Mykonos for my birthday

This past weekend was probably one of the most fun weekends ever.  I said that about the weekend before too ;p
My friends, Dani, Alyssa, Vicky and I all took a train to Athens and then took a ferry to Mykonos.  We had gone two days prior to leaving and ordered our train tickets just to be on the safe side.  So, we lugged all of our bags into a cab and then waited for the train.  We were the first people on and then about 5 minutes before the train was supposed to leave, all of these Greek women started yelling at us... in Greek, telling us we were in the their seats... but they were our seats.  So the train takes off and everyone is mad at yelling at everyone and people are standing in the aisles... And then it occured to me that our tickets said October 8th, and it was only the 7th haha.  So basically, we had gotten tickets for the wrong day, and we had a ferry to catch 8 hours later in Athens.  It was too late though because the train had already left.  So I thought that we were going to get kicked off.  All of the Greek women were sooooooooo mad and screaming and laughing at us and we were just the typical stupid Americans.  Then I see the ticket guy coming and he looked really intimidating.  He took our tickets and yelled at the Greek women for being mean to us, and then he bumped us up to 1st class!  Our own sleeper cabin.  It was so nice.  The perfect start to Mykonos :)

The ferry ride to Mykonos was an interesting experience.  It was very beautiful, but after 5 hours I was ready to get off.   Finally we arrived at Minna Studios, our hostel.  The couple picked us up from the port and they were the nicest people in the world.  They are so lucky to live in such a beautiful location.

I can't believe its week 3!

I cannot believe that I've been here for 3 weeks already!  Its going by so fast and I know I'm going to be so sad when the time comes to go home.
I really love living in the city and so I've decided I want to go to school in NYC or maybe LA.  Yesterday I applied to the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan!
But anyways, More about Greece.
Its hard to blog a lot because our internet never works in the apartment which is so frustrating!  I took the hour bus ride to school today just so I could get online.. 
Also, the washing machine (that takes 2 hours & has no dryer) broke and so I can't do laundry... which is a bummer.

Last weekend, we went on a school field trip to Chalkidiki.  They call that area the turquoise sea.  It was so beautiful.  The water was freezing but we went swimming anyways just because it was so gorgeous.  We also went on a boat tour of Mt. Athos and saw the Monasteries that only men are allowed to visit. 

 

The next day, on our way back to Thessaloniki we went to visit a cave that was 87,000 years old.  Or something like that.  It was incredible.  We weren't allowed to take pictures but they have mammoth teeth that had been found inside that were so huge.  It was probably the most fun weekend ever... until this next one because its my birthday and 3 of my friends and I are going to MYKONOS for my birthday!!!  I can't wait.  Mykonos is one of the islands were they filmed Mamma Mia.  We're taking an 11:00 train from Thessaloniki to Athens then jumping on a ferry to take us to the island.  We found a cute little hostel hotel that we're staying at.  We already talked to the woman who runs it and she is so sweet!  They make fresh baklava for the guests and free breakfast every morning!

http://mina-studios.com/  Thats the link if anyone wants to check it out.

 

These pictures are from the fresh market in Thessaloniki.  Its quite the experience going there.  All of the veggies are cheaper and much more fresh but its hard to communicate with everyone.  Plus, the fish market smells terrible!  They have lots of amazing little tavernas there at night where you can experience the ultimate Greek dining experience.   I never wanted to leave.  

Now, I HAVE to go study for my psychology quiz... but I really will write more later.  Thank you everyone for reading.  I miss you all!

I'm in love with Greece!

I've almost been here a whole week!
On Tuesday we start classes.  I'm only taking Tuesday/Thursday classes to leave a lot of time for traveling! 
We had Orientation a few days ago and it was really nice.  Everyone of the faculty is very, very nice and laid back.  They really stress having fun, even more than studying!

On Friday, we went on a field trip to Vergina.  We got to see Philip the 2nds tomb.  He was Alexander the Greats father who was murdered in 336 B.C.  It was very interesting!  Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures though.  After that we walked around the village which is a lot smaller.  It's way different than Thessaloniki.  We sampled some delicious grapes for someones vines. haha

After Vergina, we took a bus tour of Thessaloniki.  We stopped at the St. Demetrius church, it was beautiful! 

 

This is my favorite Greek lady!

The view of Thessaloniki & Aristotle Square

It really is all greek to me.

Today was my first full day in Greece.  We went to bed at 2:30 am and set our alarms for 10:00 and slept right through till 1pm.  In Greece from 3-5 shops shuts down for a nap kind of like a siesta.  It's a mandatory quiet time too.  During that time we just walked through the city searching for an ATM or a bank.   That was when I started feeling like I was in Greece, not Epcot.  We walked by the fresh markets and all of the fake purses!  They sell fake purses on the street here!  I was really happy haha.  After that we went to a CVS like store and got some snacks for the apartment.  It's a ton of walking and carrying heavy things, so hopefully It will get me in shape.  After that we decided to go out for our first Greek dinner.  We walked down to the waterfront and picked the first restaurant we saw.  I would tell you what it was called but it was all in Greek.  Erica and I just stood there not knowing if we should seat ourselves or wait to be seated.  Finally, a waiter told us just to sit down somewhere.  The menus had some English under the Greek so that was perfect.  I ordered a Greek coffee and ravioli with some kind of Greek cheese.  Yummy!  We felt very dumb at our dinner, we figured it out though!  It was really strange, people come up asking for money and trying to sell you things while you're eating.  Little kids came up to Erica trying to sell her a light-up clock with dogs on it... and the kids are so cute its really hard to resist them.  While we were eating, a man came over playing an accordian and singing... I gave him .50 euros. 

There are so many stray cats and dogs here.  All over the city.  They were walking under our table at the restaurant.  They're all so much prettier than the strays at home.  There are old ruins all around downtown Thessaloniki where they live too.  Emmaline, you would be in heaven... and It would really distract you at dinner!

Most everyone seems very helpful so far.  The traffic is crazy though!  The cars don't stop for pedestrians so that's pretty scary.  Tomorrow orientation starts. 
I miss you all.  Feel free to comment, anyone!
Also, you can call me free on Skype at my number, 814-331-4496, or email.  I love hearing from everyone!

Oh, I'm going to take more pictures too :)

Arriving in Greece

All of my flights went very smoothly!  British Airways was excellent-- I watched The Hangover on my flight haha.  I absolutely loved the London airport, it was basically a huge mall. 
ACT (American College of Thessaloniki) had students greet us to the gate and shuttle us back to our apartment.  I love the location of my apartment building.  It's in a residential area but about a block away from where everything is at.  Tonight we walked down to the waterfront and saw the famous white tower! 

We have the cutest little balcony in our apartment where we walk out and look up the street at everyone else sitting on their balconies.  It's pretty neat!   The room is absolutely tiny but its pretty home-y so far. 

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I'm so exhausted but I will update this tomorrow and add more pics!

7 hours to go!

Seven hours until I leave for my first flight!  Everything is packed and I'm crossing my fingers that my luggage is under 50 pounds..  I should be sleeping right now but I'm on a high.  I just met Chris Pine.  (The really cute guy from the new Star Trek Movie.)  And he was really upset that I'm leaving for Greece haha not.  However, he did tell me that I was very young and had many opportunities to be in a movie and not many opportunities to go to Greece.  Which was sweet.  I didn't have my camera though!

Oh, I have an online skype number that also is a Bradford number, so it's free for us to talk!  It's 814-331-4496
I almost took Carrie with me, or almost had to take Carrie with me... It was too cute.

Wish me luck!
I will miss you all!

3 Weeks Left!!!

Hello Everyone,
              Thank you for coming to my blog!  For everyone who doesn't know me... My name is Hannah Garrett.  I'm a sophomore, undecided major at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, but I'll leaving in mid September for a 3 month study abroad in Greece.  I'll be attending the American College of Thessaloniki, in Northern Greece.  (The second largest city!)
I had been very nervous, but as time goes on I'm becoming more excited and less frightened!
 Thank you for reading!
Feel free to email me at garrett.hannah@gmail.com.