Camping!

Over the weekend this gem and I went camping at Palisades, which is like 20min from campus. This is a super pretty spot with a river flowing and cool rock climbing cliffs. We of course had a campfire with smores, Oreos, peanut butter, and for good measure, some fruit. We found the perfect spot, set up camp, and shared stories. It was the absolute perfect temperature, and we hit the hay. About an hour later we heard somebody shouting at us from outside the tent... Well the park ranger informed us that we had chosen a day only spot.. However there were no markings! So anywho, he told us to pack up and move spots but by this time it was already 1am so we just packed up and headed back to campus. Regardless, it was a pretty perfect night! 

Trifecta

Today I competed in my first triathlon! The whole thing was 1/2mile swimming, 15mile biking, and 4mile run. Surprisingly, it was not as terrible as I was expecting it to be, and I finished!... That was really the main goal :) plus, we got a free tshirt! 

 

Show Mercy Banquet

I have been terrible about posting, but I promise you I am alive and well! Here is some updates...

My birthday fell on Easter this year and some family friends put on a nice little show singing a birthday song! 

Some friends and family attended the Show Mercy International banquet. Show Mercy is the organization I went to Uganda with. They had the founders share about how they got started, and talked about what they do and shared some stories. It was incredible! I got to see some of the people I went with on my trip last year too! 

And the girls I brought

And for those of you that don't know, I have convinced mom and dad to join me this summer! We will all be going from the end of June to the beginning of August! I am so excited for them to experience all that I did and fall in love with it! Please be praying  for us and the journey, and if you feel moved to donate please let me know!! 

Do as the Grecians do

As I always say, this was the trip of a lifetime! This was my first international trip I've been on that hasn't been for mission work. There was so much to soak in and so many places to visit, but in all honesty, the things I'll remember most is nothing I learned in a museum. If I could change one thing, it would be to spend more time in the culture of Greece. After a while, the ruins all run together... I saw so many danm columns and sculptures with body parts missing! Although it was interesting to learn the history and stories of these ancient places, I thrived exploring with my friends in the streets of Greece. I will return one day... And when I do, I promise to not go back to a single museum!!! 

The people from my school group, as all groups go, we're not all stellar... There always has to be a few haha. But I would say that I was extremely lucky in the choosings! It was such that the people I didn't care to be around all formed a group of their own and the people I did, we bonded like never before! Spending so much time together really tests ones patients, but I definitely formed lifelong friendships. And I could not have been more pleased with the babysitters! The professors were incredible, not just in the sense that they really knew their stuff, but upstanding, funny, and laidback! They always encouraged us to stay up late and to go exploring when we had the chance to really experience this life. And of course, I charmed them as I do so well :) 

Here are some others pictures! 

London

On the journey back home, it's only fitting that we traveled to London... I mean we were basically already there! Primarily we came because at the British Museum is an exhibit holding the Parthenon Marbels and part of our "school work" is learning about why they are here and not in Greece and what that means for all artifacts. Mostly though, it was a free two days to explore London! 

Naturally with only a limited amount of time, we tried to sqeeze in as much touristy stuff as possible. 6 of us went around to everything together, and figured out the tube system... Which you wouldn't think would be that difficult but it seemed the each worker we asked for assisstance was an idiot and had no idea the lines that did in fact connect or weren't closed being a Sunday! But in hindsight I feel like a BA getting lost and then finding out way! Here are some random pics from throughout the day.

 

Ocean Views

Today was our last excursion in Greece. We were able to explore on our own for a while in the morning and snag some great deals...unfortunately no gelato was open :(

Next we made a trip to the Temple of Poseidon. This was odly exactly like the Parthenon and honestly after seeing so many ruins of the same exact things, I am less than interested. So instead we escaped the group down to the rocky coast an played around. It still amazes me how far out you can still see the bottom of the ocean! It is the clearest water I have ever seen! 

After this we made way to a monestary. This was super interesting to learn about. There are 10 nuns living in the monestary we visited and the one giving the tour told us all about their life and how they've devoted their lives to this. Gotta say, although I do want to be a missionary, living secluded with only women and no "fun" doesn't really appeal to me that much. However, it was very cool to see how they live and how they got there! 

Chania

Today we traveled along the north of the island heading west. We went to the Fortezza 

We then walked the city streets and came across the old couples home that make phylo, the dough that is used to make bakleva. It starts out pita size and he stretches it...

Then we got some authentic bakleva that the woman had made and it was the best I've ever tasted!! 

We next went to an olive oil press. This was so cool and there were three old Greek men that didn't speak any English but all of them kept fighting because they all wanted to be giving the tour. It was hysterical! Here we got to try some freshly made olive oil! Delicious!