So since I have posted last, I have been extremely busy.

On Sunday, Nadia and I went to Kalamaki, a beautiful beach. We laid out for a few hours, and took the tram back to Pagkrati. Nadia also showed me a new metro station to go to-- Evangelismos, which is an easier and safer walk home.

Beach at Kalamaki

On Monday, I left at 5:30 AM to meet the study abroad group at Piraeus, the port of Athens. I left at 5:30 AM because I figured that it would take me 30 minutes to walk to the metro, 30 minutes on the metro, and 30 minutes to find the group in Piraeus... well, some unexpected things happened. 

At 5:30 AM, it is still dark and things don't look the same when it's not light out. I got a little turned around when I was trying to find Evangelismos metro station, which I have only been to one time before. I ended up being one block east of where I needed to be, but I managed to ask IN GREEK "Poo enai o stathmos metro Evangelismos?" (Πού είναι ο σταθμός μετρό Evangelismos?) Even though I didn't understand what left and right translated to, I nodded whenever I saw a hand motion and went in that direction.

So, by 6:10 I found the metro station (only 10 minutes later than I expected), and got onto the train to Piraeus. By the time I made it to the port, the sun was coming up... but here was the next flaw in my plan. No one from the study abroad group told me where to meet them at the port. There are 10 gates at Piraeus, that are pretty far apart... I walked around for 20 minutes trying to decipher where the different boats were coming in from-- finally I found the gate that was coming from the Cyclade islands. From there, I asked 3 different coast guards to tell me where the boat from Santorini was going to come in... naturally, all 3 of them gave me different answers. I decided to trust the one that actually took out an official sheet of paper to check the boats and time sheet. 

I started walking to E4, but there was no boat in site. And I was about to sit down on a bench to wait, when a sweet old lady came up to me. She smiled and said, "are you Emily?" I just about jumped up and gave her a hug! It was Thanos' mother, also waiting for the group. She led me back to the bus that the group would get on after they got off of the boat. Also waiting there was Thanos' son, Nick-- the same one that I have been going to art class with for the past week and a half. 

I was beyond relieved. Although I had a crazy morning, I was lightened to have found the bus, been on time, and safe. 

Once the study abroad group arrived, I had completely forgot about my crazy morning. I was so engrossed on how badly I missed having friends around-- that spoke English. 

On the bus ride to Epidaurus, I had a mini meeting with Thanos about my Shape Grammars research. So far I have been doing a lot of reading and writing down of definitions that will help me understand Greek temples better. He was very excited to see the work that I've been doing and helped me understand what I should be doing next.

Anyways, Epidaurus was beautiful!! We went around to see the theater, Temple of Asklepios, the stadium, and the remains of the Temple of Apollo. 

Theater in Epidaurus

Myrsini and me in the theater

After Epidaurus, we drove to Olympia, about 2 or so hours away. We didn't have any more site visits for the rest of the night, so we had the chance to relax.

These two awesome guys helped me celebrate my birthday at a taverna in Olympia. Sam (left) and David (right) are two of the many amazing people that I've gotten to know much better from this trip. I can't wait to have reunions with them when we get back to Tech!!

On Tuesday, we got to go to the ancient site of Olympia. Since I have already been here, I had the chance to walk around and take great pictures and discover new parts of the site, which could help me with my research.  

The well preserved pediment from the Temple of Zeus

The Temple of Hera

Column pieces near Temple of Zeus

The Temple of Zeus was destroyed in an earthquake, sending all of the columns to the ground. There are hundreds of pieces laying around the site. It amazes me how restoration teams are able to decipher the parts and begin to put back the pieces.

The boys as they race in Olympia

I suppose that's all for now, I know this was a long post... but I will have more later-- about my birthday! :)

Fun fact-- no part in Greece is more than 85 miles from the sea!! :)

Emily