Well, it has been a long time since I posted and we've traveled many miles. The first semester is behind us, but will not be forgotten. Many new friendships were formed and I delight in seeing messages pop in my Facebook inbox or on email screen. Such a short time together and so close to the heart.
Tonight Mike and I completed the new calendar for the bulletin board; each class day, each trip and other events for the semester. We put "final banquet" in the little square and my eyes began to fill up. How can this semester have passed by so quickly. The truth is it hasn't, but I know it will and these students I hardly know now will be so hard to let go. But the memories remain and sure do make us smile.
What a blessing it is to have so many special students touch our lives and share in this experience of learning about new cultures. Not everyone has a job, that really doesn't seem like work.
Today was the second real test without Monica, our past assistant. The first was the bus, metro run to Athens which was Friday and thankfully successful and then today shopping and cooking for our 36. Two of the girls went to the grocery stores with me and we purchased all we needed for spaghetti. 4 kilos of keemah (ground beef) and the other ingredients we needed. Fortunately several volunteered to help and lunch was a big hit! It helped that we had made notes last semester of how much and what kind of all the Greek ingredients!
We built a fire in the evening, it's really not that cold but when your walls and floors are marble it is a nice touch on our little cooler evenings.
So far this past week, we finished sprucing up things around the Artemis, picked up the students and the Phil Thompson's from the airport and then had a busy day of activities to keep them from falling asleep until bedtime! We did a tour of the campus, a walking tour of Porto Rafti, pointing out our favorite shops, then a visit to a local ice cream shop on the way to the seacoast. Later that evening we played a few games and called it a night. The next day we made the trek to Athens on the bus and metro so they would feel more comfortable branching out alone. The next morning we had a guided full day in Athens, visiting the Acropolis, Mars Hill, a walk through the ancient Stoia on the way to the plaka for lunch. After lunch we visited the Acropolis museum and back to Porto Rafti for supper at Dimitris Taverna just down the street. The students had fun trying to figure out the menu items and meeting Kali Roy (the owners wife) and Christine her daughter. Today we attended church in Glyfada. For some it was the first time they had been to a service that was translated. We had some guests that didn't speak English tonight. Then after church we had pizza and soft drinks and I baked a couple of pans of homemade brownies. (We don't have many mixes available)
Tomorrow classes begin and our days will have a little more routine, but that won't last long because our first long trip begins February 6th. I need to change the picture on my blog page, but it has been so long, I must remember how to do that!
Tonight Mike and I completed the new calendar for the bulletin board; each class day, each trip and other events for the semester. We put "final banquet" in the little square and my eyes began to fill up. How can this semester have passed by so quickly. The truth is it hasn't, but I know it will and these students I hardly know now will be so hard to let go. But the memories remain and sure do make us smile.
What a blessing it is to have so many special students touch our lives and share in this experience of learning about new cultures. Not everyone has a job, that really doesn't seem like work.
Today was the second real test without Monica, our past assistant. The first was the bus, metro run to Athens which was Friday and thankfully successful and then today shopping and cooking for our 36. Two of the girls went to the grocery stores with me and we purchased all we needed for spaghetti. 4 kilos of keemah (ground beef) and the other ingredients we needed. Fortunately several volunteered to help and lunch was a big hit! It helped that we had made notes last semester of how much and what kind of all the Greek ingredients!
We built a fire in the evening, it's really not that cold but when your walls and floors are marble it is a nice touch on our little cooler evenings.
So far this past week, we finished sprucing up things around the Artemis, picked up the students and the Phil Thompson's from the airport and then had a busy day of activities to keep them from falling asleep until bedtime! We did a tour of the campus, a walking tour of Porto Rafti, pointing out our favorite shops, then a visit to a local ice cream shop on the way to the seacoast. Later that evening we played a few games and called it a night. The next day we made the trek to Athens on the bus and metro so they would feel more comfortable branching out alone. The next morning we had a guided full day in Athens, visiting the Acropolis, Mars Hill, a walk through the ancient Stoia on the way to the plaka for lunch. After lunch we visited the Acropolis museum and back to Porto Rafti for supper at Dimitris Taverna just down the street. The students had fun trying to figure out the menu items and meeting Kali Roy (the owners wife) and Christine her daughter. Today we attended church in Glyfada. For some it was the first time they had been to a service that was translated. We had some guests that didn't speak English tonight. Then after church we had pizza and soft drinks and I baked a couple of pans of homemade brownies. (We don't have many mixes available)
Tomorrow classes begin and our days will have a little more routine, but that won't last long because our first long trip begins February 6th. I need to change the picture on my blog page, but it has been so long, I must remember how to do that!
