Grecian Holidays!

The Acropolis of Lindos; Rhodes, Greece

The last few weeks have been an absolute whirlwind – I hardly have any time to write these days! I’m writing from a flat in Athens, just at the base of the Acropolis. Stunning view, and a gorgeous city. I can think of no place I’d rather spend welcome in 2017 than this ancient and lively city, being here is amazing.

Short summary of my life: I traveled, I traveled, and then I traveled. And now, I’m traveling, and my immediate short- and long-term plans are to travel. Please, try to mask your surprise – I know how shocking this must be.

Haha in all seriousness though – it’s been a very exciting few weeks!

I visited Germany again three weeks ago (shoutout to Ida!) – this spectacular friend woke up at 5:00 AM to meet me at a sketchy and frigid train terminal in Cologne and not only let me recover some sanity after an eight-hour night bus, but made me breakfast and introduced me to her German flat-mate family, and then gave up her only free day that weekend showing me around and teaching me German! It was a marvelous weekend, complete with the Lindt (chocolate) museum, many Weihnachtsmärkte, a very high-quality Glühwein, and even a glorious Calvados-infused hot cider. It was a super cool place, very enhanced by the winter and the markets, and despite (or maybe because of) the insane journey right before finals, it was 100% worth it. And after two consecutive weekends in the country, my German isn’t even so terrible! At least, the handful of words I can pronounce :P

Finals were long, tedious, and tiring – now that is a universal constant. I had all five within a 28-hour period; yeah that was a pleasurable experience, certainly. But it’s done now, and it was very quickly followed by a spectacular afternoon ice-skating at the Grand Palais, a final dinner in Paris, and a hurried slew of goodbyes over Pamplemousse rosé (AKA fruit juice) on the steps of the Panthéon ––– and just like that, the semester in Paris was over. It’s shocking to me how quickly it came about, and how rapidly the friendships and memories I’ve made have lost their luminous anchor – I’ll miss Paris, a lot. Despite the challenges of living there and of my awkward cohabitation with my host, and my pining for science and my challenges with the language and with missing London, I can see clearly how the city has imprinted itself upon me – and how joyfully I’ve developed a love for European history, and how ravenously I’ve absorbed the customs and traditions of the French culture (not least of all a profound snobbishness for baguettes and cheese, an appreciation of quality red wine, and acerbic judgments of people who claim they understand France and the French just because they “did” the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre over holiday break – but I digress); it was beyond fun and meaningful – and it has made an indescribable impact on me. It is an au revoir, never an adieu – I will be back, and something tells me that I won’t have to hold my breath very long to witness my return :)

Kritinia Castle; Rhodes, Greece.

My last weekend was in Rennes – officially and unequivocally my favorite town in the entirety of France (which says something, because I’ve seen a fair few). To see my host fam again made me happy beyond words, and I will really really miss being so close by. But again – something tells me I’ll be back :) My parents visited Paris over my last few days, and it was wonderful, aside from my having to correct an American habit or two (advice: never order coffee with dessert – it always comes after. And don’t drink rosé with dinner. And if you order the formule, don’t undo something you’ve already ordered – just don’t), it was fantastic to show off my city and its language to them.

We spent the last week on the Island of Rhodes, in Greece off the Turkish coast, which was fascinating, beautiful, and a paradise in many ways. It was so great to see my extended family again, to celebrate my grandfather’s 90^th, to walk along the Aegean every night, and to destroy the coalition of cousins in Settlers of Catan (the first game, anyway). Rhodes is an awesome place, and island-hopping to Kos was really sick (←this I mean literally because the ferries were I think specifically designed to make you seasick – I never actually got sick, but lots of other people did and yeah I felt the waves pretty damn strongly). Plus I got to see the tree of Hippocrates, so ten points to Gryffindor toward becoming a doctor, I’ve now paid my respects to the first and foremost. But aside from touring acropolises and ceramic shops and ancient ruins, I’ve worked on a new little project: seeing as I’m now in Athens for a few days, I’ve done my best to learn some Greek whilst running around. I’m not doing terribly, I’ve done decently with knowing the alphabet and pronunciation, and with learning the niceties and the basic words to get by. It’s really a fascinating language and culture, a lot of interesting history in its relationship to the Ottoman Empire. It’s a cool diversion and teaches some really cool things about English too :)

Rhodes over the Aegean, from Filerimos. Ialyssos, Greece.

But that’s about it! I’m in Athens through the first few days of the year, and I’ve kicked off an incredible New Year (shoutout to Anna!) with fireworks over the Acropolis and a night in Gazi. And in a couple of days, it’ll be off across the Balkans by train! Updates, naturally, if I ever have another free moment in the height of my hoppings :)

Here’s to a spectacular, roaring, impassioned, adventurous, and audacious 2017 – at what is now the halfway point for me in this journey, I can say without hesitation that I am in love with this insane life of mine, that I am so excited for the future of this journey and those after, and that I do not and could never regret this odyssey – not for a single second.

Happy 2017, friends.

Athens, Greece; 1 January 2017.