thankfully, it's heated.

3 months

Well, three months and three days. In this place where old meets new and you can take pictures forever!

Yesterday afternoon I was walking to the grocery store as the sun set. The sky was clear, the sea (it's on the way) was brilliant blue-green, and the buildings of Athens, ancient and modern, gleamed white in the pink and orange light.

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The weather is warming up...I'm told we go straight from winter to summer here. Too cold to too hot. I was hoping for spring, but I'm also dreaming of summer, and I'll take my skirts and flip flops over heavy jackets and scarves any day.

the view from here

This is where I sit when I am typing to you...or skyping to you...

...and the magnificent view from my room:

For good measure, here is my kitchen:

And the view from my balcony, down the street:

cheering and chanting and singing, oh my!

The Peace & Friendship Stadium, Piraeus waterfront

Last night I was studying Greek articles, vocabulary, conjugating verbs, all that fun stuff. I didn't really leave the house yesterday, except to go for a run in the afternoon (I really need some friends). I used the time to study and, very importantly, skype and instant message with people from home.

After 10pm, I kept hearing weird noises outside that sounded like cheering, but I wasn't sure where on earth cheering would be coming from? There are many elementary schools clustered about two blocks away, but what would kids be doing at school so late at night, and it sounded like thousands of people. A few times I thought it was passing cars that just sounded weird...then maybe I thought they were watching some sporting event on TV upstairs, just very loud?

It got louder and louder, until I heard unmistakable chanting and singing. From THOUSANDS of people. It could be my welcoming party, but also there is a stadium just down the road. It's close; I could probably be from my front door to the inside of the stadium in ten minutes or less walking. I ran around it yesterday. But it's a covered stadium, and I didn't know it was really used for big events.

Yeah, it is. Football! After searching online for what in the world was going on over there, I discovered that one of Greece's best (apparently) teams, Olympiacos F.C., plays here. Last night they were playing Hertha Berlin in the UEFA Cup. Right in my backyard! I found it streaming online so whenever I heard the loudest of the cheers, I could check online and watch the goal being scored. :)
It's very exciting to have my very own football team, right in my neighborhood! Voula said this morning that parking is impossible on our streets on game nights, and that it's a good thing they won last night or it's not pretty around here. I've never really followed soccer, AT ALL...now I don't even need to leave my house to know what's going on with our team!

I live here...

Photos from my long, exploratory walk today...

Piraeus: I live in that hill somewhere. This is the "Mikrolimano" neighborhood, which means "small harbor" ...
Mikrolimano, with Athens in the distance:Zea Marina, closer to downtown Piraeus:

P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINDY SISTER!!!!!!!!!

Σάββατο

Is it really only 6:00? I've only been up for 8 hours but I am dead tired (jet lag...it'll get you every time). I just got home after running around all day with Pepie and Stuart and then by myself. Stuart is from England and has lived here for three years (and does not know Greek - so when I hang out with the whole group, at least there is someone almost as clueless as I am!). I seem to have picked up an English accent today, at least in my head.

We ran lots of errands; they are furnishing their apartment and doing some DIY projects, so we went and looked at some furniture, wood and stains, etc., and I got myself a hairdryer and clothes hangers. Stopped off at the grocery store...this was mildly overwhelming for my second day in the country. Where are the lean cuisines!!?!?!?

After they dropped me off I went out for about an hour and a half, walking in all directions from my house. I mentioned I am about 5 minutes from the sea; it's true...I walked over the hill and in (ok, maybe 7) minutes I was standing on a little jetty on the water looking at Piraeus and the harbor in the sunset. Over to the right was the Parthenon in the distance, and all around was blue ocean and the coastline. Tomorrow I will have to bring my camera.

I walked around a bit more while I still had daylight, down to the metro station, along the trolley route, down to a park where I can run, etc. Since a lot of Piraeus is on a hill, there are lots of stairs. Directly to the right of my building there are approximately 230 steep steps that could be quite a workout should I take them quickly. (Even slowly they were a little tiring!) Up at the top there is a good view of Athens, the stadiums, the Acropolis, etc.

I live here! Yeah...not sure that has really set in yet. Some moments it feels like a vacation that I will go home and tell my friends about. Other moments, like tonight when I got home and remembered that I don't have many friends here at all, I remember that I'm in the midst of a rather significant life change and that there will be challenging moments. I really need to make some friends... Work contacts are good, and I will start with that next week, and I am really thankful for the people here who have already accepted me as family. Soon though I am going to get to learn to make my own friends. :)