Goodbyes - 6/17/07, Athens, 12:39 p.m.
But first, a recap. Yesterday, we went to Eleusis, which is where there ended a procession that began in Athens during the Panathenaic festival. There would be a huge procession of almost 30,000 people and they would go to Eleusis to witness the Eleusinian mysteries, which were these secret rites that happened on the 7th night of the festival. There were sacrifices and pigs and babies. It was a little strange back then, but everyone did it. Even in Roman times, it persisted very much. We also saw the apparent gateway to hell, where Persephone descended to be with her husband Hades for part of the year and came back to be with her mother Demeter the other half of the year. We came back and Ryan and I went to Kalamaki to meet a friend of his family's here. They were lovely!
Then, we had our final group dinner and enjoyed ourselves very much! We went to the place we went to the first night, and had great food again. I finished up my souvenier shopping and then we all hung out here at the hotel.
And now, everyone is gone. It is only Jess (the girl traveling with me) and I left. And although I am glad for class to be over, it is bittersweet. I shall miss everyone. I shall miss wandering around the plaka with Brianne and getting yelled at by random people. I shall miss being here in the Hotel Pan with everyone, complaining about the heat and how far up the stairs it is to my room. I shall miss them, especially the ones I won't see for a long, long time.
As much as I am excited to continue with my trip, I am sad to see everyone go. I am excited to experience Athens and Greece on my own, but I am jealous of those who got to go back home and see their families. I miss you all terribly, and I know that you miss me too. I know this will be a great experience, but it is bittersweet right now.
Well, I'm going to go grab something to eat. Jess and I can move into our apartment at 3, but we had to check out of the hotel at 12, so I'm king of bumming around.
Oh! I forgot! One of the girls on my trip was nice enough to check a box for me as a piece of her luggage. It contains all of the souveniers that I got for everyone. I am going to tell you what is in it so you don't accidentally throw something away. I gave Susan a blank check and she's going to mail the package on Monday, so it should be home before the fourth of July.
Contents:
t-shirt for dad
t-shirt for t.c.
jacket for mom
chessboard for dad/t.c.
chess pieces for dad/t.c.
earrings for mom (turqoise)
earrings for mandy (mother of pearl)
purse for mandy
pegasus for mom
artemis for grandma
amphora for me! i didn't want to take it with me for the rest of the summer, so i mailed it home!
That's all for now. I'll keep updating! I promise!
Lots and lots of love,
Xoxo,
Ally
p.s. Happy Father's Day daddy! love you!
2 comments:
Ally, I know you're lonely but I just want to let you know I'm always thinking about you. I'm not sure if there's a way to send you letters or something but let me know if there is!
PS I agree with sarah--you look HOT in your facebook pic! I'm jealous of your tan. I spent 3 hours at the new water park in Carmel (the one that's right on the Monon and 111th) and I'm barely tan at all. Oh well, at least I'm not Nicole Kidman pale anymore.
Hey! So I'm super jealous that you're done with your class. I can't wait for my accounting class to be done... it's killing me! And don't worry too much about being lonely; in a few days, you'll be too busy to be lonely. And besides, if you have to be lonely somewhere, what better place than in a foreign contry? Honestly? LOL! Go have a coffee on me (i'll pay for it when you get back! ;-P) Love ya chica! ^_^
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