sorry to leave ya hanging!

the last post ended before I got to finish typing out the rest of the Israel trip. Our internet here in Glyfada is pretty ridiculous and sometimes it will cut out and we wont have it for the rest of the day. So now I actually have internet, dont have any tests to study for, all my clothes are washed, and I can finish up my blog.



So after we left St. Anne's (where we sang) we toured the rest of Jerusalem. We saw the church of the holy sepluchre (spelling??) and we went to the western wailing wall! Let me tell you about our adventure to the wall....have you ever been to a concert where the people are packed in all around you, or have you ever been on the subway or in a very crowded spot??? well multiply that times 10 and then add fast walking to the mix and thats what you get when you walk through the streets of Jerusalem at night....absolute mayhem. I grabbed the shoulder of the person in front of me in our group and held on for dear life. I literally had no choice in where I wanted to go. I was just led there by a sea of people....

okay i have another confession to make, I have been a ton of places and havent blogged once. Things have gotten soo hectic here and I'm trying to get a lot of school work done. The first part of this blog is what I had begun to write but just havent had a chance to finish so here is what I have decided......I am not going to play catch up any longer. It is wayyyy to hard. I am going to start from today and just move forward that way I wont feel soooo bogged down. If you would like to know more about my trip to Israel or to Crete and Patmos (which we did go to I just havent been able to write about) then please email me. I could talk about it for DAYS! Again, it was wonderful!

This past week we went to Northern Greece. I had 12 hour days every single day. Our bus driver got us lost many times in Thessaloniki but it was still a great trip. Exhausting but great! I saw Mt. Olympus, Philippi, Berea, Thessaloniki, and some other great places. Again, If you would like to see pictures or know more about this then let me know through email. If not when I get home (this is to my family) you will see and hear everything! I can talk for days which all of you know!

The people that are here from Faulkner are wonderful! I am growing so close to each of them. We have started a Sunday morning girls devotional and its really great. This trip has been amazing for my faith and I am learning so much and growing in a way that would have never happened in the States. It is great. There are a couple of girls here that I have especially grown close to and that I will keep as close friends once I go home.

Here's a side not for ya, I am loving the Greek culture. My favorite thing is how chill they are about everything. Sooooo laid back. Here is an example for you. My room mate and I went to Starbucks the other day to study for class. We needed to get out of the hotel and have a change of scenery. I had been sick for a few days and had finally started to feel better so we headed out. First of all, the guys here must not see blondes much. I feel so awkward all the time cause I am constantly stared down. Yes I am an American blonde girl and to them that is rare. My room mate is as well so when we go in to town there are two blonde American girls. It can get pretty frustrating. But thats not the point of this story, the point is everything is so relaxed. When we got to Starbucks we stayed for about 4 hours. This whole time everyone else, the other Greek civilians, stayed the same amount of time. They sit for hours here and just talk talk talk talk talk. I LOVE it. Why do we not do this in the states??? It has officially given me a strong loathing for our American love for drive-ins. I have not seen a single drive-in here in this entire country! Even when we are on the road and we stop at gas stations there are tables and chairs and restaurants or cafes inside. Our tour guide would stop at a gas station and say okay we have thirty minutes here! Thirty minutes at a gas station???? In the States (at least in my family) if you even get to stop on the road you are lucky but when we do its 5 minutes of run in and run out. I have also noticed that no one here walks around with coffee in their hands. In the states (and I am unbelievably guilty of this) everyone, everywhere has a Starbucks cup in their hands. Here it is uncalled for. You walk by a coffee shop and people are sitting at tables drinking coffee. Never, ever do they get up and walk away if they arent finished. And even if they do finish they sit and talk to their friends for hours. I think this is the reason why they dont have psychiatrists and therapy here. They talk their problems out. America is wonderful and I miss it greatly but maybe we should take some advice from other countries and SLOOOOOW DOWN!

They also have waffles here :-) mmmmmmmm. And what do they do with their waffles?? They scoop out 3 giant scoops of sweet, dairy-filled ice cream and then they pour chocolate or caramel or strawberry syrup allllllll over it! Talk about a diabetic coma! It is absolutely heavenly! I could eat one every day of my life, blow up like a balloon and still be happy! hahaha When I get back home I will not limit my waffles to morning breakfast. It is possibly the best dessert there is. If you are reading this, take my wise advice and try it tonight. Make you a waffle and cover it in ice cream. You will NOT regret it! haha

My parents are coming here on Friday! You do not even know how incredibly excited that I am! I have missed them soooo much and can't wait to show them my life here. Its crazy to think but this is my home! I have struggled majorly with homesickness but I do love it here. I love Greece and in a way it has become my home. The other day I actually had to foreigners come up to me and ask me directions on how to get to a certain part of Athens. I knew exactly how to get the them there and that was my sign, I am officially Greek. At least a 3 month foreign Greek. Sadly, I can't speak much Greek but they do speak English so I have been okay.

I'm ready to see everyone and I miss home. I could list you a whole paragraph on what I miss. Coffee at any time of the day, the dollar, Zaxby's, ranch, peanut butter, my own car and going wherever I want without waiting for a tram, my family, a boy, my friends, Lindsey Gay's goofy self, Faulkner, having a regular schedule, biscuits, a meal without cheese in everything, making myself a meal without having to include Nutri-grain bars and Pringles, going to the grocery store and knowing what I'm buying, mailing things from my house after 2:00 pm, my puppy that just turned 5!, Peyton's Place with John Nicks, American television shows, the radio in my car, an English speaking mall with prices in dollars, the seasons, falling leaves, wearing jackets and boots, not waking up to naked old men on the beach, plugging my things straight into an outlet without having to find my converter, using my debit card without it taking an hour to go through, Charmin toilet paper!, leaving my room and the electricity staying on, peach cobbler, poppyseed chicken, Chick-fil-A, Halloween, my bed, talks with my parents at the dinner table, and even though the list continues, I'll spare you. Don't get me wrong its great here but there is never anything better than home sweet home (and i dont mean my hotel room!)

I'll try to write again soon....Love and miss everyone greatly!

Enjoy.