Day Hike

Weekend Recap

Friday’s taverna party was an immense success- per usual. Lots of beer, lots of unidentified greek shots (sketchy…), lots of dancing.

Saturday was a pretty relaxing day. I ventured to a taverna down the beach for a Greek Salad and ended up sitting down with a freelance travel writer for about three hours. It was the first time I had “ventured down the beach for a Greek salad” alone, so I really feel like this odd encounter was ‘meant to be’— so to speak. I asked her some questions about what she does etc, etc, and I pretty much decided that I need a lot more stability in my life than she seems to have. So, I guess I have somewhat succeeded in this summer’s installment of ‘Alice’s Attempt to Find Herself II.’ I think I need a stable job with an income that doesn’t fluctuate monthly (hopefully my mom and dad are pleasantly surprised by this revelation). Baby Alice is going to law school! (well, maybe not… But she’s not quitting her education in an attempt to be the next Hemmingway). I think good decisions are being made on the beaches of Serifos… Hooray!

On Saturday evening we went to a taverna to watch U!S!A! ….L!O!O!S!E! to Ghana. That was disappointing…

On Sunday we went on a day hike to an isolated cove. We perched on huge rock islands in the sun. It was a “girls only” expedition. Use your imagination… let’s just say some tan lines were “evened-out.”

Today was the usual Monday: Greek classes, writing, and work-shopping.
AND sniffles are gone.
Life is good.

'Post Sifnos' Taverna Fiesta

Sifnos(ians) think outside the box

rainbow (or at least primary color) shutters. They're all blue on our island.

Cliffside Taverna

(mentioned in previous post)

Cute lil Lonely Island- with church on top.

(This was on Sifnos) The island on the horizon is Serifos.

Σίφνος

Last night we had the most intense (and phenomenally beautiful) lightening storm. I haven’t seen anything like it since I was in Lame Deer, Montana in 2004. It was out of control- the stone walkways between our bungalows flooded and our little wooden shutters slammed and rattled every time it thundered. I can confidently say these little flat-roofed structures don’t leak. If they can withstand last night’s storm, they can survive anything.

By the time I woke up it was yet another gorgeous day on Serifos. We took a ferry at 10:30 to Sifnos- a slightly more populated island not too far away (you can see it way off in the distance from Serifos). When we got there we realized that you can’t get anywhere without a car- so a couple of the guys stepped up and offered to drive little stick shift mini-cooper-sized vehicles. As evidenced by the fact that I am home safe and able to write about the experience- we survived! The roads are paved on Sifnos (unlike Serifos) so that was a plus. It’s a great little island, and I am glad I splurged on the 28€ ticket.

We stopped at this little monastery built on top of a cave that was infested with cats and kittens (it kind of killed the experience for me). Everyone loves the animals that roam the islands here- except me. I seriously have to scavenge for postcards that aren’t pictures of nasty dogs with the text “Dogs of Greece” or “Cats of Greece.” I just don’t understand the obsession with these ratty animals. Call me heartless, but if you’re not tame/domesticated/medicated/washed/ or Eddie, chances are I want nothing to do with you. (too harsh? Maybe, but I intend on traveling home both flee and worm-free).

We stopped at this phenomenal little taverna for lunch. It was the best view I have seen yet. It was this little old house built on top of cliff and it looked out on the sea and the cliffs- it was wonderful. We had great food too. It was a little more of a middle Eastern/ Mediterranean hybrid with lots of chickpeas and humus in the dishes. The lamb was a little weird, but all in all it was a great meal.

After lunch we went to this little port/resort area which was called “VATHI” (in English). There were some rather impressive yachts in the harbor. It was a relatively ritzy area. We stayed there for a few hours then headed back to Serifos around 6.

Tonight we are having a “formal” at our favorite taverna right down the beach from our bungalows.

Pictures from Sifnos- coming soon!

6/24

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday have been *relatively busy, with Greek class each morning and writing workshop every afternoon. This week we’ve been work-shopping the piece that we want to read at our final reading, which, for the travel writers, will be Tuesday. After our reading, we are going to spend the rest of the week working on some informative travel writing about the Greek Isles- which I am pretty excited about. I honestly expected us to be doing more informative (rather than essay/memoir hybrid) type travel writing, but I’ve enjoyed doing some narrative based writing too.

I have a pretty terrible cold- congestion, sore throat, the whole shebang. It’s persisted for about two days, so I’m bound to be feeling better soon.

Our professors have been doing our evening readings this week. Ho-hum. It’s been less than impressive. The playwright professor is pretty obnoxious. He read three ‘ten minute’ plays which is apparently a genre (that- until now- I was completely unaware of). Anyway, all of his plays are about Jews. He’s Jewish and is obsessed with being Jewish. Every response that comes from his mouth has something to do with being a Jew.

Anonymous person: “David, are you going to go ATVing on Saturday?”
David: “Jews just don’t do that”

His logic is completely beyond me.

Tomorrow (Friday) we are taking a ferry to the island of Sifnos. It’s a larger island, but other than that I don’t know that much about it. It’s the only island we can get to from Serifos (which is apparently rather isolated in the Cyclades. I don’t think it’s particularly “geographically” isolated, but there aren’t very many ferry lines that run to our port). To get to most of the islands (Santorini, Mikonos etc) you have to ferry back to Athens, then on to the desired island. I kind of wish we were island hopping more; but, it’s expensive, and our reasoning is… why leave paradise for a more touristy version of paradise?

Today there’s nothing on the agenda. I’m just drying to stay hydrated and feel better.

Travel Writers

9 coolest kids on the program.
And Scott (the only cool professor)
This was from Meredith's Birthday but it just surfaced on facebook and it's hilarious because lauren, the girl laying down, got sick at the party and the restaurant just brought a bed out for her to sleep on. Then, someone thought it would be appropriate to take our (only) group picture at this moment.

So here we go, these are my classmates. Cheers.

Sunday Funday

Today, I saw my first cloud on Serifos. Actually, I saw a few clouds. The wind is crazy, carrying the across the landscape in what would be record time in Springfield, MO.

This morning I began some travel writing about Armenia. I am turning some of my experiences there into travel essays. I have found that it’s a lot easier for me to write about things that are in the near- or even distant past. It’s hard for me to write thoughtful essays about things that have just happened. Now that I am 10 days past Athens, I feel like I can start to write about it. I wish I could understand why my brain functions like this. But, it’s fine. The course is ‘travel writing’, and luckily for me I have repertoire from previous summers. Today I even had the idea to write an essay about a trail ride our family took in the Grand Tetons. That was a wild day. While on the beach today I thought to myself, ‘I don’t remember enough to write an accurate travel essay’ about that. Then, I recalled that my horse’s name was Weston and I realized- I remember it remarkably well. I thought Justin was going to die while riding in that covered wagon- poor guy.

Around 4pm five of the other girls and I rented ATVs and drove them to the other side of the Island. It’s 10 Euro to rent an ATV for a day (gas included). That’s less than a platter of calamari. And get them for 24 hours. But, I was like ‘guys I don’t think we need to be holding on to these over night,’ for I was envisioning drunk people riding them tonight straight into the Aegean Sea- or them being stolen by hoodlums. This is when it’s so evident to me that I’m a lawyer’s daughter- always thinking about liability.

The trek to Mega Lividia was so, so incredibly fun AND beautiful. It was the perfect time of evening to make the trip because the sun was glistening on the water (blah blah I can’t really verbalize the beauty- and I probably sounds ridiculous in the attempt to do so) There’s virtually zero traffic on the dirt roads. We went back to the Cyclop’s Restaurant, near the cave. We drove past hundreds of little goats being herded around by shepherds- with their petite legs tied together so they can’t jump the rock fences. Then, we settled down to a beachfront meal of goat and calamari. It didn’t feel sad or wrong to eat those little guys- it felt (and tasted) so right.

On our way home we pulled over on the side of the road to snap some photos of a gorgeous view. OF COURSE, one of the ATVs wouldn’t start back up. We were about an hour’s drive from home. So two girls stayed back and the rest of us made the journey home to contact the rental place. Luckily, a priest/monk stopped for them and fixed their ATV so they made it home about 30 minutes after us. Today may have been my favorite day so far.

We have Greek class at 9:30am tomorrow. GAHHHHHHHHHHH!!! MARCOS RETURNS!!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, MARK-MARK!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, YOU (couldn't resist sharing this pic- i think it's perfect- just like you (both)!!)

PS i know father's day is Sunday. I'm jumping the gun.

miss you!!

Status: First Week... elapsed

It’s probably about time for another update. Meredith’s party on Wednesday was a really good time. We had a cover fee with an open bar at a taverna on the beach. I’m sure it was a great way to ring in her 21st year. Thursday was rather uneventful and consisted of a lot of writing (or I should just say that a lot of time was spent attempting to write- and I got a few words on the page).

Thursday night we had yet another poetry reading. It seems odd that there are only two students here for poetry, yet all but one of our readings have been poets. Luckily, I love listening to poetry, but I can’t say the same for everyone else. Thurday night I went to dinner at the port with a couple of the girls, Lauren and Sarah. There is this sea front strip with probably 15 different cafes, an it’s impossible to distinguish where one ends and the next begins, so we just grabbed a table. I am pretty sure we happened to plop down at one of the most expensive restaurants on the island. I had a Greek salad that was loaded up with lobster and prawns. It was pretty awesome. I spent the rest of the night writing. From this post it probably sounds like I write all the time. Alas, I do not. I need to write more more more. There are so many distractions (like tavernas and the Aegean).

We had a brief class on Friday morning where we traded some of our works for workshop. The rest of the day was spent at the pool and beach. I borrowed one of my friend’s goggles and swam the entire length of the beach (only in about two and half feet of water- dad would approve). I was certainly not at risk of drowning. It was absolutely beautiful. The water is gorgeous here. It’s not the bright aqua color of the Caribbean. It’s quite a bit deeper in color- still amazing. Yesterday (Friday) was probably the only day I got a little too much sun on my shoulders. I’ve been wearing a hat everyday (mom would approve). :)

At five o’clock we headed down to the only bar that has a big screen TV to watch the USA/Slovenia game. We ate dinner at that hour (just because we were there) and we were THE ONLY PEOPLE EATING at any of the fifteen(ish) tavernas along the port. 120 year olds wouldn’t even think of eating that early in Greece. After the game we moved to the beach in front of our bungalows to hang out for a few hours (my bose speaker has proved to be very practical for times like this).

I just got home from sea kayaking. Now I’m at the pool bar, trying to ignore the loud and obnoxious music that is blaring all the time. The bartender looks exactly like Dracula. He wears the same white Capri pants everyday, and they are tight, transparent, and thus… creepy. He blares (and I mean BLARES) music all day. It’s quite the variety. I’ve heard everything from Whitney Houston to Silent Night (yes, the Christmas song) to this rap song that begins with these baby voices screeching into the mic ‘we gunna see how loud deeese speakas can goooooooo!!!” Unfortunately, this is the only area on the complex with WiFi, so it’s positively unavoidable....the lyrics to the song right now are "dance naked on the palm trees." NOT EVEN KIDDING. How do you dance ON a palm tree - naked...?

My camera is broken. ☹ I can’t get it to turn on. I don’t know what is wrong. My roommate Meredith is kind of a photography junkie so she is going to have a look at it- I don’t know what’s u, though.

watching the world cup, meredith's 21st, other shenanigans

more SERIFOS

so coooooool (got an email about this today)

http://today.ucla.edu/portal/ut/2-world-s-oldest-shoe-160052.aspx


check out the pic of baron greg areshian. PLEASE

long overdue

Today we went on a little expedition to the other side of the island. The shanty stick-shift jeep that Scott rented for the duration of the program struggled over Serifos’ mountainous topography (Noteworthy is the fact that he reserved a 2009 vehicle and they messed up his reservation- unlike Baron Areshian, who purposefully arranged our travel in the crappiest vans in all of Armenia -so that he could pocket the extra cash money). The roads are unpaved, narrow, and windier than I have ever encountered. Our first stop was an old Byzantine tower, which, in English is called the “White Tower.” There is minimal evidence of the Byzantine Empire’s rule over the Cyclades, and (I believe) that this is the only Byzantine structure left on Serifos. We then traveled to the Cyclops Cave, which is the place at which (insert story here). Scott bought us a phenomenal lunch at a tiny beachfront taverna. We feasted on calamari, goat, traditional Greek salad, and tziziki (much like the cucumber salad that Sarah makes at the lake house). Needless to say, everything was delicious. We took a different route home, completing a circumnavigation of the island. We winded atop cliff-front roads that dropped hundreds of meters into the Aegean. As isolated as our village (Livadikia) is, today revealed that the rest of the island is considerably MORE rural.

My failure to post daily has been a result of both the shanty Internet connection in the pool bar/reception area and the absence of exciting things to relay (I think it would be a tad redundant to repeatedly describe the natural beauty). We spent the weekend getting acclimated, laying on the beach, and of course- writing.

Surprisingly, our time on the island has crept by (which -at least for now- is a good thing). It’s got to be the fact that there is virtually no structure to our day (which makes today’s adventure a nice surprise). Marco (our ‘chimney of a’ Greek teacher) had some sort of emergency, so he’s not teaching us at all this week, but will be rejoining us on the island next Monday. I was convinced that it was impossible for us to learn much Greek in a full month, and now that we are taking this week off – this whole attempt at Greek instruction is positively absurd. We’ve all really enjoyed having all morning to sleep and beach.

Island bugs have been a bit of a ‘paradise interruption.’ We are all eaten alive by mosquitoes. It’s possible that I am literally loosing body mass in this battle. It’s rather sick(nasty). Fortunately, this is not a malaria-infested region, and, quite frankly, I am just glad I’m not getting chewed on by those scorpion-spider-hybrids that were night-raiding me in Armenia. Relatively speaking, this is nothing.

We always find something fun to do in the evenings. Two of the nights we spent at bars watching the world cup. Last night, Scott made octopus for my group (the travel writers), and tonight is my roommate (Meredith’s) 21st birthday so we are having a big party at a taverna.

No major complaints from the Cyclades ☺
Missing You (yes, all of you) (this means you)
And the lake, and eddie, and *light* beer

beach and bungalows

LANDFALL

Our night at the American Hellenic Union was fancy-schmancy. Papandreou described himself as a “finance guy” who started writing after leaving his position at the World Bank (economics/political science at Yale, Ph.D in economics at Princeton). There was a reception after the lecture and the prime minister’s son was there. Post lecture we all just grabbed dinner at one of the literally thousands of cafes in the Palka. We are always treated so well when we go to dinner in large groups because we are the equivalent of like four regular-sized families. They always bring us free food, such as plates of fruit or disgusting honey shots’ after dinner.

On Thursday my seminar ventured to the ‘new’ acropolis museum. It’s incredible. It’s a state of the art museum (truly one of the nicest I have ever visited). It was finished in 2009 and it put Greece (further) into debt. The push for building this museum was a ploy to reclaim the Elgin marbles from the British Museum (these are the statues that Lord Elgin removed from the pediment of the Parthenon in the 19th century). For decades the British Museum (and government) has argued that they should posses the marbles because Greece doesn’t have a museum with the technology necessary (ie correct moisture and temperature control). This is a fascinating dispute (and one of many that has stemmed from the 18th and 19th century British aristocrats and antiquity gurus who toured old world snagging whatever they could get their hands on) and is further complicated by the fact that the Ottoman Empire was in control of Greece at the time. As a result, England argues that at the time the Empire ‘gave’ the statues over to Elgin. On the third floor of the museum there is a pediment on each wing and between each pediment they have displayed the processional friezes. It’s basically as if you are walking the perimeter of the Parthenon at eye-level. Brilliant. The new acropolis museum is great for people who have studied the basic progression of Greek sculpture, vessels, and architecture and know the characteristics of the various periods and the progression from the geometric, archaic, and classical. But there aren’t as many placards as we expect in American museums, so it might leave the inquisitive visitor yearning for more details. But, having studied this stuff in both art history and archeology classes I found it absolutely perfect.

Thursday night we had a wine tasting at the Athens Center. Markus Stolz is a Greek German who is basically (re?)Pioneering the Greek wine industry. I originally typed ‘pioneering’ but I think we all have to give credit to the ancient Greeks for that. He described Greek’s wine’s struggle to be recognized internationally as an exportable delicacy. I’m a 20 year old ‘non-wino’ so I won’t even pretend to understand the flavors, essences, blah blah blah.

After Greek on Friday we packed up and headed to the port to catch our ferry to Serifos. On the train 4 people got pick pocketed. Three of the girls had their wallets completely stolen (although their passports were in their luggage) and one girl had the money stolen and her wallet was dropped back into her purse. These guys (or women or children…) are PRO. My little money pouch is seemingly theft proof (thanks, mom).

After a three hour ferry ride, we arrived on Serifos. And since, I have been in disbelieve that we are actually here. This place is AMAZINGLY beautiful. June is “pre-season” European vacation time, so we are virtually the only guests on the island. I am living in a little bungalow right on the beach. UHHH it’s so cool. I will post some pictures soon. Last night we ate a huge group dinner at a beachfront taverna. We spent the rest of the night chilling on the beach- attempting to come to grips with the fact that we are on a little gorgeous island in the middle of the Aegean Sea. I can do three weeks here.

As for now, it's time to hit. the. beach.

some pics

these are just pics my friends have snapped and posted on facebook. BUT, i don't have pics enabled on fb, and even if i did mark and laura would not have the luxury of accessing them there. So i have chosen to post a couple here.

1. hobo with skillz
2. at some bar
3. At a bar on the first night.
4. group dinner on the first night
5. rooftop classroom

athenian living

Last night was a great time. We made it to the james joyce and it was nothing short of an American oasis (not that any of us needed such a thing after a mere four days in Greece) complete with acoustic guitarist strumming Gaga’s ‘poker face’ and…even…American beer. If you didn’t know any better, you might just think James Joyce was a good ol’ Amerrrikan, for the only clue suggesting that this establishment celebrates the life of an Irishman was the green clover script above the front window. There was an enormous bookshelf along the rear wall upon which Joyce’s name did not appear. Hmmm. We all loved it…anyway.

The nights in Athens have been incredibly fun. It’s a great group of students. There are seventeen of us (two of which are the standard lame(zor) girls who don’t go out with the crowd) so as a group of fifteen we most often wine and dine together.

Greek is so hard. I wish we had the morning to explore Athens or go places and write because I don’t think I am going to be able to pick this language up in a month. The books we brought were (apparently) too advanced (although this had been quite obvious to all the students from the get-go). So, today they gave us a new text and workbook. Honestly, I can’t tell a difference in the texts. It’s all Greek to me!

This afternoon we were planning to explore the national archaeological museum (boing boing boing) as part of our seminar. Unfortunately, however, it started pooring. So we stayed around Μοναστηράκi. *Hopefully, we will go to the museum tomorrow, because it’s one of those ‘must see’ places in Athens, AND I would just eat all that archaeology right up! Not to mention, Baron Gregory Areshian would be terribly disappointed if he knew I was in Athens and bypassed that museum, and I am ALL ABOUT keeping ‘big daddy G’ happy…wherever he may be.

Tonight we are going to a nonfiction reading at which Nick Papandreou’s will read his work. This guy just so happens to be the prime minister’s brother. So maybe I will meet some ‘big dogs’...and…join the revolution?

Speaking of dogs, there is a guy who plays the trumpet on the plaka near our hotel. His dog howls at the moon when he pauses…making quite the little duet…and spectacle. In these financially trying times, I think Mark Haseltine needs to learn this trick. Step 1: learnt to play the trumpet. Step 2: teach Eddie to bark/howl/and or growl on cue. It would be his first. Trick. Ever. And I really think it would be well received in downtown Springfield.

Αθήνα, Day III

Last night we ventured to the ‘Athens Center’ for a poetry reading. The center is a characteristically Athenian white stucco building with enormous, 20-foot maroon and wood paneled doors. The center is a space used for study by multiple U.S and E.U universities. It’s a wonderful facility, complete with yet another charming rooftop terrace. The view from each patio varies significantly. There’s only one Athens, but thousands of views of Athens. The Athens Center provided us with wine and cheese and around 11 we all moved back towards the Plaka, which is the area of Athens beneath the Acropolis, for dinner. After dinner we were all pretty exhausted (and eagerly anticipating our second Greek class…:/) so we decided to go back to our hotel’s terrace and enjoy the bar.

Fortunately, Greek class was entirely more enjoyable today. I memorized the alphabet and the sounds that were tripping me up, so now I can “sound-out” (yes, like a first-grader) most words (with an enormous margin of error, of course). We now know simple introductions, how to order foods and drinks, definite/indefinite articles, and about five verb conjugations. Wooohoo!

Our afternoon workshop was so enjoyable. We usually start our classes on the roof and briefly discuss some of the (relatively light) reading we have completed. Today we read some of our own writing- there are some great writers in my seminar. For the rest of our class, Scott took us to Lykavittos mountain where we took a tram (built inside the mountain) to the summit. At the peak we could look (down!) on the Acropolis and there was a small white stucco church and restaurant. We stopped for drinks, and Scott bought us all a round of drinks ‘on the program.’

Now, we’re back at the hotel. We’re going to a pub called the “James Joyce” tonight. A bunch of English majors….would….

*That's my roomate, Molly, on the right. Unfortunately, she doesn't respond to "mol" or "molice" or "molcarn." But i still think she's cool.

Lykaviottos

Marco, Gyros, and Α α Β β Γ γ Δ δ Ε ε (utter confusion)

Today began with a glorious bowl of Greek yogurt and an apricot. Our lessons in modern Greek commenced this morning at 9:30 on the ‘rooftop bar,’ which, coincidentally, doubles as our classroom. Our professor is an adorable Athenian, Marco, who is patient and incredibly skilled at speaking articulately through the cigarette that is constantly resting in the corner of his mouth. His ability to simultaneously inhale smoke while coaching us through the proper vowel sounds is truly incredible. This innate skill reminds me of saxophonist Kenny G’s ability to play without pausing for breath. It’s quite inspiring.

Greek is impossibly difficult. I can barely make my way through the Rugby Road fraternity houses at UVA, so the apparent existence of letters I have never seen before has further complicated my understanding of the language. Fortunately, Athens can easily be navigated with a very primitive understanding of the language. The only Greek that I have found particularly helpful is “Οχι!” (simply meaning “no!”) which comes in handy when passing through markets.

Following our morning Greek lesson we ventured out onto the streets where we grabbed a gyro before we gathered again in the bar/classroom/acropolis lookout point for our first writing workshop. Scott, both the director of the program and leader of my workshop, is fascinating and helpful and our class is basically all about experiencing new things, making observations, and articulating them in inspiring and creative ways.

Tonight we are going to a poetry reading and then on to a taverna for dinner. Eating dinner at 8:30pm in Greece is the equivalent of going to the Heritage Cafeteria at 4:45 in the afternoon. It’s just lame and pathetic. So dinner is usually around 10, something I am not yet accustomed to.

Thus far, Athens has been amazing. I still get an “archaeology ‘BOING” every time I catch the acropolis out of the corner of my eye. If all writers could venture to Greece every once in a while, i think writer's block would shrivel up under the hot Greek sun.

On top of the A-crop.

6/6

Dinner was incredibly delightful. A giant table at an outdoor restaurant, partnered with bottomless wine casts, proved to be the perfect environment for ‘making new friends.’ Dinner began at 10, and the festivities continued until around 3:30. The food is so, so fresh.
Today I just meandered around Athens with a few other people. While the acropolis is visible from nearly everywhere in Athens, its visibility confuses its accessibility. What was advertised as a “fifteen minute walk” by the doorman at our hotel easily took ninety. But we finally stumbled upon the entrance, and it was like Christmas morning for an archaeologist. The caryatids on the Erectheion took me back to art history 101 with J Dobbins.
Greece is so cool.

Touch Down, Athens!

I arrived in Athens c. 11:00am. My travels were glitch-free, that is, if I disregard the big-mama flight attendant, Tanisha, who requested that she be called “Lady T” (definitely an Atlanta native) and the smelly West-Virginians who sat to my left. But traveling was a success, for I am here! The weather was cool and drizzling upon my arrival, but it’s cleared up into a gorgeous, relatively cool day.
Two of the Mizzou professors met me on the other side of customs and we took the train to our hotel in the Μοναστηράκi district of Athens. Yesterday the transit was on strike, but they subsided their demonstration and fired the trains back up in preparation for my arrival (I think that really epitomizes the hospitality of the Grecian ☺ ). We are about a ten-minute walk from the Acropolis and the hotel houses a rooftop bar with a phenomenal view of the site (obviously arousing the archaeologist within).
I have one roommate, Molly, who goes to Mizzou, and our hotel is nice and has quick WiFi. Perfect.
We are going to a “welcome dinner” at a “taverna” tonight.

Finding Myself (Attempt II)

I’m trading poop holes, tarantulas the size of my face, and the sun-scorched Armenian dirt for seafront bungalows and the welcomed shade of olive trees. I’m traveling to Athens, Greece and then on to the Cycladic island of Serifos to ‘ hone my creativity,’ and, of course, ‘find myself.’ This is also a philanthropic trip, as I will (with the aid of my parents’ credit card) relieve and country’s economic hardship, and, quite possibly, lift the country out of recession entirely. This means- PRESENTS FOR EVERYYYYYYYBODY!!!- so keep reading!

While only a shot-put’s throw away from the infamous Ararat Valley (I find the reference to the ancient Olympics entirely appropriate), I can only imagine that the *twinkling* Mediterranean will stand in stark contrast to Dvin. Most notable, however, will be the absence of Baron Gregory Areshian’s snug, high-waisted trousers, which, unfortunately, left nothing of the contours of his backside up to the imagination .

Currently En Route Athens. ETA: 11:30 AM Saturday (2AM central)