It's been about five days since I've landed back in Canada. It has not felt like home, nor has it been a slice. (I couldn't help it with the pun.) The BBQ my brother and I had wished to throw as a 'welcome back home, Julie,' with a couple of people turned into a flimzy fest, to say the least. I'll leave it at that with that one.
I'm finally and sadly, coming out of Greek-time.
I've been missing my friends from Pylos like crazy.
I haven't been very happy, but I have been trying to surround myself with my friends here... May I add here that these homies have been rockstars for putting up with me and keeping me company almost everyday.
I finally went through all of my pictures today --- the final count is over 3000 pictures and 6 hours of home video footage: hilarious audio commentary provided by: Jess from Kansas, Tristan and Lianne.
I had dedicated a wall in my bedroom for last summer's adventures --- those of you who have facebook: I have a picture of it posted there. I've run out of wall space in that room, but I think I'll have to bring down some old frames to make room for this summer's adventures. There's no way I'm not putting my favourite pictures up.
No way, Jose.
After seeing a preview of my trip with the few pictures I had already developped, my neighbour noticed that I had loads taken with people. She noted that it's these pictures that keep the memories alive. Its these people who made the adventure meaningful and that its these pictures that count the most.
She couldn't be more right.
As much as it was incredible to visit the ancient sites that I had heard of and studied for so long, it's the people I spent my time with that made my experience abroad so worthwhile. Here's a perfect example: Olympia.
Our group had a guided tour for the site and Kansas and I were hungover out of our minds. It was hot and we absolutely had no patience to stand there, listen to the guide, and walk from monument to monument in the blistering heat at the pace the guide was going.. slooooow, slooooow, sloooooow.
So what did we do? We had fun.
Slowly, we crept away and created our own tour, posing with the monuments and making up stories as we figured out the real history behind each of them.
A little fun never hurt anybody, eh? As much as we felt out of it, our day at Olympia turned out to be one of the best site visits I did with the excavation project.
With that said, if it hasn't been loud and clear by now, I've made a few friends that I know I will keep close to my heart for a very long time.
Lianne, my Canadian sister, my roommate, my partner in crime and my bestfriend. She put up with my antics, took care of my drunken butt more than once and made sure that I was on the bus on that famous morning we left Pylos.
We hit it right off the bat the day I arrived, and our friendship blossomed in no time. People knew we were best friends and I suppose it showed. She was my right-wing and I, her left. We travelled together after Pylos and had so many great and stupid laughs. We acted as if we'd known each other for years, when we'd only been friends for a month. People like Lianne are few and far in between and I feel very lucky to have had such an awesome roommate and friend --- who is one of my best friends now. How can I not consider her as my best friend? After all the crazy skata we've gone through... She's the only other person who experienced it with me. She's the best. You got that Homeslice? You're the best!
Jess from Kansas, my Numero Uno, my ranting buddy and my Midwest sister. I can't even remember how I ended up spending my evening with her and Jessie at our favourite frappe cafe, but DAMN. From that night on, her and I were glued to the hips. After our first Saturday night out, at Symposio, we both knew that we were meant to hang out together. We had so much in common... Her and I would let loose a little bit (just a little bit), and both of our roommates would roll their eyes and end up getting the short end of those sticks... everytime...
SORRY -- LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, JESSIE AND LIANNE.
We had so many hilarious conversations that were usually shot to hell, as they just didn't make sense anymore... We ranted and gossiped so much, sometimes a little too much for our own good, which made us both go a little bonkers. We made up so many inside jokes, some while we were sober, others... Not so much (!).
'Amen to that, sister.'
'Holy shit, he looks like a BULLDOG!'
'That's because HE'S. A. little. SHIT'
'What happened?? I. don't. know!'
'NO MAS TEQUILA!'
'Disaronno? Yesssss, Disaronnoooo!'
I love this girl so much and I miss her like crazy.
She is definitely my Numero Uno.
Jessie from South Carolina, my Tie-Dye, my Palace of Nestor buddy and my southern sister. I was in awe the first time I heard her say "y'all" and I knew I'd be good friends with this girl. I seemed to share a certain immaturity with her that I didn't with my other homies. At the dinner table, especially, we would look at each other and just start laughing --- TELEKINESIS --- nai, nai, nai, nai, nai, nai, nai, nai, nai, nai, nai,!
She has a good conscience on her shoulders and I envied that from time to time. But, I was lucky enough to have her by my side to help me out when I needed it, (Lord knows I needed it from time to time! Oh, ti krima!).
South Carolina's definitely a diamond in the rough.
Nai, nai, nai, nai, nai, nai,nai,nai,nai,nai, nai, nai!
Last but not least, Melina, my Greek sister, Greek-speaking buddy and gossip partner.
I got to know her a little later in the excavation project, but that didn't seem to hinder our antics. One dinner, in particular, that I'm sure a select few will always remember, had Melina teaching me a bunch of Greek words, which I then tried out with Lia, our lovely Karalis employee who had to deal with all of us, (I hope she had some good laughs with us from time to time!).
I tried so hard to fit in with the Greeks, by speaking their language, that I sometimes tried a little too hard. Here's a perfect example I'm not sure I've shared with you yet, my Homeslices:My Greek shop owner friend once freaked out on me after I told her that I was 'dying', when I really meant that I was doing 'great'.
Yeah... That went over well.
Melina was so welcoming and hospitable. She always made sure that I was doing good, especially during my last week in Greece and made a point to meet everyday to hang out. My last week ended up being a hundred times better than I had anticipated. We roadtripped down the coastal highway to Sounio, hung out at taverns late at night and laughed so hard that nothing made anymore sense...
That's a good time if I've ever heard of one!
I feel like I met the greatest people during my stay in Greece and I appreciated all of their company and the memories we've created together. I'm so proud of myself for doing this. I had the greatest time of my life. I've learned so much on the subject that I am so passionate about and other little lessons I'm sure some will laugh at as they read this!
I established other relationships throughout my summer in Greece and I hope that some of them stay alive for a while. I'm sure some will. Who knows what will happen, right? Things will work out for the best, and that 'best' might be sucky for a little bit, or it could turn into something really nice --- I'm personally rooting the second bit, because it's been a while since I've felt so happy being around people and talking with others --- I hope I keep this one connection in particular, alive and happy.
It's funny how certain people, including the four I've mentionned above, can really turn your life around and make you come to life again. My four Homeslices and a couple other notable people have really made a difference in my life. It's an amazing feeling to wake up everyday and to know that another crazy chapter is about to start, despite having to wake up at 5AM... Although it was unknown, I always knew that at the end of the day, I would be able to say that I had another great day.
People don't always get the opportunity to experience that feeling and I feel like I finally caught a break. By flying across the world, living in a foreign country with a totally different alphabet and by starting FRESH, I suppose I can say that I found my Poseidon. I broke free and realized what was important to me and what really mattered. Again, I had the time of my life.
It's not the greatest feeling being back right now, but it's OK. Handsome and I have been talking since the day we left our people at the airport. Being able to talk to him every day made me feel (still does) a lot less Pylos-homesick than I think I would have been otherwise. We still talk to this day... (smile!) I've been talking to my Homeslices, ever since I got back in Canada and was able to re-connect my crackberry to the Telus towers. And, you know what? The pictures I have will soon be framed on my wall and will keep all these wonderful memories alive for a very, very, very long time.
Love, Love, Love.