First Week of Class, Dancing, and Crepes

I must say that I am really enjoying the classes that I have taken so far. In our language class we practiced the Greek alphabet, which was very helpful for me since I have really been trying to be able to read the Greek language. I'm looking forward to taking the class again on Friday so that I can work on some other common Greek phrases that I will be using over the course of my stay.

After the language class, I attended my modern Greek history class, which covers everything from the early 1900s to the 1980s in Greek history. I am actually really loving this class because I'm learning things that I had no idea about before starting. When I thought of Greece I only used to think of it in the context of Ancient Greece, but I never thought about it's modern history, which is actually very rich with events. This is one of those classes where I take a bunch of notes and learn a lot, and I'm excited to go back to it today.

In addition to the classes, there has also been a considerable amount of dancing this week. On Tuesday night we had an unplanned dance party on the first floor (or floor 0 as they say here) lobby and it was pretty awesome. We danced for a couple hours, or at least that's what it felt like. I'm sure the kids from the other college think that we are absolutely nuts, but that's okay. To quote Zorba: "A man needs a little madness, or else he never dares cut the rope and be free". I think I've found that madness, that Kefi, that the Greeks speak of, and I must say that it's pretty awesome.

Yesterday, Wednesday, we also had the pleasure of learning some traditional Greek dances in a dance class at Deree. Well, I tried to learn the dances, but I messed up quite a bit. It was still a pretty fun experience though, and even though I probably looked like a fool, I got a good amount of exercise. It was also interesting to hear our instructor talk about these traditional dances and how old they are, and even the differences between island dances and mainland dances.

After dancing and classes yesterday, I took a short walk through the neighborhood and got some absolutely delicious crepes with my friends here. If you ever wondered whether there was such thing as a chicken nugget crepe then your answer is YES. They are wonderful. One of the best dinners that I've had since I've been here. I was sure to burn off the calories afterwards by going to the gym, which is in the basement of our dorm complex, and lifting weights and running. All in all it was a pretty great day.

Now, as I'm finishing up this post, I can't help but look forward to the adventures that today will hold. What will I learn in my classes? What will I eat tonight? How much research can I get done before the day is over?  WILL I EVER FIND AN ADAPTER?!

ALL OF THIS AND MORE IN THE NEXT EPISODE OF: AN AMERICAN STUDENT IN GREECE

Credits:
~Jimmy Everett as Himself

And special thanks to Nicole Thue for allowing me to use her adapter!

Ya sas! (Goodbye!)