Miscellany

Just an update on some miscellany:

Pictures from the Peloponnese are up on my Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/Marigumi/Peloponnese
I tried at least three times to put them on Facebook, but Facebook is horrible and it didn't work. I'll probably just put them on Picasa from now on. Pictures from the two Hold Thy Peace shows that I costumed also happen to be up there, if you feel like browsing.

I've gotten some much-needed rest and relaxation this week. It was nice to spend a day or two lounging around in bed with nowhere to go and nothing to do. Classes start again on Monday, however. Alas! It will be nice to have everybody back again, though.

I just got back from Maria Erini's house. My visit this time consisted of a trip to the farmer's market, where I got her to say "apples" and "grapes". When we were at the grape stand, she did something I've never heard her do before--mixing Greek and English. She kept saying "I want" in Greek and "grapes" in English. Except her R's come out as L's so it sounded like, "Thelo glapes." For some reason, I can't get her to say verbs in English. However, back at the apartment, when it was time for me to leave, I said, "I'm going home now, will you say 'goodbye'?" and she responded, "Bye! Ciao!" I consider that a marked success.

My hair is getting to that unbearable length, where I can feel it on my neck. My friend Tiffany said she'd cut it for me. I'll be sure to post pictures and/or video of the result.

I guess that's all for now. Happy Halloween!

Κρήτη

Going to Crete this week! Will try to take many pictures and video.

In other news, I managed to stumble across the Athens International Film Festival. What luck, eh? Unfortunately, the two movies I most wanted to see were sold out. But I got to see Harold and Maude and a number of very good short films.

Packing now.... Be back on Friday!

Another video for you!

Hello all,

I finally made a second video. This one has not only my face but also some Athens in it. Apologies for the less-than-stellar editing.

Trivia:
I'm whispering because my roommates are in the apartment and the walls are thin, and I felt weird about just talking into a camera in my room...
The song in the second part has nothing to do with anything; it's just been stuck in my head for days and days. So now you can experience Athens the way I've been experiencing it. With Colin Meloy in the background.
It's so dark because it's very late at night, and the lightbulb in my room doesn't do much in the way of illumination.
One of the shots is flipped horizontally.
This is pared down from about 30 minutes of footage. Most of it was terrible.
This is the second time I've posted this, because the first time the video was inexplicably messed up.

In other news, I've been having a great couple of days. Some friends and I went out on the town last night and had lots of fun, and today I got a somewhat incredible amount of food at the farmer's market, considering what I paid for it. One lady gave me free carrots!
Free carrots were one of the highlights of my week. I find joy in the simple things, I guess.

OH! And I now have an x-ray of my lungs! SO COOL.

P.S. I just found out about a Catholic church really close to where I live that has Mass in English on Sunday nights at 7 p.m.! I think I'm going to go this Sunday.

No video this time, just some words

Hello everyone,

I'm early for my first class, so I'm sitting in the academic center using one of their computers. Videos might be a bit slow in coming, because the trackpad on my laptop has decided to go bonkers for some reason, which makes it difficult to do anything, let alone edit video. However, I just discovered that these computers have Windows Movie Maker, so I might be utilizing that. Anyway, enough boring stuff.

I mailed my first letters today. It was kind of expensive, but I was expecting that. Also, the post office here is a little silly. First of all, it's open from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., which makes it a little difficult for me to find time to get there. And then the actual process was weird too. You go in and push a button on a machine ("A" for anything except packages and "B" for packages") and you get a number. Then you sit in a chair with other people and wait for your number to come up on the screen thingy. When I went, there were five counters and two tellers--one for letters and one for packages. Then the letter lady went away. But no one had packages, so the package lady was just sitting there doing whatever. Finally, this old Greek lady starts talking to her. She says something back, and the old lady says, "Okay, sorry." Then another guy chimes in and the package lady gets kind of miffed and pushes a button. The next "non-package" number came up on the screen and she started making transactions. I think I witnessed a mini riot for reform. Anyway, the letter lady eventually came back and I got my stamps and sent my letters.

My roommates and I went to this great farmer's market today. I plan to get all my food there from now on.

Okay, it's 10:33, and my class is at 10:40, so I have to go.

Love,
Marissa

Slightly delayed first post

Hey everybody,

Here's my first post from Athens. You'll get to see my apartment and the view from my window. I apologize if the video quality is poor; I've never put videos on Blogger before, so I don't know how well it handles it....
Over the next couple of weeks I'll bring my camera around the city and show you some cool things that I've seen. The view from the Acropolis at night is something special. For now, I'm doing fine; I'm having fun. My mailing address is on Facebook if you'd like to send me mail. I would surely love to receive it.

Of note:
I saw a device called the "Fischer Panda Generator." I'm not sure exactly what it does, but it probably isn't what I'd like it to.
My apartment is at least 30-minute walk to the Academic Center, where my classes are. There are lots of stairs. I will be so fit, man.
I've met two people who know people I know at Brandeis, and I met a girl who went to Pinkerton. Crazy world.
The post office near my apartment closes at 2 p.m. This is the reason why no one has gotten any letters yet. Don't expect any for like a week, at least. I'm not sure how long it takes a letter to get from Athens to New England.

Mucho mucho loveo.