Take 2

My flight to Greece was the first ticket I purchased in January when my group and I scrambled to fit an entire continents worth of traveling into four short months. Tori, Marissa, Shelby and I would be Lena Kaligaris, Bridget, Carmen and Tibby of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. For those of you not familiar with the PG classic, four friends travel to Greece to find love, adventure and ride mopeds. While we neither met Greek beaus nor toured the city by moped we most certainly found adventure in Greece. On days one and two the girls and I visited the Acropolis, the Parthenon, Poseidon’s Temple and Olympic Stadium. While each was incredible, ancient and picture worthy I think Rome sucked the will to sightsee from the very core of my soul. Four days remaining in an unexpectedly rainy, cold and tourist teeming Athens seemed like an eternity.

Always an optimist, I layered my newest purchase, an “I love Athens” sweatshirt, beneath my hooded wind breaker and the sundress I somehow twisted into a scarf. What to do? The girls and I spent time shopping in a district we found littered by vendors and flea-market sales. When we tired of haggling prices we sought cheap, authentic Greek food. Now it is our turn to be haggled. Choosing a restaurant in Greece is like an extreme sport. One cannot walk 12 feet without being offered a free glass of wine, the best table or tatziki on the house. As tourists we were not aware that these selling ploys are available everywhere. In Athens one must defend their wallets and hankerings against the most skilled of hagglers.

Our hostel in Greece was as gross as the weather. We never found the night life and I sadly did not marvel at the history and culture that defines the city of Athens. Despite the negatives I do not regret the time I spent in Greece. I was luckily surrounded by girls who, like me, aimed to make the best of our situation. While some downtime was spent complaining, and missing home and even our home-stays, we spent most of our vacation in Greece laughing, tried by our situation but happy to be together. While I would never again vacation in Athens I will remember the dreary week I spent there, fondly, because of the happy hooligans who made Greece, and studying Abroad, an unforgettable experience.