Lessons

I had all this bitchy stuff to write about being on the airplane, stuff like god it must suck to be a stewardess, pretending to be pleased/amazed at the revelations of a first-time flyer, especially a high schooler who thinks his opinion is actually worth something…

But then we landed. In Athens.

It’s really damn smoky indoors, but outside—well, it was wonderful. The weather, colors, even the graffiti (I saw a Bart Simpson one! Unfortunately I’d put away my camera for the bus ride)—skipping ahead several weeks of crappy seasonal weather is awesome and I recommend it to everyone. Going from late winter in Chicago to the first blooming of spring here…fabulous.

And of course I (and a couple others) got totally giggly and touristy when we just saw the Parthenon—right there! On the top of a (seemingly) nearby hill! Looking the way it does in all those pictures of it! Greece isn’t exactly one of those countries where the ancient is right alongside the new and actually ends up being used (at least as far as I can tell), but the two do come pretty damn close.

So anyway. The old apartment and lack of Internet will take some getting used to, but once that’s done….

THERE ARE HILLS and MOUNTAINS. I CAN SEE THEM. I also have a view of the Mediterranean…and a giant cemetery, I think I heard it was the largest in Athens, lots of politicians & stuff are buried there.

(For the record: it is a dumb idea to pretend to be Indian, all of the obnoxious crying babies on the plane were from there.  Seriously, guys....)