Monday, March 25, 2013

Licabettus Sunset


Lauren Miller
Blog 3-22-2013
Licabettus Sunset

I do not think I will ever get used to the feeling of waking up and realizing that I am living in Greece. Running along the streets, smelling the fresh pastries being baked, reminds me how lucky I am to be getting this experience and how this is a once and a lifetime chance. 20th century class was cancelled today. The weather was absolutely beautiful out, high 60s with a small gust of wind. I sat on the rooftop deck, finishing my paper that was due on Saturday about a personal experience I have had in Greece. After I was finished with that, I continued to read my book. At one point, I had to put sunscreen on my face and chest because I felt as if the sun was burning right through my skin.
Once everyone else had finished with their Rhetoric and Society class, we all sat together on the roof, listening to country music that was hooked up to Katie’s speakers and eating lunch. Everyone was eating various things: salads, sandwiches, rice, and grilled cheese. Because it was so nice, I fell asleep lying in the sun. When the afternoon was coming to an end, Carolyn, Chryssie, and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and we went on a three-mile walk. We went down to a garden where there are a lot of other local people walking their dogs, running, or watching their children play in the various playgrounds. The park is big with a lot of little pathways that can get you mixed up with which way is the correct direction to get out of the park.
When I returned from our walk, I went with Katie and Matt to climb to the top of Mount Licabettus for sunset. The hike took about 15 minutes to get to the top. We also took a path that was half stairway, half rocks. At times I found myself slowing down because I can sometimes be clumsy when it comes to things like that. We chose today to climb the mountain because the sky was so clear and they weather was very warm and we wanted to take advantage of it. Once we got to the top, I noticed that there were many other people that had thought the same thing.
At the top it was much windier than it was at the bottom. We had climbed up a little earlier than the sun was supposed to set because we wanted to get some work done at the top. I sat on a ledge in the sun and pulled out my computer. There were a few people that looked at me oddly, wondering what I was doing. I took the time to edit my paper that was due the next day, and once I was finished, I read my book for a little bit. Right before the sunset hit the horizon, I looked out at the city of Athens. When I see the historic places such as the Acropolis and Zeus’ Temples, I am once again reminded how special of a city I am studying in and that it is filled with endless amounts of history. After the sun was completely behind the mountains, we were all shivering from the wind chill. We headed back down the mountain, taking our time. Once at the bottom, we passed many locals rushing home from what looked like work, carrying grocery bags. Some people were hailing taxis while others were running to the bus stops.
When we returned to the apartment, all the girls headed out to find something to eat for dinner. We went down to Xarchia Square and ate at Mystic Pizza. I had a grilled chicken salad, others had pasta and pizza. We all took bites of each others trying new things. That night, we all decided to stay in and finish our homework for the week. After I had finished with my work, I fell asleep fairly early. I am still trying to catch up on some sleep from spring break! Although today was not as exciting of some of our other days, I greatly appreciated it because I was reminded in so many ways how thankful I need to be for the opportunities that I am having here in Athens and Europe.

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