Pizza, Politics, and Packing!

Pizza, Politics, and Packing!

Lauren Miller

7 March 2013

            It is finally the day before we all leave on our ten-day excursions!  This morning I woke up early to finish a paper that was due for Rich before we left for spring break. I wrote my paper about my experience so far that I have had here in Greece comparing it to two different short stories that we have read.  After I sent my email to Rich with my paper attached, we headed back to the school to say our final good-bye to Perri, our Greek teacher. It was raining on our walk over and very chilly outside! We had lunch at the Union Café, which is the café located inside Hellenic American University. Perri ordered us big proportions to share; there was a plate of each: salad, pork, French fries, beans, and pasta. It was a very fulfilling lunch! Afterwards, Katie, Carolyn, and I walked to Syntagma Square to get a few last minute items for our trip. I also had to return a couple of things. On our walk there, we noticed that there were a couple of streets that were blocked off. When we arrived in front of the Parliament, we saw police buses and officers standing with their shields. It was a Thursday, so we did not think that there would be a protest going on. Sure enough, once we started walking towards the shops, we heard chanting through megaphones. There were people marching in clusters in a line, holding up signs. The signs were mostly white sheets with red and black writing on them.

            After returning my items and shopping in a couple other shops, we started to walk back towards the apartment. We stopped in a nail salon on one of the main roads, Sina. We had to walk down a small set of stairs to get into the very brightly lit room. It was actually a hair salon, but there was a section on the right side with lime green chairs and tables that people sat in to get their manicures. My fingernails really needed the manicure because they have not been taken care of since the U.S.! I had them painted bright red; it was called Russian Roulette. After leaving the salon, we started walking back toward the apartment again. We made one more stop at the ATM and then finally arrived. We had until 7 o’clock and most of us spent the time packing for our trips. There was chaos going around in our apartment because everyone was having a difficult time packing ten days worth of clothes into a backpack. The laundry machine was also going non-stop with people washing last minute items.

            At about 6:45, we started walking towards the school. We met on the 8^th floor with a mix of Greek and American students. There was a group of students from Southern New Hampshire University here fore the week. Back in New Hampshire, the students from SNHU are taking an international business course and because the Hellenic American University is associated with Manchester, NH, they came to Greece for their spring break. We also met the former President and Founder of Hellenic American University. He came in to speak to the group; he was a Greek who moved to America as a young boy and recently returned to Greece. His brother is a basketball coach at SNHU and he still has other family back in the states as well. The event lasted for a little over 2 ½ hours. There was a variety of Greek, cheese, and supreme pizzas. The discussion first started off with the Greek students saying what they feel goes on in American and what American students see in the media about what is occurring in Greece. The topic got off subject about an hour into it. At the end, I felt as if the Greek students turned the event into a class of their own that they had with Demetrius. Most of the things they were talking about I was trying to pay attention to, but at times was unable to follow and unsure of what was being discussed. Before we left, we said goodbye to our Greek friends and the professors.

We went for a late night snack at Crepe Crepe. At Crepe Crepe, you pick the ingredients you want inside your crepe or you can choose from a menu. There are about fifty different options on the menu and just as many choices when you make your own crepe! You also watch them make it right in front of you! I had a crepe with banana, strawberries, walnuts, and Nutella in it! It was warm and the chocolate melted in my mouth! Once we returned back home, some people finished up their papers for Rich and the rest of us finished packing! I cannot believe spring break is already here and I am going to three places in Europe that I have always wanted to visit: Prague, Paris, and Barcelona!