We met up with Meg's wonderful Mom, Mrs. Terry. The island was beautiful, it looked exactly like it does in the movie Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
We were blessed with great 50 degree weather! We went to the black sanded beach-Kamari however, it was too cold to swim.
We made our way to the other side of the island, Oia. The greeks were so nice and happy to help tourist in any way. We spent several days here exploring the island. Some of my favorite greek food was eggplant, fava beans, chicken gyros, and feta cheese on the greek salad. I'm not a huge fan of "greek" coffee but I'm a coffee snob so what do you expect?
One of my favorite things we did on Santorini Island was when we rode the donkeys up and down the island. There were three of us riding. A norwegian lady in front and Meg in the back. In the beginning of the ride, I couldn't stop laughing and screaming because it was pretty scary at first. Especially when the guide told me to lean back during the trek down. I must have been louder than I thought because Norway-lady who "didn't speak" english in the beginning turns around and says, "I'm sure you will survive!"
Anyway, I was a little sore after the 1200 steps the next day. We spent our last evening eating chicken gyros while watching the sunset. We rode a ferry to Naxos Island late afternoon. Naxos Island is not a very touristic island yet. Their main income comes from their agriculture. We stayed in one of the Terry's friend's Villas-20 minutes outside of the town. We woke up to roosters crowing and goats bleating. The Villa was located on a hill to where we could see the shepherds tending their sheep in the fields, the beach and the mountains in the background.
We made our way over to Filoti Village and ran into two nice men-John and John. They were so happy to meet Americans and named every famous actor they knew from movies they had watched. They invited us to their family's Easter lunch on Sunday. We met their cousins, brothers, sisters, wives, and children. They immediately had us sit down to eat. I was a little nervous when I saw the pig roasting.
When I managed to clear a spot on my plate, they continued to put another piece of lamb or fresh goat cheese from that morning. Eventually I had to say I was full-no more please! We spent the rest of the afternoon dancing and listening to greek music and "Opa's!"
We caught a 7:30 am flight to Athens airport where we met our tour guide. It was fun to see the Parthenon, old theaters, and ruins since we just finished teaching Ancient Greece the past six weeks. By now we were ready for some American food-Hard Rock Cafe! We found some greek candy, bookmarks, and pens for the students who won the polis competition.
One of my favorite things I saw in Athens was Mars Hill (Areopagus) where Paul spoke the Athenians because he was disappointed with the "idols" they had created. These are the steps leading up to that hill!
This is what Paul told the Athenians in Acts 17:24-28
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because He himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though He is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being."
What a blessing! He is not far from us, we just have to seek after him and He is there!
A couple days later, after a taxi, plane, bus, and metro, Meg and I were in Paris! It was fun to hear this romance language after studying it in high school. We had a picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower with french baguettes then waited in line for 2 hours to go up the tower!
We met some nice french girls in the hostel where we stayed. I used the few phrases I could remember while trying not to laugh. I even answered one of the girls questions of how I was doing, "comme si, comme sa" which is "so-so." I only said this because I've always wanted to say that and I was actually doing really good. She was sorry for me though and figured it was because of another one of our roommates who snored througout the night which actually didn't bother me-haha.
Sunday night, I was glad to be "home." Irmgart was happy to see us and gave us bunny chocolate and flowers as a welcome home!
I'm finished teaching and now just observing all of the other grades. I'm excited to see how the teachers teach the younger kids who aren't quite "bi-lingual" yet.
Meg and I have made a list of things to do in Berlin since we have more time in the afternoons and the weather is above 32 degrees! May first will be here before we know it!
You are too cute. I love how each photo has a story with it. You should be a journalist, Marianna! I saw the Parthenon this weekend!... only it was in Nashville :) Still. That's pretty cool that we both saw it. Love you still. See you soon.
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