the strange

Life here in Ioannina is quite similar to life back home except for a few things...

1. Stray dogs... Everywhere 
2. You don't flush away your toilet paper you place it in a separate trash can
3. Everyone here is stuck in the 90s grudge and I swear their favorite color is black
4. Waving here to your friends actually is equivalent to the middle finger
5. FETA on everything 
6. Wearing shorts in the 70 degree weather along with some flip flops is bound to draw some stares  
7. Beer garden in the library... study beers... yes please 
8. Ouzo is the drink of choice (taste likes unsweet good & plenty) 
9. Going to college here is free but no one ever goes to class
10. The beds here at the dorm are about equivalent as sleeping on the floor
11. NOTHING is open on Sundays.. I mean nothing so this means oh the more we will drink on saturday nights

Birthdays and Museums

On Wednesday it was one of the boys on our trips birthday, so of course we had to celebrate. To start the night off we iced him, meaning we presented him with a Smirnoff Ice. When one finds this they must take a knee and chug that sweet alcohol mix. After this we just headed up again to the student hangout bar that is equipped with pool tables, a full working bar and TVs. The soccer game was on so there was a good number of students there. Today we took our first excursion just into town to the Archeological Museum of Ioannina.  It was cool lots of local finds and a very nice facility. They had old pottery, armorer and ancient Greek writing tablets that had been etched into lead. After we had lunch at the same spot we had on monday down by the ancient castle walls. Today, though, we had our first gelato, and some girls got pastries. All were delicious. Tonight there is a "rave" at the cafeteria and a pre-funk in our building .... Apparently this campus likes to party, no complaints here.   

Gyro for a Euro

After Greek class, which is getting harder by the day, we hoped on the short bus ride into town to go exploring. The town is built around old buildings still containing early formations. Everywhere in Greece shuts down around 2:30 to about 5 for a siesta of sorts. Thankfully restaurants, which are everywhere, stay open for the most part. After taking in the spectacular views we decided on a cute Gyro place. Hands down the best gyro I have ever had. Chicken cut from a large skewer that slowly spun over a hot surface with pork to its left, lamb and beef are actually rarely if ever found as traditional gyro meat. On my homemade pita bread I smeared spicy tahziki sauce, fresh feta, tomatoes, lettuce and none other than a heap of French fries. Thankfully the waiter spoke fairly good English, though my Greek is coming along, it’s not up to par. I am however very good at saying that you, hello and asking what your name is. Enjoying one of the Greek beers we picked up at the local super market for cheap, we are getting ready to go back into town and celebrate one of our fellow students birthdays! 

Its all Greek to me

 On Monday we got settled in and began to get organized. We jumped on a bus after we had a very proper orientation with all the heads of the campus, along with this introduction came delicious pastries filled with cheese and spinach not to mention coffee. Downtown Ioannina is so cool everyone is so nice and helpful as we try to navigate with the very little Greek we know. Taso treated us to another great traditional Greek meal including pastries, lamb, noodles and fresh tomatoes and feta. A couple of the boys found a fun student bar on campus that had one euro beers and all thirteen of us went and had a blast getting to know each other. Today we started class. Greek class for two hours at 9 then culture class at noon and finally relational tensions between Greek and Albania at five. LONG DAY. During the breaks we spent outside in the beautiful sun that kissed the tops of the surrounding mountains all topped with snow. A couple of us all went in on a volleyball and played some pepper out in one of the fields in between where we live and attend classes. The cafeteria food is alright but free. There is a small café in the building where we go to class and they have cheapish food so I probably will be eating there more than less. First time I tried my hairdryer it started out strong but about five minutes in it died a slow painful death. Lindsay and I are having a great time together especially now that we have a mega bed. The weather is amazing and just going to keep getting better. Tomorrow we have out first excursion just into town I think to a museum. 

Whats that on the hill

Finally we made it to Greece!!!!!! Athens is a huge city dotted with old ruins that give it such an unique flavor. The Art Gallery was quant and me and lindsay shared a small but suitable with the twin beds that were pushed together to pretty much take up the whole room. If you leaned over the railing you got a view of the acropolis which was pretty cool. Taso treated us all to a nice traditional Greek dinner all together. This morning we caught the six hour bus ride to Ioannina. It would probably have been around four but our bus was soooo slow. We wound around the country side along the sea with beautiful views of the water and traveling through small villages. Our rooms are great we just finished unpacking we can't figure out the internet so we are in our neighbors room using theirs. Getting the idea from our stay in Athens we pushed our beds together making MEGABED. So far so great!!