Of Moses and Madonna

I'm currently sitting on my bed, attempting to dry out my very wet feet and sorting out my mental to-do list after a very hectic (but fun!) weekend.

Friday witnessed the unique melding of Passover and a 1980's time warp party...yes, that is correct: I got to rock a side ponytail and RayBan shades after cramming my stomach full of homemade matzah and potato kugel. Fab.
I was very impressed with the Passover celebration itself (more than half of the students here are Jewish, so festivities seemed to be in order) since I've always wanted to see what it was all about, and the spread of traditional food and wine was fabulous. Then we all staged a massive Exodus circa 1987 and flooded the late nite Greek streets, dressed to the nines in spandex and neon and bad makeup and big hair and animal print. Oh, the poor confused locals...they stared at us like something right out of a Thriller video. I guess I can't blame them.

Crazy American students.

Then on Saturday we all shlumped out of bed after a maximum of four hours of sleep to hop the ferry to the neighboring island of Naxos. I'm usually a huge fan of boat rides, regardless of the wave factor, but that morning was not my favorite for obvious reasons. We all looked a bit green by the end of that voyage. We spent the day touring the island, visiting ancient ruins and churches and lots of really cool sites, including the temple of Demeter where we had a picnic lunch. By dinner, we attempted to fill the small culinary homesickness void growing in our hearts by sampling a Mexican restaurant -- note to self: Americans really DO know more about Mexican cuisine than people often mockingly assume. We stayed at a cute hotel in town and then spent Sunday site-seeing some more, visiting the museum, eating dessert waffles, etc.

It was a great weekend, but now I really must finish up all of my loose ends, in the homework, shopping, and packing departments, before tomorrow...I leave for Ireland in the morning!!!! Hooray!!!!!!!!!!!! It's like my mom wrote to me: "all your dreams are coming true."

Amen to that. Emerald Isle, here I come!
On that note, I leave to conspire and continue drying my feet. [yes it sometimes gets cold and rains here].....Ciao!