Guarez

Last night was insane. After going out for dinner and indulging in Greek Baklava (the greeks insist that it is their signature dish, and does not belong to the turks....mm) i tried to hang out with the rest of the group. I have made freinds with some of the locals over here. There is this girl in the internet cafe (Olga) who is super nice. The Island people are nicer than the main city people i think. Too nice, i say! The locals are super hospitable.

So, i have never experienced being the unpopular kid in the group....haha.....it is so weird and so interesting at the same time. Wow.

Headed back to the hotel and saw all the kids in the lobby....getting ready to go out. Enough about that rubbish. I went through the streets just chilled.

Maybe this is the real value of my vacation. It is making me realize SO many things, especially about "talking". When looking at it from a different perspective, some people seem so stupid. Words are used way too uselessly. Is there such a thing as WORD POLLUTION...lol

Back to happy things now. This morning, we headed over to the Greek private islands in boats. I have gotten like 8 shades darker over the past few days. Being brown is helpful..lol...i am not burnt red. The boat ride was gorgeous. Saw some awesome islands.

I think i learnt something important today. I learnt how to just relax and not worry about stuff if i know i cant change it. I also learnt how to zone people out and "be one with the surrounding". It was actually quiet enlightining. Super cool!

Tomorrow, we head over to italy!

I think i have decided. I am going to splurge during this vacay!

Over To Delphi

12th June 2010

Morning Bus

Heading over to Delphi now. Delphi was this great religious site for the Greeks. On the way, i saw this AWESOME RAINBOW. Simple pleasures in life.

2. It is taking all my patience to not get up and tell some of these idiots on the buss to shut up. My neurons die everytime they talk. So blaring the headphones :)

3. The power stuff is SO weird over here. You have to wathc these sockets all the time.

So here is the info i learnt today. The tallest mountain in Greece is Mount Olympus and it is absolutely gorgeous. This part of Greece has loads of Ski resorts...no snow covered mountains right now though. Everything is pristine....and so beautiful.

The Greek myth goes that the greeks saw goats jumping around from a ledge over here at Delphi. That made them think that this is a sacred site, and therefore they built the temple of Athena over here. Here, oracles were received, first by Mother earth and then Apollo himself. Current research shows that there is a fault under the ground over here, and there are traces of Sulpher Ethylene, which causes hallucination.....mmm....maybe there is some truth to that!

Greece is almost the size of New Jersey. 11 million people today. Been through alot of stuff. Our tour guide is so passionate about her stuff. I really like that! These Greeks are winning my heart. They were pretan ancient Greek Germans. The swatsika is an ancient Greek symbol, however it doesnt mean anything. More that 2 million greeks died of starvation during the Nazi occupation.

Biggest Greek occupied city ourside of Greece is Melbourne Australia

It is nice over here. I shall be fully tanned by the time i come back. Sunscreen is like 40 euros.....ROFL...i feel happy to be brown

Here a quick thought. What is the basis of all this greek mythology? It was used by the folks to explain stuff, with reasoning. It has lessons in it. For example, consider the myth of Oedypus rex. It talks about his arrogance, how he assumed rubbish and ended up causing disaster in alot of folks life. The spartan kings questioned, even the auricles. So it is a message of hope, and about thought and taking responsibility....very cool.

mm...done writting now, thought there is loads more to write

GREEK WORD OF THE DAY:

MALAKA= IDIOT

Heading towards Acropeles, and Delphi-First few days

That is our first excursion....heading towards Acropeles. Passed by Cinab Square, which is the heart of the city. Saw the first olymic meuseum which was in 1896. This is where the first maraton race was held (interestingly enough when the Greeks ran, it was through the stadium rather than around it.....aaaaaah). Marathons were run in reminder of the battle of Marathon, in which the Greeks beat the Persian.
There is alot of country pride over here. These folks are so passionate about their culture and history. Very nice.
So, the metro in Athens was started in the early 90s. However as they were digging, they kept on hitting artifacts. And had the sence to respect it. So all over the metro stations, there are little meuseums which display the stuff found over here. So cool.
Centre of creece is a city of Larissa. Greece is famous for its Cheese (IT IS HEAVENLY) and Cheese Pie......The Cheese pie has Feta Cheese (DID ANYONE KNOW THAT FETA IS 50% GOAT AND 50% COW MILK!!!!! ).....it is intense. More about cheese later!
WORD OF THE DAY:
YES=NAAM
EFARISTO= THANK YOU.

So all of History started in the 8th Century BC. That is when Homer wrote the Illiad and the Odessey. The era before that is called "pre-history".

There are four basic western languages
Greek
Latin
German
Slavic
All other languages are derived from that. English is a combination of Latin and German.

Some totally offshoot languages are HUNGARIAN, FINNISH and MALTESE.

The currency of Greece before the Euro was the Drakma.

80% of Greeks own their own houses.

So i learn all this from Spiros and the other locals. They are really friendly and if they see that you are making an effort to talk to them, they like it. I am done trying to make friends with anyone in the group (complain of the day...lol...dont get me started on this one) or getting sprint to fix my phone (again....they are pure SKATA (RUBBISH IN GREEK).

So anyways, headed off to Acropoles. Heard about the battle of Marathon and why the Greeks feel so proud about it.

The temple of Acropoles is built to worship the Goddess Athena. So basically Zeuss and Athena were trying to win the "love" of the Greek people. So the other Gods told them to give the people a gift. Zeuss struck a rock, from which a spring came out. (AHEM AHEM...DOES THIS REMIND ANYONE OF ANOTHER RELIGION....AHEM AHEM). But the Greeks had water everywhere and were not really interested. Athena gave em an Olive branch. That signifies peace and that is exactly what the Greeks wanted. Hence she was their chosen Goddess

PELONESE = Islands to the left of Greece.

Headed back to the hotel. Most of these kids are hard core drinkers. I am the only "non caucaisan" person. It is very interesting to be the "quiet one" in our group. Never expereinced it so far.

Went up to a Greek Sheesha bar at night to see the semi final. Good game. My throat really hurts from all the Sheesha and cig smoke. I dont know if this is only because i am on vacation, but Europ[eans smoke alot more than i expected. But they are all so GORGEOUS!

First Days in Greece

11th June 2010
8:15 am

(Actual format was supposed to be like a letter...but writing in points due to lack of time).
1. So i have finally landed in Athens. The group is a bunch of rich white young kids, and i am getting apprehensive by the second. Thats it. No more grumbling in this post. Been talking to alot of Greeks around. They are lovely people.
2. Landed at Oscar Airport, in Athens. Athens has around half of Greeks entire population, somewhere around 30 million. The airport is surrounded by mountains and is mad beautiful. I think i am falling in love with this coupntry already. Greece is #22 ranked in the top 30 countries of the world, but walking around it, you wouldnt say that. Alot of folks selling stuff on the streets and such. I asked our guide "Spiros"...he said that is primarily becuse of illegal immigrants. They comne here from the mid east and africa, sell stuff, dont pay taxes and use up the resources. That is what all the greek protests and such are about. So interesting.
3. Point to note, Greek water is fine to drink. Well, fine for me. Couple of the group mates falling sick already.
4.The food over here is lovely. First meal, land with potatoes. Urgh.....just kill me now. Lovely food. Got talking with the people around here. The shop keeper told me the same concept of why Greece is not flourishing as it should be. Illegal immigrants using up the resources. I SO DISLIKE THAT! The Greek people are developing an intense "hatred" towards immigrants......wonder if the USA is heading to that direction as well.
5. Most famous Greek Alchohol is a drink called "Uuzo". It tastes and smells like black liquirish, but here is the real cool part. It is clear, but when put on rocks, white precipitates come up. That is SO COOL.
WORDS OF THE DAY
GOOD MORNING: KALIMERA
HEY: OPPA
EVERYTHING IS GOOD: OK (yeah..that is a greek word)

KALIMERA- FIRST COUPLE OF DAYS

10th July, 2010
7:30 a
Want to write a whole lot...been writting in my diary on a daily basis....and will just write the important points...cause i am paying out of my nose for this.
1.On the flight, saw this Greek Orthadox priest....and had an indepth convo with him....he was fantasitc. Got an in depth perspective of their traditions. Quite fantastic.
2. Read an article about "organic stuff". So there is this village in Africa which is the ultimate breeding ground of deathly malaria causing mosquitoes. However, they have been banned from draining thier marsh lands and spraying insecticides, because the developed nations want "organic" products. Is that fair? I dont really know. Does an organic t-shirt for baby george warrant baby "insert african name here"'s death? Donno
3. This question is plaguing me right now. What is the greatest human virtue? Is it courage? Love? Forgiveness? Inquisity? Intelligence? Self Control? Obedience? Self Sacrifice? (This thought is all due to watching Harry Potter....ROFL)
Landing soon.....will continue posting later!

Today is the day!

I head off to the airport in 20 minutes. Still not as excited as i hoped to be...or planned to be. I want to set the following goals for this trip
1. Have MAD fun
2. Make lots of friends
3. Learn loads and expand my viewpoint
4. Step outside of my comfort zone
5. Do 1 nice thing to a random person...everyday

Will add more as the day progresses....

TG