Weekend in Thessaloniki!

Hello all! I’ve just returned from a short weekend in Thessaloniki with Tanya! It was so much fun, I really had a great time! I left Rhodes on Friday around 3:30pm and got in to Thess an hour later. It was so great to see Tanya again! She’s now living in the room that I lived in at Papkyriazi, and it makes me so happy to see her there instead of some new kid each semester, not that it really matters. She’s not alone though—now she lives with a beta fish named Bucephalus (bonus points if you can tell me who he’s named after!) That room only had one bed though, so I slept next door in the twins room when it was time for bed. It was the perfect time for me to come visit, because the spring kids had left the previous weekend and the summer kids are coming next weekend, so it was only me and T at Papa K!

 I’ve missed you, Papa K!

I really loved being back in Thessaloniki. Instantaneously, I felt at home and recognized all the building and shops and streets—it was like I’d never left, everything was so fresh in my mind. I walked by a dog sleeping on a stoop that had been sleeping there last spring. The most blatant differences I saw were a lot closed buildings and shops that had been open in my time, and an increased amount of graffiti for the KKE, the communist party in Greece. (Side note: Tanya was telling me about how, the day before, live on Greek news, a political discussion involving a fascist and a communist escalated as they began screaming and swearing at each other and culminated in the communist yelling “you f***ing fascist!” and punching the woman in the face. And these are the people Greeks are going to elect to run their country in a week…) Anyways, being back in Thess made me realize how much I had gotten out of my spring here and I was so grateful to have had such a good time, because coming back, I realized exactly how much I had loved it! Tanya and I were talking about how Thess is not touristy at all, but one giant, well-kept secret. There is so much history in the city and so many fabulous, amazing things, but you really have to search for them, or stumble across them, and hence it’s not really conducive to tourism; but for that reason, you really come to love living there because the city belongs to you. It’s something you discover and something you come to know in a very personal way and that’s why its so special. Being back helped me see how much I really do love the city in its own right; at the same time, I also realized how lucky I was to have such an amazing group to share it with—I loved seeing Tanya again and hanging out with her this weekend but it was my parea and my friends in Thess that helped make the city come alive, and while I love the city, I loved it even more because of the people that are no longer there.

Anyway, I dropped my stuff off and then we headed to ACT to watch the Euro Cup opener, Greece vs. Poland, in the cafeteria. There was some kind of alumni event going on that evening but we watched the game before it started with all the student volunteers. (The café was redecorated and much nicer than when we were there!) The game was fun and really exciting, we should have won! A tie is a fine beginning though—apparently we’re already doing better than last time. I’ve decided I’m going to get really into the Euro Cup; I’m sure I can find a knockoff jersey or a team scarf here, and I’ve got an app to tell me when the games are and past statistics, etc.…πάμε Ελλάδαρα!

Afterwards T and I went to a restaurant that she had discovered since I had left, close to our building, called ελιά λεμόνι, olive and lemon. It was around 10:00 by this time, late even for Greek dinner, but the place was still packed, and while we were seated immediately, there were people waiting for seats even by the time we left. The food was absolutely delicious and so cheap! We had feta, a delicious salad with bruschetta, a sautéed mushroom appetizer that was my absolute favorite, some kind of eggplant appetizer, and a chicken entrée, plus drinks and bread, for under 20 euro. It tasted fantastic as well, I could see why it was crowded.

We ordered (and ate) enough for five people…delicious!

Afterwards T and I walked down the boardwalk and sat by the water talking for a really long time. It was so great, because we were able to pick up right where we left off—there was no struggle to come up with conversation topics, no awkward pauses. We’ve kept in contact since I left Thess but the amount of contact has varied with how busy we each have been; it didn’t matter at all. She’s just a fantastic human being and I love her to pieces! It was so much fun, and so effortless, to hang out with her again.

The next morning we made eggs and toast and ate it out on the balcony before heading off to a nearby beach. Thessaloniki in the summer is temperature-wise the same as Rhodes, but whereas Rhodes is windy and gets cooler at night and is therefore more comfortable, Thessaloniki has a still, oppressive kind of stifling heat, and Thessalonians flee to the nearby beaches in the summer to escape the heat. We went with Alex, L.A., Gogos, and some Greek girls. L.A. and Gogos were students this past semester who are staying on for the summer in Thess, and Alex is a Greek student who was at ACT during my spring there, but I never really hung out with him that much. He’s actually really cool and we all had a lot of fun together—I wish I had known that when I lived in Thess!

Breakfast on the balcony with T!

The beach was super crowded and was playing dance music, but the beach was sandy and the water cool, and it got deep very slowly so you could wade out pretty far and still touch the bottom. We all talked, laid in the sun, swam, played volleyball in the water. It was such a fun, relaxing day, and everyone joked around and teased each other in Greek. I got to use (and learned a lot more) slang and sayings in Greek; because the main people that have taught me slang in Greek have been boys, when I start using Greek I have the swagger of a young Greek male, so it’s kind of hilarious but a lot of fun to trade barbs back and forth with the guys as if I was one.

Tanya, Alex and I on the beach near Iraklion, about a half hour out of Thessaloniki.

After our day at the beach we went back to Papa K and tried to take a nap before heading out again at night—the sun really does drain so much energy from you! Tanya taught me how to make frappes and we each had one to replenish our energy—and now I can do it at home! It was actually pretty good; I’ve definitely paid for worse.

We met up with the guys and grabbed pitas at a place near the White Tower that I’d actually been to a  few times before I left that uses really delicious, fresh ingredients, and then we all had a beer on the paralia by the White Tower. After that we went to one of the Irish bars, where were were the only patrons, had another beer and all talked together, and then went to one of the clubs on the water called Ice. It was new since I’d been gone but Alex knew people there so we were able to get a table. It was really fun; they placed a mixture of American and Greek hits and we all just sort of danced and had fun, and I knew a lot of the Greek songs from last spring! Apparently on Thursdays at this place they play exclusively Greek music and you can smash plates for a truly Greek experience.

Today I woke up, made frappes with Tanya, and then we headed up to the Old City to one of Tanya’s new favorite places, a café with a beautiful rooftop view of the whole city. We talked, had more coffee, went and sat on the ancient 2000 year old wall, talked some more, and before you know it, it was time for me to head back to the airport. It was a really short trip, but it was so worth it, I am so glad I got to see Tanya again! It just confirmed the fact that yes, we are going to be friends forever, which was really great. The study tour lands in Thess for less than a day in July, but hopefully I’ll be able to see her again then.

The view from the café and the wall in Ana Poli, the Old City.

So, I got back to Rhodes this afternoon, and immediately took a nap; I was exhausted, I had very little sleep this weekend! So worth it though, I had an amazing weekend!