Life Lessons

In 8 short days, I will be back on American soil. Two and a half months has flown by but the experience has been so great that it has got me crossing my fingers that I can return next year.

If one thing is for sure, I have become more accepting of a variety of clichés.

Cliché 1: “Karma is a bitch”. I’ve witnessed this first-hand multiple times. “Karen” has delighted herself in being the worst possible person towards me (and only me) on this trip, regardless of what it meant she would have to do. I’ve taken her abuse like a champ and not retaliated or complained too much, but I won’t deny that there are about 30 or so strangers that I have lived with over these past two months who definitely know about “Karen”. Regardless of how mean she has been, justice has been very swift ever since Thessaloniki. “Karen’s” bank account was frozen after an ATM she used was hacked. “Karen” got sun-poisoning while she was island hopping a few weeks ago. “Karen’s” Kindle broke in Olympia and she purchased another one to be shipped to Athens, which the state of Greece confiscated as a “contraband item”. Although “Karen” has made bits and pieces of this trip hard for me, I have learned from her continual bad luck on this trip that being mean simply doesn’t pay. I’ll always try and remember that from now on.

Cliché 2: “Everything happens for a reason”. There are so many instances in life where a situation is so bad or poorly timed that you don’t know how you’re supposed to benefit or learn from it. Who knew that being kicked out of the whole group dynamic in this trip would actually lead to me meeting dozens of people who are completely different from me and shared so much about their cultures? You’d never think that meeting someone who you have no possible future with could be a good thing and it normally wouldn’t be if it weren’t for the fact that the trip to see him is keeping you from losing your mind with a group of people who clearly don’t like you/being sad that you have to leave a country that you really don’t want to. Dear Life, I have learned to turn your lemons into lemonade and I’m probably better for it.

Finally Caught the Sick Bug

It had to happen eventually. Originally, I figured that I had served my sickness dues before I left for Greece when I caught laryngitis for three weeks. Unfortunately though, I have finally gotten sick with a mysterious illness that kept me from leaving our hotel on Paros and sent me back to Athens the day after we got to Paros. Thankfully, it’s not the same thing that the rest of the class had though so I have hopes that I’ll definitely be over it by tomorrow at the latest.

As you can see, I haven’t been blogging much the past few weeks. The truth is that I really don’t want to blog about anything these days because it would be all about my last few weeks of fun and I’d rather not thinking about leaving Greece at all. Despite the moments of trouble and frustration that I’ve had, this trip has been great for me.

I am more than ecstatic to get home and see my family, especially my new little niece who I’ve only seen through pictures. But I think the worst problem I’m going to encounter is that I won’t get the chance to meet anymore awesome random people. Is that weird? That I’m going to miss the strangers that I’ve been living with for two months? That and having a closet. I haven’t seen a closet or taken my clothes out of my backpacking bag for the last two months so the whole hanging up your clothes and not living out of a suitcase thing is going to blow my mind for a bit. Those two things are probably a little on the weird side. 

The Good, The Bad, The Forgotten

If you took a look at my luggage, it is hard to deny that I came to this country with the bare minimum. There are those definite times when I regret it, but nevertheless I have made it work. I don’t know if my refusal to pack some of my America necessities has been more of a training exercise or torture. At school, I straighten my hair every day—I didn’t bring my straightener on this trip on account of the time that it got drug tested in Chicago so I’ve straightened my hair all of two (maybe three) times in the last two months. I think two months of not putting my hair under heat abuse every day is the closest one can get to reversing heat damage. However, as a result of my neglect to bring a straightener I have been forced to wear a ponytail every day. After all, being in the country that shaped their lives around mythology is not justification to let my curly hair run wild and look like Medusa every day. I also have no makeup, none. I’m definitely not the type of girl who wears the foundation, the blush, the eye shadow—I prefer something that is fairly simple to complete on the go so I just stick to eye liner and mascara in order to not look as tired. Not that I necessarily miss makeup as much as I do the control over my hair that my straightener gives me, but every day I wake up and look at myself and think “Wow, I look tired”. I could get 11 hours of sleep, which I actually did on Mykonos, and I still look like I haven’t slept in months. So in order to counteract my lack of makeup I just wear sunglasses every minute I can—they hide your eyes to the point that no one can tell what you look like and I love it.lol Something astonishing though is the fact that even though my hair is always a mess and my eyes look like I’m about to pass out, the guys here still have no problem being creepy towards me. Come on guys, where are your standards?

One thing that I am 100% positive of is that my biggest mistake about packing was forgetting sweatpants. I wear sweatpants every day at school. I seriously can’t live without them and I haven’t had a pair the whole time here. If I could redo my packing I would take out a dress I haven’t worn and substitute sweatpants, no question about it. At the end of the day, regardless of what items or clothes I forgot, I can honestly say that my smartest packed item is my raincoat because it rains every three days here.

Regardless of how little I packed for these past three months I am happy I am not like my group members who have rolling luggage, especially when it comes to the staircases in Backpackers and our various hotels. In addition to the fact that I can (with only a little trouble) carry all of my luggage at the same time while people like Molly and Lulu have to have one of the boys carry a duffle bag for them while they try roll their bags up the brick paved streets. Normally brick paved streets don’t sound like they would create a problem for anyone but these are not your average brick streets. No, these streets are a league of their own. When it comes to the streets you encounter one of two things: 1. Bricks inlayed into cement with 2-3 inch gaps between bricks where wheels can easily slip or 2. Bricks that fit together perfectly but they are chipped to the point that none of the bricks are the same height so that anyone shuffling will trip every two steps they take. 

T-Minus 22

I've felt very adventurous since I got here two months ago. This new found search for excitement led to me getting my nose pierced on Friday. It definitely wasn't an impulse decision at all, I had been thinking about it for a month and had finally decided to wait until I got home to do it. That idea was shot when Molly wandered off after class one day and got her nose pierced. The minute I saw she had gotten it done I couldn't wait any longer so I studied up for the Classical course final and prepared for the paper and then I rewarded myself by going to getting my nose pierced the next day. Kegs and Zak already had their noses pierced for quite some time before they came on the trip and Kegs described the pain the next days after as "getting punched in the face over and over". Enticing, right? Make you really want to do it, I know! Regardless of what Kegs told me I decided that I had to do it so when I left our hotel to go do it I grabbed the first Lake Forest person I saw. It was James. In theory, Waffles was probably not the best choice but I just needed someone who was mean enough to not let me leave even if I wanted to.
Anyway, I couldn't decide where to get my piercing done so James was in charge of choosing the shop. He chose this place called "Nico Tattoo Crew" and I was helped by a guy with a million piercings. The shop didn't have the cool little guns that pierce your nose, they used a needle instead. Million Piercings showed me the needle but thanks to the packaging it was in, I couldn't see exactly how big it was. Right before Million Piercings started he told me not to worry about crying a lot because it was a natural reaction and everyone did it. I had absolutely no intention of keeping my eyes open during this whole endeavor so I automatically closed my eyes and started singing in my head the song from this week's Glee episode that I had chosen on the walk over. It was "Go Your Own Way". Needle went into nose and stayed there for a few seconds. Some sort of clamp was used and then the needle was pulled out. Then Million Piercings put in the crystal stud I had chosen. Not a tear. It definitely hurt, but not a single tear. I actually surprised Million Piercings a little because he was confused that I wasn't crying and showed no intention of crying for two minutes afterward. After swearing to Million Piercings that I was fine, he let me go and I paid my 24 euro and I left. Thankfully, the punched in the face feeling has not set in like Kegs said she felt when she had her nose pierced.
But here's my concern with this whole situation: Set me in front of any Glee, Grey's Anatomy, Lifetime Movie, song on the radio and I can practically cry on cue. Why do I cry when I witness anything sentimental but a guy shoving a needle into my nose does not phase in the least bit?
My nose hurt when my nostrils flared, I sneezed, I coughed, and yawned during the first day after. I sneezed at breakfast the other day and I immediately flinched and James automatically told me I was sick after a week of bragging that I hadn't caught what everyone else had. Clearly I had to put Waffles in his place so I told him "I sneezed. I don't know if you heard but I had a needle jabbed through my nose yesterday and it's sore!"

I have lived with the entire group since the day we left for Mykonos. April 20th. That makes just over two continuous weeks living with my classmates and I still have four nights until we get back to Athens. My overexposure is finally beginning to show and I'm more than excited to be living with strangers in Backpackers again. It honestly can't some soon enough.

This trip has shown me a lot about myself. In addition to my new revelation that some people just really suck at life, I've also learned a little about what I need to do next with my life. Without a doubt, I love traveling. New places. New people. New stories. New discoveries. What's not to love about that. I've already e-mailed my dad and told him to not get me anything for my 21st or 22nd birthdays or for Christmas for at least the next year and Graduation so that I can get a trip abroad for next summer. I really want to do this. My only question is where to go? Oh, the possibilities. I've also come to grips with the fact that I have zero clue about what I want to do with my life. However, as I think more about it, I realize that the Peace Corps is something that seems right for me. I'm alright with being in new places and meeting people that I don't know. I love traveling or just learning about a new culture if that's all I can get. I clearly have an affinity for helping people, especially complete strangers, as has been reinforced lately. Maybe there I'll get a good idea about what I want to do. Miracles can happen, right? I've also begun to reevaluate what I really want out of life, the whole picture isn't here yet but I'm getting there.
Personal philosophies have also changed but I don't want to explain those, probably never will either.lol

This is an early Mother's Day shout out to my mom. She's quite possibly the only person who reads this blog but it seems like she's pretty entertained by it. I love you, Mom! I miss you lots and I can't wait until I'm home. In case you haven't started your count down, I'll be back in 22 days (if customs goes smoothly and I make my connection from Newark to Houston....then Houston to Denver....then Denver to Kansas City). If I don't make that connection then I'll see you eventually I guess! I love you bunches and bunches and bunches. Thanks for always listening to me and laughing at my jokes when no one else will. You are the best mom and I couldn't ask for anyone better!! I think of all of you back home everyday. <3

Realizations

Woohoo for May! Woohoo for being done with 3 of 4 classes for the semester! Woohoo!

Fun Fact of the Day: I sleep study now.
What is sleep studying you ask? I'm rooming with Zak and Kegs while we're here in Thessaloniki and we had our final exam and paper due today. Actually, the paper is due later today but I've just been studying so hard that I finished three hours early. Want to know how hard I've been studying? The entire class felt like the exam was a major toss-up since half of what Maria says is either A. irrelevant B. hard to imagine since half of the museums we go to are closed because of the horrible economy C. unable to hear because we always find the loud asian tourists to stand right behind us and talk. Anyway, most of us pulled an all-nighter last night and I was in the room with Zak and Kegs so we would all stay awake. Somewhere around 2am I feel asleep but Zak and Kegs were still awake and they were quizzing each other. I was completely passed out but according to Zakea this is what happened.
Kegs was trying to study about Macedonia and she couldn't remember what the first capital was called. She asked Zak what it was and out of completely nowhere I said: "Aigai? I don't know how to say it but A-I-G-A-I." Then was quiet again. I actually got the answer right. Apparently me talking in my sleep was so much fun to them that they decided to quiz me for the next 15 minutes and record it.
I don't remember any of this happening. I don't remember talking. All I know is I woke up an hour later and they were laughing hysterically. I think this new development of sleep studying gives me freak status. Woohoo. It's not enough that I talk and walk in my sleep. Now I study too. This would explain why I never feel like I get any sleep, it's because my brain never shuts off.lol

Other fun fact: My extensive knowledge on pink eye from my childhood past time of playing dirt/sand/petting animals and then rubbing my eye raw came in hand this morning. Kegs and Zak have been sick with sinus infections since we got back from Mykonos and Kegs woke up with pink eye somehow. Luckily I've had it so many times that I knew exactly what to do.

More fun fact: I've come to the conclusion that when it comes to guys I must be very hard to approach, simply because I'm not amused by them. Three days ago I was walking to a bakery to get lunch with EzG and Caroline. Somewhere along the walk I noticed that one guy and a bunch of his friends had been following me for four blocks saying "Hey". After I realized that they were talking to me and not someone else I decided I definitely didn't want to turn around since they'd followed me for that long. Unfortunately the group of guys caught up with me when we got to the bakery. I turned around and one of the guys asked where I was from and I told him Chicago. How does this kid reply? "Oh, I'm Polish." I kind of stood there for a second, really confused as to why that was relevant so I finally said "Cool" and the kid walked away. The conversation could have ended after I said I was from Chicago. I didn't care that he was Polish. If I didn't get into those conversations so much then maybe I would be more polite to awkward people that follow me for four blocks.

Another random thought: I have literally lost all sense of time since I've gotten here. It's probably due to the fact that we don't have weekends, we have free days instead and sometimes we got weeks without free days. Sometimes the free days last for a week, like in Mykonos. Today, while we were all at breakfast studying for the exam Kramer/Dionysus came in and shouted "Happy Cinco de Mayo"....it's May 4th. Enough said.

That's all I have for today. Woohoo for no more Classical Greece! YAYYYYY.
:) :)