Div school orientation & utter insanity of all things Duke

Within the past 2 days I’ve experienced many wonderful Divinity school moments that make me just smile. As I sat on a bench tonight hanging out and chatting with people many questioning undergrads asked why on earth I would study Divinity instead of doing something more productive with my time… silly undergrads. I just smiled as they asked these questions. They don’t get it… and maybe it is that very few people do. This is about so much more! I love being able to show people the church isn’t just full of people who are so rejecting of other peoples opinions. Unrelated to this another thing I love about here… tons of FREE food, coffee AND candy. Not to mention having intense deep theological conversations about Disney movies.

Div School:

One thing about Duke, I am convinced Duke Div is the best in the world. I know… I havn’t been here long and honestly how would I even know? Because of awesome people like these…

Dr. Ellen Davis who stood before the entire incoming class of Div kids and told us why Hebrew is better than Greek and why learning a language to understand the original version is so much richer than a translation… she has a sparkling 16 pg CV highlighting the 6 books she’s written… why is she so cool though? Because she does all of this and is captivatingly funny. I get to see her every week and learn Old Testament with her… ftw. (for the win)

Dr. Sam Wells addressed the class yesterday concerning our summer reading. He is not only ridiculously funny and quick witted but also British. So… his humor is amazingly funny. As I looked around the Harry Potter-esque room with high ceilings and trickling sunlight through the stained glass windows on certain faces I realized that just like I had been, everyone else was leaning forward in their seats and attentively clinging to every word. This is precisely what is so captivating… certain moments when life feels surreal. I find myself looking around wondering “do I really get to study this?” and “how on earth and I so lucky?”

A bigger question in all of this awesomeness that I keep asking myself is “why am I privileged enough to have been born in America and be able to become part of this community as duke?” or maybe simply “why me?”

A third year Div student I met once told me that these next three years I will meet some of the best people I will ever encounter in my life. It’s been 2 days of orientation and I can echo that. These people are amazing and have already left wanting more.

I love Duke. Let me be clearer… I LOVE Duke… seriously I do. Like… a lot. But sweet baby Jesus I am more busy than I feel like I’ve ever been in my entire life. My to do lists are never completed so there is NO satisfaction of getting one of them completed. Something I have learned about Duke students is that everyone is over committed, highly competitive, and super driven. So everyone, I think for the most part, feels the same way.

The past few days have been wonderful but exhausting. As I went to central campus on a bus to pick up something from a housing office I was perfectly on time… and with a serious mission. This task of getting this package had been on my to do list for 2 days and was beginning to haunt me. I got to central campus, got my package, headed back to the bus stop where I missed the bus. No big right? Wrong. I had a meeting in 6 minutes with my resident assistants to do “make-up “ training.

In my ignorance of how large the multiple campuses were I decided to just walk back.

Mistake 1: On a hot, busy, exhausting day… I decided to walk back (approx. 3 miles) to west campus with a swollen still injured knee. Why? Honestly I have no good reasons anymore… but at the time it seemed like a good idea.

Walking back from central campus, with my cute black flats that are definitely ONLY cute and not very comfy, with a dark brown button up shirt and my heavy backpack I soon realized how much of a mistake that was.

I got to my door and inside my building, feeling like I just survived an exodus through the desert and totally thankful I at least have AC in my room… the hallway feels like a sauna. I basked in the cool AC for a moment then realized it was time to move on and be productive.

Next up I decided to get a drink from a vending machine in the laundry room… seemingly harmless right? Nope.

Mistake 2: When relaxed in AC & wearing shoes without traction (perhaps since they are comfy) pay attention to water on the floor when walking into a laundry room especially on a university campus. They are notorious for being “hot spots” for injuries… so what happened? Like in a movie where someone slips on a banana, I slipped in a puddle of water. Both feet went out from under me, I landed on my side and my somewhat of a recovered knee (I still couldn’t run or anything) twisted, hit the ground and cracked. Awesome, right? Hmmm. Nope.

Yeah… not so fun.  So… because Cravenites (I work in Craven Quad… and my residents are amazing) are so amazing and considerate this guy was walking by and asked if I was ok then just cleaned up the water. After much crio therapy (ice all over it) and more ibuprofen than I’ve taken in months it’s still swollen :/

I’ll see a doctor soon… I’m just so happy tomorrow is Friday. Because Saturday means I can sleep and not be so insanely busy.

Ultimately what I'm learning this week: I'm really happy I'm a firm believer in the Sabbath. Because I desperately need a day of rest. But still in the midst of all of this.... I feel so ridiculously happy and lucky to be here. Sunday will mark my 3 weeks in Durham and it is already home to me :)

Farewell May's Chapel... Hello Duke!

My last Sunday at May's Chapel UMC was a blur! Two services, so many goodbyes, and MORE homemade food was packed into the day before 2pm. My loving parents came up to Maiden to meet my church family at May's Chapel and come to my final lunch with all of them. These amazing people from May's Chapel UMC showered me with love and support. As we all went through the line to grab a hotdog, hamburger and throw on the traditional southern slaw on top of each I watched both my parents stand wondering what to do... months before I had been the one wondering what the heck to do with the slaw... it's a southern staple. Slaw on any type of bbq or hamgurger is trully southern and when you stand bewildered beside it all wondering it marks you as a "foreigner"... or simply NOT from there. As we made our way through the line my mom noticed 3 12 ft long tables set up in the back of the fellowship hall. These glorious tables were adorned with homemade icecream of every flavor, fruit (that was in season), and lovingly represented about 20 families in the church. These people know how to make some icecream.

In the center of the room was a pile of cards and gifts with my name on each of them. I was so overwhelmed what 10 weeks in a pastoral position could result in... especially when I was just the summer intern. That day I could have sat and cried like a baby just reading all the sweet encouraging words from these people who truly became family to me.

After I opened a few envelopes the pastor of the church asked everyone to come lay hands on me so that they could pray over me and future. Hundreds of church people, young and old, came rushing over to touch me or whomever they could get close enough to.

Earlier that morning during the childrens message the kids (3-9) held my hands and prayed for me... children did this.

I have been so honored by these experiences and will forever cherish them. Remembering the look in their eyes and the sincerity of their words still melts my heart of hearts.



Here is good ole' May's Chapel... home to some of the nicest folks you could ever have the pleasure of meetin'!

After lunch, many tears, and goodbyes my parents and I drove straight to Durham. Where I promptly moved all of my stuff into my new apartment and do all my move in shopping.

Noon of the next day began my job training... I'm a Graduate Resident Assistant working in HOUSING!!! I love housing and dealing with undergrad students... so I feel like I'm pretty much in heaven right now. That day was over two weeks ago. These past weeks have been a complete blur.

Here's a sneak peek of my room. Isn't it cute!?!?

Did you notice the bucket of roses on the corner of the table? Those came all the way from FL with a guy whom I'm smitten with... he's pretty amazing.  

This next week will be filled with preparation for classes! I'm so excited! Today I went into the bookstore and sat in awe (like a good nerd) at all the beautiful  books that surrounded me. I decided that I want to try to sit in on 4 other classes (seperate from MY classes). I'm just so happy that I'm here in Divinity School.

I'll let you all know how classes begin.

Through this last major move to Durham, Duke and Grad life I've concluded that I finally feel like I'm exactly where I belong again. It's that most rewarding feeling I think one can experience. It's not just the atmosphere of Duke but it's the community that is built within. I'm continually thankful that I can communicate in a language everyone understands, be around believers who worship like me, who know theology and of course people who understand my humor... (many awkward moments were had while I thought I was being funny but American humor DOES NOT work outside America).

Oh and today, I realized that Greek food here isn't Greek food. Unless it comes from someone of Greek desent- do NOT think it's real Greek food. Gyro meat should NOT look like bolognia... it was just all wrong. BUT the other day I had out-of-this-world chicken souvlakia... so there is hope for true Greek food in Durham. But this food, was definetly made by a Greek.

καληνύχτα παιδιά!!!
(Goodnight children; children is a widely used term in Greece referring to many people... of all ages. Don't take offense.)

Thanks for reading!

  

Humble Findings

As I walked out to my car this morning and saw a pack of strange friendly looking dogs it didn't seem as a particularly different morning... until I heard an unmistakable "BANG" from a shotgun on the back side of the house. Haha, not all of y'all are in the deep American south. I'm used to this sort of stuff and it didn't bother me at all... but I imagined how many of my friends would've stopped, dropped and rolled to get away from the danger. As strange as this sounds, let me tell you the privelage it has been to learn from the friendly folks. Maiden is well hidden off the beaten path and will take you a few minutes to find it in some hidden back roads and has about 3 stop lights. One remarkable thing about this tiny southern town is that it is dripping with southern charm and some of the best sweet tea you could imagine.

Yesterday I spent 4 hours sitting on a 90 year old woman's couch listening to her many tales about life, love and adventure. This sweet woman's name is Edith Beard Pirkle and she is a legend. She told me of old stories how she or one of her 11 siblings would carry the family kerosene lamp through their house at night to light it. The password was "coming through" and upon saying those words it was "as if you were in a movie.... all of life stopped!" Through a sweet southern accent and with genuine elderly charm it was not as if this woman knew her age she moved better than some 70 year old I've seen. Ms. Pirkle told me that she never wanted to act her age in all of her life so she hasn't. She told me stories of how her father never said many words but loved everyone. He would walk into their house with tears in his eyes, get some of their cured ham that had been hanging in the barn, and package it and take it out to whomever needed food. Many years after his death people had approached Ms. Pirkle saying how their families would've starved if it wasn't for her father. 

I found myself honestly wanting to just cry while listening to her stories. People just don't live like they used to she would say. She said how no one visits with people very much anymore and that breaks her heart. She said how the birds and insects used to sing differently years ago then they do now. 

Ms. Pirkle has lived "everywhere that she ever wanted" and has some of the most amazing stories of them. Her husband had traveled a lot with work so she went with him. She's lived in every state and her favorites are San Fransisco and New York City. Her first visit to NYC was in 1939 and they went to the World's Fair. The whole time she was "pining" to see Yankee Stadium and just watch some real (i can't remember what she called the game... garage something... which is the original name of it).

Discussion on the yankee: 

This past Sunday in my sermon I explained the conflict between the Babylonians and the Jews to set up the background for Psalm 119 (the Jewish response to it all). To do so I asked folks to imagine with me if a group of angry people stormed into the church, kicked us out, burned it to the ground and made us move north to New York. Sheer horror was upon every face in the sanctuary... that was probably the worst thing I could have asked them to imagine. 

A couple weekends ago I went north to visit some friends in New Jersey. When I got on the plane from Atlanta that would be flying into Philadelphia I automatically felt "other." People held themselves in a different way and they talked different. I came to the conclusion the north and the south are basically like two different countries. It was so nice to see my friends up north and we even went into NYC one day. Unlike Edith I was not praying for the moment I could walk into Yankee stadium but I saw the beauty of the north. There is something inherently different between northerners (yankees) and southerners. I don't understand why we see yankees in such a negative way. It's almost like a cuss word to say yankee and most always (here) has the word damn in front of it. Why? 

Southern Sayin's: 
ver yonder- over there (yonder is widely used)
dja- did you... 
aighht- alright?
hant- haunt
well my stars- oh my goodness
bless your heart- arn't you the cutest thing!
in high cotton- your rising in society
every dog has a few fleas- no one is perfect
stompin' grounds- familiar territory
folks- people 
kin- family


there is a whole slew of other ones that constantly make me smile... 


Southern Wisdom: "The two things that will fix the world are wrastlin' and nascar!"
*They believe this, y'all. 


I'm constantly amazed how everyone wants to talk politics here! I feel like that is the best way to start an argument with folks. 


I move on to Durham this coming Sunday! This past Sunday as I stood at the back doors of the church to shake hands and give hugs to "my parishioners" (fancy word for church family) I was amazed how many people had tears in their eyes and asked me how 10 weeks flew by so quickly. They said that I had been a real blessing to the church and that I had changed the way they understood things. I felt so encouraged by these sweet words. 

Distinctly Southern Stuff:

really cheap, alright food.

cherry coke... freaking awesome

"It's Bo time..." always served with a biscuit

Things I will certainly miss... seeing cows in the backyard everyday, fresh corn/ tomatoes/ veggies from the garden, havin' fun on the gator, thick southern accents, amazing home brewed sweet tea, home cooked meals heaping with butter and love, and simple southern ways... like being able to enjoy just sitting somewhere and watching something happen. 

Reverse culture, culture shock from the deep American south and the painful realization that I'm NOT IN GREECE

I patiently sit in a quaint Barnes and Nobles sipping terrible starbucks coffee and nibbling on a hard blueberry scone. I am located somewhere near the Appalachian mountains in western North Carolina about 10 hours north of Panama City and a world away from Greece. So many things hit me like a ton of bricks. Probably the greatest is the culture shock I've had here in NC. Being from North Florida I thought I grew up in the south.... I was deeply misled by this assumption.

First, understand that I am incredibly thankful to call myself an American. Coming back into the US from Eastern Europe can not be described as anything less than bittersweet. But immediately, 3 months ago, I began disassociating myself from typical American. People can be so impatient and harsh. Simply put, selfish and rude. I hope I never act like this type of American ever again. Actions may speak louder than words but it is a lovely thing to be around people who all speak English. Still, some days I get up and crawl out of bed only to wish I could catch a view from my home back in Greece of the Aegean Sea. I close my eyes and remember what the sun looks like hitting the water and glistening while Mt. Olympus stands proud across the sea... a perfectly clear day in Thessaloniki. Greece always will be in my heart.

Second, North Carolina is far more "southern" then I ever imagined. A few things that are completely different from anywhere I've been... coleslaw on burgers, bbq, and hotdogs. chili on pretty much anything. the bbq is vinegar based- completely different, cherrywine (an amazing sweet nectar flavored with cherries). sundrop (like an illegal verson of mountain dew... but legal). words such as 'kin' and over 'yonder' are frequently used. vowels are pronounced SO differently here... hill= heal (proper NC pronunciation).

I'm experiencing so much culture shock even though I'm in my home country. It's funny how every culture has their own little quirks. I think the secret to adjusting to all these crazy things is taking it one day at a time and enjoying the little things... and those moments that are just so sweet.

I just wish that I could call and text my friends in other countries- that would be the coolest! 

The Peacemakers

The loving community of people I have found myself surrounded by here at May's Chapel UMC has been nothing short of wonderful. Today I had the opportunity to settle in with a sewing machine next to around 20 other women and sew. These ladies not only sew lap quilts for the shut ins and home bound members of the church but also go crazy making crafts. I couldn't help but think how these ladies are the "bread and butter" of the American church. Where on earth would the church be without these seasoned women who patiently take the time to do something for others simply out of love? These ladies have banded together to make a group called the "Peacemakers." They meet once a month to piece together and quilt fabric that has been donated. They are a stand alone group that has grown out of May's Chapel but they are self funded through donations. 

As we sat around a long old wooden table enjoying all the delicious food they brought from home for lunch I heard tales about the "olden days." The woman who sat next to me was in her seventies and told me about how she makes jam from kudzu. As I enjoyed her homemade blackberry pie she then told me about all sorts of yummy treats she makes at home. This woman married the love of her life at the age of sixteen. Sixty one years later they are still happily married. 

I experienced hospitality in Greece and even Macedonia but there is nothing in the world to me quite like southern hospitality... and homemade comfort food :)

Maiden, North Carolina

This summer I am living in the thriving metropolis of Maiden, NC for a few months. I have been assigned to May's Chapel UMC as their pastoral intern for a few months before I begin my Masters at Duke this August. 

Maiden has all of 3 traffic lights, 1 supermarket, 1 gas station and what feels like 10 churches. I feel like half the town is clergy. To let you understand the cultural vibe in Maiden I must first explain (what I think) is the favorite past time of locals... I have seen at least 15 people in the last week rocking out mowing their lawns on riding lawn mowers with headsets with antennas that might pick up the radio from mars- these people are serious about their grass and hay. 

Yesterday I went to a local Christian organization that helps people pay their bills when they fall behind. I was sitting in the waiting room with a retired nurse from May's Chapel UMC helping give free blood pressure tests. This very large African American man walks in the door and heads over to get his bp checked. Afterwards while standing in line he whips out his harmonica and with one hand starts pipping out some of the best blue grass music I have ever heard. He started singing old hymns between his harmonica beats. In the middle of this waiting room with about 30 people in it he sang the story about "a man from Galilee" beautifully. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. 

I'm staying in the basement of this couple who are members of the church. Later that same day as my bluegrass encounter in the day I was sitting in the grass next to the house talking to my sister. As I hung up the phone and stood up I looked over and saw I long skinny black snake. I went to the front of the house and asked Guylene if Jimmy was there to get him to take care of it, which he wasn't, and I told her about the snake. Without hesitation she grabbed a hoe walked around the the side of the house and chopped its head off.

I did not know what to expect in a small town. I've had Miranda Lambert's song stuck in my head for days. I've learned in 6 days that it could not be more true. Dave, the pastor at May's Chapel, said that someone could sneeze at one end of town and someone on the other end of town would say bless you... it's that small.

Now I'm sitting in a locally owned coffee shop in Newton, a larger nearby town, in a coffee shop named Zander's. Zander's has local Carolina coffee, wifi, a cool artsy vibe and a giant chandelier when you walk in the door. I love it. I think one of my missions on my off days is to find local coffee shops around the town of Maiden this summer. So far its been really fun and interesting. I've learned the best places to find local pottery.

Really y'all?

Here I am back in the US chilling in south Miami with my grandma who lovingly takes me to physical therapy 3 times a week and pretty much anywhere I want to go. Transitioning from Balkan Eastern European life to American life has been a little something like this...

Just to give you an idea I'll let you know a few things that have been running through my head:

"Really? 5 aisles of useless crap on sale for Easter just to fill little American children with chocolate and tell them that Easter is about an oversized bunny? What the heck happened to Jesus dying and living again?"

-compliments of living in an Orthodox country

"Why are the cars so big? There are parking lots everywhere! Why does everyone complain about gas when they drive everywhere? Why do engineers here plan cities on being so spread out?"

"I can understand everything that people are saying in the entire room... yay for English!"

"Twin beds are HUGE here!!! alllright" :)

"Everything is SO easy... you can get whatever you want whenever you want it!"

"I FREAKING ADORE CUBAN FOOD!!!" 

Looking around at such a strange environment from one that I've been used to is kind of making me realize a very important thing. So, in lou of Holy Week fast approaching- WHY DO CELEBRATE A BUNNY INSTEAD OF JESUS? Celebrating something so arbitrary as a bunny and connecting it to the death and eternal life of the Son of God seems a bit off topic. 

Another thing... why do we shovel chocolate towards kids on the holiest day of the year?

Any thoughts? 

Life sucks.

With my knee as it was in Greece my parents and I decided it was time for me to go home and have tests done to figure out what I needed to do or have done. So in a whirlwind I packed, said goodbyes and flew from Thessaloniki to Rome then on to Miami. It was difficult to manage with my leg in this lovely bionic looking brace but at every airport everyone has incredibly helpful and nice.

The hardest part....
I have fallen in love with Balkan people and Eastern Europe. Right now that is home to me. I miss Greece. I miss those people and I truly miss everyone at Perrotis College. They all have such a special place in my heart and I want to go back so badly!

Today I see a knee specialist here in Miami. Hopefully today we'll figure out what is next with my knee.

Filakia y'all :)

I might be coming home...

Update on my leg:
I went to a doctor that specializes in knees. He thinks I either bruised my bone or have a tear in my miniscus. If it is a bruised bone then I will just wear the brace we've had to buy and it will heal itself. If it is the miniscus then most likely I need surgery. To determine which it is I need an MRI. My parents (and I agree with them) think that it is crazy to spend so much money here to determine what is wrong because if I do go through everything here and it is the miniscus then I will have to go home and have another MRI, surgery and the whole shebang.
For now I'm using my lovely crutches and wearing my bionic knee brace. The knee brace is pretty hard core. This sucker is intense and comes fully loaded with side shinny things that look like they could shoot trank darts. Those shinny things on the side keep my leg from extending any more than 15 degrees.
I'm getting really exhausted from using the crutches to move but its necessary.

Kate brought me beautiful flowers that now sit in the corner of my room in a vase from my friend Nikoleta. My friend Jo, an American intern from Anatolia College nearby, brought me kiwi and mandarin oranges.

For now I'm just seeing how my leg feels and trying to figure out what to do. If I go home I will not be coming back to Greece for the year. Big decisions need to be made and all I can think about is how dumb it was to push myself to ski that hard on the first time.

The song I was singing to the doctors in the hospital...

Oh to have Greek songs stuck in ones head...

If you can't see it above click on this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCc4JSTHQvI

Skiing... in Greece!

If someone had told me all the unexpected things I would trip into here I would have laughed in their face. Greece is the most unique country I have ever been in and had the joy of living in. This past Saturday Perrotis College students, Klearchos and I went south to a ski resort located somewhere near Mount Olympous. I've only been on snow a few times and have never skied. Just thinking about flying down ice on boards strapped to my feet scared the junk out of me. But then as I began to see all that snow and these glistening mountains I thought what the heck!?!? So I did it!

This is Martin. He's from Tanzania (Africa) and like me he's never gone skiing before. Both of us got some snow yesterday and had a blast! He was more cautious than me...

The first half of my first time ever skiing I got really good at falling and getting back up all by myself. So by the end of my first time down i was alright at going back and forth and back and forth left to right on my skis! The second time down I somehow managed to fall (completely without grace) and lose a ski AND the boot with it. I think the boots I was wearing were bad. As I layed on the snow with one ski and boot on and my other foot up in the air with only a wool sock on I started saying "voithia! voithia!" meaning "help! help!"
One very nice rather ennoyed Greek man stopped about 10 meters past me and side walked his way up to hand me my ski. He was asking through a thick Greek accent "How did you do that? I've never ever heard of anyone losing their boot with their ski!" After I got my boot on and said "Ephxaristo PARA polee... thank you VERY much" I got back up on my ski's and took off again. A little shooken from that experience of laying on ice with a nearly exposed foot I wanted to go up on the lift one more time. So my Greek friend Giannis and I jumped on the lift once again.

With Yannis behind me watching to ensure I would not lose another ski + boot I was nearing the second half of hte run. I was going left to right across the higher side of the course and tried to stop because of the speed I was gaining. When trying to stop when skiing you put the front of your skis together- like a v. My right knee didn't agree with this decision and popped to the right. As this happened I fell forward and landed in snow... again without any grace. After a really nice ski medic guy (speaking only Greek & German) packed ice on my knee. I had a quick visit to the hospital in Veria (closest city) where they took xrays and wrapped up my leg. I just remember telling them that it hurts so much and pointing and singing "Moro mou sagapow- nai nai nai" to distract from all the pain.

This is in the bus on the way from the mountain (where they put me in a air cast) to the actual hospital. 

Students were so great... trying to make me laugh and just being sweet. 

Now I have a lovely full right leg bandage/cast. Its fine as long as nothing moves above my ankle. I am lucky enough to have so many wonderful people bringing me food from the dining hall, refilling my water bottle and just taking care of me.... especially being so far from home. Our cleaning lady, Ms. Sofia, only speaks greek and yesterday came by at 9 am and knocked on my door. I got up and hobbled over to the door with my crutches. I opened the door saying "yasas= hello" and hobbled back to bed. I remember her saying something like "oh my goodness your leg!" because it is completely covered in white bandages. I immediately fell asleep while she cleaned. When I woke up my room smelled fresh and she had taken some of my towels to be cleaned AND she left traditional Greek treats from a patisserie!

It has been so incredibly hard doing all of this so far from home but I can't imagine a better place to get stuck like this. Here I have a family and it's nothing like at home but still it's my Greek/Balkan family.

The hardest thing to deal with is the pain. Here they do not take medicine like we do at home so 1 Ibuprofin takes away all pain.... but I'm American and this is not the case at all for me!

Anyway- on Friday I get to see a doctor who will figure out exactly what is wrong with my knee. I know that it is not broken. But I know that the ligaments are messed up. I'll keep y'all posted! 

March Madness

Gone are the hot Florida days where the beach becomes a mecca for all those seeking relief from the warm climate. Gone are the lovely blue skies that sit overhead sunbathers feeling the warmth of the sun on their backs. Gone are my natural high lights that appear out of no where when I sit in the sun for a few hours.... why you may ask? Because of March madness... or Μάρτιος κάνει τρελλό. Literally March is MAKING ME CRAZY. 
Today it began snowing.... SNOWING. When I talk to people back home I'm hearing of lovely warm weather perfect for kayaking, fishing and swimming at the beach. 
When I was hanging out with some students yesterday we were surprised to find a little peice of blue sky in all of grey clouds. For 3 weeks it has been only grey skies and rain- like London.
I asked my boss and a Greek friend why the weather is so terrible. They both said that here in Northern Greece the weather is crazy and no one knows what it will be like.


So- y'all with lovely weather. Enjoy it while we over here camp out cuddled up with tea and taking many naps. 

Skopje

Friday the 18th my friend Elizabeth from FSU came over to Greece. She is studying abroad in Valencia, Spain and for spring break decided she would come over for a few days. What she did not realize at the time was that she would end up seeing and learning about what I have lovingly named "Balkan-land."

Balkan-land is the peninsula of Southeastern Europe. These countries include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, FYROM, and Montenegro. Balkan-land is smaller than the south east region of the United States but has more history than was ever alluded when studying it in school. There is evidence that people lived in this region during the Neolithic period (9500 BC) and definitely through the Roman Empire. All of these countries have similar histories and traditions but each are unique and bear their own dislike for the others. Bulgarians and Greeks traditionally dislike FYROM. No one traditionally likes Albania except Kosovo. Kosovo is not recognized by most countries but Albania and gained their independence from Serbia after the collapse of Yugoslavia. Like everywhere on this side of the pond, they have a lengthy history.

I had decided before I knew Elizabeth was coming that I would be going to Skopje FYROM's capital, with Kate and Carrie (the other female Americans here). After Elizabeth flew in we had planned to take a direct bus from Thessaloniki to Skopje. Due to Greece's economic position they have recently suspended all international trains. Long story short we didn't catch a bus out of Thess but we made a friend from Prague. He too was just trying to get out of the country. Kate and Carrie decided instead they would be going to Xanthi, a city north of Kavala known for its festivals.

The next day my boss Klearchos lovingly drove Elizabeth and I to Gevgalja. Gevgalja is a city on the border of Greece and FYROM and has buses to Skopje. We found the ticket office for the buses and exchanged euro's into denars. 50 Euro = 3,056 Denar (we felt rich) Next we found a cafe in which no one spoke English in. Elizabeth and I tried in every language we know but it got us nowhere... so we decided to point to the menu and smile. This actually worked in our favor. For only 2 Euro (120 denar) we got really good filling food.

An hour later we climbed onto the bus that took us to Skopje. The bus was filled but we got seats next to each other. On the bus behind me was a screaming gypsy child singing in Macedonian the whole way. No one seemed to mind but I saw the bus driver smile as the child got louder, I imagine singing some nationalistic Balkan nursery song. I was happy that we were able to see so much of the countryside driving up from Gevgaljah. I felt like we got a really good glimpse at the whole country.

My friend Ivan met us at the bus station and drove us to our hostel. My friends in FYROM were so amazing to us. Ivan showed us around his city and explained to us the history and why things were as they were.

Things you need to know about Balkan-land:
1. Nap time is apart of the day... you can't change this nor should you.
2. Coffee time is also apart of the day... if you don't take time for coffee you aren't enjoying your life. Don't you want to enjoy your life?
3. Partying all night... every night. Sleep time shifts to anywhere from 6-9am to 2pm.
4. Never try to out drink a Balkan... their stomachs have been genetically modified to drink whatever their grandfather has fermented in the back yard and they begin drinking around 15.
5. Everything (except in Greece) is crazy cheap.

Through our stay in Skopje we walked around to the old fortress, over the ancient bridge, explored the city center, saw Mother Teresa's building (she was born here), saw ridiculously old church's, saw Matka (a really pretty dam and lake) and some mountains, went up near the cross on top of the mountain to look at the city at night, went to cafana (traditional restaurant), enjoyed amazing traditional food, went shopping in the old bazaar, I bought an antique ring and hand made traditional leather shoes, enjoyed local hot spots and had time for coffee :)

Mother Teresa

In the city center along the sidewalk.

They have statues everywhere for the important people in their past. Without these guys FYROM would not be what it is today. 

This is Stone bridge over the Vardar River. They say that it was originally built in 1555 but it has suffered through earthquakes and explosives (from the crazy history remember)

This is at Matka Canyon. We walked around on this path which lead to the lake. 

This monastery was built 1389. It isn't very big but inside are beautiful paintings and ancient Macedonian script. 

notice the 'made in USSR'

This is Ivana and Ana two of my friends from this country... aren't they precious! This is in the bazaar. 

I learned some Macedonian and can read some. When I would buy things I would say thank you in Macedonian and the locals looked tickled pink that I would take time to try to learn their language.

I really enjoyed Skopje. For a country slightly larger than Vermont but with history stretching 4,000 years before Christ I feel really privileged to understand it the way I do, like a local. When telling people that I went up to Skopje and I desire to go to Albania and Bosnia, these other Balkan countries, I get strange looks. People want to try to get out of these countries and into America and I desire to visit their countries. Even though it is strange I have found my experiences in them invaluable. The friends I have made from Balkan-land  have changed my perspective on so much and I'm happy to say that I will never be the same. 

Kavala part 2

It took a while to climb to the top of this castle on top. It was a super steep walk but the view of the city was totally worth it!

This is standing on the top most part of the castle looking down.

If you ever get the chance to go to Kavala definitely climb to the top of the castle and try their seafood. It is amazing!

This is Carrie and I in a seafood taverna... it was SO good!

I hope you all enjoyed the many pics!

Kavala part 1

Καβάλα is the 2nd largest city in Northern Greece (Thessaloniki is first). It was originally called Neopolis- Νεάπολις meaning "new city" and was founded by settlers from Thassos (the island right south of Kavala). 


http://www.pickatrail.com/jupiter/location/europe/greece/map/kavala.gif

Cool stuff about Kavala:
-Was a base for Brutus and Cassius before they were defeated
-Has a ton of history dating back since the 7th cent. BC
-Has a super old castle that has been built around... literally houses are built upon the ancient walls that once kept outsiders far away
-Beautiful city!

1. The family Kate, Carrie and I stayed with was AMAZING!!! The mother cooked amazing food (the best postilito I've ever had) and the daughters were wonderful and happily showed us around everywhere we went! The thing that made me most excited was when walking into the room we were staying in at their house I found my bed like this... hahahahaha! AWESOME right?

We took a bus into the city from the village Orphani on a Saturday morning. 

Around this quiet village are ancient ruins from a castle. Michaela (our amazing highschool host) told us about the history behind these walls.  

 When the Turks and Bulgarians invaded the Orphani village people used to flee to the mountains with blankets and hid or through a secret tunnel under the mountain to escape to the sea.

This is overlooking the sea- its on the horizon. Imagine climbing through a cave under all of this to escape to the sea. Crazy stuff...

This is Kavala:

Looking up at the old city. 

This is a Saturday morning bazaar. You can buy anything here from clothes, food, freshly made honey or household goods.

This church was built for Saint Paul. Who first came to Kavala to preach the gospel. This beautiful tiled thing stands out front of the church. Unfortunately the church was locked.

Climbing up to the castle at the top of the mountain there are many modern beautiful houses like this! 

FYROM (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia)

This past Friday night I got the opportunity to Skopje the next day because one of our students is from there and needed to go home to get his things. This students name is Gjoko and he has been accepted at Ole Miss with a scholarship to go study journalism. We were worried about this because Gjoko could not get a visa to go into the US. BUT Gjoko got his visa! So he gets to go study in the USA!

I've realized that its really difficult for students that do not have an American passport to get a visa to go anywhere. To get my visa to come here the paperwork was intense but they gave it to me within a week. For students here to travel into other countries they have to get visa documents to even go for the weekend, unless it is a Shengan country.... which just means that they gave agreements between them so that people can move easier.

So yesterday morning 5 of us from Perrotis College got into Klearchos' car to head north into FYROM. After a little confusion (on my part) and a quick trip back to my room, we all had our passports and papers to cross the border. Because I work at an international college (we have something like 4 continents represented) all our passports were different colors and languages :)
Greece, FYROM (Macedonia), Bulgaria, and America were all represented!

I LOVE THAT ABOUT HERE... we're all SO different and still can be friends and understand each other.

Crossing the border both to and from the guards looked at all of our passports and raised their eyebrows at such international diversity.

In Greece there is a giant argument with people from FYROM about the name of the country- Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia or simply Macedonia. People from FYROM call their country the Republic of Macedonia. Greeks are upset at this because Macedonia was the land that is FYROM and stretched all the way south to central Greece. But when you cross the border the signs of the country say Macedonia. This dispute is deeper than you would think.

We went into Berovo and Strumica. Berovo is a town located near Bulgaria...

Berovo is in the central eastern side of the country. To get to Berovo we drove up across the border by Strumica and through crazy mountains with a ton of fog. It was about 3 degrees Celsius and got down to -3. Awesome right? There was a ton of fog but no snow! That part was irritating especially driving through mountains trying to get back to Strumica after sunset... thank God I wasn't driving!

FYROM's currency is the Denar. 60 Denar = 1 Euro.

This is Gjoko's neighborhood in Berovo... there are older vehicles like this everywhere and fire wood is stacked up because that is how everyone heats their houses.

We went to a cafana (a restaurant) and had tons and TONS of amazing food. This is a Macedonian beer called SkopSko. It is like the national pride of FYROM and was really good! 

This is the salad we had... it was SO good! The fish looking stuff on the plate to the right is cheese that has been fried. The cheese is very salty and is a lot like haloumi in Greece. 

This is the lake in Berovo... unfortunately is was foggy but it was still pretty!

There are differenet kinds of Slavic languages throughout this region. South Slavic is comprised of many different dialects. They include Macedonian and are all different even though all dialects can understand and communicate with one another. This is Macedonian:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Slavic_languages

It was really interesting seeing a country that had been so effected by centuries of disputes. I really loved it though!

Salonika

Recently the NY Times published the Top 41 Places to Go in 2011.... and Thessalinike, (also known as Salonika) was ranked #38...
http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/travel/09where-to-go.html?pagewanted=4

This is why you should come see the beauty of what has become my Greek playground!

1. Located right next to the Aegean/Meditteranean Sea!


Coming from Florida and always being around water this gave me a sigh of relief when I first landed in Greece. Actually, if you fly into SKG (Thessaloniki) you will come in right over the sea and realize immediately that the water here sparkles a different shade of blue... this is absolutely beautiful!

2. History

Not only was Thessaloniki ancient stomping ground for the relatives of Alexander the Great (approx 315 BC) but through history the city has changed hands so many times its history is completely unique. The Rotunda (I think the first phsyical structure erected to worship Zeus... at least thats what scholars say) marks this checkered history. The Rotunda is a giant building which has been adapted to suit the main religion of whoever controlled Greece throughout the ages... From the Romans to the Turks everyone has pretty much left their mark of the city.

Everywhere you can see ancient or Byzantine churches smushed between modern streets, parks, sidewalks, apartments and stores.... this is something that absolutely blew my mind the first time I saw it. Although history is SO MUCH apart of the city progress is still being made.

Haha- for example the future subway in downtown Salonika... they had to destroy part of some ancient something so that they could actually build it.
Or... like my residence hall I live in... when they were digging initially they began finding Roman stuff from back in the day... so in the basement/1st floor their is like an exhibit where the builders just left stuff and built around it.
This gives a really nice feel to the building.

3. Location

Thessalonike is located in the northern part of Greece. This means that it does get cold (we had snow here!) but not too cold. Albania, FYROM (former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), and Bulgaria are within a few hours north and Turkey is only a bus ride away to the east. Not to mention one of the hottest places to vacation here is only 1.5 hours away... Halkidiki.


4. χαλαρώ = Thessalonike local word for relax!

Hanging and and being chill is so much apart of the culture in Greece... but in the north its kicked up to a whole new level... they have a local word for it!

5. Nap time

This is a standard part of Balkan culture that I believe Americans need to adopt. Everday from 3-5 pm is naptime. Stores close, people are quite and the world seemingly stops. The streets turn from busy to quite and the everyone slips into their apartments and homes to take their daily afternoon siesta. Now- in true fashion naptime is followed by coffee... so don't fret that all productivity is lost. But things typically take longer (much longer) to get accomplished in Greece.

The ancient art of phyllo :)

For me the past few weeks since I've returned back to Greece has been filled with so much fun. In the past couple weeks I have learned how to make phyllo dough- from scratch! From this I learned to make tiropita (cheese pie). A few days I learned how to make pastrami... never have I thought I would actually learn to cure meat with salt and make a paste that dries the meat out to perfection! Apparently you can make pastrami from any meat availalbe. I would post the pastrami recipe but I only have it in Greek. BUT if any of you are brave enough to try making phyllo it really isn't that difficult (at least not when I tryed with 2 lovely persistent Greek women standing over me perfecting my rolling technique).

For the most perfect phyllo dough ever:
-4 cups flour
-1 cup cold water
-4 teaspoons oil (vegetable i think- or olive)
-1/2 tsp salt

(Yes! This is really all it takes... and a heaping spoonful of gumption!)

Mix these together with your hands to create a large (consistent) ball of dough that isn't too elastic and is mixed well. Form into 10-13 small dough balls and wrap all of them together in seran wrap and stick in fridgerator for 30 min to 1 hour.
Now don't get over zealous and try to work with these dough balls before they've been in the fridge long enough.
Get some extra flour so that you can roll these balls out individually. Traditionally Greeks use a giant wooden cutting board looking area to roll these suckers out. Instead of a standard rolling pin they use long wooden dowels to beat the phyllo into long paper thin pastry perfection...

I'm thinking an American equivalent (if y'all don't happen to have these traditional wooden things in your kitchen) is a small rolling pin and large flat surface to work around. Now- get ready for some serious phyllo action.

Pull out your dough and work with 1 dough ball at a time. Put flour on your flat surface and place dough in middle placing more flour on top. Press the rolling pin into the dough horizontally and then vertically creating an imprinted cross. Put rolling pin in middle and roll out gently but with force. Remember- it's just dough... but its phyllo. The point is to roll it out thin enough so it can crisp up to taste amazing with many layers.

Do this with every dough ball... And from here you can make milopita (apple pita), tiropita (cheese pita), spanatiropita (spinach & cheese pie).... the oppurtunities are endless!
Have fun!

Warning: this can be really time consuming...

I was standing in the cafeteria when Mrs. Soula came up to me and said to me "you will learn phyllo today?" I responded "sure!"
This was around 2.30 pm. I entered her kitchen around 3 pm and around 6.30 my golden tiropita (cheese pita) came out of the oven. My phyllo was freaking perfect. I stood admiring this golden Greek art as 12 older Greek men and women stood around the pan munching on their own slices of my phyllo masterpiece they raved at how perfect my phyllo actually was.
Amist many foreign greek words I managed to translate a few of their vocab as they gushed... "who did this?!?," "American girl," and many different forms of "fantastic phyllo!"

I am pleased to say that when I return home I will be packing a giant long wooden phyllo rolling utensil. When I get back in the US I will most likely be building my own giant wooden cutting board... it's super functional and just plain looks so awesome.