Destination: Greece!
At the end of my first year teaching English in Spain some friends and I decided to take a vacation to Greece. SNelson, a friend from college studied there and has ever since said amazing things about it, so I knew it was going to be wonderful 
What I didn’t expect was how incredibly hospitable and sweet the Grecian people were going to be! From the moment we arrived to the second I got off the plane in Madrid I felt like I belonged in that country, even though I only knew one word in Greek, Efharisto (thank you). But what I learned was that knowing that word and putting on a big smile can really go a long way (or maybe it was the fact that nearly everyone spoke English that made it so easy).
Each day in Athens and Santorini was filled with something exciting to do. One day we toured the Parthenon and all the ruins of Athens
Another day we took a day tour which consisted of walking on an active volcano, swimming in hot springs, journeying through a typical Grecian town, and climbing hundreds of stairs to watch a beautiful sunset.
Another day we rented 4-wheelers to tour the three most beautiful beaches of Santorini
Selfishly, however, my favorite day was my birthday! The girls really made it a special day. I awoke to a groggy rendition of Happy Birthday to You and a beautiful present. Then we explored the biggest ‘city’ of Santorini, Fira. And we ended the day walking around picturesque Oia, eating the most delicious baklava and being serenaded at an ‘off the beaten path’ restaurant, and lots of dancing at an Irish bar.
Saying hasta luego to the girls and adios to Greece came all too soon…
Summer Book Recommendation
This spring in Spain I had a mini ‘quarter-life crisis’ as many twenty-somethings do. In response to this, Igor surprised me with a very eye-opening, philosophical book named The Monk who Sold his Ferrari. It’s all about mind control, which then leads to controlling your life (which I think most of us can agree we would like to do better from time to time). I took everything with a grain of salt, of course because it has some very ‘out there’ techniques to achieve mind control, but I turned the last page with a very positive attitude towards the overall message. I’m using this summer at home in Green Bay and the advice in this book to train myself to think more positive thoughts on a hour-to-hour, day-to-day basis. If anyone’s looking for a short, easy, positive summer read, I would recommend checking it out. Thanks again Igor!
picture courtesy of www.buy.com
