I made it to Greece on Tuesday afternoon, in one piece. The four flights that it took for me to get here were mostly uneventful. So uneventful that I didn't really sleep on the flight from Philadelphia to Munich. This didn't seem like a big deal until I got on the flight from Munich to Thessaloniki and realized how tired I was. The woman beside me, however, decided to speak to me for the entire flight. In Greek. Only. From what I could gather, she and her husband were on holiday in Germany, they only spoke a little German, she has 5 grandchildren, her mother lives in New York, she cooks, and they live in Trikala near Meteora. We spent the entire flight looking at my various Greek documents/papers/books as I explained to her that I would be living in Thess. for a whole month, then in Athens for three months, and I am an archaeologist. So so much for sleep, but I think I probably learned more Greek in those two hours than I have in the past 5 years.
In the evening, I took a walk down by the water and bought some groceries from a small store up the street. On Wednesday, I slept the entire day. On Thursday, today, I also slept most of the day, but ventured out to buy some more food and explore a bit more. I found a Vodafone shop, where I bought a new SIM card, and found several markets, ice cream shops, and places to eat. Tomorrow I have the Orientation for my Greek class, including the placement exam, which will take most of the morning.
View from the plane on my Philadelphia to Munich flight, as the sun was coming up.
I won't go into the boring details about the adventure it was getting from the Thessaloniki airport to my flat...the $100+ that it cost me to make two phone calls from the airport to my landlord, etc. (currently in dispute with my credit card). My digs are okay - I have a great view, though the room itself leaves a lot to be desired. More on that later.
The Church of the Aghia Sofia, seen from the balcony of my room. Not bad!
In the evening, I took a walk down by the water and bought some groceries from a small store up the street. On Wednesday, I slept the entire day. On Thursday, today, I also slept most of the day, but ventured out to buy some more food and explore a bit more. I found a Vodafone shop, where I bought a new SIM card, and found several markets, ice cream shops, and places to eat. Tomorrow I have the Orientation for my Greek class, including the placement exam, which will take most of the morning.
The Λευκός Πύργος (White Tower) of Thessaloniki, part of the Ottoman fortifications
By the way, I'm really liking Instagram so far! Gives a nice little edge to my photos, though I'm still carrying around my DSLR.
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