Cambodia

A week or so home from Greece and I'm preparing for my latest adventure, moving to Cambodia for a year. I'll be teaching English at Heritage International School in Phnom Phen, Cambodia's capital. I leave in just under 3 weeks!

I'm excited to get this show on the road, to get an apartment over there, to meet my 3 and 4 year olds who I'll be teaching for a year. I'm so excited and confident this is where I should be headed in my life.

Now, vaccinations... tetanus booster and typhoid capsules... fun times...

Conclusions!

This silly phone broke up my entries! Ah well, conclusions:

Hmm... Well I'm no expert, three weeks is hardly enough for me to make assertions about a place. That bring said, I think it's safe to say that Greeks think Greece and the Greeks are the best at, well, everything. And they are clinging to their laurels like I've never seen a culture do. They were the center of Europe, so much of the world, for so many years in ancient times. Today they are very small globally, among the poorest nations in the E.U. So it's easy to see why they think the past was so important. But the country is littered with deserted buildings, crumbling sidewalks, and as the news shows, there is much political unrest as the bailout moves forward. Or, more like, as the bailout remains stagnant, which seems to be a rather fitting albeit harsh description of Greece. To sum up our particular trip, I'd say... There were some really really annoying parts, but, overall, it's been a fun trip.

An Ending

OMG I am quite angry right now because I just spent an hour writing this entry only for my phone to betray me and delete it's contents! Why would you do this to me, iPhone? I always treat you so well! You must be mad that I've had you on "airplane mode" for the entirety of this trip. Don't worry, iPhone, you will get to text soon!

Anyway, I'll try to recreate the magic even though I'd rather just give up. Dang. It really was a lengthy entry.

Anyway, back in Athens, we went to the Acropolis Museum where we saw some amazing artifacts found in Athens and around the Parthenon. This museum, for a change in Greece, was well done. It was even air conditioned!

That night, we saw the latest Harry Potter at an open-air cinema. In the summer, they project movies outside after the sun goes down. The movie was awesome (obviously), we ate popcorn, and we saw REAL Greek life (as opposed to the other 75% of what we've seen, which has seemed set up for tourists).

The next day, we visited the Archealogical Museum where I saw the gold mask of Aggamemmnon! It was amazing. They had so much there! This country is dripping in history and artifacts and legend and myth. Mom and I enjoyed looking at the possessions of the women, Luke their jewelry. Things have changed so much since 1200 B.C. and, yet, so little.

The next day, we relaxed a bit and shopped at a few last stores in Monastiraki. We also visited a former Turkish bath house. It was interesting; Greece is such a mixture of East and West. And the bath house reminded me of the time I bathed in a haman in a village Morocco. Good times....

Today, we were package tourists! We hopped on a bus for Epidaurus and Ancient Mycenae. Epidauarus is home to the sites of the first cult worshippers of Dionysus, and still has an amazing ancient theater. The theater was so epic. They still do shows there, but sadly our timing didn't work out for any performances :( I still can't believe I was standing on the very stage where people first performed the rituals to honor Dionysus that would slowly but surely lead to theater as we know it today.

Ancient Mycenae was amazing, too. We saw the sites where so much was discovered about the great Myceneans, previously believed to have been merely the fiction of Homer's tales. The famous Lion's Gate and the Treasury of Atreus (also know as the Tomb of Aggamemmnon), the oldest structures in Europe, lie in Mycenae. They both yield blocks so large it is reasoned that only Cyclops could have built them! It's crazy to think of how many ancient things I have seen in the last few weeks. To see things that so many people have seen and touched, like these spaces in Greece and also places I have been, like the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal, the Hollywood sign and the Statue of Liberty, is... Well it helps you place yourself, I guess. It helps me understand my place in the world and in time, even.

Anyway, I guess this is the end. We'll be home soon and who knows when I'll be able to come back. I should offer some conclusions then, yes?

Milos

Hello all!

We're back in Athens after a few nights in Milos. We'll stay in Athens until our flight back home (with layovers in London and Boston).

Anyway, Milos. What a change from Santorini and Mykonos! There were way less tourists here and subsequently way less to do. It's a fairly large island but the villages are small and scattered throughout. We stayed right in Adamas, the port town.

The first day we visited ancient Christian catacombs. We also saw an ancient theater. It was awesome, obviously, because it was a theater, but what was really cool was that archeologists were excavating the theater while we were there! We saw them digging up ruins and dusting surfaces. I've never seen an excavation in process, so it was really exciting for Mom and me. It's so incredible that so much of this country's ruins still lay beneath the surface! Who knows what they will find in the seats of this theater where ancient Greeks once watched great tragedies?

After that, we headed back to Adamas and hit the little beach right by our hotel. The water is so clear and warm here!

The next day, we signed up for a tour and got in this old sailboat and hit the water. It was so much fun! We went snorkeling and went on a little boat through these pirate caves. Milos is strategically located between Crete and the other larger islands of the Cyclades, so pirates essentially ruled parts of the island, able to easily capture the large, slower ships passing through their territory. They would hide in these cavernous spaces created thousands of years ago by volcanic eruptions. These tiny caves looked EXACTLY like the caves in Pirates of the Caribbean!!!! Then our captain told us that the famous pirate Barborussa (sp?) once ruled the entire island of Milos!!! It was so crazy and exciting to imagine actual Jack Sparrows running around the rocks we were sailing by.

It was really windy on the sail boat and we had to turn to a safer route! It was INSANE sitting on the deck of the ship with these huge waves crashing down on us, literally lifting our bodies in the air off of the ship! It reminded me of my front cabin on Semester at Sea....

Yesterday we sort of ran out of things to do... The main activities of the Greeks are eating, sitting, and smoking, and since we're kinda getting sick of the food, definitely sick of sitting around, and don't smoke, we got a little bit bored on Milos.

But now we're headed back to Athens where we'll hit the rest of the museums, do some day trips to nearby sites, then hop back on a plane for lots and lots of flying. Looking forward to being home, definitely looking forward to that Starbucks in Athens...

We say goodbye, Santorini

Hello again from Milos! We arrived via ferry from Santorini. Let's see, after the day of wine, black sand and the nice evening in Oia, we awoke in the wonderful Hotel Antonios to frappes (Greek coffee drink) made by our wonderful hotel owner who had saved us from near-homeless-ness that day prior after our many mix ups.

Today it was time to be a package tourist! So many sights here are unlabeled and few people are helpful in helping you find your way, so we thought maybe on a tour we'd accomplish more. We did what everyone told us and walked down to the old port to meet our ship. It was 588 steps, yes please very enjoyable, we were told. After being knocked around by passing donkeys and their keepers, we thought around ever corner, this HAS to be the end of these stairs! But no, it really was 588 steps down. I literally thought my legs were going to fall off. Or that I might die if I didn't faint first from the blistering heat. Ugh. But we finally made it there and we got on an old ship and sailed to volcanic craters.

We hiked... More.... To the top of ancient rocks and craters, which was pretty cool. Then we sailed to the hot springs created by the heat of the volcano. It was so weird and muddy but really cool. It made my skin feel weird and left orange residue on my bathing suit.

We just about collapsed when we finally made it back to our room. My legs are still aching from the steep stairs and the hike up the volcano!!!

Yesterday we hit the beach, Perissa, to be precise. It was also black sand, as many of these beaches are because of all the volcanic activity Santorini has seen. It was fun to swim in the clear water. We capped off our last night in Santorini with the best lamb I think I've ever had and some refreshing Santorini wine. Then we PASSED OUT. This heat makes me so tired.

Today, before we hit the ferry for Milos, we visited the Archealogical Museum, which houses amazing finds from, like, 4000 years ago! Because of the volcanic eruptions, entire societies have been completely preserved under lava. Their society in even 1600 BC was so evolved. So many pieces of pottery, clay and wall are just sitting in this dingy, humid museum, not even covered in glass! I heard that many museums in Greece do not properly care for their artifacts, and this museum, among so, so many others we've visited, have proven this rumor true.

I'm growing tired as we pull into the third week of the trip. Greek manner is so abrupt, so loud, so unconcerned and it can prove tiring to complete seemingly simple tasks that involve others. I'm also tired of the lack of sewage or clean bathrooms, even at fancy hotels and restaurants. Didn't they have aqueducts way back when? What happened to those?

It's that natural lull in any trip, and I'm looking forward to getting to Milos, which is a bit less crowded with European tourists... Hopefully...

Until then, I'll finish this ferry ride by watching the rocky rocking of the Aegean Sea....

Santorini Escapades

Greetings from the wonderful Santorini! Let's see when I last updated you I think we were headed for Paradise Beach back in Mykonos. Paradise Beach was everything it promised it would be and we had a blast sleeping in the sun and swimming in the clear if not cold ocean. I had seriously forgotten what salt water tasted like! I don't ever want to go that long without going in the ocean again!

After one last night in what memory makes me realize was a very crowded and even stressful island, we packed up and prepared to leave on the ferry for Santorini.

At least we thought. When we got to the dock and fought our way up to the catamaran, the man taking tickets informed us our ticket was for the following day! We checked our calendar and notes and realized we had checked out of our hotel a day early without even realizing it! And the rude lady at the hotel's front desk certainly didn't say anything when we checked out early! So luckily we could change our ticket to get an afternoon ferry to Santorini because we had a hotel reserved there that night. Or so we thought...

After a pleasant boat ride into the most stressful and probably dangerous cab ride of my life and a cab driver who tried to charge 18euros for a ten minute ride, we made it to our hotel, "Villa San Giorgio." Except we had, online, booked a room at "San Giorgio Villa," which was near Athens. This problem, the hotel clerk assured us, had risen before, many years ago. But the kindness of the local Santorinians pulled through and they helped find us a lovely place to stay down the street. We lost money on the nonrefundable hotel fee, but at least we're alive, I guess?

Once we could explore Santorini and eat some amazing seafood, we forgot all about the shit day. Santorini is by far the best place we've been in Greece so far and the people the nicest we've met here. And despite it's popularity among the islands, Santorini seems to have decent prices on souvenirs! We walked around and then put the day behind us....

Today we had a wonderful breakfast and then went wine tasting! We quickly discovered how spoiled we are with CA wines; the famous Santorini wines were certainly not the best I've ever had... But we learned a lot at the "wine museum" we went through!

Next we visited Kamari and the black sand beach which was more dark gray then black but still cool. It looked and was (apparently) too hot to walk barefoot on.

In the evening we went to Oia for an unobstructed sunset. And grilled octopus. And baklavah. Yum. Oia had an interesting book shop where I loaded up on plays to read for the plane home as I've already plowed through the reading I brought while under an umbrella on the beach.

So many thoughts on Greece as a whole are starting to develop... Only about a week and a half more here to really see if I can put this crazy, unique place into typed word. Until then!

Mykonos, Part I

Updates from Mykonos! Aka Paradise. And we haven't even been to Paradise Beach or Super Paradise Beach (we should be hitting one or both of those spots tomorrow)! There's not so much to say except to suggest you google-image Mykonos and then sigh and ooh and aah and wish you were here. So, go ahead.

Okay, are you done? Doesn't it look MARVELOUS?!?!?

Were staying right in the "main town," Mykonos Town, at Poseidon Hotel Suites. It's a dream. Blue and white everything and a sea-salt pool and an ocean-view balcony and plenty of cats and kittens roaming around! I could live here.

The "town" is more like a series of alleyways, twisting and turning in impossible directions around graying cobblestones and white curbs. Definitely one-way walking, even as you stumble past designer, luxe shops! I can't believe there are Diesel, Sephora, Juicy Couture, designer jewelry stores here when that old Greek lady is mopping her porch and the creepy Mynokian clown keeps walking by and there you go, you just bought an Hermes bag and it all happened right next to each other! It doesn't make sense, but nothing does in Greece so, actually, maybe it makes perfect sense!

Mykonos is a lot like Vegas in it's attractions and clientele. I've decided Mykonos is Vegas and Isla Vista combined... If those places were European... And on crack....

We have been eating well and enjoying the sun, today hitting Ornos beach. There is truly nothing like laying out in the sun. I love jumping in the salty ocean and then feeling the salt crackle on my skin as it dries. I hadn't been in the ocean in a really, really long time, I realized. Sand between your toes and Greek people screaming in your ears. Perfect.

Then, tonight, as we went out and bought some gifts (!!!), we entered some sort of gay-heaven. Now Mykonos is known as being a hugely gay-friendly destination, and who doesn't love a good party island, especially the gays, but this was unlike anything I've ever seen before! I would say every third person was an extremely buff gay man in a sparkly Armani shirt and tight swim shorts. I try not to stereotype but these boys were, like, the gayest I've ever seen as they strutted into the bars kastro, Diva and Space. We hypothesize that a gay cruise ship just landed (that's not a joke) because last night there were gays, but tonight it was on another level! And with only a slightly above-average number of lesbians, interestingly enough. I think there are like 2 straight, single guys on this island. The other men are with their spouse, their family or they are super super gay. Oh Mykonos.

More updates later, two more glorious nights here, then off to Santorini. Who knows what tomorrow will hold? Either way, I'm guessing there will be sun, ocean, bikinis involved. Until then!

Athens

Athens: After getting into Athens late due to a delayed flight from London which was allegedly the fault of the French airport workers at Charles de Gaulle (I believe this allegation), we stepped right out of the train station into the famous Monastiraki Square. Athenstyle, our hostel, was just steps away! It took us awhile to find our hostel because the online instructions said to look for an Applebee's. There certainly was no Applebee's. This was to be the first of many mistaken directions, tips and instructions from ever-screaming Athenians. But don't tell anyone that; they're Greek so they of course know best. Just re-watch the film "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" to know what I'm talking about (WINDEX lol).
After settling in, eating a late dinner and enjoying some delicious Greek beer, we headed to the rooftop of the hostel where we had stunning views of the illuminated Acropolis. Magnificent.
The next day we were off to explore the Acropolis up close. What a hike! And it's not like they have safe roads or maps or anything along the way! It's amazing to compare these places to our museums in the US; ancient artifacts lie to and fro here! It was so cool to walk the roads of Sophocles and the like. I can't even imagine the glory of these structures when they were new as they are so overwhelming in their beauty and grandeur even now.
The highlight for me was seeing the ancient theater of the Acropolis where Aeschylus, Euripides, Sophocles, etc all had their plays first performed in the great Dionysian theater festivals of the ancient eras. To see where drama as we know it all started! To see the foundations (both figurative and literal) of Western theater made me realize and reaffirm my passion for the theater. I was sitting on the steps where audiences watched Aggamemnon take the stage! Where "dues ex machina" came to be! Where The Furies and Orestes and Oedipus came to life for the first of many many many times! How could I not have been floored?! Other sites house more ancient life and history, sure, but for me, THIS is where life began and begins.
Even though we practically passed out from the heat, after the Acropolis, Mom and I headed out for some shopping. They have a lot of little tourist shops around Monastiraki Square and the Acropolis and they all sell the same souvenirs for the same prices but they have some cool stuff. We also headed to the Athens mall which had department stores, H&M, Zara, all that good stuff. After all these excursions, we were exhausted! We ate some dinner, made plans for the rest of the trip and hit the hay. Our hostel has bunk beds so it's pretty silly and small but we like it.
Today, June 3 (I think?) we went to the Athens flea market which looks exactly like any antique or swap meet in the US (read: a whole lotta junk). Then we took the 3 hour bus ride from Athens to Delphi. Delphi was small and deserted. The salespeople at the shops seemed desperate. Is tourism down? We'll see when we get to the destination spots: Mykonos, Santorini, etc. We walked along more unpaved and unmarked roads to the Sanctuary of Athena. She's my favorite goddess (and my cat!) so this was obviously awesome! We couldn't exactly find the site of the Temple of Apollo or it's famous Oedipal oracle, but it was hot, we were tired, and we weren't even sure if much of the temple was still standing so we hiked down to the one street that is Delphi and got calamari and iced tea instead We also hit the Delphi Archealogical Museum where we saw amazing ancient ruins discovered at the site. This was enough and I can say I've been to what was once considered the center of all things.
The best part of Delphi was all the cats! They roamed everywhere, scruffy and begging for treats! I take that as a sign the goddess... Er, I mean CAT Athena, was present on our visit to her sanctuary.
Now, we're on the long bus ride back to Athens. I'm sitting next to a large Greek woman and these loud Spanish (I think) teens are, like, screeching behind me. Sounds like Greece. Can I get a gyro and a cold, tall Mythos over here, or what?!

Day 2 London: Just walked Abbey Road! Saw Paul's offices, the roof of the final Let It Be performance, etc, etc. The list goes on. The Beatles ruled London in the 60s. I guess I've learned nothing from "Midnight In Paris" because I want to live in that era!!!!!!!!! I covet it!!!!!!! Oh well, I guess we'll never learn!   After the wonderful Beatles tour, we visited Regent Street for some amazing shopping! We went to the famous 7 story toy story Hamley's where they had all this amazing, official Harry Potter merch!!!! OMG the wands were so cool! I wanted to buy Harry's Wand but then it's like, what do you do with a HP wand after the initial photo shoot of you in a cape casting spells?! lol That is a reoccuring theme... I want this amazing souvenior but then WHAT WILL I DO WITH IT WHEN I GET HOME?! Yes, I want those Royal Wedding biscuits for the William and Kate tin, no I don't need that! That beind said, I bought the most AMAZING heels with the Union Jack on them... talk about covet... :)   After a quick rest we popped into the New Vic for some dinner. The New Vic is a great, experimental theater that has a bar and restaurant attached! What a great way to make money for a quirky theater company... giving me ideas.... It was so great to stay in the Theater district.... with my peoples...   Day 3 London:   I'm writing this from an internet cafe (no free wifi!!) from Heathrow airport. Our flight to Athens has been delayed 2 hours! Grr... Well, as long as we get there. They said it's going to be a busy flight, but at least it's under 3 hours long. I will probably just read magazines and work on my new play that I've just started.   Some conclusive thoughts on the English after my two days here: We in America seem to have a sort of mythical way of looking at the British. We think of them as more sophisticated, more fashionable, funnier, etc. it seems. But other than a few idioms and a funny accent, they're really just like us! Well, they appreciate art more, which is lovely. And they've birthed some remarkable people. But so have we. But they have royalty, so that's cool. I can't believe William and Kate are going to be in LA tomorrow and I'm here! Funny timing... maybe the royal family is what creates this mythology for us surrounding the British. Ah, well, maybe I'll find out whenever I'm lucky enough to come back here. Until then, off to Athens to bask in the Athenian sun and pretend I'm a Greek goddess!