This morning I took a walking tour of the markets with some of the other girls. Arian, the director of international programs at ACT, met us all near our dorms and took us downtown. It seemed funny to me that someone so important would spend a few hours showing us around, be she was really cool and seemed to like doing it. She even offered to take us to the local grocery store next week, help us pick out the right ingredients and teach us how to make one or two easy and cheap meals in our apartment, which is hard considering we cook with a tiny toaster oven.
I loved walking around all the markets. It was great to be shown all the little places and sidestreets you wouldn’t find on your own, or you could find but wouldn’t be quite sure what to do with them. There were meat markets, fish markets, general food markets, flower markets. I got a bag of olives for a euro, but it was so fun to try the different kinds, see which kind I like, etc. I loved being able to walk down a busy city street, turn down a road and suddenly be in a cobbled square with shops and cafés and fruit stands. As we walked Arian would point out a bakery that was famous in Thessaloniki for its desserts, or a café that was especially popular in the afternoon when the sun comes over the rooftops and warms the square. Below is a picture of one of the main markets—it’s actually part of the same one Mom and I stumbled upon when we were walking around last Saturday (have I really been here over a week?).
We also visited the Roman Agora, the ancient marketplace. I’d walked by it before but never realized you could walk through it. Some sections were roped off, but most of it we could climb around. There were some fathers taking there kids for a walk, an old man slowly wandering through the ruins. It was beautifully sunny today, and I made the conscious decision to go without my jacket. I regretted it, it wasn’t that warm, and I was cold in the shadows. But sitting in the agora, basking in the sunshine and lounging in the ruins, I felt like on of the stray cats, warm and perfectly contented to just sit there. Tomorrow it’s supposed to get up to 60, I can’t wait!
Once I got back to the apartment, I knew I had to do laundry, considering I spent the day walking around dressed like a soccer mom running some errands after hitting the gym. I can’t wear everything as long as I expected between washes because of the smoke—I hate smelling like cigarettes. I grabbed my laundry basket and headed to the sketchy basement. The ceilings are low, it’s cold, and there are only two sad little washers. I go for the light switch—nothing. From the light of the hall, I try to figure out what to do, but all the labels are in Greek on one, German on the other. I can hardly see, but I’m determined to succeed. I ended up grabbing my camera, snapping pictures of the labels, and using Google translate to figure out what does what. I finally got one washer to go, but in the semi-darkness I don’t even know if I poured the soap in the right compartment. The German washer, even though everything seems to be set right, plugged in, and turned on, refuses to wash, so I have to wait another hour for the first washer to finish. I really hope it works, and my clothes are soaped, just wet and spinning. When it comes out, I have to hang it Greek-style from a drying rack on my balcony, there are no dryers. I’m really nervous I’ve screwed it up and ruined half my wardrobe; the first load should be done soon, I hope it went OK.
What do I do with this??
P.S. The clothes I washed in the Greek dryer came out all nice-smelling, and it doesn't look like I ruined them. Yay Rachel. The German washer, however, has washed my clothes but now the door won't open and they're stuck in there, I can't get them out. The RA is of course not here, so I left a message on his door that says, basically "the idiot in 12 needs help getting her clothes out of the dryer". The stuff I managed to get out I hung on a drying rack in my balcony, but as it's night it's dark and cold outside, and I don't really know what good that will do. I'm a little homesick right now...
I loved walking around all the markets. It was great to be shown all the little places and sidestreets you wouldn’t find on your own, or you could find but wouldn’t be quite sure what to do with them. There were meat markets, fish markets, general food markets, flower markets. I got a bag of olives for a euro, but it was so fun to try the different kinds, see which kind I like, etc. I loved being able to walk down a busy city street, turn down a road and suddenly be in a cobbled square with shops and cafés and fruit stands. As we walked Arian would point out a bakery that was famous in Thessaloniki for its desserts, or a café that was especially popular in the afternoon when the sun comes over the rooftops and warms the square. Below is a picture of one of the main markets—it’s actually part of the same one Mom and I stumbled upon when we were walking around last Saturday (have I really been here over a week?).
We also visited the Roman Agora, the ancient marketplace. I’d walked by it before but never realized you could walk through it. Some sections were roped off, but most of it we could climb around. There were some fathers taking there kids for a walk, an old man slowly wandering through the ruins. It was beautifully sunny today, and I made the conscious decision to go without my jacket. I regretted it, it wasn’t that warm, and I was cold in the shadows. But sitting in the agora, basking in the sunshine and lounging in the ruins, I felt like on of the stray cats, warm and perfectly contented to just sit there. Tomorrow it’s supposed to get up to 60, I can’t wait!
Once I got back to the apartment, I knew I had to do laundry, considering I spent the day walking around dressed like a soccer mom running some errands after hitting the gym. I can’t wear everything as long as I expected between washes because of the smoke—I hate smelling like cigarettes. I grabbed my laundry basket and headed to the sketchy basement. The ceilings are low, it’s cold, and there are only two sad little washers. I go for the light switch—nothing. From the light of the hall, I try to figure out what to do, but all the labels are in Greek on one, German on the other. I can hardly see, but I’m determined to succeed. I ended up grabbing my camera, snapping pictures of the labels, and using Google translate to figure out what does what. I finally got one washer to go, but in the semi-darkness I don’t even know if I poured the soap in the right compartment. The German washer, even though everything seems to be set right, plugged in, and turned on, refuses to wash, so I have to wait another hour for the first washer to finish. I really hope it works, and my clothes are soaped, just wet and spinning. When it comes out, I have to hang it Greek-style from a drying rack on my balcony, there are no dryers. I’m really nervous I’ve screwed it up and ruined half my wardrobe; the first load should be done soon, I hope it went OK.
What do I do with this??
P.S. The clothes I washed in the Greek dryer came out all nice-smelling, and it doesn't look like I ruined them. Yay Rachel. The German washer, however, has washed my clothes but now the door won't open and they're stuck in there, I can't get them out. The RA is of course not here, so I left a message on his door that says, basically "the idiot in 12 needs help getting her clothes out of the dryer". The stuff I managed to get out I hung on a drying rack in my balcony, but as it's night it's dark and cold outside, and I don't really know what good that will do. I'm a little homesick right now...
im here for ya my love, it will get better :)
ReplyDeletexoxox em do
I'm hurr too! Love you lots!
ReplyDeleteChaarrrrrrrrr
Hahaha. Gotta say, the mental picture I have of you standing in the dark trying to figure out a Greek/German washing machine is pretty great. Hope you recover those clothes! ;)
ReplyDeletexxKatie
(Hey! I copied and pasted this like you said to make sure it posts! Woohoo!)