs other frıends were there and none of them except for Chrıs spoke Englısh! but we stıll had a ball!

Today was full of meetıngs and we are about to grab dınner but the rest of the weekend ıs full of thıngs. we wıll be at thıs hotel untıl monday so ı wıll make sure to update the blog more often! Fırst...the hooka bar ıs callıng!

Check ya later!

Last day in Athens...

This is the blog that I wrote yesterday but had my internet connection turned off before I could save...thank god for autosave!!

And yes Nikia...you were my inspiration for blogging!

Good day my friends...

Well, it is our last day in Athens. This is Sunday right?? Last night was another incredible experience. We went to the highest point in Athens and watched the sun set. Got attacked by pigeons. And broke a glass. Overall, a success! It was really awesome though! After that, we walked around a bit in Paraka, I think that's what it's called, and then we found this curb side cafe and grabbed dinner. Anyone ever had octopus? Well, I did. Suckers, tentacles and all! Quite interesting I must say.

I don't remember if I have said this previously, but there are many "wild" dogs in Athens. The dogs roam around and are actually well fed. So you see a lot of dogs and cats everywhere and one in particular became very fond of our group. He came around at dinner, no one fed him, but he just laid there by our table. We got up to leave and he followed us the entire night! We were standing at a crossroad and some guy started coming up to cross the street as well, and Benny, that's his new name, charged at him barking! It was pretty funny, he's our new guardian in Athens. So we woke up this morning, chilled by the pool for a bit, and then when we went to have lunch, guess who was across the street, napping...Benny! So he went to lunch with us and is now just chillin outside waiting for the next adventure!

Well, I must go prepare myself for some Greek futbol tonight. The front desk lady gave us very specific rules to go by. #1...wear green, guess it's the home teams colors...#2...don't say ANYTHING! She was very adamant about that one. I guess there are a lot of "hooligans" as she put it. So in order for us not to get beat up, keep quiet, wear green, and don't use gate #13.

Kalinichta

Yassou from Ellinika!!

giggidy giggidy...giggidy goo

What it is!! So I'm pretty sure last night was the absolute best time! We had dinner at the hotel, eh..ok, but then after dinner, we decided to take a walk and wait until 8:30pm when the roof top bar opens...well, our walk turned into a cray night of beera! We just started walking, not really knowing where we were going and found this hub of locals and coffee/beer/food shops. Everyone sits outside, drinks the conversation away, so we decided to join them! You can imagine 15 americans, in the middle of Athens, taking up a sidewalk section in front of a liquor stand! It was awesome! So for the first experience out on the town we had to try ouzo! For those less cultured folks than I, it's a liquorish drink that is indigenous to Greece. It's nasty as hell, but it definitely gets the job done!! Normally it comes in a shot glass, we thought, but they put it in a thin tall glass, over ice. So everyone got one and we were trying to figure out how you're suppose to drink it, sip or chug, you know...so we asked Maria, our server, and she informed us that sipping is the way of the whoa...sipping kinda makes you feel like you're going through some type of ancient chinese torture, so after about 10 mins, we were all like, forget this dude, and just chugged the entire glass! Wowzaas! A good beginning...

So we hung around for a few hours and then decided to go and find a local bar with some live Greek music. We found the best freakin hole in the wall! Of course that was after getting refused entry to another establishment...anywho, this place rocked! We were definitely the only foreigners there, but everyone was accommodating, or just stared. So of course we ordered up some drinks and then this 6 person band came on stage and rocked the house out yo! The lead singer was a girl that resembled Amy Whinehouse, pre drug days, if she was from Greece. The music consisted of Amy Whinehouse, REM, and I believe a Tom Petty cover as well, but all in Greek! They also had several originals that were stellar. So it was totally bad@ss! They did sing a few English songs, felt sorry for us I guess, but they began to love us! Of course you know me, hollerin' after every song! I guess the Greeks show appreciation differently than I do. ;) Then we finally made it back to the hotel after stumbling around Athens for about an hour...apparently the hotel was a 10 minute walk from the bar...oh well!

Today we had our first scholarly business visit. We went to an accounting firm in Piraeus, which is a major shipping hub outside of Athens. The CFO was a really cool guy, and after I went over all my Greek sentences I learned over the course of last night, he was very excited and impressed with my pronunciation! So far my vocab consist of - A beer please. One more beer please. Toilet. Hi (which is the title). Thank you (which is the toughest for some reason, it sounds like 4 sylabols, but it's only one word...efharisto...sounds like f-ha-ris-to) and Good Afternoon. So not too bad for only being here 1 day. Anyway, back to today's visit. Well, actually, that's all about today's visit. After our meeting, we came back to our hotel and went to this cafe a few blocks away. It was so freakin good! Lamb, pork, chicken, stuffed tomatoes, feta and tomatoes, the BEST olives, crepes, and coke! =) We all got something different and just passed it around and gorged ourselves! It was awesome.

In Greece, from 2:30 to 5:30 is Siesta time...businesses close up and everyone takes a nap or just chills...it's fabulous! I went out by the pool and took my famous power nap and now it's on like donkey kong! It's 5:15pm right now, meeting at 6 to go on top this hill, highest point in Athens, have a beer and watch the sunset. Suppose to be mad dope yo. From there, Athens is our playground. We got tickets to a soccer, or excuse me, futbol game tomorrow! That is gonna be real sweet. I'm sure I'll have 78 picutes and a blog to talk about it!

Well my dear manson followers...I must be off now.

Oh, and nobody really drinks beer around here! At the bars, it's Heineken, Amstel Light, or liquor...hhmm, just thought I would tell you that.


Kalinikta!

Safe and Sound!

Waz happenin'! Well, obviously we have made it to the land of Gods and Goddesses! The flight was WAY long! 10 hrs to be more precise. Everyone was poppin ambient and tylenol PM...I just stuck with the ol faithful gin and tonic! Thanks to DP...

But it wasn't so bad...I got to watch a few movies, listen to a Greek guy snore for about 6 hrs, and make sure my neighbor wasn't dead from taking an ambient and then proceeding to immediately pass out for 9 straight hours! Good times...

Today we went on a city tour of Athens and then hiked the Acropolis mountain...saw some wicked sweet old ass 2nd Century temples, amphitheaters, and tombs! Really cool. If you're in the neighborhood, I would definitely recommend stopping by! I know you always see it on TV and read about it in college or something, maybe, but seeing it in person is real real nice! ;) The mountain overlooks Attica County, which Athens is in, and you can see the entire city plus some other really cool churches and tombs set on hills afar. The Aegean Sea also sits in the background, so it's truly amazing!

It's about 4:50pm local time, so we're showering up and hitting the hotels roof top bar for a few adult beverages before our dinner at some Greek restaurant I can not, nor will I attempt to, pronounce. After dinner, we're going to go get lost in Athens and see what Friday night is like in the Mediterranean!

I have some pretty sweet pics that I'll put up soon. I'm sure you'll really enjoy the sleeping arrangements!

Be good my peeps...

Scoobs n kindey bean representin'!

FINALLY!!!

Well, packing...check! forgot something...check! can't sleep...CHECK!!!

In approximately 10 hrs from now I'll be on my way...to JFK. BUT, then after a 4 hr layover, the big bird crosses the pond! I'm not one for taking Tylenol PM or Ambient or any other sleeping drugs...so I guess other means will have to be pursued. Not really sure why I just told you that, but anywho...maybe I am a bit tired.

I'll be flying all day Thurs., so unfortunately, you will not hear from me until Friday. Don't fret my dear friend(s), just in case there are more than one of you out there perusing my scribblings, scoobs shall return.

We have the whole weekend free in Athens, so I'll definitely be in touch. Holla back shawty!!

Rice...out.

bir hafta...

Merhaba partisi insanlar!! or for the less cultured folks, that’s “Hello party people!!” in Turkish, duh...

I would use Greek more often, but “χαιρετισμούς μέρος άτομα” just doesn’t have quite the same ring to it!

1 week from today, my friends, and I’ll be off on the big bird across the pond. Hard to believe that I’ve reached this point. Reason number 1 why not to start your countdown at around 160 days…takes waaay to freakin’ long to get here!! But it’s all gravy now!

I’ve had to grow up quite a bit for this trip. Let’s see, so far I’ve gotten my first suit! Yeah, I know. As I was told, even STUMPY has suits! I’ve also purchased my first non-Target luggage! Amazing the quality you get when you don’t pay $50 for a 5 piece set! I applied for AND received my first passport! A true sign of my anal tendencies…I was told that it could take up to six weeks to get my passport so I had better apply soon!! Well, I applied back in January, just to be safe, and man, I gotta say…8 days. Yeah, that’s it. 8 days. So, whoever said 6 weeks is just trying to toy with us anally retentive persons of interest.

Anywho…I shall leave you now, desiring ever so more enriching words of wisdom. I must complete my “To-do” list that seems to continue to grow. Container Store, here I come! Don’t be surprised by my continual quest for perfect packing resources. Whatever that means…

Language Tip #3:

Hoş geldiniz!
Welcome!

See, that easy folks! If I become a shoe shiner in Santorini or Istanbul, please do come visit.

30 Day Abs-olutely close to leaving

Hard to believe that the 30 day mark is here already…

Now I have to start thinking of how I’m going to pack for 16 days in one suitcase. I’ve heard that the military roll packing type thingy is good. Luckily for me, I was too much of a wuss to join the military, BUT, I do know of such people. See…always thinking.

In my wondering pondering, I am curious as to how my classmates and I will fit in with the Mediterranean folks of afar. I hear that if I get a good tan, I’ll fit in fine, minus my inability to speak a foreign language and the southern twang that my speech tends to steer towards.

I’ve been attempting to learn the common phrases in Greek and Turkish through the BBC Language website, but dude, that stuff is tough. I am pinning my hopes that my broken foreign language skills and wild knack for things humorous will help guide me through the bizarres of Turkey and the local watering holes of Greece.

Language tip #2:

Μία μπύρα Παρακαλώ

Pronounced: mee-a beera parakalo

A beer please

That should be enough to get you in good with the locals and then get robbed while intoxicated.

2 presentations, 2 finals, and 30 days to go…

The Countdown...

Holy snik-colies...it is beginning...the 60 day countdown has quickly approached...two months from today and I'll be on an extremely uncomfortable airplane ride for approximately 16 hrs, minus a 3 hr detour in the lovely Kennedy International Airport. Athens, Greece, prepare yourself.

Language Tip #1 - Turkish

Tuvalet nerede acaba?
Where is the toilet, please?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/other/quickfix/turkish.shtml