Πω πω! Άργησα!

So, I've been MIA for a while now... the past couple of weeks have been totally crazy. Between my mother and my aunt coming to visit and midterms and a four-day school field trip I feel like I haven't been going under 100 miles an hour since last Friday. It was very frustrating to have the only serious work I've had to do all semester to coincide with a family visit. But as of the time of posting, my midterms are all done, and grades are out! And my family is gone… But so much has happened since the last time I posted. And things happened before the last time I posted that I haven't written about!  I'm going to have to try to write today and tomorrow, but I have another class trip starting very bright and early Thursday morning, and an entire presentation to prepare beforehand, so we'll see how that plan goes.

So, my mother and my aunt were here for 10 days. Highlights:

1. Not having to pay for dinner!
2. The temple of Poseidon at Sunion
3. Weekend trip to Crete.

The first one I should think is pretty self-explanatory.  Though because my mom is as in to food tourism as I am we had some particularly good meals.  In particular, I learned that octopus isn't necessarily tough and chewy.  We had some amazing seafood in general actually, which was fantastic because most of my friends here will only touch seafood in the form of fried calamari.

The temple of Poseidon was majestic.  Our tour left just before the sun set over the ocean, so we missed what's supposed to be the most beautiful time there.  But the soft light right before the sunset was perfect for taking pictures of the monument.  And there was some serious wind.  Not omg-my-hair-is-getting-out-of-place wind, but my-course-veers-off-to-the-left-when-I-walk wind. It is a perfect for a temple dedicated to the god of the sea.

This doesn't quite capture it since you can't see the sea in the backround, but you get the idea.

Crete was a little disappointing, a large proportion of museums etc. were closed because it was the off season.  This main consequence of this is that we were very Greek and had very many coffee breaks.  But, I did get to see the palace at Knossos, an archaeological exploration that I was unexpectedly involved in.  I was in the middle of writing a paper on the similarities between wall paintings found at Knossos and those found at Santorini.  Seeing reproductions in situ made my work seem more relevant, and conversely, the research I'd done helped me better appreciate the site itself.  I taught (my mom) and re-taught (my aunt) τάβλι (backgammon) in a bar, while locals played it around us.  We had a gorgeous bus ride to the next city over from our hotel, during which I got to have some very needed mother-daughter time. I received further evidence that I should never drink frappe, because it invariably makes me skittish and nervous and vaguely paranoid later in the day.  And I hung out in a playground by myself for a bit and met Denisa and Laura, two adorable Cretan girls with whom I could barely communicate, but they were so happy to have me, they almost made me miss my plane.

Having my family here made me realize, among other things, that I'm not exploring Athens to its fullest.  I've had a pretty negative view of the city.  I've mentioned here that I feel awkward, and sometimes unsafe, here as a single woman.  I was disappointed by the nightlife, I always thought time abroad in Europe would be oft punctuated by awesome techno dance club experiences, but noone in Greece dances...  I'm going to most of the monuments and museums here with class for free, so I haven't gone to any of them on my own.  And it has rained every weekend I've been here.  That's not a short list of grievances, but its certainly not enough to write off the city entirely, so I'm making an effort not to.  On Sunday, after our field trip I went to the temple of Olympion Zeus with one of my roommates and her boyfriend, and went out for crepes for lunch.  In the evening I went out to a small movie theater with some kids I'd gotten to know better on the trip.  They're not from Pomona, which is shocking if you see how I've been spending my time here, but they're from Chicago, so they're still people that I could meet up with after the program is over, which is sweet.  We saw The Visitor, which was fantastic.  And even though it was an American film, it still felt like a distinctly Greek experience.  They had the typical concession fares, popcorn, soda, and candy, but it wasn't nearly as much of a ripoff as in the states.  And juxtaposed next to carbonated soft drinks were Bacardi Breezers, wine, and beer.  So as I slouched down in the front row of the theater I got to share some popcorn with a friend and sip on a Stella.  It was positively cozy. Until... halfway through, at a very tense moment, the film reel stopped!  I panicked for a brief moment before I realized it was for intermission, which is just a euphemism for cigarette break.  Oh nicotine addicted Greeks...  I am starting to love you so.