Greece: At First Glance

Hello!

I am coming to you from Santorini, one of the Greek islands. I'm sitting by the pool at our hotel watching the waves out in the Aegean Sea. It's been quite windy since we got here, reminding us of that Kansas breeze. :) The beaches here are black sand. I've, personally, never seen black sand beaches. It is quite hot in the sunny sections, but very gorgeous. The first day, the water was super clear and just peaceful. Since the wind arrived, it stirred up all the leaves and stuff in the water, so it's a bit less clear, but no less beautiful. Here's a couple photos...

Isn't the water gorgeous!?

The beach just a 3 minute walk from our hotel

We've been doing a lot of nothing the past few days and it's been amazing! We've literally been doing nothing but eating, sleeping, drinking, and lounging on the beach. One night, we went to a Greek restaurant and they had a show while we were eating. Traditional Greek dancing and plate smashing. We even got pulled up to participate in the dancing (Clint a couple more times than myself). We had a blast!

Clint doin' his thing... dancing like he loves to do!

Now, we started our Greecian adventure in Athens. I will lead by saying that I had really high hopes for Greece. It was one of the places I wanted to see the most. I'll also lead by saying that we were aware that Greece isn't in the best state and we knew that Athens had some dangerous spots. We were aware of what we were getting into. We thought. I say 'we.' I can't speak wholly for Clint, but I do mean me. :) My first feeling was terror. Maybe 'terror' is a strong word for what I was feeling, but I was instantly disappointed. We felt uncomfortable around nearly every corner. It's just dirty. The amount of graffiti just makes it looks completely unwelcoming. We stayed in Piraeus, which is the port city, because we thought it might provide us a little more comfort. Not so much. We weren't real excited to stray too far from what we knew. And we didn't. We made the decision quite quickly to get the hell outta there & head for the islands. I'm going to post some honest pictures just so you can get an idea of what we were able to see. It's not pretty. (Just a fair warning)

I'm not exagerrating when I say that this kind of stuff was EVERYWHERE. On the sides of the metro cars, the buses, the buildings, etc. Everywhere. It might be the nicest of places and people may be super friendly, but we already had our guard up about what we were walking into and it just put us off. So, we took off to the islands where you saw the view is a bit different. Some parts of the island has some sketchy aspects, but overall, the feeling of comfort is quite better!

We did take the chance, while in Athens, to go to the Acropolis. It is considered to be the birthplace of the Gods. I was super excited to see some of these ruins before coming here. I have always had a minor infatuation with Greek Mythology and was excited to see and learn a little more about it. I hate to say it, but I was disappointed. While it was nice to see (even though the weather was scorching hot!), the construction and remodeling being done around every corner was so distracting from that historical feel you should get when coming into a place like that. There was scaffolding and trailers all over the place and it just wasn't that picturesque. It was nothing compared to Machu Picchu or some of the other ruins I was able to see in South America. I'll post a couple pics, but I didn't take too terribly many. The museum was far more interesting and informative (and air conditioned), but I wasn't allowed to take photos. :)

See what I mean?

A pretty view of Athens... :)

I am going to close because we are going to go get some fresh seafood! We leave tomorrow for our next Greek island... Crete. We're staying there a few days and then will decide what happens next. We're thinking this island thing isn't too bad, so we may just stay until our flight departs on the 25th. Rough life, huh?

I will end with this...

Happy Father's Day to John Cook- my daddy! I am super proud (and lucky) to have you as a daddy. I couldn't imagine where I'd be without ya, Dad! While I am having a good time, I am quite excited to see you (and the rest of the fam) in a month! I LOVE YOU!!

The Luck of the Irish

Hello, hello!

I've been antsy to write another entry for a bit, but internet access, while quite abundant, is not all that reliable.  :)  And, I'm usually only online on my  a small window of time on my computer at the moment, so I thought I'd take advantage of it!  :)

Ireland... AMAZING!  I am in looooove!  The pictures and things you see on TV & in the movies are not exagerated!  I never knew there were so many shades of green!!  It was gorgeous.  This summer will definitely not be the last time I set foot on that island.  I just love it.

I left you with Tom Petty & we were in Blarney, Ireland.  We were talked into renting a car which, in itself, was quite the adventure.  I had to dust off my ability to drive a manual.  It's been about 11 years.  Clint can't drive a manual, so I was stuck in the driver's seat.  Street signs were pretty much non-existent.  We took a trip that was supposed take 30 minutes and took us a couple hours.  Driving on the 'wrong' side of the road was a bit confusing at first, of course, but after the first day, that didn't really bother me too much.  I had a few flashbacks to driving on the right side of the road and scared myself (and probably Clint) a couple times.  We were happy to give the car up once we reached Dublin, but both agreed it was a good decison.

It was a good decision for reasons like this...

After Blarney, we headed to the west coast of Ireland.  We took what is called the Ring of Kerry.  It's a road that goes around the entire peninsula and allows you to see some legit Irish countryside.  Here are some photos of our journey...  As far as I know, there really aren't names of where we stopped.  It was mostly little spots along the road that we could pull off onto.

This was our unfortunate view when we stopped for lunch along the road

Killarney National Park

The base of a tree that I just found really interesting.  Also found in the Killarney National Park.

After we made our way around the Ring of Kelly, we headed north so we could get closer to the Cliffs of Moher.  We, after getting lost a couple times, arrived in a little Irish town called Ennistymon.  We stopped on Main Street and went into a local pub to ask the bartender for advice on where to stay, what to do, etc.  He was super nice with his suggestions and once we found a spot, we decided to go back to his pub for a few beers.  Everyone is SO friendly!!  We met some people from Georgia, Alabama, & Tennessee.  They also had live music, so we sat back & enjoyed.

This is Ennistymon. Sucks, huh?

Our lovely little pub

The next day, we headed a bit further coastal so we could check out the Cliffs of Moher (pronounced Mo-hair).  A big draw for me was, of course, that a bit of the Princess Bride was filmed there!  YES PLEASE!!  In case you don't remember or know what the Princess Bride is (shame on you!), here's a reminder... First, we viewed it by water via a small cruise.  Then, we made our way to the top to peer down.  Makes you feel really small, that's for sure.  Here's a few pics...



Those are just a couple... I have TONS more.  But I don't want to sit here & wait for them to upload, haha, sorry.  :)

In between seeing the cliffs from the ocean and from the top, we made a quick trip to Inishire, which is a small island in the Aran Islands.  I went there, originally, to help Dad (or so I thought) with some genealogy stuff.  Turns out, that was a dead end, BUT... we did end up meeting these two gentlemen that I can safely say, we will never forget.  They were in their 70s and began talking with us when they sat next to our table while we were eating.  JJ "Jack" Hennessey and Ronnie (never caught a last name on him).  JJ had quite the personality and told us stories of his youth.  Some were quite disheartening and then he'd lighten the situation with a joke.  He cussed like a sailor and talked our ears off, but we were pretty eager to hear his stories.  We chatted them for close to two hours and only ended the conversation because we had to catch our ferry to the mainland.  Otherwise, we'd have stayed there for much, much longer.  These two gentlemen were something else.  JJ ended up giving me his necklace.  A very expensive necklace purchased in Africa.  The story is far to deep to go into now, but I will just say that it was incredibly humbling to meet these people.  JJ especially.  My heart was racing and I fought him when he said he wanted to give me his necklace, but he insisted.  Here's a snapshot of our new friends for life (we've already mailed them a postcard from a journey they suggested we take).

Me, Ronnie, JJ, & Clint

Now, I must say, aside from meeting JJ & Ronnie, one of my FAVORITE parts about this particular day was meeting Dusty.  Dusty the dolphin.  We had heard stories that there was a dolphin that played in the port of Doolin (where we left & returned to the mainland).  She's been coming there for nearly 30 years and is so friendly that she plays with the kids in the water and is just super friendly.  One thing I wanted out of seeing all this water is to see the wildlife in their natural surroundings.  ESPECIALLY a dolphin... or a whale.  Dolphins are definitely my favorite animal and I seriously just fell more in love with them. 



After our excursions on the west coast, we headed across Ireland to Dublin.  We settled in and headed to supper.  We ate at a rather expensive, but award winning, French restaurant and then made our way to the pub next door.  They have live music every night!  And it's traditional Irish music.  Awesome!!  The guy we were able to see was fantastic!  He was so entertaining and funny!  Here is where we had our first (but not last) Guiness of the trip.  Closed the bar down (they closed at midnight, so not a huge feat) and called it a night.  We spent the next day just walking around Dublin.  We went to a wax museum that wasn't that awesome and then made our way to the Guiness storehouse and brewery.  I'm not a stout drinker, but when in Ireland... do as the Irish do.  :)  It was just under 11 euros to get in and that included a very good tour of the grounds and a pint of Guiness.  There was also a section where we could "pour the perfect Guiness" where we were taught the proper way.  Afterwards, we got a certificate!!  HaHa!  We drank our perfectly poured drinks and headed to the bar on the top floor.  We met some pretty cool people here.  Dylan and Sally.  They are from Scotland and full of life!  We hung out with them until they closed that bar (a couple hours later) and drank Guiness the whole time.  People kept giving us free vouchers for it, so we had to take advantage, right?  Definitely one of the best "bang for your buck" things we've done so far.



Our new friends! Dylan and Sally

Ireland was amazing!  It was one of the greenest places I have ever seen and the people were unbelievably pleasant and helpful.  Even a stranger we asked for directions actually drove in front of us for a moment and pointed out where we needed to go as we passed it.  So nice. 

Another little side note, the cattle in Ireland... MASSIVE!  I mean, they look like hippos!  They should, I suppose.  They are never without plush green grass to keep them fed.  I just could not get over how big they were.  Man.  HaHa... Good beef raised in Ireland.  :)  They make the cattle I was raised around look like calves. 

I have, personally, kind of been keeping a tally of the states we've ran into.  We've met people from New York, DC, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and even ran into some people on the street in Dublin from Kansas!  They were wearing, unfortunately, their KU gear.  :)  Small world, really!

I would prefer the southern part and western coast to Dublin.  We definitely got to see both sides of Ireland.  Neither one disappointed, but it will be hard to compete with the beauty of that southern region and western coast.  Like I said, I will be back!!

I know it's a long entry, but I had to take advantage of the internet while I could.  Another one is coming soon about my first opinion of Greece... 

Heading to the islands tomorrow so it's BEACH CITY baby!  Relaxation!!  I'll get on here when I can, I assure you.  Until the, I hope this finds you all well!!

Love from Europe!!

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Well, hello, again!

I thought I would give you all (my avid readers) a sneak peak at our Tom Petty experience.  The whole photo album will be available for release... well... release date has yet to be determined.  :)  For now, this is what you'll have to survive on.  :)

This was definitely Clint's baby.  :)  I wasn't sure of what to expect and I should have known that someone with his experience (Tom Petty, that is) would put on a good show and it was simply amazing.  I, personally, love to go to shows where you can see and feel what the musicians are singing.  It's all just very real.  He interacted with the crowd (it was a fairly small venue... a tent to be exact.... kinda felt like we were walking into a circus ring...) and he was just a full on entertainer.  I say 'he,' but I mean the whole band.  It was just a really good evening.  Anyway, I'll stop boring you with words... here's some photos to fuel your jealousy.  ;)

This was my view without any zoom feature.  It doesn't do it justice, really.  We were definitely super close.

I love the coloring of this photo...

Yep...



That's all I'm going to post for now... :)  Enjoy.

Things are going really good in Ireland.  We're having some issues with navigating the roads, but by the time we leave, we'll be professionals!  :)

Hope this finds you all well!  I'll do my best to keep posting!

Wish You Were Here!

First night in Spain & enjoying some cervezas on the beach

Hello, family & friends!

Coming to you from Blarney, Ireland...  I won't go into lengthy details about the happenings of the last few days, but I'll do my best to show you a few pictures and add some commentary.  Clint has been here a whole two and a half days and it feels like we've seen and done so much!  It's crazy to think that this is just the beginning of the summer.  Epic.  That's all it can be, I think... :)

Ronda, Spain

Also in Ronda, but looking in the opposite direction of the top picture.  Clint & I hiked to the bottom of that and back up (on a SCORCHING hot day).

This was on the journey to the bottom.  The top two pictures were taken from the bridge that you see in the background here.

UNDER the bridge you saw in the picture.  I am working on conquering this fear of heights one cliff at a time.

The oldest bullring in Spain

Welcome to Ireland... Blarney Castle

The Blarney Castle grounds... the colors here are UNbelievable!  SO gorgeous!

Freakin' AMAZING!  This is the view from the top of the castle.

Kissing the Blarney Stone is the main attraction here.  It is said to give you the gift of eloquence.  You hang yourself off the side of the top of the castle upside down and kiss the stone.  There's bars to prevent falling and a guy that is there to secure you... like he'd be able to really stop you.  :)  You can't be fearful of germs either 'cause thousands of people have kissed that exact spot.  :)

I am terrified of heights so this was a BIG deal for me.  An occasional curse word came out & when I was done, I was shaking like a leaf, but I DID IT!  :)  Working on this heights thing, I tell ya...

Can you say peaceful?

Leaving our mark on Blarney Castle... Don't worry, we weren't defacing property... it's what you do.

The Blarney House... We weren't able to go in because it wasn't open when we were there.  Pretty awesome structure, though, huh?

It poured on us for a good hour, so we temporarily sought refuge in the cave part of the grounds.

Blarney is an amazing little place.  The landscape is true to the movies and pictures you see.  Beautiful shades of green everywhere you look.  We're currently toying with what to do for the duration of our stay in Ireland.  Turns out, we're going to go see Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers tomorrow night in Cork (about 3 miles away).  We're also considering renting a car and driving along the coast on our way to Dublin.  We'll see how it all goes!!  For now, I'll let you enjoy the photos and I'm going to go to bed.  Tomorrow, we are being treated to a traditional Irish breakfast here at our B&B.  It sounds hearty and amazing!!  Sweet dreams, friends!

School's Out For Summer!

HELLO!!

I considered making a final summary entry about the school and all the expectations vs. realities.  I’m going to save it, though, for the end of the summer because I want to use it as platform for what I want to do in order to make some changes with the school, personally and professionally.  So, stay tuned for that at the end of my stay in the states. 

My NIE experience, for the time being, is finished… this is how it went…

I had to catch the 8:00 bus to Jaen and then wandered around for a couple hours before I could even go to my appointment.  I went in a bit early and recognized a girl from the beginning of the year who I knew was there for the same reason as myself.  I chatted with her briefly and then it was time to make our way through the office to the very last table where we were to complete our application.  Whew... gotta say that I was nervous, of course, but I wasn't as nervous as my previous trips to the rabbit hole.  I knew I had all of the proper documents and all of that, so I was genuinely prepared for this one.  Jill went first so I was able to watch the process so that when it was my turn I had everything in order for him.  This guy was super nice and super accomodating.  That makes everything a bit more relieving.  I got everything completed and, since I am going to the states over the summer, I am required to ask for an 'authorization for return.'  I asked the nice man if I could get started on that to which he informed me that it would only be valid for 60 or 90 days.  And they'd need a week to process it.  Well, that means, if I would have applied for it that day (30th), then I would have been required to be back in Spain by August 30th.  Possible, I suppose, but I have plans already booked at the end of August and I want more time with my family.  Even if I were planning on being back then, there wouldn't have been enough time to process the application before I was leaving Spain.  Anyway, I informed the nice man of my summer plans and that I had no intention of being back in Jaen at all until I returned in September.  He, very generously, called his boss and even inquired about the options for me, to which I was super grateful.  But, unfortunately, there is nothing they can do.  Since I am going to be back in Spain at the beginning of July (although in the north... not the south...), I have to find a way to get back to Jaen TWICE.  Once to apply and again a week later to pick it up.  That means Clint & I have to alter some of our Spain plans, but it has to be done, so I hope he's okay with that.  :)  I was hoping I would have been done with all that crap when I left the office, but that is not the case.  Bummer, but I gotta deal with it. 

I was genuinely hoping to catch the 12:15 bus back to the village so I wouldn't have to wander the streets of Jaen anymore and I could have made it had a few things gone differently.  We were able to get in at our appointment a bit early, so I was super hopeful.  After I had submitted the application, I had to go pay a tax that had to be paid within 10 days or my entire application would be void, so I ran/walked to the nearest bank (a few blocks away).  At this point, I had 25 minutes to do all of this and catch my bus.  Of course, there is a line of 6 people in front of me.  I'm constantly checking my watch and it seems that the tellers could not have been going any slower.  And then they'd start having conversations about a pamplet thing some lady had.  I was seriously like that person that was checking their watch, sighing, transferring weight from one leg to the other and just generally acting annoyed that it wasn't moving any quicker.  Didn't work.  Eventually, I got up there and got my tax taken care of.  The tax was 16.32 and I gave the lady 21.32.  Pretty simple math, right?  She stared at that money like it was a foreign currency and she didn't know what she was doing.  She slowly put the coins in the tray.  I was obviously still standing there waiting for my change and she looked up and said, "Thanks."  I was like, "Ugh... no.  I need my change."  She fumbled around and gave me a 5, but it was as if I messed up her whole routine.  HaHa... anyway... I took off back to the rabbit hole.  At this point, I had 12 minutes to catch my bus.  I got to the office and went back through the maze of desks to the nice man's table.  He was working with another language assistant, but was on the phone.  I chatted with this nice girl from Ohio.  All the time, staring at my watch because the nice man had put his finger up telling me to "wait a minute."  I had time to tell her all of the things she needed to do after filling out the application and find out that her brother was getting married that summer, etc.  Eventually, the nice man got off the phone and said, "Just a minute, I'm going to call my boss to check again."  Ok... Well, he did that and it provided the same results as the last phone conversation, so I said thanks and jetted outta there.  I had 3 minutes to catch my bus and it was probably 6 or 7 city block away.  In my head, I knew I wouldn't make it, but I tried anyway.  All the streets I had to cross, of course, were all on the "Don't Walk" sign for the longest time and cars wouldn't let pedestrians walk, etc.  I made into the bus station TWO minutes after my bus had left.  TWO.  I guess the good thing I can get from all of this is the Spanish bus system is on time.  :)  So, I went to a little cafe and had some beer and tapas while I waited for the 2:00 bus.  Tapas, in my opinion, are one of the GREATEST inventions ever.  :)  Anyway... after all that mumbling, that's my trip to the rabbit hole part duex (or three?).  I'm losing count now.  :)

I can’t believe that I am writing that my time here is over (for this school year anyway).  It’s went by crazy fast.  I’ve met some very cool people and hope to expand our friendships through the next year.  I look forward to taking advantage of the second chance I’ve been given and I hope to not let it slip through my fingers.  Don’t get me wrong, I have gained immensely during this stay and am grateful beyond belief for the opportunity.  I just look forward to doing things a bit differently next year. :)

My last week was spent translating a Spanish recipe book into English.  56 pages of Spanish recipes into English... NOT fun.  I didn't go to a single class this week because of it and I'm still not sure if it'll even be used.  Our 'goodbye' was quite disappointing.  No one really even acknowledged that we were leaving and it was our last day.  Joanne had to go in and say goodbye to people since she is leaving tomorrow for good.  I told them I'd stop by Monday and say farewell officially.  I didn't expect any grande gestures, but I was kind of thinking people would, you know, wish us well and say nice to meet you, etc.  And maybe they did for Joanne, haha, but no one said anything to me.  Kinda disappointing.  Oh well.  And since I didn't go to class all week, I haven't been able to say bye to the kids.  I guess I'll see 'em again in a few months.

Here shortly, Clint and I are going to take off on our European adventure.  I am quite excited and I think (hope) that he is, too.  I wanted to take this opportunity to let you all know that I am going to do my very best to keep my blog updated throughout our journey, even if they are brief and only of photos.  I’m quite sure we’ll run into wireless internet all over the place.  I just don’t know how much time we’ll be wanting to spend online, haha.  I imagine we’ll have some downtime some of the evenings where we can Skype with our families and I’ll take the quick opportunity to update my blog.  While I make no promises in regards to posting, I DO promise that I will TRY.  :)  If I am unable to do so, I promise that I’ll be keeping a personal journal so that I can remember details and all that for when I am able to post.

I hope that this finds you all well and your summers have began well!  I am looking forward to starting mine!  Cheers to a fantastic summer!!  Speak to you all soon, hopefully!! 

Let me UPdate ya

Hola!

I have an NIE update, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to let you all know. J I have an appointment officially set for next Wednesday, the 30^th, to submit my application for renewal. I’m assuming that there won’t be any reason for them to decline the application. I have a ton of paperwork that I have to bring again, as expected, and for the most part, I’ve got it all gathered and completed. I am really, really hoping that there isn’t some issue with them messing up what school I will be at. I’m hoping I walk in with all my documentation and they give me a temporary card and I’m done. It sucks that I will have to take the 8 a.m. bus to Jaen (arrival at 9:00) and my appointment isn’t until 11:30. I hope it is quick, too, so I can catch the 1:00 bus back to the village. Anyway… you’ll hear all about it after it’s all said and done. Cross your fingers that it goes smoothly (for the first time in this country!). J

I have also decided that I am going to stay in the house that I am currently living in. I kind of fought with the decision for a couple weeks, but ultimately, it comes down to saving some money. The only negative about the house that I am in now is how freezing cold it is. And everyone tells me we had a mild winter this past year, so I could be in for a rude awakening. However, I will be fully stocked on hot water bottles and I will figure out the fire. I also intend on purchasing a heat blanket either in the states over the summer or in Jaen. Dad has always said, “You can survive anything for a little while.” Well, one way or another, I bet I survive. J Another thing that helped me decide… I HATE MOVING! I hate packing. It will be nice for me to just have the place ready for me upon my return. So… that decision is made and it’s nice to know that it’s one less thing to worry about before I get this summer started. J

Anyway, I thought I’d update you on a few of my decisions. I’ll close with a few more pictures… ENJOY!

6th graders playing during 'recess'

Some of the younger kids playing during recess.  They use an empty plastic bottle to play soccer (football) with.  I'm not sure if they aren't allowed to play with the school's sports equipmen or if it's just something they've made up along the way.  There is usually 2 or 3 games of this going on at once

Paqui, Clara, and Gema in the 6th grade English Club

The 6th grade during our field trip to Jaen.  This is at the University of Jaen. (We went to see an English play)

Some of the kiddos in my 4 year old class