Coming Around

Since we got back from the Peloponnese on Wednesday not a lot has gone on really. We started back to class on Friday and had a couple of tests Friday and Saturday. It is a little hard to really want to be in school and study when we leave for trips every other week. Not to mention the fact we are in Athens, Greece. Nonetheless, we do have work to do. It really is a lot better though when we are actually here seeing the things that we are learning about. It makes a huge difference and everything just comes to life almost. Last night was one of my favorite nights so far. A group of 8 of us went to a refugee center in downtown Athens. Some people from the church we go to help with it so a few people from our group go every 2 weeks. I wasn't even planning on going until right before it but I am so glad that I did. It was a blessing to me as it always is to be able to serve like that. We really weren't there for very long and we really didn't even get to do a whole lot. We sang a couple songs for them and we served their dinner then cleaned up afterwards. To be honest it seemed like most were just there to come eat and get out of there as fast as they could which is what most of them did. Still though it was a blessing just because it makes us realize what we have. What made the night even better was the group of people that I was with. We had a really fun group and it is always great getting to know more people. That is what half of this whole trip has been about is getting to know everyone. Last night we went up on the rooftop and looked over and saw the Acropolis. It was right there all lit up and one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. We stood there looking at it and sang for a while. It was just another one of those awesome moments that we have had on this trip where we have stood and looked at something so rich in history and beautiful and gotten to praise our Lord at the same time. It was an awesome feeling. Most of all last night was just a fun night to get away from the usual and do something different. But of course we had to get up early this morning and go back to class. Right now I am looking forward to a test on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday but luckily we have a day off Saturday then leave for another trip on Monday. We are going to Northern Greece for four days this time. I am really looking forward to it and I could definitely get used to a week of travel after every week of school. I love traveling and I could definitely make it a habit. We will see what comes of that I guess.

The Soccer Game!

How could I forget to talk about the soccer game??! Of course everything we have done and seen here are amazing but being the sports fan that I am the soccer game has by far been my favorite thing yet. European football comes close to the being the best sport in the world. We went to a huge game. It was an inner city rivalry between AEK and Panathanaikos. It was for 2nd place in the league. The thing people in America don't really understand about these games is how crazy the fans are. Fires, fights and riots are a common thing at the games. This game certainly didn't let us down. AEK was losing 4-0 in the final minutes of the game and of course the fans weren't happy. They started tearing down the walls between the sections and crowding around each section. The police were lined up to stop whatever was about to happen but it wasn't an easy task. We ended up being tear gassed as we tried to leave the stadium. It was somewhat dangerous sure but it is a normal thing and everyone was fine. It was an experience of a lifetime to say the least and I look forward to the next time I get the opportunity!

Egypt and the Peloponnese

Since I have already been here a month quite a bit has happened. My last post only explained less than half of what has been going on here so that is why I am already posting again about everything. Two weeks into the semester we made our first trip which was to Egypt. It turned out to be one of the best weeks of my life. Egypt itself was of course incredible but I think the best part of our trip actually had nothing to do with the things we saw. Our tour guide on our trip is part of what made this week one of the best weeks of my life. His name is Osman. In Egypt the main religion is Islam. Osman has been touched year after year every time he is with the Harding groups. He has an amazing family and they all have wonderful hearts. He is struggling so much with what to do because if he and his family became Christians they would have to leave his home country. I can't imagine having to struggle with something like that. Every day he wanted us to sing to him all day long. He really touched us just as much or more than we touched him. We were all crying on the last day when we had to say bye to him. In the midst of all this though the history and the culture was still such an experience. The first 2 days we were in Cairo. When we first got there I kept getting Arabian Nights stuck in my head from Aladdin because that is what it made me think of. I am weird I know but I can accept that. The biggest things we saw here were the Pyramids at Giza and the Egyptian Museum. It was really cool getting to see the pyramids because we have seen pictures and heard about them our entire lives and there we were standing right in front of them. We even got to go down in one of them. I have now been inside a pyramid in Egypt. It is pretty cool being able to say that I'm not gonna lie. The museum was cool because the main thing we saw was the mask of King Tut and everything else that was in his tomb. Getting to see the authentic mask and seeing all these things that decorated his tomb just makes so many things become more real to me. That night we went on our first train ride. It was an over night sleeper train to Aswan. The first thing we did was go see one of the many temples we were going to see the rest of the week. We saw a lot of temples and they all kind of ran together but they really were all pretty amazing. It was interesting seeing all these Pagan temples dedicated to all their gods and kings. That day we also got to go to the Nubian village and ride camels along the river. It was a lot of fun even though we didn't smell to pretty afterwards. We slept on our cruise ship that night and we sailed off the next day after going to Abu Simbel which is another temple. It is said that if there were to be an 8th wonder of the world this would probably be it. It is dedicated to Ramses II who was the most popular Ramses of the ancient times. We cruised down the Nile for 3 days stopping in places like Komombo and Edfu then we ended up in Luxor. On the cruise ship we had to really fun nights. The 2nd night we got to dress up nice for the Captain's dinner and got to hang out with everyone for a while and the last night we got to dress up like Egyptians and take pictures and eat a nice dinner. Luxor was by far my favorite place. It was known as the Luxurious City...hence the name Luxor. Here we saw two temples but the second one was my favorite thing of the whole trip. It was the Temple of Luxor and it was the place where Moses probably went to school. We went at night and it was so beautiful all lit up. The best part of it was sitting where Moses would have set and singing and feeling people come up behind us and listen to us. We were in a Pagan temple and an Islamic country and we were singing praises to god. It was an amazing experience. We took the night train back to Cairo that night and spent the next 2 nights there before going back. The last two days we went to Memphis, Saqqara and Goshen. Memphis was the first capital of Egypt and we saw the step pyramid in Saqqara. Goshen was also one of my favorite places because it was the land where the Israelites built there house and put blood over there doors during the passover. It is also where they left Egypt during the exodus. It was just so amazing being able to actually see and be at the places I have read about since I was a little kid. We also got to go to Sinai for a little while just to say we have been there. Again this week was one of the best weeks of my life and now I realize why God brought me here this semester. My eyes are being opened to a new world and history and the bible are coming alive to me now instead of just being stuff I read in a book. After we got back from Egypt we had a few more days of school and a couple of off days where we just hung out and relaxed. Going into Athens to eat at Sabbas, (the best gyro place around) or going to the beach, or eating at Tony's (a great gyro place with some good company) across the street are all becoming routine now. It becomes more and more like home here every day. We left a few days ago to go to the Peloponnese. It was only a 3 day trip so it flew by. It was a good trip but it was pretty tiring. We went to Corinth and Epidaurus the first day. In Corinth we went to the ancient agora and climbed the Acro-Corinth. In the ancient agora we saw the ruins of the city and we saw the bema which is where speeches were given and one of the few places we know for certain that Paul actually stood. (Acts 18) Climbing the Acro-Corinth was a bit of a challenge but once we got to the top we ate lunch with an amazing view of the Peloponnese on one side and Athens on the other side across the isthmus and the canal. It wasn't the clearest day ever but it was still a beautiful sight. We then went to Epidaurus where we saw some more ruins and then went to the theater there. The theater is one of the best preserved theaters and has perfect acoustics. It was incredible standing at the bottom singing and hearing our voices project to the top. It was even more incredible standing at the top being able to hear a whisper from the very bottom. The next day we went to Nafplio and got to go up in a castle. The castle was huge and it was fun to just walk around and explore. You could look out into the Aegean Sea and could see two more castles. We climbed the 857 steps down the castle and then went to Mycenae. In Mycenae we got to see the ruins of the Mycenaean Civilization which consisted of the Megadon, Lion's Gate, cistern, Grave Circle A, and the tomb where Agammemnon was possibly buried. We then drove the four hours to Olympia where we stayed the night at a pretty cool Swiss looking hotel. The next day was the last and best part of the trip for me. For those who know me know I love any and all sports. We got to see the first Olympic stadium. Olympia is where the first Olympic games were held. Being able to say I have run in the first Olympic stadium is a pretty cool thing for me. We went to another museum and saw decorations from the Temple of Zeus and other things from Olympia. We had a 5 hour ride back that afternoon to Porto Rafti. Today was our first full day back in the Artemis and it has been a good one. Sleeping in and relaxing not having to do much (besides studying a little) has been a great thing today. Now I have to face reality once again and start preparing for classes in the morning and tests the rest of the week and next week. Things here are amazing and I am loving every minute of it. Once again I thank God so much for this amazing opportunity and I again thank everyone for their support and their prayers.

First Impressions

Well it has been over a month and it is flying by faster than I could have imagined. Things fly by fast enough just being at school in Searcy but here it is like you blink and a week goes by. To be honest my first impression of this place made me feel almost as if I were in the middle of no where and in one of the dirtiest places I have ever seen. We are living in Porto Rafti, Greece which is right outside of Athens. There is no waste management here so people just throw their trash anywhere they please. It isn't the prettiest sight at first. As soon as we got here we walked around town and went over to the sea. We are on the coast of the Aegean Sea. You kind of get past the dirtiness of the town once you get over to the coast. It is a beautiful sight. The second day we were here a few of us climbed the mountain right beside the Artemis (the building we live in). Getting up the mountain is somewhat of a challenge but it is more than worth it. It is an amazing view. It felt incredible and you could see for miles. This is when I realized how beautiful this country really is. It also made me see the evidence of God's beauty. Sometimes I take for granted the places I see and the places I have been and even the place that I live. This semester I am really working on realizing what is around me and not taking anything for granted. Being up on that mountain is one of those things that helped me realize that. After that day things really started to fly by. The first trip we made was our tour into Athens. We toured all of the ruins and archaeological sights in Athens. The first place we went was the Acropolis. I never imagined I would be standing in front of these places I had heard and learned about my entire life. The Acropolis is the second highest point in the city and was meant to be seen from anywhere. The Parthenon and the Temple of Erechtheion are located on the Acropolis. After seeing these two things we walked over to Mars Hill. This was my favorite part of the day because this is when it really hit me that these places have such importance in history as well as biblical history. Sitting on top of Aereopogus (Mars Hill) and reading Paul's sermon (Acts 17:16-34) was a feeling I had never experienced before. Actually sitting at the place that Paul was giving his sermon and reading the very sermon he gave is something I will never forget. This isn't the last time this happens on this trip either which is what is making this trip so incredible. The rest of the day we toured Ancient Agora and saw things like the Stoa of Atalos, the Roman Forum and the Temple of Hepheistos. All these places we saw just made me think and wonder what things were like then. These buildings would have been an amazing sight. It has hard to really imagine what things would have been like when Athens is the way it is today. We started classes the third day we were here. Classes aren't bad but it does make us realize we do still have work to do in the midst of everything else we are seeing and doing. Every Sunday we go into Athens for church at 6 PM at the Church of Christ downtown. They have a Greek, Bulgarian, Russian and English service. Even though our group is 99 percent of the English congregation it is still nice being able to go to a familiar place. We can go into Athens whenever we want to but we typically only go early on Sundays before church because we have to use public transportation to get there. Public transportation is becoming a part of every day life here and to be honest I could get used to it. Athens is only about 10-15 minutes away but since we have to use public transportation it takes almost an hour to get in. We take a bus to the metro then ride the metro the rest of the way in. If you know me you know how picky of an eater I am. This trip has really opened my eyes to many new things including food. This might come as a shock but I actually ate my first salad on this trip. I know it sounds crazy but you can ask anyone. My favorite part about the food here are the gyros. You haven't experienced Greece until you experience the gyros. It is basically just chicken, pork or lamb in a pita with a cucumber or mayonnaise sauce and whatever else you wish to put on it. I am on number 20 right now if that tells you anything. The Artemis is an experience in itself. Living with 49 people in the same building seeing everyone all the time can be crazy at times. It is still amazing though getting to know the people I have. The people here are wonderful. I thank God so much for this amazing opportunity and for these people. This is all I will post for now. I will talk about Egypt and our Peloponnese trip on my next post soon. Thank you again for your prayers.

This Blog

This blog for now is basically to inform people about my semester in Greece. I have already been here for over a month and I have already seen and experienced so many things. So much goes on it is hard to repeat everything to everyone. So I decided this was a good way to share. So I hope everyone enjoys reading this and hearing about what is going on. I will try and keep this updated regularly but it will be a challenge with all the other writing I have to do. I appreciate everyone who helped support me in coming on this trip especially your prayers. I thank God for this opportunity every day.