This really is my last post, I promise.

Πέρασα τόσο ωραία εδώ στην Ικαρία και δεν θέλω να φύγω! Ολα ήταν θαύμα...τα μαθήματα, το νησί, και ιδιαιτέρως η παρέα. Είπα "Καλή αντάμοση" σε όλους τους φίλους μου εδώ και ελπίζω ότι θα μας δούμε κάπου, καμια φορά στην ζωή. Γεια σας, και ευχαριστώ για να διαβάσετε!

So pictures are tentatively working...here is one of Eleni, Masha (who unfortunately has her hand over her face) and me at the panayiri last night:

Here is me and Eleni at Kampos...


...we're kneeling proudly in front of our sand Greek-guy creation (yeah, don't ask...I think we were a little sun-addled at this point in the day from several consecutive hours at Kampos):

Anyway, that's enough silly pics. We just got back from Evdilos - it's amazing how such a sleepy little port town by day can turn into such a party scene at night. I couldn't help myself and did a little clothes shopping...accompanied by what I'm hoping was the last trip to the ATM on Ikaria (everyone cross your fingers for me). Tomorrow I have my last mathimata and alas, the packing saga. For now I have to grab some sleep cause I think we're going to have another going-away party tomorrow night (for me and the rest of the people leaving this weekend). This may actually be my last post...so I'd like to give the much sought-after Comment Award for this blog to Mike A. Aside from M&D, for whom this blog is a replacement for regular emails or phone calls, Mike definitely did the best job. All this Greece business is just a warmup for ACK, buddy!! We only have a week this year, so let's make the freaking most of it! Anyway... I'm sure you're all disappointed that you missed out on this prestigious honor, but don't all jump up and try to prove your worth this late in the game or anything...

So I haven't written in a few days...been milking my last week for all its worth! Last night the panayiri was in Karavostamo, and we definitely hit that up. Lots of dancing and eating. It's really nice how open and inclusive all the locals are. At one point there was a big group doing a dance that Eleni and I didn't know, and we were kind of standing off to one side watching, but one of the women grabbed our hands, pulled us into the circle and taught us the dance. The first few times we danced and partied with everyone (like in the past few weeks at various panayiri and the like) I felt a little funny, like we were encroaching on their traditions or something, but they're really anxious to share them, which is awesome. We also convinced Kyrios Nikos to bring us to Kampos yesterday afternoon instead of just Evdilos, so I got in one last swim and chocolate crepe. Hmm...what else...

I'm definitely sad to be leaving the day after tomorrow. Every weekend we stand at the top of the driveway and wave "Καλή Αντάμοση" ("kali adamosi" - basically the equivalent of "until we meet again") to someone - whoever is leaving that week, that is - and this weekend it's finally going to be me. :( Saturday I get on the ferry at noon for Piraeus (the port of Athens). It's the "express" this time - only 7.5 hours - and Dieter and Gisela (the couple from Germany) will be on it with me, so that'll be nice 'cause they're super cool and all.

Lessons are wrapping up...I had my last μάθημα with Evgenia this morning, which was sad :/. I have to take this moment to do a shameless plug for Mixalis...I highly doubt that anyone reading this blog is considering learning Greek in Greece anytime soon, but just in case any of you know anyone who is or anything, this school is really excellent. Although I moan about how much I'm paying, it's actually a very good deal and you really do learn an incredible amount. Plus, it's beautiful here and you can't beat the παρέα ("parea" is a very important concept in Greece, but there's no one word for it in English...it's basically like your group of friends). Anyway, the website is www.greekingreece.gr. Plug over.

Hmm...so yeah...that's pretty much it. Tonight we're finally going to have an evening out in Evdilos, and hopefully I'll have time to snag a few Ikarian souvenirs. One of the more annoying aspects of the lifestyle here is that stores close for about 4-6 hours right in the middle of the day, from about 1/2pm - 6/7pm (presumably for "siesta", but yesterday we caught sight of the woman who works in one of the banks sunbathing at Kampos at around 4pm, so yeah). And since we usually go to Evdilos in the afternoons, from like 2-5pm, it makes it impossible to ever buy anything you need, 'cause the only things that are open are the restaurants. But tonight I'll have time for a bit of shopping...I mean, not that I have any money or anything...I think I budgeted about three euros for souvenirs, but I'll see how far I can stretch it. I also have to be able to fit whatever I buy in my suitcase...packing tomorrow should be a good time.

Well, no matter what I do I can't get my pictures to work today, so I guess I won't leave you with some pictures as I had wanted to. Perhaps I'll try again later. But if not...this may be my last post (internet access is weak in Calamos), so thanks for reading, everyone :) Hope everyone's summer is going well and I'll see y'all when I get home!

So yesterday was an absolutely incredible day. It began with me stumbling out of bed at 6:30 to go for a hike...I almost didn't make it, but I'm really glad I did. We set off, straight from school up the mountain. It was really cool to actually climb this giant mass of rock that I've been staring at for three weeks now. The group was me, Eleni, Masha, Pascal, David, Margit (our tour guide...who's been coming to Ikaria for 8 years now and who actually created this trail with red spray paint on rocks), and Giorgos, one of Mixalis' friends from Evdilos. The hike was definitely challenging...about 2.5 hours to the top, with difficult terrain for most of the way, but entirely worth it. The whole way up we had 180 degree panoramic views of our side of the mountain...and from the top, a 360 degree view of the entire island. Utterly incredible.

The trail starts in Arethoussa, so we walked there first and met up with Giorgos. We also caught a glimpse of “Bin Laden” on the road – a resident of Arethoussa who is this old Greek guy with dark skin and a long, scraggly beard that bears nothing but a slight resemblance to Bin Laden, but everyone calls him that jokingly anyway. The first time I heard Evgenia refer to him like that I thought I hadn’t understood…but then I promptly announced that I would telephone America and inform Kyrios Bush that Bin Laden is in hiding on the Greek island of Ikaria. They come up with some funny stuff around here.

We set off, and the beginning of the trail was literally at about a 75 degree incline. We were all panting and sweating after just the first 150 meters or so, and looking at Margit like she was absolutely crazy. It did flatten out a little bit, although it came at the expense of efficiency, since the trail wound around the mountainside much like the roads do, and we had to cover a lot more distance to get to the top. Still, it was really interesting to see how the landscape changed as the altitude increased. There were lots of very bizarre species of plants and bugs to keep up occupied. The coolest part is that wild oregano is absolutely everywhere in Greece, so the air always smells good. Here is the group (minus me) at one of our (infrequent) rest stops:

(Masha, Giorgos, David, Eleni, Pascal, Margit)

At one point, we were plodding along at one of the steeper sections of the trail when we heard a sound that was unmistakably jingling. We looked around, at first saw nothing, and joked that the heat and atmosphere were getting to us. Then up ahead we saw a herd of sheep, bells around their necks, loping purposefully down the mountainside (although unaccompanied by a shepherd of any kind, human or canine). They didn’t seem to notice us until they were about 100 meters away, at which point they all stopped at once and stared directly at us. We looked at each other for about 5 seconds in silence, then our group burst out laughing at how funny it was to be in a staring contest with an unattended herd of sheep, near the top of the mountain where no human civilization within several miles is visible. Our cackles scared them, but fortunately, I got a picture before they all turned tail and went jingling back up the way they came:

After that the hike got even more challenging, but Margit (who, by the way, is this tiny little German woman who has to be in her 50s) – who we all thought was absolutely crazy at this point – assured us that we were “getting closer”. What does that mean? No one knew, but we kept going anyway.

“Soon enough”, the landscape around us opened up a bit more and we could see a stone wall built on the mountain above us. Margit informed us that this was our goal. We trekked robotically toward it, and when we reached it very suddenly saw the other coast of the island and the ocean stretching in all directions in front of us. The stone wall was built (presumably by some guy a while ago to mark his property, cause there’s really no other reason for it) right along the ridge that marked the peak of the mountain. There was no longer anything above us to scale, a concept which took a few seconds to sink in, but once it did, we all gave ourselves a huge “bravo!” and settled in to marvel. I hesitate to even put up a picture of this, because the light was so overwhelming up there (for both us and my camera, who really couldn’t handle it, apparently, cause this pic is disappointing) that this picture conveys about 5% of how amazing it actually looked, but here it is anyway:

Those islands you can see straight ahead are the Fourni islands, and to the left is Samos. In real life you could also see more islands, Patmos and I think Naxos, to the right, but they didn’t come out in the picture. Anyway, we stayed up there for a while, enjoying the sun, the dead quiet except for the wind blowing, and the inredible view. We were also able to make out the white, yellow and red buildings of the school from the top, and were both impressed with how far we’d come and slightly dismayed at the prospect of hiking back down. I was of the opinion that Ikaria should build a massive waterslide from the top of the mountain down to the ocean. Now THAT would make the hike worth it.

Eventually we tore ourselves away and began our descent. We stopped at an old, tiny little church on the way down that initially appeared abandoned, but was adorned with beautiful icons inside and at which Margit informed us that a panayiri takes place every September. Presumably, the party-goers drive.

Anyway, the way down took significantly less time, but we got back to school it felt like we’d been gone for days instead of just 6 hours or so. We immediately grabbed our bathing suits and set off in Giorgos’ car for Kampos, my favorite beach. For all you ACKers out there, I pulled a Surfside of the old days and as soon as my feet touched the sand, I dropped my bag and went diving into the first wave that came along. I can’t even put into words how good it felt to swim in the ocean after having lost probably 3-4 pounds in water weight from sweating on the mountain all morning. The waves were perfect – as in, really big – and when Eleni and I dragged ourselves out of the ocean and to the snack bar, we found, to our euphoria, that they had added crepes to the menu. I ordered one with bacon and cheese and another with chocolate and inhaled both. Mmm…absolute ecstasy.

We lounged around for several hours and at around 5, set off for school again, where we met up with the others (who had not braved the hike) and got ready to go out. I took one of the more epic showers I’ve ever taken (barely even noticed the inferior system). But the day wasn’t over yet…oh no. We got dressed in decently presentable clothes (as opposed to the gym shorts and wife beaters that are practically my uniform here) and headed over to Mixalis’ mom’s house in Arethoussa for dinner and our own little mini-panayiri. It was the first time I’d been there, and it’s a really beautiful house. She has a terrace with an outdoor kitchen, and we all helped cook dinner (well, okay, I admit it, I sliced the bread and then stood back and watched) and watched the sunset. More and more people started trickling in – most of them seemed to be Mixalis’ friends from the village, although I’m not convinced he actually knew who they all were…but as I’ve already remarked, that doesn’t seem to matter much here. After dinner, we had multiple dancing lessons, and I finally got to learn a dance other than the ikariotiko. Then, of course, we danced! For quite a while. At some point I literally felt like my legs were going to give out, so I sat and watched and tried to speak some Greek with the locals.

Clean-up of course took a few hours, since everyone was kind of working half-heartedly as they danced and talked and drank at the same time. Finally we got everything put away, and some of us decided the night would not be complete without παγωτό – ice cream. So we walked down to the market in Arethoussa, bought huge cones, and sat on the plateia eating them. Most people took Aristotelis back, but Margit, Eleni and I ended the day we’d started it – walking the road between Arethoussa and the school. The stars were incredible – you could see the Milky Way really clearly. And I slept sooo well. The end :)

Anyway, I also took a few pictures from dinner last night, but I haven't had time to put them up. I just came back from the beach (again) and I need to actually go do a little work before dinner, since I am here to learn and all. Γεια σας everyone!

Hello all...not much to report, been same old, same old around here. Greeking and beaching and eating. Had to say goodbye to the people from Spain today, which was kinda sad cause they are really cool. David & Sandra and Pascal are leaving too, on Sunday, but we'll also get some new people for sure. Not sure what our plans for the weekend are yet...think we might do some hiking, which, if it isn't insanely hot, would be fun. Eleni and I are going to try to go down to Evdilos tomorrow night and check out the evening scene.

The weather has taken a definite turn toward the hotter side of the spectrum, but still not at all humid, so it's quite bearable. My Greek is coming along...I'm learning a lot in the lessons, but I think the best practice comes from sitting around the dinner table and just talking with everyone in Greek. We pretty much have to use Greek since it's the only language we all have in common, which is definitely a good thing, since we all get a lot of practice that way. Although to any local passers-by, I'm sure it's an absolute riot, what with all our different accents, circumlocution, and attempts at translation into multiple languages...for instance, if I'm talking to a Spanish woman that doesn't speak much English and there's a word in Greek I need but don't know, I'll tell Pascal what the word is in French and, since he speaks Spanish, he'll tell the Spanish woman in Spanish - and sometimes the chain is even longer, what with German, Russian and Italian also making cameos. Whew.

I think yesterday or today is the halfway point for my total time in Greece, which is kind of cool cause I've come pretty far with the language up til this point, so if I continue to learn at this rate, I'll be happy :)

Anyway, there's really not a whole lot new...so hope all y'all at home have a good weekend, and talk to you all soon!

Bulldogs, bulldogs, bow wow wow! Yesterday another Yalie arrived! Well actually...a former Yalie ('06, just graduated). Her name is Eleni (she's half Greek) and she grew up in Wilmington (near Storrs)! CT, represent! She's been studying Greek for a few years now (so she actually got the fellowship), but we're in the same class (mmhmm...it's interesting). She's super cool and all. We have some mutual Greek friends from Yale (yeah...can you guess who they are?).

We also got a couple from Italy, bringing the tally for this week up to...hmm, gotta think about this one:
6 from Spain (2 new, 4 from last week)
5 from the US (David & Sandra, Eleni and myself, and a new woman from California)
3 from Germany (Margit and a new couple, Dieter and Gisela)
2 from England (both new, Lesley [m] and Pat [f] - not a couple)
2 from Italy (hmm...can't remember their names right now)
1 guy from France (Pascal)
1 girl from Russia (she's new...Maria/Masha).

It's basically one big Amer-Euro fest all day long, with lots of different languages flying around all the time. Plus the beach. And this certain variety of Special K that has flakes of dark chocolate in it that's quite divine. Needless to say, I'm enjoying myself.

Monday night, we had a πανηγύρι (paniyiri) in Αρέθουσα (Arethoussa, our village). A paniyiri is like a big local festival where everyone comes out and eats and drinks and dances on the town square. Wow. It started at around 7 or 8 and lasted til 8 in the morning (although myself and a few others cut out around 2am). First, of course, we needed to have another dance lesson for the new people. Then we all set off on foot (no one really wanted to drive, of course), and when we arrived, staked out three of the massive banquet tables just for our group. Katziki (goat meat), patates (seasoned French fries), salates (salad), and alcohol abounded. The band would keep playing the same song for half an hour because no one wanted to stop their dancing. We, anxious to show off our new skills, joined in - I'm not sure what the locals thought of the mini-NATO that crashed their dance party, but they were certainly accepting enough. Probably the funniest part of the night - well, I don't know how funny it will seem now, because our laugh-reflexes had a lot of help from tiredness and red wine at the time - was when a slightly tipsy Mixalis usurped Socorro's really high-tech digital camera for about half an hour. She had given it to him to take a picture of our side of the table, but when she motioned for him to give it back, he just looked at her and shook his head, smiling a little. He started to weave his way around the tables, taking pictures of anything that struck his fancy. Every time he pressed the shutter down, he would look back at us with a sheepish grin - he looked just like a little kid with a new toy. It's especially cute because he has an interest in photography. Maybe you had to be there...but we absolutely could not stop laughing.

Things got increasingly more raucous, although most of our group left by around 3. Apparently, at 8:30am Tuesday morning when Mixalis drove down to Evdilos to pick up the Spanish people staying there, a drunk guy on his motorbike almost crashed into Αριστοτέλης (Aristotle, our beloved minibus). Aie aie aie.

Sooo yesterday was a pretty quiet day cause we were all exhausted. Being in the advanced class is going well - I have a lot more work to do on my own now, but I don't mind it so much. The days are going by so quickly - is it really Wednesday the 19th already? I have 10 more days on Ikaria, then it's back to the mainland on the "express" (read: only 7.5 hours) ferry. Well...time to go do a little studying and then to the beach! Γεια σας!

Γεια σας everyone...had a really good weekend, although am exhausted now. Went to two different beaches for pretty much the whole day both yesterday and today - both were absolutely beautiful. For now, the old cliche will have to suffice - a picture is worth a thousand words, cause it's definitely bedtime for me...

The group at Κάμπος (Kampos) - from left to right: Antonio (Spain), Evgenia (Greece...my teacher), Irmi (Austria, my roommate who left today), Pascal (France), Margit (Germany), Sandra (US...Seattle), Koncha (Spain), and in front - Josefina (Spain) and myself. Missing are David, Sandra's husband (who took the picture), and Socorro, another woman from Spain.

Yours truly at Kampos.

We got a whole bunch of new people today - a couple from Germany, two women from the US (California, I think), one woman from Spain, and one woman from Russia (yep, it's official, all the languages I speak are now currently represented here at the school). They all seem cool and everything. Anyway, to be honest I can barely think right now, my head is spinning from switching languages so often, so it's off to bed for me. Καληνύχτα!