Welcome to Greece

So I have finally arrived in Greece. A very large greek man has already tried to set me up with his son since being here. While we were on the plane the father got up from his seat next to me, told his son to come over, that I was from California, and to sit down. He then proceeded to come up at different times in the flight to tell his son to tell me (as if I could not hear) that they would pick me up in Athens whenever I wanted and show me Greece. The poor boy seemed embarassed, but he was very nice so it was not too awkward. Of course this story does not end here considering I am involved. As we were landing, I was telling the boy about how alot of people have thrown up next to me. Like 4 people. I would say that is a lot considering they were all do to motion sickness. Most of them being boys that had a crush on me. In Italy, I had a little boy throw up at the beginning of the bus ride next to me so it seemed I was cursed. We had laughed about this until I noticed he was sweating. Now he was a very large Greek boy so I thought this had to do with it, but no.. sure enough the poor guy started puking. I nicely gave him my bag when he needed another one. Poor guy. Moral of the story, if you get motion sickness at all, do not sit next to me.

Athens is quite a busy city full of graffitti. Like alot of the historic cities I have been in lately its interesting to see all the historical landmarks and ruins just sitting there in the middle of the city, everyone living there completely oblivious to the tremendous history and age of the places and things most of us just learn about in books. I really cannot wait to see Mars Hill, the temple of Zeus and the Acropolis.

I am staying at a missionaries house while the family is on furlough. Its so nice! The girls on our team are great, and I am so looking forward to getting to know them. My heart is full after so much great fellowship with Pastor Aidoo and his family, as well as great time spent with my amazing sorority sisters. I cannot help but sing all the time in my head the song about rejoicing. I just feel so happy :-) Below I will put the verse that has really been on my heart lately. Tomorrow we have our orientation and we will walk the brothels. So it begins.

Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Cinque Terre- Example of God's Artistry

We went to Cinque Terre this weekend. Cinque Terre is actually five towns on the coast of Italy along the Mediterranean. You can hike to each of them once you get to the first one or you can just take a 2 minute train ride through the mountains. I was completely unprepared for what I saw. It was breathtaking, The first village we went to was Maranola. This was the one that when we googled Cinque Terre most the pictures came up from. Once we got off the train we did not know where to go, but sooon found the most gorgeous walk ever. We had to pay 5 Euro to walk to Maranola, but it was worth it. The walk of love or something di amore was what the pathway was called. It wound along the mountains and the sea. All along the walkways there was steel hearts and wire. On these things couples would place locks to signify their unending love for each other. We were definitely in a honeymoon spot. The village of Maranola is like one big hill. You walk up the streets in the midst of tall vibrant buildings of red, yellow, and blue. Olive oils, postcards, and homemade jewelry all line the streets. I loved peeking into the different stairwells and seeing how they wound up into the buildings and different doorways. Everyone in Italy hangs their Laundry outside their windows and it was no different here so you can always see an ample supply of laundry. I dont think they use dryers. Probably better for the clothes anyways. We had not reserved a room because we thought we could find one when we got to Cinque Terre. False. Turns out this place is a hotspot and since the villages were so small we were only able to get a room for one night in a different town. The tourist lady was nice enough to let us leave our luggage with her, so we changed into our bathingsuits grabbed our purses and headed down towards the water. We ate at a little restaurant first by the sea. I had ravioli seabass. It was amazing. Carbs carbs everywhere. The bread they serve at every restaurant is straight from their bakeries. I am almost not even hungry for a meal after I am done eating the bread haha. After we finished eating we hopped down to go swimming. I have never been anywhere so beautiful. There was no sand, just rocks. The water was a beautiful blue I cannot even describe. Crystal clear. I looked up a word to describe the color and all I got was Mediteranean Blue. It is so beautiful it has its own color. The girls and I went rock jumping into the water. We would look up at the green mountains and the colorful city and marvel at where we were. "OMG can you believe this" "this is so unreal" and "I feel like I am in a dream" were all phrases that were repeated over and over. After we swam and took pictures we headed up for our luggage and on to the next town. This town was called Corniglia. We stepped off the train and all we saw was sea and road. Where was Corniglia? The answer: Up. A few tourists from Oklahoma grabbed us and showed us the way. We could not see a town but we could see stairs that led into a mass of green. I looked at my little rollaway suitcase and wished it was a backpack. This was not a problem for long. The guys showing us how to get to Corniglia were from Oklahoma and later on I found out were Christians so there was no way they were going to let me carry my suitcase up the 370 stairs (we looked it up). The other girls turned down the offers for the boys to carry their things, but not me. I was all about that haha. Turned out two of the guys had been traveling since February. They had been all over, and not just in Europe, Africa too. As soon as we breached the green we still could not see a town. So we kept walking, and then there we were. Possibly the most quaint, picturesque town I have ever seen. Corniglia is built into the mountains and once you reach the city there is no place for cars. There are stairs and that is it. The houses go straight up in Italian fashion and are very close together. I wondered how old the village was, I imagine really old. The Oklahomans told us that people in this village have lived up to 120 years old. The low stress environment plus all the stairs that force them to keep active makes them live a long time I guess. I loved how all the villagers just sat outside their doors. People were so kind and I really enjoyed seeing so many elderly people. The little kids were so cute. The old people took so much joy in the little ones. I hardly ever saw a child with their parent. They always seemed to surround the older folks. What a wonderful sense of community. The view of the ocean was wonderful, but i so enjoyed seeing a place where the people loved and cared for each other. They supported one another. They fought. I witnessed a coupe of fights actually that were pretty funny. Italians are so passionate. So much PDA and so much public fighting, but so much love :-) The last town we went to was Monterossa. This was a beach town and we had a blast laying on the sand until we were so sweaty we couldnt take it anymore.. then running into the water. Sooo many speedos were there. I am so glad that is not part of our culture. I for one prefer to have my Mom leave her top on at the beach and for my Dad to wear his swim trunks. But thats just me ha.. Now on to Florence :-)

The Problems Bella are in the Hospital

I had heard Rome was really dirty, but I was not prepared for what I saw. It looked like a third world country. The airport and train station were not nice at all. It was not that they were old.. they were just dirty and not taken care of. I had wanted to get out and explore Rome, but after traveling so much and seeing what Rome looked like from the train, I really had no desire to venture out with all my luggage by myself. So I headed straight for Florence. I arrived in Florence at 3 pm. Florence is absolutely beautiful. It is full of old churches and architecture. The whole town looks like old Italy. You do not see any new buildings anywhere. My friends were not at the train to pick me up so I waited a little and tried to find them. Finally I realized they were not coming so I got a cab and told him to take me to an internet cafe. We drove round looking for one and he was very nice ( he probably drove me around to run up the cost but he was such a nice old man and I was happy to have company) I saw the Dumo and other cathedrals. Finally we found the internet café and I tried to reach my friends. After an Hour and a half I went on a search for where I thought their apt was. I noticed in Italy all the people are very nice. Many asked if I needed help as I dragged all my luggage across the cobblestone streets of Florence. You get to hear "Chiao Bella" about a billion times as you walk by. I sat outside of what I thought was their apt but it was not it. So I dragged all my stuff back to the internet cafe. The poor internet man. I was so tired, jetlagged, and hungry at this point, it was really hard not to cry. They told me not to worry. That “the problems were in the hospital. Look around you are in Italy, Florence, The most beautiful city. You have no problems, the problems are in the hospital.” Then they would make me repeat it to them. God is so good! Even now and for a long time I will look back on that day and remember where the problems are. I needed that reminder for life. How blessed am I? How blessed are we all? Well, it was about 3 hours til I got in touch with my friends and finally got to their apartment. There had been a miscommunication and they had thought I was arriving that night. Oh well. I got to go out to an Italian restaurant and have some pasta. Sooooo good! Maybe I will leave Italy looking like my picture from my airport fiasco haha That night the jet lag wore off and I was finally able to sleep more the two hours. I forgot how much I loved sleep. The next day we left for Cinque Terre so I will tell you more about Florence when I explore it!

I have no shame.

So this is where my day in London stars to go downhill. I arrive to Gatwick airport nice and early before my flight. I pick up a pastie to eat. This is some kind of curry chicken calzone that was very satisfying. Finally., It is time to get my boarding pass and check in. I get up to the front of Mediana desk and the lady informs me that I am only allowed 2 bags. That is it. She flatly tells me that my backpack, even though it is not large, is considered a carry on not a personal item. That makes my carry on bag an extra piece of luggage. This woman then informs me that on top of the fact that I have three bags, my main bag is overweight plus my extra bag, and she will be charging me 12 pounds (roughly 24 dollars) for every kg I am over the limit. I was 15 kg over. Now, I am not going to pay an extra $360 for my luggage. I start to beg. She tells me to throw stuff away or just leave things in London. I want to kill her at this point. She is not only not trying to help my plight, she is completely unsympathetic and an idiot. I obviously am not from London so where would my stuff go? I had explained to her I am going to be in Europe for two months traveling, these are necessary items. I am not going to throw away clothes. She promptly hands me my passport back and tells me to come back when I figure it out. That is when I realized. There is only way to end this war. I needed to make my luggage lighter, and there is no rule against how much clothing I can wear. I make my way to the bathroom and somehow squeeze my way into the stall. At first I just stare at the suitcase and start to think thoroughly about what this means. “You will never see these people again” I kept reminding myself. Here is the running total of what I put on:

Underwear: 13

Pants: 3 (my pants could not button at all and my sweatpants drawstrings hung out from my nice business suit pants)

Socks: 5 under a pair of running shoes. It completed my fat person bloated look.

Skirt: 1 This was useful in hiding the fact my pants were not zipped.

Dress: 2 I put on my business dress that goes up to my neck and then my strapless lacy one.

Shirts: 13

Bras: 3

Sports bra: 1

Button up nice shirts: 3.. ( I put the largest one on the outside of all the shirts.

Belt: 1 stretchy that I put around my waist.

Scarves: 3

Suit Jacket: 1 ( most of my shirts were tank tops besides the 3 buttonups.. so I was able to get my arms through but the jacket wouldn’t close. )

I then took my pea coat and held it and put some other sweaters inside it. I threw away 3 notebooks, a really large book, all my gum, my first aid kit, and all my hangers. By the time I was done I was sweating profusely. This made me feel even fatter then I already felt. I was so hot that I had to put my hair up, plus it was getting in the way. So I threw it up into a bun on the top of my head. I realize this looks ridiculous, but I had to. SO there I was with all my clothing. I just looked in the mirror and laughed. I felt like I was wearing a chastity belt and my feet were starting to lose circulation. Every time I bent or moved it was strenuous. But I did it. I then proceeded to walk out into the airport over to the woman’s desk. I cant really explain the looks people gave me, but there were a lot of snickers. At random times I felt like bursting into tears because I was so tired, so uncomfortable and hot, I looked huge, my feet were numb, my chastity belt was cutting off circulation at my hips, and people were staring at me. It was like my worst nightmare except that I kept giggling because it really was funny. The airline lady looked shocked. She was trying not to laugh, and I was trying not to hit her. I realized that I had the padding advantage and I could totally hit her like I was wearing one of those fat sumo suits. I was still over, but this time only over 5 kg. After running around trying to find the place to pay for excess baggage, I finally get my boarding pass from the woman. Now it is time to pass security. As I walk up to the place where you put your carry on in to get checked, the security lady asked me to take off my jacket. Are you kidding me? So I took my jacket off and my scarves. I was not going to go beyond that. I am a blonde haired, blue eyed American who has so little shame that she has her made herself into a human clothing rack. I hardly think I qualify as a terrorist. Her comment was “Wow you are wearing a lot of the clothing.. that will make it hard if we need to pad you down.” Thankfully, the woman that was on the other side of the scanner just let me through. I now focused all my attention on getting to my gate and hiding til I got onto the plane. Turns out I had to walk through two very crowded waiting/shopping areas and my gate was at the end of the airport. WONDERFUL. I did not look anyone in the eye. I got to my gate and fell asleep. There was no one by my gate this entire time. They were all in the waiting areas by the shops, for this I was grateful. My flight ended up getting delayed twice so finally I went to the bathroom and took some folders out of my bag and crammed some clothes in. Long story short. My flight got canceled. I did all that. FOR NOTHING. I got all my luggage back and put all the clothing in it. There were 80 of us waiting at that airport for four hours til the told us they canceled. The airline offered us no promise for booking the next day, we would have to get there early and hope we could get a flight. People were furious. I was glad that everyone now hated this woman. I found great joy as she was bombarded with angry yells in all sorts of languages for the next two hours as she tried to find us hotels and placate the travelers. I called home and got a flight to Rome on a different airline. There were no flights left to Florence til late the next day and even that was not promised. I will get to Rome and take the train to Florence. Plus, I was not going through that whole ordeal ever again. I talked to a older woman and her husband from New York that were stuck in London with me. I started to explain to the lady my day, but she already knew. “Oh yes, I saw you.” Great. Hi, I am Shelbi . Welcome to my life.

London

So I am sitting at the airport during my layover and I thought I should relay to you my day. I arrived in London super excited. The first thing I noticed was all the brick buildings and how the yards seemed to be so rectangular. Also, when I was in the air I saw 3 pools and whenever I fly into California I see a billion. I must say I absolutely LOVE New Zealand Air. They were above and beyond nice. I told the flight attendent about my 9 hour layover and how I needed to get from Heathrow airport to Gatwick. He wrote out a enitre itinerary for me. Where to go.. what trains to take... where I can go see all the sights. I arrived at Victoria Station where they would hold my baggage so I could see the sights. I found it really hard not to talk with an accent. I know that is weird, but I kept on saying words that were some strange rendition of whatever my brain thinks the British sound like. It was quite a task getting around the train stations. I had a backpack, a carry on, and a big piece of luggage. There were no elevators, and ALOT of stairs. So either I looked quite pathetic trying to get up the stairs (usually a nice gentleman helped me carry it up on multiple occasions) or I was the obnoxious person dragging her bags down the satirs making really loud banging noises everytime the luggage hit a new stair. Finally, I was able to store my luggage and look around. I loved loved walking around London. I saw Parliament, Westminister Abbey, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, London Bridge... just to name a few. I could not stop marveling at all the old buildings. All I could describe it to you as is that I kept looking up. Alot of the buildings were brick, and they were very rectangular.. straight up. The roads seemed to make alleys allowing the buildings to surround me. One thing I noticed about London is that they have a ton of parks, and everyone seems to enjoy using them. I saw lots of business people on breaks just sitting in the parks. Most park benches were filled. It was so neat to be surrounded by all these historic buildings that make London a very old city, and then you hit a beautiful park dedicated to some royalty that is filled with grass, rows of old trees, and lawn chairs for people to sit on. Its such a nice combination. I walked for about 4 hours seeing the sights, and marevling at the history and architecture. I was in heaven.

On to my DISASTER.

LAX

So I am sitting in the lobby (is it called the lobby?) or the airport waiting area in LAX. I am so excited. Usually I love to eavesdrop, but everyone is speaking French around me so I do not really have the ability to truly be nosy. I need to learn a foreign language. The other sound I have been hearing for the past 45 minutes is this shrieking child. No, this is not a pain cry. This is a "I am a brat and my parents have absolutely no ability to discipline me so now I shall make you all pay for their inadequacy as parents." I honestly do not understand the no spanking thing. If my child is throwing a hissy fit and yelling at me at the top of his lungs, I am going to give him something to cry about. This child is now running around the airport and screams every time his Dad touches him. Modern child psychology has ruined public peace. On a brighter note, there is this darling old couple across from me. He leans over her and holds her hand. It is so cute. I love old people. Especially cute ones. I leave here at 4:30 pm and arrive in London at 11 am. That would be 3 am our time :-) I have a nine hour layover in London and get to find my way across London to Heathrow Airport from Gatwick. I really want to go see paliament and Buckingham palace since I have to cross the city anyways. We shall see how easy it is to find my way around. I have been assured that it is a color coated train system so I should be good. Before I part, I wanted to share this great quote I read:

"To complain that life has no joys while there is a single creature whom we can relieve by our bounty, assist by our counsels or enliven by our presence, is to lament the loss of that which we possess, and is just as irrational as to die of thirst with the cup in our hands." - Thomas Fitzosborne

:-)