Sunburns and City Views

Right now I live in Bulgaria, in a city called Blagoevgrad, shortened to Blago. And while being here in the Balkans I've had time to travel some around the area and my latest adventure was to Athens, Greece. I know immediately what went through your mind: white houses with blue roofs and shutters and clear blue waters with ships docked at the port. While that would have been the most picturesque vacation ever, that's not how mine was. BUT IT'S GREECE! So adventure of a lifetime.

I was meeting a friend who I study with at Truman in Athens, Abbi, who is studying in Northern Ireland for the semester and it just so happened that we could be in the same place at the same time. I love it when that happens!

my travel buddies: Mary in the middle, Abbi on the right

Mary and I ventured down to Athens on a 10 hour bus through the entirety of Greece and while it was a nice bus, the sleep was less than adequate. Just know that, all you out there who are going to travel in the Balkans. Bus is way better than train- it's faster and still super cheap. So do it! But you can't get comfortable sleeping. As per usual, Mary and I had a really good talk on the way down, then navigated the metro with the help of a very nice lady who could see we were disoriented at 6:30 in the morning.

The first thing we saw was the Acropolis. Holy. Cow. It was gorgeous.

from the Acropolis

up close...isn't it a beaut?!

I love history and the US doesn't really have history, not like the rest of the world. So being around ancient ruins was just fantastic- all weekend it was just amazing sight after amazing sight: Acropolis, Parthenon, Temple of Zeus, the Olympic Stadium, the beach!  I won't bore you with the details of how I finally got to see someone from home, that we had gelato twice a day, that we got soaked trying to get gelato before we left, that we wound through the crooked streets, and got to enjoy the beautiful sunshine.

The conditions were that of a perfect weekend. 23 C (70s F) and breezy. We just explored the Plaka district where we were staying and I fell in love instantly. Oh man. It was just a great time. We did all the tourist-y things that you are expected to do and we definitely had a good time doing it. One of my favorite moments was one night, after going to Palm Sunday Mass (they run on Orthodox Easter which runs a week behind Roman Catholic holidays and services) we decided to climb this hill that had a church on top. It looked really high and so as we started on a walking path up the side we were second guessing ourselves. But that doubt was wiped away by the sight that awaited us at the top. It was Athens in all its glory, glowing a light phosphorescent white as we took in the city by night. It was magical. And some random Korean kid asked to take a picture with us. I don't know why.

We also went to the beach and that was amazing. The sun was so warm and though I'm the kind of person who would rather be cold than hot, I could even appreciate it. We laid out on a pretty chill beach, the only distractions being old leathery men in speedos and one grandma who liked to let it all hang out, if you know what I mean. Soaking up all that vitamin D was wonderful...until we all got burnt. Me most of all. My back got really burnt and my legs too. But that didn't deter me from continuing the adventure; we had a great time even after all of that. Now that I am back I look really tan so I can only hope that some time spent on the Mediterranean in Lebanon will give the same results. I'll come back lookin' black! Ha. If only, right?

Our last day was rainy and we spent it going to Corinth. It was a beautiful bus ride and Corinth itself was really great. Just being where Paul preached and thinking about that was one of the coolest things of the whole trip.  The beach, also, was just incredible. I mean look at it! It was a little stormy and rained some while we were there, but we had brought a picnic of Greek bread and we stopped into this small cheese shop once we arrived and had a cute little exchange with the Greek lady who gave us some delicious white Greek cheese. Oh it was good. We ended up eating it in the bus station, but afterward we enjoyed this:

yep, I was really here.

I know, I know. B-E-A-Utiful! And we finished the day with gelato before leaving. That is when we got soaked by the flash flood in Athens. No worries though....we got our gelato! And it was yummy, like the other six times we'd had it!

As the bus pulled out from Athens and Mary and I settled into our seats, we looked back on the really awesome time we had in Greece with Abbi and the memories made and the friends met and the gelato eaten. I'm not sure I would have wanted to do this trip with anyone besides these two. They made it great. And though I am still recovering from getting in at 5:15am on Tuesday, I look forward to the next adventure: Budapest part one: Friends. Cheers.

Lent and the Crushin' Russian

Milka. Kinder. Mypa (pronounced Moora). Lion. KitKat. Nutella. 

What do all these have in common?

Let me help you even though I'm sure you know at least one or two of these, if not from the picture. They are all yummy, deliciously smooth, and tasty chocolate (I was in no way trying to undermine your chocolate or even sweets intelligence. I know too much myself so no judgment here...). And what do you think I go and do.

Give it up for Lent. WHAT WAS I THINKING??!!! 

I don't really know either but I did and I'm committed because today is day one. So here's to day one of Lent and to all the things that you have given up in hopes of making your life a little better or to have more time with God. Props to you because this is going to be a long 40 days. Why anyone would give up chocolate while they are in Europe is beyond me, but I'm just crazy enough to do it. 

So in hopes of turning myself around for spring and bathing suit weather, I went to Pilates tonight. But I'm not sure it could be considered Pilates with that music (it was very entertaining; I was practically laughing the whole time which probably didn't help me any) and the four different exercises wrapped into one class. And the instructor was Russian. That was just the cherry on top. From cardio-kickboxing to dancing to some serious abs while listening to Enrique, it was definitely a good workout. No complaints here. She counted in Russian and was silent but deadly; she didn't talk much, but man does she work you hard. And some of those moves I've never done before and I will never do outside of that aerobics studio. But maybe it's because of the music it was paired with. Some awkward moments, if you know what I mean.

Afterward I did homework with friends and we met on the third (American) floor and all was fine and dandy, but then I had to go back downstairs. I was top heavy, and not just because I was graced by being that way to begin with. My backpack was super heavy and with my legs being sore already I was scared of toppling down the stairs. Needless to say, I need to work out more and I need to gain a better tolerance if I'm going to commit to the Crushin' Russian.

Happiness...

Happiness. 

To feel or show pleasure or contentment. 

How is it that I can be happy from so many things? Like this morning, my 5-year-old self was jumping and yelling about the maybe half inch of snow we had gotten. Or the other night when Miranda and Elizabeth and I were just sitting in my room talking about God and life and talking in funny voices, and everything said was just hilarious. Or listening to Christmas music with snow on the ground and flurries blowing everywhere. Or when Anna and I joke about stuff, which is all the time. Or Jac doing her crazy face and having conversations in a British accent. Or maybe drinking peppermint mocha and soaking in the cold weather and warming your soul to the little things God has provided. Or thinking about the crazy opportunity I have in going to Bulgaria... like really, who gets to do that? So cool. Or reminiscing about childhood memories of no worries, play time, and baking cookies with Grammie. Or maybe it's bundling in scarves and hats and gloves and walking in the winter wonderland. Or sitting around making Christmas cards. Or eating oatmeal or German chocolate...yum! Or watching She's Out of My League and laughing so hard because even though you know what the next line is, you still find it absolutely hilarious. Or napping (which I don't do nearly often enough). 

This is Happiness people. This is pleasure and contentment.

What are you happy about?