Wednesday September 23
Today I had Morning Survey on MR with John. Nothing exciting happened.
Afterwards, the founder of Archelon came to camp to visit the volunteers and the work he had started. He was in Heraklion, a city 3 hours away, in order to speak at the National Wildlife Convention, and was willing to travel for hours to visit us. He was a really nice, down to earth guy who was in love with turtles. I was really nice to see someone that concerned and willing to help a problem in the world.
Afterwards I had my last K3, with Daniel, where I my first adoption occured. (At Kiosk, people can adopt a turtle by donating 30+ Euros. This donation goes straight to helping one specific turtle. The adopters decided to name their turtle Zues.
Harry, the turtle who lives in the harbor was spotted today, but we did not see him.
Another interesting note, only for a few people-- at camp Nora and Mel call me Demimi! I had this nickname in NYC from a few people.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Tuesday September 22
Today I had K1 with Mckenna. During our shift, Mckenna was asking about what she should do while she was in Athens. (She is going for a week after Archelon ends). This conversation led to me giving her a brief history lesson about ancient Greek wars. In exchange she told me some things about Mississippi.
After the shift I went to the internet cafe to post a link to the new BSB songs on Tanj's, Nora's and Mckenna's walls. (We listen to my I-pod a lot and Tanj hates my music. One day she jokingly asked if I had Backstreet Boys, and I responded "of course." She hates them with a burning passion, so I pretend to love them. We have been talking about BSBs a lot at camp, so I thought the news of their new hit would be a nice surpise for Tanj and the others.
At camp I had cooking and cleaning. I cooked an omlette with potatoes, onions, and cheese with fruit salad and cherry juice. Everyone really seemed to enjoy the meal, which made me happy. Afterwards we discussed the movie night which we had been planning for the past few days. We decided to watch LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring on Thursday. This discussion led to us talking about which characters from the movie we are. Like stated before Tanj is Gimli, and Mckenna is Gollum. Nora said she would rather be Legolas. I am Frodo, but they said if I had my long hair I would have been Aragorn, since they like my long hair better. (They saw pictures on facebook)
This discussion led to us having a LOTR photoshoot "dressed" as our characters with make-shift costumes. Tanj had a pick-axe and Nora had bamboo for her bow and arrow. Tanja also made a beard for herself using her long hairl; it was really a fun time. After the LOTR obsession we listened to music (more ABBA as well as Midnight Train to Georgia) and hung out.
After the shift I went to the internet cafe to post a link to the new BSB songs on Tanj's, Nora's and Mckenna's walls. (We listen to my I-pod a lot and Tanj hates my music. One day she jokingly asked if I had Backstreet Boys, and I responded "of course." She hates them with a burning passion, so I pretend to love them. We have been talking about BSBs a lot at camp, so I thought the news of their new hit would be a nice surpise for Tanj and the others.
At camp I had cooking and cleaning. I cooked an omlette with potatoes, onions, and cheese with fruit salad and cherry juice. Everyone really seemed to enjoy the meal, which made me happy. Afterwards we discussed the movie night which we had been planning for the past few days. We decided to watch LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring on Thursday. This discussion led to us talking about which characters from the movie we are. Like stated before Tanj is Gimli, and Mckenna is Gollum. Nora said she would rather be Legolas. I am Frodo, but they said if I had my long hair I would have been Aragorn, since they like my long hair better. (They saw pictures on facebook)
This discussion led to us having a LOTR photoshoot "dressed" as our characters with make-shift costumes. Tanj had a pick-axe and Nora had bamboo for her bow and arrow. Tanja also made a beard for herself using her long hairl; it was really a fun time. After the LOTR obsession we listened to music (more ABBA as well as Midnight Train to Georgia) and hung out.
Lost my Phone Today.
Today I had Morning Survey on MR with Mel. As we walked the beach, it looked really beautiful. The water was extremely rough, with huge waves, making the sand really shiney as well as easy to walk on. I took out my camera to take a picture and my phone slipped out of my bag. At the same time a huge waves came up and swept my phone into the sea; I never saw it again.
We also saw scarfy, a really cute dog on the beach.
After M.S. I cleaned more nest cages ( and recieved more injuries) and then I went to K2. At K2 Daniel took a video of the wooden turtle souviniers doing the "Turtle Dance". I cannot really explain it, but I will put up pictures of this Turtle mating ritual. After the kiosk shift I went to the internet cafe and facebook chatted 6 people, all of them were in class/ not paying attention; I thought that this fact was really funny. I also heard about the Backstreet Boy's new CD, which definately made my day.
We also saw scarfy, a really cute dog on the beach.
After M.S. I cleaned more nest cages ( and recieved more injuries) and then I went to K2. At K2 Daniel took a video of the wooden turtle souviniers doing the "Turtle Dance". I cannot really explain it, but I will put up pictures of this Turtle mating ritual. After the kiosk shift I went to the internet cafe and facebook chatted 6 people, all of them were in class/ not paying attention; I thought that this fact was really funny. I also heard about the Backstreet Boy's new CD, which definately made my day.
Pictures
I am having problem's with viewing the pictures- I will fix the problem as soon as possible, which is probably in like 5 or 6 days.
Monday, September 21, 2009
September 20th- Christina's Last Day
Today I had K1 with Nora. On our way to kiosk we saw some sort of Spanish sports team walking around the harbor of Chania. We thought it was like the Spanish national team for soccer. We were wrong but close; they were here to compete at the world championship for U20 Waterpolo.
During kiosk we spoke with many Americans. I have noticed more and more Americans here in Crete the past week or so. Usually there are many Scandi's and French, but it is nice to talk to Americans once in a while.
While at kiosk, the harbor was really wavey and a lot of people were getting soaked by the huge waves. It was really funny because a little kid got really wet; he was really far from the water but the water still reached him. His mother had been looking the other way so when she looked at her son she was confused as to how her son was soaking wet. Also, there was a Belgium family by stuff near the kiosk and as the mom decided to carry her daughter on her shoulders. As the mom was lifting the kid into the air, she hit the little girls head on the top of the kiosk. The little girl actually did not cry but it seemed like she had hit her head pretty hard. The mother began to laugh so I began to laugh as well. Even though the girl might of gotten hurt, and I felt bad for her, I could not stop laughing becuase it was one of the funniest things I had seen in Crete.
After K1 I went out to lunch with Christina at Tamam, a really great restuarant, because it was her last day. She said she was very happy to go home to see her family and to go to school. After the meal, we exchanged info and said our good-byes. Like all the other farewells I got very said because we were just getting to know one another. I had a few nicknames for Christina: Kri-Kri, Chris3 and Scheisse, and I had a inside jokes with her- Christine Reign and Tree loving.
Back at camp it was extremely empty since so many people had left in such a short period of time; the change is pretty drastic. There are 7 volunteers, but we are never more than 5 people at camp together (5 if everyone stays at camp during their breaks, which is not always the case).
I got back to camp to find Nora and Tanj. We started to talk about Lord of the Rings. Tanj told us how she went to New Zealand and visited some places where the movie was filmed. She took the "Ride of the Rings" (she rode a horse through some of the woods which were featured in the end of the 1st movie/ begining of the 2nd), and told us how people can still visit the Shire and see the Hobbit houses.
Nora thought I was such a nerd when I knew the name of the main ent- Tree Beard. Also, I said the troll in the 1st movie was pretty cool and she could not stop laughing at me. We were then talking about the different characters amd I was dubbed the worst character, Frodo. In retaliation I call Tanja Gimli now and Mckenna Gollum. After the LORT conversation I had to clean nest cages, which was really hard. I had to chip the paint of these metal contraptions and then brush of the rust using a metal brush. I kept slipping with the brush and getting the metal hairs stuck in my finger.(Now I have scars everwhere)
I went to sleep at 8:30.
During kiosk we spoke with many Americans. I have noticed more and more Americans here in Crete the past week or so. Usually there are many Scandi's and French, but it is nice to talk to Americans once in a while.
While at kiosk, the harbor was really wavey and a lot of people were getting soaked by the huge waves. It was really funny because a little kid got really wet; he was really far from the water but the water still reached him. His mother had been looking the other way so when she looked at her son she was confused as to how her son was soaking wet. Also, there was a Belgium family by stuff near the kiosk and as the mom decided to carry her daughter on her shoulders. As the mom was lifting the kid into the air, she hit the little girls head on the top of the kiosk. The little girl actually did not cry but it seemed like she had hit her head pretty hard. The mother began to laugh so I began to laugh as well. Even though the girl might of gotten hurt, and I felt bad for her, I could not stop laughing becuase it was one of the funniest things I had seen in Crete.
After K1 I went out to lunch with Christina at Tamam, a really great restuarant, because it was her last day. She said she was very happy to go home to see her family and to go to school. After the meal, we exchanged info and said our good-byes. Like all the other farewells I got very said because we were just getting to know one another. I had a few nicknames for Christina: Kri-Kri, Chris3 and Scheisse, and I had a inside jokes with her- Christine Reign and Tree loving.
Back at camp it was extremely empty since so many people had left in such a short period of time; the change is pretty drastic. There are 7 volunteers, but we are never more than 5 people at camp together (5 if everyone stays at camp during their breaks, which is not always the case).
I got back to camp to find Nora and Tanj. We started to talk about Lord of the Rings. Tanj told us how she went to New Zealand and visited some places where the movie was filmed. She took the "Ride of the Rings" (she rode a horse through some of the woods which were featured in the end of the 1st movie/ begining of the 2nd), and told us how people can still visit the Shire and see the Hobbit houses.
Nora thought I was such a nerd when I knew the name of the main ent- Tree Beard. Also, I said the troll in the 1st movie was pretty cool and she could not stop laughing at me. We were then talking about the different characters amd I was dubbed the worst character, Frodo. In retaliation I call Tanja Gimli now and Mckenna Gollum. After the LORT conversation I had to clean nest cages, which was really hard. I had to chip the paint of these metal contraptions and then brush of the rust using a metal brush. I kept slipping with the brush and getting the metal hairs stuck in my finger.(Now I have scars everwhere)
I went to sleep at 8:30.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
More Pictures
More Pictures from Archelon in Crete
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1381586020/from_loggedout=share_main/
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1381586020/from_loggedout=share_main/
Day Off (September 19)
Today was my day off, but I John had asked me to take on an extra shift because the Germans left early. I had no problem with it. The shift was an information table in the morning at a high-class hotel. The info table is essentially the kiosk except we go to hotels to present our knowledge. The good thing with this is that I recieved a free breakfast.
(Later that day I had learnt that the excavation, which I wanted to go on because I had this morning info table found 29 live hatchlings- I was really upest I missed it.)
While waiting for the bus to go to this hotel, Creta Princess, me and John were looking at this cafe that was just closing (it was like 6:45 in the morning). "Cafe Corner" is not really a cafe as one would think. It is more of a brothel/ escort service place. Lonely men can go there to enjoy the company of young ladies. It was really funny just watching the people interact.
When the girls were leaving (they all left together) one winkedat me as she was getting in the car. The car made a u-turn and all of them were yelling and waving at me; it was histerical.
After the breakfast and info table, I went back to camp for a while and just hung out. After this I went to Chania to buy gifts and souviniers. I went to the closed market, a huge indoor market place full of shops, restuarants, butchers and food stores, which was a really amazing experience. I felt like I was in an older world, which I thought was pretty cool.
After shopping, I went back to camp, played uno with Mel and Mckenna, helped Mel clean up, eat, went to the interent and then slept.
(Later that day I had learnt that the excavation, which I wanted to go on because I had this morning info table found 29 live hatchlings- I was really upest I missed it.)
While waiting for the bus to go to this hotel, Creta Princess, me and John were looking at this cafe that was just closing (it was like 6:45 in the morning). "Cafe Corner" is not really a cafe as one would think. It is more of a brothel/ escort service place. Lonely men can go there to enjoy the company of young ladies. It was really funny just watching the people interact.
When the girls were leaving (they all left together) one winkedat me as she was getting in the car. The car made a u-turn and all of them were yelling and waving at me; it was histerical.
After the breakfast and info table, I went back to camp for a while and just hung out. After this I went to Chania to buy gifts and souviniers. I went to the closed market, a huge indoor market place full of shops, restuarants, butchers and food stores, which was a really amazing experience. I felt like I was in an older world, which I thought was pretty cool.
After shopping, I went back to camp, played uno with Mel and Mckenna, helped Mel clean up, eat, went to the interent and then slept.
September 17-18
These past days have not been very exciting at all.
On Thursday all I had was K3 with John, so during the day I went swimming and did my laundry.
At K3 we made a decent amount of money, even though the town gets emptier each night; its a sign that the end of the season is approaching quickly.
The biggest thing which happened was that 6 British tourists came over to tell us that they had seen Harry, the turtle who lives in the harbor. I have never seen him, so I was kind of jealous.
The next day I had 4 jobs. I had Morning Survey on the MR beach. I also had K1, and for K1 I would have to leave for town at 9:15. I would have made this bus, but a huge river had formed at the end of the beach, flowing from in-land to the sea, and me and Tanja had to walk backwards to get off the beach, in order to walk to camp.
As I implied, I had K1 with Tanj. She is really nice and thinks I'm very funny.
Then I had K1 with Mel. Mel was mad at me because I was late. John had not told her that I was doing MS (he asked me to because the 2 German girls left 10 days too early and there were many unoccupied jobs), so she was upset that she had to set up kiosk alone (something which is difficult for only 1 person to do, so I understood where she was coming from). After I explained myself she was not mad anymore and we talked about TV, movies and documentaries. After my shift I went back to camp, went for a swim, cooked and cleaned and went to bed.
On Thursday all I had was K3 with John, so during the day I went swimming and did my laundry.
At K3 we made a decent amount of money, even though the town gets emptier each night; its a sign that the end of the season is approaching quickly.
The biggest thing which happened was that 6 British tourists came over to tell us that they had seen Harry, the turtle who lives in the harbor. I have never seen him, so I was kind of jealous.
The next day I had 4 jobs. I had Morning Survey on the MR beach. I also had K1, and for K1 I would have to leave for town at 9:15. I would have made this bus, but a huge river had formed at the end of the beach, flowing from in-land to the sea, and me and Tanja had to walk backwards to get off the beach, in order to walk to camp.
As I implied, I had K1 with Tanj. She is really nice and thinks I'm very funny.
Then I had K1 with Mel. Mel was mad at me because I was late. John had not told her that I was doing MS (he asked me to because the 2 German girls left 10 days too early and there were many unoccupied jobs), so she was upset that she had to set up kiosk alone (something which is difficult for only 1 person to do, so I understood where she was coming from). After I explained myself she was not mad anymore and we talked about TV, movies and documentaries. After my shift I went back to camp, went for a swim, cooked and cleaned and went to bed.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Pictures
Here are some pictures from Crete.
These are from when I visited the Samaria Gorge.
I will put the other ones later but they take a really long time so I did not have time to post them today.
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1375388020/
These are from when I visited the Samaria Gorge.
I will put the other ones later but they take a really long time so I did not have time to post them today.
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1375388020/
Alex's, Nina's and Katarina's last day
Wednesday September 16
Today was the last day for Alex, Nina and Katarina. Alex left in the morning so I said bye to her after Morning Survey. The two Germans left later in the afternoon so I went into town with them, Christina and Tanj for lunch.
It was really sad to say goodbye to these people because I just got to know them... maybe I will see them again in the future. That would be nice.
I had K3 that night, and it was so boring that I left Christina there for 20 minutes to walk around the port.
So far I have not taken a real shower. I go to the beach a lot to swim, but the showe at camp really grosses me out, so for 15 days I haven't showered.
Today was the last day for Alex, Nina and Katarina. Alex left in the morning so I said bye to her after Morning Survey. The two Germans left later in the afternoon so I went into town with them, Christina and Tanj for lunch.
It was really sad to say goodbye to these people because I just got to know them... maybe I will see them again in the future. That would be nice.
I had K3 that night, and it was so boring that I left Christina there for 20 minutes to walk around the port.
So far I have not taken a real shower. I go to the beach a lot to swim, but the showe at camp really grosses me out, so for 15 days I haven't showered.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Last Night for 3 people
Tuesday September 15
Today I had K1, so I woke up with only 5 hours of sleep. The people with Morning survey had only 3 hours and they needed to walk a couple of miles along the beach.
Last night was really fun, and good for the camp because the camp was kind of divided between two groups. I talk to both these groups, and I know that each one feels like the other one is exclusive. From my perspective the groups are (English Speakers aka Engs) Nora and Alex with Mel (She is Swiss), John and Mckenna, and the other is (Non Engs) Christina, Nina, Katarina and Tanja. I would not but myself or Danielle in one of the groups. I totally see how both of the groups think. The Engs think the Non Engs only talk amongst themselves. The Engs have been here longer, so have bonded and become extremely close. They have their inside jokes, so when they talk about these things the Non - Engs kind of feel left out ( I did at the beginning).
Part of the reason for this split, I feel, is Nina and Katarina decided they did not like it here and have chosen to go home. The other non Engs are also excited to go home as well, and keep saying things about it, and the Engs get annoyed that they want to leave so badly. The night before kind of help heal that divide, but the next day the rift was still there.
(Just want to mention, the 2 groups do interact with one another, and some people are more "exclusive" than others)
I am sad because I like all 3 people who are leaving. I mentioned this fact because I thought the gossip was exciting.
I had K1 and then an excavation with Mel, Daniel, Christina, Nina and Katarina. An excavation occurs 10 days after the eggs of a nest first hatch. We dug up the nest, removing everything from within it and then documenting the find. In the end we found 91 hatched eggs and 6 unhatched eggs with no embryos. I was fascinated by it, but the other, who have done many excavations said it was boring because sometimes they find alive hatchlings trapped under the sand, dead hatchlings or unhatched eggs with weak or deformed fetuses. Even though we did not see these things I was still interested.
At night I went to dinner for Alex's last night. The non-Engs all had work, except for Christina. Christina did not come because she did not feel comfortable with the other group, while the Engs thought she was being mean and stupid for not coming.
After dinner we did go to a bar for drinks with everyone at the camp, and a few other people from other camps and from around the neighborhood. The non-Engs came to this, but the table was extremely loud and crowded since there were 20 people, so they went to the bar for some drinks. They said it was because it was too crowded at the table for them to talk, while the Engs thought they were being exclusive. I sat with the Engs but left at 1 because I had Morning Survey the next morning.
The topics of conversation were Abba and the Moomins with the Engs, and Scheisse with the non-Engs. (These topics are pretty random/sad/ hysterical) The Moomins are the best because you can replace any word in a conversation with Moomin or moo- something.
I went back to camp with Mckenna, where we found a tree in the middle of the campsite. We both had never noticed it, and we thought it had either been planted there while we were at dinner or had grown 7 feet in 6 hours. It was actually one of the most bizarre things in my life.
Today I had K1, so I woke up with only 5 hours of sleep. The people with Morning survey had only 3 hours and they needed to walk a couple of miles along the beach.
Last night was really fun, and good for the camp because the camp was kind of divided between two groups. I talk to both these groups, and I know that each one feels like the other one is exclusive. From my perspective the groups are (English Speakers aka Engs) Nora and Alex with Mel (She is Swiss), John and Mckenna, and the other is (Non Engs) Christina, Nina, Katarina and Tanja. I would not but myself or Danielle in one of the groups. I totally see how both of the groups think. The Engs think the Non Engs only talk amongst themselves. The Engs have been here longer, so have bonded and become extremely close. They have their inside jokes, so when they talk about these things the Non - Engs kind of feel left out ( I did at the beginning).
Part of the reason for this split, I feel, is Nina and Katarina decided they did not like it here and have chosen to go home. The other non Engs are also excited to go home as well, and keep saying things about it, and the Engs get annoyed that they want to leave so badly. The night before kind of help heal that divide, but the next day the rift was still there.
(Just want to mention, the 2 groups do interact with one another, and some people are more "exclusive" than others)
I am sad because I like all 3 people who are leaving. I mentioned this fact because I thought the gossip was exciting.
I had K1 and then an excavation with Mel, Daniel, Christina, Nina and Katarina. An excavation occurs 10 days after the eggs of a nest first hatch. We dug up the nest, removing everything from within it and then documenting the find. In the end we found 91 hatched eggs and 6 unhatched eggs with no embryos. I was fascinated by it, but the other, who have done many excavations said it was boring because sometimes they find alive hatchlings trapped under the sand, dead hatchlings or unhatched eggs with weak or deformed fetuses. Even though we did not see these things I was still interested.
At night I went to dinner for Alex's last night. The non-Engs all had work, except for Christina. Christina did not come because she did not feel comfortable with the other group, while the Engs thought she was being mean and stupid for not coming.
After dinner we did go to a bar for drinks with everyone at the camp, and a few other people from other camps and from around the neighborhood. The non-Engs came to this, but the table was extremely loud and crowded since there were 20 people, so they went to the bar for some drinks. They said it was because it was too crowded at the table for them to talk, while the Engs thought they were being exclusive. I sat with the Engs but left at 1 because I had Morning Survey the next morning.
The topics of conversation were Abba and the Moomins with the Engs, and Scheisse with the non-Engs. (These topics are pretty random/sad/ hysterical) The Moomins are the best because you can replace any word in a conversation with Moomin or moo- something.
I went back to camp with Mckenna, where we found a tree in the middle of the campsite. We both had never noticed it, and we thought it had either been planted there while we were at dinner or had grown 7 feet in 6 hours. It was actually one of the most bizarre things in my life.
Today Should Have Sucked...
Today Should Have Sucked... but in the end it was the best day here.
All I had was morning survey, so I decided to go on an excursion to go bungee jumping. Since morning survey ends at like 8:15, I decided to take an 8:30 bus to Chania. Bungee Jumping was in Hersonisos, a town 45 minutes to the east of Heraklion, and Heraklion is 3 hours from Chania. I had a long day of traveling ahead of my, but I brought a book and my ipod, and I was going to relax. I finally got to Hersonisos at 2:00, and was told that Star Village, the place where the B. jumping is was a 45 minute walk from the town. I walked through this village, realizing what a nice place it was. There were many shops and restaurants, places for young people to hang out and night clubs for people to attend at night. It was a really nice place and if I ever come back, I would go back there.
I finally got to my designation, went over to the information booth and asked the manager the price for Bungee jumping. He responded "we are closed for the season. Maybe next year." I was so disappointed that I could not do the jump. Now I have to find it somewhere else.
I was not mad that I spent five hours commuting, I was just upset because it cost 40 euros to get there, and it was annoying to spend the money and not do anything. Since there was nothing I could do I went to town, grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed back to my camp site. The trip was really relaxing and the landscape was beautiful, so it was not all in vain. I got back to camp at 8:15 (almost a 12 hour trip)
Back at camp, we all had dinner together. It was the first time all the volunteers were spending time together. Usually some of us are working so we'll have a lot of people together, but not everyone. It was really a great night. We sat around talking with one another, listening to music, singing and dancing and just hanging out. We played songs from my ipod because my ipod has been dubbed the "fun" ipod. We were singing to the Jackson 5, "You're so Vain", Pink and all that kind of music. Towards the end of the night we had an Abba Marathon were we all got up and danced. Katarina even started dancing on the table. I laughed a lot this night and had a lot of fun just hanging around with these people. The non- English people also decided to teach each other bad words in their languages. Everyone's favorite was "Scheisse" for some strange reason.
We also decided to fit everyone at camp into my tent. Before coming here I was told to bring a 4 person tent to be comfortable. Well, the tent ended up being tremendous and everyone makes fun of me for it, calling it the castle or the hotel. But we decided to see if we could fit, and we easily did. I had a lot of fun and took a lot of pictures. We stayed up till 3 just chilling.
(Alex, Nora, Mckenna and John went to sleep first)
I remember Daniel getting into the Abba dancing, Mel flirting with everyone-- she is so funny and really cool, and Katarina getting into the songs to which she knew the words. I was also trying to speak French with Christina and German with Nina, but my favorite was me tapping Tanja's shoulder. I would be on her left and tap her right shoulder, and she would always turn the other way and not know it was me. If you have ever met me then they'll know what I'm talking about. Also, her name is pronounced Tania, but spelled Tanja, but I call her Tanja with the J.
All I had was morning survey, so I decided to go on an excursion to go bungee jumping. Since morning survey ends at like 8:15, I decided to take an 8:30 bus to Chania. Bungee Jumping was in Hersonisos, a town 45 minutes to the east of Heraklion, and Heraklion is 3 hours from Chania. I had a long day of traveling ahead of my, but I brought a book and my ipod, and I was going to relax. I finally got to Hersonisos at 2:00, and was told that Star Village, the place where the B. jumping is was a 45 minute walk from the town. I walked through this village, realizing what a nice place it was. There were many shops and restaurants, places for young people to hang out and night clubs for people to attend at night. It was a really nice place and if I ever come back, I would go back there.
I finally got to my designation, went over to the information booth and asked the manager the price for Bungee jumping. He responded "we are closed for the season. Maybe next year." I was so disappointed that I could not do the jump. Now I have to find it somewhere else.
I was not mad that I spent five hours commuting, I was just upset because it cost 40 euros to get there, and it was annoying to spend the money and not do anything. Since there was nothing I could do I went to town, grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed back to my camp site. The trip was really relaxing and the landscape was beautiful, so it was not all in vain. I got back to camp at 8:15 (almost a 12 hour trip)
Back at camp, we all had dinner together. It was the first time all the volunteers were spending time together. Usually some of us are working so we'll have a lot of people together, but not everyone. It was really a great night. We sat around talking with one another, listening to music, singing and dancing and just hanging out. We played songs from my ipod because my ipod has been dubbed the "fun" ipod. We were singing to the Jackson 5, "You're so Vain", Pink and all that kind of music. Towards the end of the night we had an Abba Marathon were we all got up and danced. Katarina even started dancing on the table. I laughed a lot this night and had a lot of fun just hanging around with these people. The non- English people also decided to teach each other bad words in their languages. Everyone's favorite was "Scheisse" for some strange reason.
We also decided to fit everyone at camp into my tent. Before coming here I was told to bring a 4 person tent to be comfortable. Well, the tent ended up being tremendous and everyone makes fun of me for it, calling it the castle or the hotel. But we decided to see if we could fit, and we easily did. I had a lot of fun and took a lot of pictures. We stayed up till 3 just chilling.
(Alex, Nora, Mckenna and John went to sleep first)
I remember Daniel getting into the Abba dancing, Mel flirting with everyone-- she is so funny and really cool, and Katarina getting into the songs to which she knew the words. I was also trying to speak French with Christina and German with Nina, but my favorite was me tapping Tanja's shoulder. I would be on her left and tap her right shoulder, and she would always turn the other way and not know it was me. If you have ever met me then they'll know what I'm talking about. Also, her name is pronounced Tania, but spelled Tanja, but I call her Tanja with the J.
A Few Days I missed
Friday September 11
I woke up this morning and it was pouring down rain. This was miserable for a few reasons. First because my tent is not water proof, so it leaked a little bit. Second, because everything got extremely muddy. Finally, I'm in Greece and it's raining. (Boo Matt Colon)
My only job today was K2, which starts at 2:30, so until then I stayed at camp with the other volunteers playing cards and checkers. I went to K2 and as usually nothing to exciting happened.
I got back to camp, and sat down to dinner. While eating Nora asked to see my ipod to see what types of songs I have. She said she usually goes through people's ipods looking for the funniest songs. I have a lot of girly pop music from the 90s so it was not too hard to find "good" songs. They played a lot of songs including Ace of Base "I Saw the Sign" and S Club 7. It was really funny to see adults singing and dancing to these songs. it was very reminiscent of the soccer buses.
Saturday September 12
Today I had morning Survey on HL with Tanja. Since it rained the previous night we found no turtle tracks. (Luckily that was the only night it rained (as of Sep 16th))
After MS I went back to camp and napped till 12:30. When I woke up, I went for a quick swim at the beach. I got back to camp to see that no one was there. I decided to go into town early to walk around and look for souvenirs and gifts. (It was much harder than I thought it would to find nice things)
As I walked through a different part of the city I had never been too, I saw many ruins and ancient structures. This was really interesting not on because the ruins were beautiful, but also because they existed in the middle of a metropolis and were still in great conditions (relatively speaking of course).
As I was walking back to Kiosk, I realized how beautiful the city really was. The Kiosk is in the harbor of the olf city, surrounded by Greek, Venetian and Turkish styled architecture. To the left og the kiosk was a mosque, right behind it is a Greek orthodox Church, and right across from it is a light house. (Between the light house and our Kiosk is water were beautiful sail boats are always traversing through.
K3 started out really boring so I decided to count and organize all the coins in the donation jar ( A jar where people can put spare change if they want to donate some money)
There was 19.30 E
There were 38 2o cent coins, 63 10 cent coins, 64 5 cent coins, 74 2 cent coins and 72 1 cent coins, as well as two english pennies and a danish coin.
I also organized the coins according to which countries the y come from.
20 cent coins: 19 Greek, 9 German, 2 Spanish, 2 Italian, 2 French, 2 Finnish and 1 Irish
10 cent coins: 35 Gr, 10 Ger, 4 Sp, 3 Fr, 1 Bel, 2 It, 4 Austian, 4 Fin
5 Cent coins: 36 Grk, 6 It, 5 Fin, 6 Dutch, 3 Ir, 3 Fr, 1 Bel, 1 Aus, 1 Sp, 1 Portugal
2 Cent coins: 36 Grk, 14 Germ, 2 Slovakian, 5 It, 4 Sp, 5 Ir, 7 Fr, 4 Au, 1 Bel, 1 Luxembourg
1 Cent coins: 23 Ger, 12 Fr, 24 Gr, 2 Aus, 1 Dutch, 2 Sp, 2 It, 6 Ir
After counting the coins, I saw a fire dancer. It was just a lady who danced with and juggled fire. Since there was not much happening I was amazed by her performance.
K3 ended and we closed up the Kiosk. Katarina and I took a little longer than usual cleaning up. I looked at my watch and saw we had 7 minutes to catch the bus. We started walking quickly; the brisk walk turned into a jog and then into a run. We finally got to the station. We saw our bus close its doors and start to drive away, so we ran on the side of it and banged on the door to stop. It did, which is lucky for us because sometimes they do not.
Sunday September 13
Today I had K1 with Katarina. I told her that I wanted to buy a Cow Boy hat, because I think they are so cool. Instead of going straight to Kiosk, we went looking for a hat for me. We found a really nice one, but it did not have a string (which is a vital part of the hat) so I did not get it.
While at Kiosk we saw Paris Hilton, so we were extremely excited.
I got back to camp after K1 and I took a nap. Then both of us made dinner, a potato salad Katarina wanted to make. It was really good. After dinner we went to the internet cafe to watch youtube videos. We watched the Serena Williams video. (tennis is my new favorite sport after it)
We also decided to show one another "funny" clips from youtube. Personally, I thought they were so weird. We watched the Moomins ( Finnish children show) and some weird guy whipping, washing and brushing his hair. Honestly that was the strangest video ever and I can't describe it myself. Here are the clips if u want to watch them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_9ryn0TaME
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RByqVJIfKCI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg9hw5K-m6Q&feature=related
Then me and Alex showed the Mr. G clip from Summer Heights High-- it was by far the funniest video we watched.
I woke up this morning and it was pouring down rain. This was miserable for a few reasons. First because my tent is not water proof, so it leaked a little bit. Second, because everything got extremely muddy. Finally, I'm in Greece and it's raining. (Boo Matt Colon)
My only job today was K2, which starts at 2:30, so until then I stayed at camp with the other volunteers playing cards and checkers. I went to K2 and as usually nothing to exciting happened.
I got back to camp, and sat down to dinner. While eating Nora asked to see my ipod to see what types of songs I have. She said she usually goes through people's ipods looking for the funniest songs. I have a lot of girly pop music from the 90s so it was not too hard to find "good" songs. They played a lot of songs including Ace of Base "I Saw the Sign" and S Club 7. It was really funny to see adults singing and dancing to these songs. it was very reminiscent of the soccer buses.
Saturday September 12
Today I had morning Survey on HL with Tanja. Since it rained the previous night we found no turtle tracks. (Luckily that was the only night it rained (as of Sep 16th))
After MS I went back to camp and napped till 12:30. When I woke up, I went for a quick swim at the beach. I got back to camp to see that no one was there. I decided to go into town early to walk around and look for souvenirs and gifts. (It was much harder than I thought it would to find nice things)
As I walked through a different part of the city I had never been too, I saw many ruins and ancient structures. This was really interesting not on because the ruins were beautiful, but also because they existed in the middle of a metropolis and were still in great conditions (relatively speaking of course).
As I was walking back to Kiosk, I realized how beautiful the city really was. The Kiosk is in the harbor of the olf city, surrounded by Greek, Venetian and Turkish styled architecture. To the left og the kiosk was a mosque, right behind it is a Greek orthodox Church, and right across from it is a light house. (Between the light house and our Kiosk is water were beautiful sail boats are always traversing through.
K3 started out really boring so I decided to count and organize all the coins in the donation jar ( A jar where people can put spare change if they want to donate some money)
There was 19.30 E
There were 38 2o cent coins, 63 10 cent coins, 64 5 cent coins, 74 2 cent coins and 72 1 cent coins, as well as two english pennies and a danish coin.
I also organized the coins according to which countries the y come from.
20 cent coins: 19 Greek, 9 German, 2 Spanish, 2 Italian, 2 French, 2 Finnish and 1 Irish
10 cent coins: 35 Gr, 10 Ger, 4 Sp, 3 Fr, 1 Bel, 2 It, 4 Austian, 4 Fin
5 Cent coins: 36 Grk, 6 It, 5 Fin, 6 Dutch, 3 Ir, 3 Fr, 1 Bel, 1 Aus, 1 Sp, 1 Portugal
2 Cent coins: 36 Grk, 14 Germ, 2 Slovakian, 5 It, 4 Sp, 5 Ir, 7 Fr, 4 Au, 1 Bel, 1 Luxembourg
1 Cent coins: 23 Ger, 12 Fr, 24 Gr, 2 Aus, 1 Dutch, 2 Sp, 2 It, 6 Ir
After counting the coins, I saw a fire dancer. It was just a lady who danced with and juggled fire. Since there was not much happening I was amazed by her performance.
K3 ended and we closed up the Kiosk. Katarina and I took a little longer than usual cleaning up. I looked at my watch and saw we had 7 minutes to catch the bus. We started walking quickly; the brisk walk turned into a jog and then into a run. We finally got to the station. We saw our bus close its doors and start to drive away, so we ran on the side of it and banged on the door to stop. It did, which is lucky for us because sometimes they do not.
Sunday September 13
Today I had K1 with Katarina. I told her that I wanted to buy a Cow Boy hat, because I think they are so cool. Instead of going straight to Kiosk, we went looking for a hat for me. We found a really nice one, but it did not have a string (which is a vital part of the hat) so I did not get it.
While at Kiosk we saw Paris Hilton, so we were extremely excited.
I got back to camp after K1 and I took a nap. Then both of us made dinner, a potato salad Katarina wanted to make. It was really good. After dinner we went to the internet cafe to watch youtube videos. We watched the Serena Williams video. (tennis is my new favorite sport after it)
We also decided to show one another "funny" clips from youtube. Personally, I thought they were so weird. We watched the Moomins ( Finnish children show) and some weird guy whipping, washing and brushing his hair. Honestly that was the strangest video ever and I can't describe it myself. Here are the clips if u want to watch them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_9ryn0TaME
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RByqVJIfKCI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg9hw5K-m6Q&feature=related
Then me and Alex showed the Mr. G clip from Summer Heights High-- it was by far the funniest video we watched.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Almirida
Thursday September 10th
Today I had Morning Survey and cooking, so between the hours of 9 am- 6pm I had nothing to do. I decided to go to Almirida with Mckenna. We went here because we were told that this was the only beach in Crete that taught people how to wind surf. We too the 2 hour commute to get there, and were both really excited to surf. However, the man at the counter told us they did not have lessons and did not rent out there boards to beginners, so we did not end up wind surfing. I was kind of disappointed, but we stayed on the beach for a few hours instead. I took a nap, which was refreshing because I walked 12 miles yesterday and 4 this morning (at 6:30 am). I got really tan during my nap, so that is a plus.
We ate lunch and decided to the 3:45 bus back to Chania so Mckenna could make it back to K3. We waited at the bus station for 45 minutes, so we asked a local about the bus schedule. He replied "the buses come when ever they feel like it." We realized that we were stranded here (at least till 7pm when the next bus was schedules to come. Mckenna needed to be back by half past 6.)
We decided to hitch hike, something neither of us had ever done. We wrote a sign saying "Hania", and started along the road. I actually thought we would end up walking all the way back (22 km), but not even 5 minutes later a car pulled over to pick us up. He was a Canadian man, and was extremely generous for giving us a ride. He was nice, but when ever he spoke I could not hear him because he was very soft spoken.
We arrived in Chania, where I met Fat Dog. Fat Dog is the fattest dog I have ever seen. It is actually tremendous, definately ways more than a baby cow, but surprising walks. ( I did not see it walk but that is what others told me.)
It was really funny, but I felt bad because it was so huge.
Today I had Morning Survey and cooking, so between the hours of 9 am- 6pm I had nothing to do. I decided to go to Almirida with Mckenna. We went here because we were told that this was the only beach in Crete that taught people how to wind surf. We too the 2 hour commute to get there, and were both really excited to surf. However, the man at the counter told us they did not have lessons and did not rent out there boards to beginners, so we did not end up wind surfing. I was kind of disappointed, but we stayed on the beach for a few hours instead. I took a nap, which was refreshing because I walked 12 miles yesterday and 4 this morning (at 6:30 am). I got really tan during my nap, so that is a plus.
We ate lunch and decided to the 3:45 bus back to Chania so Mckenna could make it back to K3. We waited at the bus station for 45 minutes, so we asked a local about the bus schedule. He replied "the buses come when ever they feel like it." We realized that we were stranded here (at least till 7pm when the next bus was schedules to come. Mckenna needed to be back by half past 6.)
We decided to hitch hike, something neither of us had ever done. We wrote a sign saying "Hania", and started along the road. I actually thought we would end up walking all the way back (22 km), but not even 5 minutes later a car pulled over to pick us up. He was a Canadian man, and was extremely generous for giving us a ride. He was nice, but when ever he spoke I could not hear him because he was very soft spoken.
We arrived in Chania, where I met Fat Dog. Fat Dog is the fattest dog I have ever seen. It is actually tremendous, definately ways more than a baby cow, but surprising walks. ( I did not see it walk but that is what others told me.)
It was really funny, but I felt bad because it was so huge.
Samarian Gorge
Today I visited the Samarian Gorge with Katarina and Christina.
The Samarian Gorge is Europe's largest gorge, spanning 18 kilometers ( about 12 miles), through south- westeren Crete.
We walked the entire way in about 5 hours. It was a lot of fun and truly beautiful. The scenary and landscape was truly amazing. There were so many types of terrains we passed. We started at the top of the gorge, so we just looked down and saw mountains covered in trees and woods. We walked down the mountains roads to a huge forest with thousnads of trees. Christina really likes trees, so we decided to climb the trees, and take pictures with a lot of them. It might sound really stupid, but it was really funny because whenever we saw an interesting looking tree we got so exited.
Me and Katarina went "swimming" in a spring in the woods. It was the clearest water I have ever seen.
After the forestry, we entered the canyony parts. The walls of the gorge towered hundreds of feet above our heads, and the path became extremely narrow that we could only walk in single file line for a while. There were so many little rivers flowing everywhere, and so many trees growing out of the side of the gorge's mamouth walls.
I tried to make a video account of the walk. I will try to put it up on the blog.
The Samarian Gorge is Europe's largest gorge, spanning 18 kilometers ( about 12 miles), through south- westeren Crete.
We walked the entire way in about 5 hours. It was a lot of fun and truly beautiful. The scenary and landscape was truly amazing. There were so many types of terrains we passed. We started at the top of the gorge, so we just looked down and saw mountains covered in trees and woods. We walked down the mountains roads to a huge forest with thousnads of trees. Christina really likes trees, so we decided to climb the trees, and take pictures with a lot of them. It might sound really stupid, but it was really funny because whenever we saw an interesting looking tree we got so exited.
Me and Katarina went "swimming" in a spring in the woods. It was the clearest water I have ever seen.
After the forestry, we entered the canyony parts. The walls of the gorge towered hundreds of feet above our heads, and the path became extremely narrow that we could only walk in single file line for a while. There were so many little rivers flowing everywhere, and so many trees growing out of the side of the gorge's mamouth walls.
I tried to make a video account of the walk. I will try to put it up on the blog.
September 6th- 8th
Sunday September 6th
Today I had Morning Survey on MR beach. I was paired up with Alex. Alex is really nice and a truly hilarious person. I tried not to talk to much since M.S. is early in the morning ( and I have been told I talk a lot), but half way through the walk I began speaking. We talked about "Summer Heights High".
We also found an adorable little puppy. He followed us for about 3 miles. I was playing fetch with him for most of the walk; he hardly ever brought the sick back to me. He was a really cool dog.
After morning survey I had nothing until K3 (M.S. ends at 9 am, and K3 starts at 6:30 pm), so I just chilled out at camp for most of the day. I went to Chania early to walk around town. I started walking around the backstreets of the city, and soon enough I entered a strictly residential area. This district was on top of a hill, so I was able to see the whole of Chania from the area I ended up in, it was really a cool site.
I also met a Senegalese man named Alex who was selling watches, and Eric and Susanna, 2 British people who were recommending places for meto visit while on Crete.
At K3 with Mckenna, Popcorn man put a live fish in Mckenna's hands and she freaked out. It was actually histerical: she did not know what to do aka through it back into the water.
I also learned that she (and I quote) "learned how to cross the street here in Greece." I always make fun of her for this because it is really ridiculous. (She lives in a small town in Mississippi so she is not used to traffic/ cars on the road, but still its funny.)
She makes fun of me for not knowing that horses eat apple cores, but I live in a city so I don't have horses in my backyard, like she does.
After kiosk I went to camp, and fell asleep.
Monday September 7th
Today I had one job assigned to me: presenting a slide show at 9 pm. This meant I was free the whole day. I did not really do anything special. I hung around camp, and went to the beach, which is literally 15 seconds from camp.
The beach was really nice. Usually the water is really calm, but today it was rough and wavy. I went swimming in these waters, and was pushed and pulled by the waves. It was a lot fo fun to have a little more action in my laid back, calm schedule.
We went to give the slide show, and not one person showed up, so we did not present it.
Tuesday September 8th
Let me explain to you what we sell at Kiosk. (I am only allowed to buy a limited amount of these things. I was going to buy a lot of turtle souveniers for people, but that does not look possible.)
Turtle necklaces, T-Shirts, Leather bags, Pencils, Calendars, Coloring Books, Key Chains and Board Games. The T-shirts, pencils and necklaces are nice, but the leather bags, which also sell, are kind of ugly. There are also Board Games, and there was 1 sold the entire summer. i am telling you this because today I had K1 with Nora, and we sold 2 board games, it was really exciting. (The things which excite us here!!!)
After I returned to camp, I decided to go to the beach again. Today the waves were huge and rough again. However, I decided to swim a little farther out than yesterday, which was a bad idea. I could not get back on to the shore. I had to let the water push me around and the waves pull me under for a few minutes before I was able to get back to shore. Even though it was a little dangerous, it was still a lot of fun.
Today I had Morning Survey on MR beach. I was paired up with Alex. Alex is really nice and a truly hilarious person. I tried not to talk to much since M.S. is early in the morning ( and I have been told I talk a lot), but half way through the walk I began speaking. We talked about "Summer Heights High".
We also found an adorable little puppy. He followed us for about 3 miles. I was playing fetch with him for most of the walk; he hardly ever brought the sick back to me. He was a really cool dog.
After morning survey I had nothing until K3 (M.S. ends at 9 am, and K3 starts at 6:30 pm), so I just chilled out at camp for most of the day. I went to Chania early to walk around town. I started walking around the backstreets of the city, and soon enough I entered a strictly residential area. This district was on top of a hill, so I was able to see the whole of Chania from the area I ended up in, it was really a cool site.
I also met a Senegalese man named Alex who was selling watches, and Eric and Susanna, 2 British people who were recommending places for meto visit while on Crete.
At K3 with Mckenna, Popcorn man put a live fish in Mckenna's hands and she freaked out. It was actually histerical: she did not know what to do aka through it back into the water.
I also learned that she (and I quote) "learned how to cross the street here in Greece." I always make fun of her for this because it is really ridiculous. (She lives in a small town in Mississippi so she is not used to traffic/ cars on the road, but still its funny.)
She makes fun of me for not knowing that horses eat apple cores, but I live in a city so I don't have horses in my backyard, like she does.
After kiosk I went to camp, and fell asleep.
Monday September 7th
Today I had one job assigned to me: presenting a slide show at 9 pm. This meant I was free the whole day. I did not really do anything special. I hung around camp, and went to the beach, which is literally 15 seconds from camp.
The beach was really nice. Usually the water is really calm, but today it was rough and wavy. I went swimming in these waters, and was pushed and pulled by the waves. It was a lot fo fun to have a little more action in my laid back, calm schedule.
We went to give the slide show, and not one person showed up, so we did not present it.
Tuesday September 8th
Let me explain to you what we sell at Kiosk. (I am only allowed to buy a limited amount of these things. I was going to buy a lot of turtle souveniers for people, but that does not look possible.)
Turtle necklaces, T-Shirts, Leather bags, Pencils, Calendars, Coloring Books, Key Chains and Board Games. The T-shirts, pencils and necklaces are nice, but the leather bags, which also sell, are kind of ugly. There are also Board Games, and there was 1 sold the entire summer. i am telling you this because today I had K1 with Nora, and we sold 2 board games, it was really exciting. (The things which excite us here!!!)
After I returned to camp, I decided to go to the beach again. Today the waves were huge and rough again. However, I decided to swim a little farther out than yesterday, which was a bad idea. I could not get back on to the shore. I had to let the water push me around and the waves pull me under for a few minutes before I was able to get back to shore. Even though it was a little dangerous, it was still a lot of fun.
An uneventful day
Since I do not get to the internet everyday, I write in a journal to remember/record what I have done each day. Before typing up this entry I decided to read it: it was really boring as well as ridiculously long. I will save you the time by summing it up in a few quite words. I woke up at 10:30, had breakfast and talked with Tanja and Christina, chopped bamboo and went to K2.
At K2 I met popcorn man, and he gave me and Mckenna free popcorn and cotton candy. We also met his 3 year old son Dmitry (they are Russians not Greeks, that's why it is spelt that way).
After K2 i went back to camp, had dinner and went to watch a World Cup Qualifing match. Greece vs. Switzerland. There are a few Swiss people at camp, so we thought the game would be really intense and exciting. It was really boring. So boring, in fact that I left at half time. Greece lost.
At K2 I met popcorn man, and he gave me and Mckenna free popcorn and cotton candy. We also met his 3 year old son Dmitry (they are Russians not Greeks, that's why it is spelt that way).
After K2 i went back to camp, had dinner and went to watch a World Cup Qualifing match. Greece vs. Switzerland. There are a few Swiss people at camp, so we thought the game would be really intense and exciting. It was really boring. So boring, in fact that I left at half time. Greece lost.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
2nd day of Archelon- a very original title
Friday August 4th
I just wanted to start this post by describing the atmosphere here in Crete.
Right now there are 14 people who are at the Archelon camp.
John Conlin- leader of the camp from Leeds, England
Mel- a swiss woman who has been here since the camp first set up; I think she is 2nd in command
Tanja- another Swiss person. She likes all things Scandanavian.
Daniel- a Swedish guy, who arrived the same day that I did. He is very laid back and cool.
Nina and Katarina- two German friends who also arrived when I did.
Alex- a girl from Brisbane, Australia. Funniest person on camp and is a fan of "Summer Heights High"
Christina- a quiet French- Greek girl, who is my age. She has a very nice French accent.
Ilektra- a Greek girl who is very cool; probably the most chill person on camp.
Mckenna- a girl from Oxford, Mississippi who is also taking a gap year. We have a lot of assignments together in the future, (and since this is a few days behind I can say she is very nice, happy person) She wants to go Bungie jumping, but not here in Greece; I want to go here but she says she wont let me.
Nora- another American on a gap year: from Maine.
Becky and Jen- both are British girls, who left today
Most of the people here seem pretty nice, and cool, but they do not talk much ( I hope they do not think I'm since I talk a lot) They are also extremely funny. They seem to give everyone they meet nicknames. There is:
Popcorn man: a man who sells popcorn in town, near where we work
Spider man: a man who sells jumping spider toys in town.
Happy John: a man who goes up to all the girls in town and kisses, hugs and licks them.
Truchy: a man who works on a boat who comes and talks to us while we work in town
Really happy Greek man...
Bulgarian man: a Bulgarian man who says creepy things to the girls when we walk on the beach
There are also many nicknames for the animals here:
Brown Dog, Sandy/ White Dog, Fat Dog and Fat Dog 2 aka Fat Dog's Deputy
Now let me describe the jobs we are given here.
Morning Survey: It is when we patrol the beach looking for turtle nests and tracks, as well as ensure that all hatchlings make it to the see when they hatch. There are two beaches we patrol: HL and MR
Kiosk Shifts: The kiosk in the town of Chania. We sit inside of it and people come up to ask questions about turtles/ Archelon and to buy turtle souveniers. Most of the time they ask if they can see turtles
There are 3 kiosk shifts
K1- 10:00- 2:30, we set up the Kiosk
K2- 2:30- 6:30
K3- 6:30- 11:00, we clean up and close the Kiosk
to get to the Kiosk, we have to take a 30 minute bus ride to Chania
Slide Shows/ Information Tables: We go to different hotels and restuarants and inform people about the problems the turtles are facing.
Shading nests: What I did with funneling the turtles to the sea
Cooking, Cleaning and Repairs of the camp
Today I had a K1 shift with Nora. Only 15 people came to talk to us, and we only sold two things. Nora told me about what she wants to do in college, Anthropology and Sociology, and I told her about Jug Day and Animal Noise C Day.
When I got back to camp I went swimming the sea, and then cooked dinner for the camp. Me and Mckenna cooked creamy Zuccini and Walnut in cheese with apples servec on rice. (Are camp is glutten- tolerant and vegetarian, so its hard finding original foods/ we used a cook book to make it as well) At first I liked the taste, but as I kept eating it, I realized I did not; I felt bad for the other people who had to eat it.
After dinner I talked with Christina and Ilektra. I asked Christina about my favorite holiday, Bastille Day, and she told me it is a big deal in France. I got kind of jealous. Then we talked about music. They both like rock and trip hop (whatever that is), and either had no idea of or laughed as the artists I mentioned.
Afterwards I went to sleep. I was trying to set my alarm clock up before I fell asleep, but i touched a button, and it would not stop ringing. it was pretty histerical but annoying at the same time. When I finally turned it off, I could here Christina and Ilkertra laughing. I too that it was hilarious.
I just wanted to start this post by describing the atmosphere here in Crete.
Right now there are 14 people who are at the Archelon camp.
John Conlin- leader of the camp from Leeds, England
Mel- a swiss woman who has been here since the camp first set up; I think she is 2nd in command
Tanja- another Swiss person. She likes all things Scandanavian.
Daniel- a Swedish guy, who arrived the same day that I did. He is very laid back and cool.
Nina and Katarina- two German friends who also arrived when I did.
Alex- a girl from Brisbane, Australia. Funniest person on camp and is a fan of "Summer Heights High"
Christina- a quiet French- Greek girl, who is my age. She has a very nice French accent.
Ilektra- a Greek girl who is very cool; probably the most chill person on camp.
Mckenna- a girl from Oxford, Mississippi who is also taking a gap year. We have a lot of assignments together in the future, (and since this is a few days behind I can say she is very nice, happy person) She wants to go Bungie jumping, but not here in Greece; I want to go here but she says she wont let me.
Nora- another American on a gap year: from Maine.
Becky and Jen- both are British girls, who left today
Most of the people here seem pretty nice, and cool, but they do not talk much ( I hope they do not think I'm since I talk a lot) They are also extremely funny. They seem to give everyone they meet nicknames. There is:
Popcorn man: a man who sells popcorn in town, near where we work
Spider man: a man who sells jumping spider toys in town.
Happy John: a man who goes up to all the girls in town and kisses, hugs and licks them.
Truchy: a man who works on a boat who comes and talks to us while we work in town
Really happy Greek man...
Bulgarian man: a Bulgarian man who says creepy things to the girls when we walk on the beach
There are also many nicknames for the animals here:
Brown Dog, Sandy/ White Dog, Fat Dog and Fat Dog 2 aka Fat Dog's Deputy
Now let me describe the jobs we are given here.
Morning Survey: It is when we patrol the beach looking for turtle nests and tracks, as well as ensure that all hatchlings make it to the see when they hatch. There are two beaches we patrol: HL and MR
Kiosk Shifts: The kiosk in the town of Chania. We sit inside of it and people come up to ask questions about turtles/ Archelon and to buy turtle souveniers. Most of the time they ask if they can see turtles
There are 3 kiosk shifts
K1- 10:00- 2:30, we set up the Kiosk
K2- 2:30- 6:30
K3- 6:30- 11:00, we clean up and close the Kiosk
to get to the Kiosk, we have to take a 30 minute bus ride to Chania
Slide Shows/ Information Tables: We go to different hotels and restuarants and inform people about the problems the turtles are facing.
Shading nests: What I did with funneling the turtles to the sea
Cooking, Cleaning and Repairs of the camp
Today I had a K1 shift with Nora. Only 15 people came to talk to us, and we only sold two things. Nora told me about what she wants to do in college, Anthropology and Sociology, and I told her about Jug Day and Animal Noise C Day.
When I got back to camp I went swimming the sea, and then cooked dinner for the camp. Me and Mckenna cooked creamy Zuccini and Walnut in cheese with apples servec on rice. (Are camp is glutten- tolerant and vegetarian, so its hard finding original foods/ we used a cook book to make it as well) At first I liked the taste, but as I kept eating it, I realized I did not; I felt bad for the other people who had to eat it.
After dinner I talked with Christina and Ilektra. I asked Christina about my favorite holiday, Bastille Day, and she told me it is a big deal in France. I got kind of jealous. Then we talked about music. They both like rock and trip hop (whatever that is), and either had no idea of or laughed as the artists I mentioned.
Afterwards I went to sleep. I was trying to set my alarm clock up before I fell asleep, but i touched a button, and it would not stop ringing. it was pretty histerical but annoying at the same time. When I finally turned it off, I could here Christina and Ilkertra laughing. I too that it was hilarious.
Monday, September 7, 2009
1st day at Archelon
(For those who have not realized, I am behind posts a few days because I do not have daily access to internet.)
Thursday September 3
I woke up at 5:45 because I had a Morning Survey shift. This means I have to walk along one of two beaches and write down what I have seen. This morning I surveyed beach HL. We checked the nests to see if the eggs had hatched ( I think there are currently 12 nests about to hatch).
( Important: The evening before, me and two other volunteers went down to the beach and put up nest shades. These fence like structures are set up in a certain way that funnel the baby turtles to the sea once they hatch. The nests are about 10-15 meters away from the sea. Hatchlings are attracted to the brightest light, and in normal situations the moon and stars reflecting on the sea is the greatest light source. (Hatchlings only come out of their nests at the coolest time, which is night.) However, there are a lot of hotels on the beach with lights on at night and the babies will follow those lights instead of walking to the sea; if they don't get to the water, they will die. That is the reason were set up these nest shades.)
This is important because we set up 3 of these nest shades. However, one of the nest shades had fallen over (the volunteers think it was pushed down on purpose), and we counted 16 tracks of hatchlings leaving the sea-bound path and heading towards the back of the beach. After following these tracks, we discovered that 8 of these turtles eventually made it to the sea, they just wondered on the beach for a while. The rest of the turtles's tracks were headed away from the sea towards the dry land, we assumed that they had all died. Fortunely, we found one still alive in a garden of a hotel not too far from the beach.
The one that we found was so small, and really cute. I did not imagine that they would be that tiny. We put him back on the sea- bound path that we had made for him, and watched him get to the shore and be carried away by the waves. (We are supposed to let them walk to the sea with no help.)
We checked the other 2 nests and they had hatched as well. The nest shades were all intact so we did not have to search the beach for any more stray hatchlings. We saw another hatchling walk to the sea. He was climbing over a rock, and flipped over on his back. He was waving his legs in the air, and eventually flipped himself around. (It was really funny looking actually.)
After documenting the information from these nest, we kept watching along the beach for another 3.5 km or 2 miles. It was cool to see the sunrise, but it was pretty exhausting as well.
After this hike, I had nothing else to do, so I went swimming 3 times in the sea, which was pretty amazing. Today there were no waves.
Thursday September 3
I woke up at 5:45 because I had a Morning Survey shift. This means I have to walk along one of two beaches and write down what I have seen. This morning I surveyed beach HL. We checked the nests to see if the eggs had hatched ( I think there are currently 12 nests about to hatch).
( Important: The evening before, me and two other volunteers went down to the beach and put up nest shades. These fence like structures are set up in a certain way that funnel the baby turtles to the sea once they hatch. The nests are about 10-15 meters away from the sea. Hatchlings are attracted to the brightest light, and in normal situations the moon and stars reflecting on the sea is the greatest light source. (Hatchlings only come out of their nests at the coolest time, which is night.) However, there are a lot of hotels on the beach with lights on at night and the babies will follow those lights instead of walking to the sea; if they don't get to the water, they will die. That is the reason were set up these nest shades.)
This is important because we set up 3 of these nest shades. However, one of the nest shades had fallen over (the volunteers think it was pushed down on purpose), and we counted 16 tracks of hatchlings leaving the sea-bound path and heading towards the back of the beach. After following these tracks, we discovered that 8 of these turtles eventually made it to the sea, they just wondered on the beach for a while. The rest of the turtles's tracks were headed away from the sea towards the dry land, we assumed that they had all died. Fortunely, we found one still alive in a garden of a hotel not too far from the beach.
The one that we found was so small, and really cute. I did not imagine that they would be that tiny. We put him back on the sea- bound path that we had made for him, and watched him get to the shore and be carried away by the waves. (We are supposed to let them walk to the sea with no help.)
We checked the other 2 nests and they had hatched as well. The nest shades were all intact so we did not have to search the beach for any more stray hatchlings. We saw another hatchling walk to the sea. He was climbing over a rock, and flipped over on his back. He was waving his legs in the air, and eventually flipped himself around. (It was really funny looking actually.)
After documenting the information from these nest, we kept watching along the beach for another 3.5 km or 2 miles. It was cool to see the sunrise, but it was pretty exhausting as well.
After this hike, I had nothing else to do, so I went swimming 3 times in the sea, which was pretty amazing. Today there were no waves.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Pictures from Alaska
Here are the pictures of me and my cousins from Alaska.
A lot of them were us just fooling around, but some of them are cool.
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1289808020/a=1689585020_1689585020/
A lot of them were us just fooling around, but some of them are cool.
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1289808020/a=1689585020_1689585020/
Arrival to Crete and to ARCHELON
Wednesday Sepetmber 2
Today I boarded the plane to Crete where I am going to work with an organization called ARCHELON: a non-profit organization aimed at helping an endangered sea turtle species, the loggerhead, survive.
I have been traveling for over 10 days so far, but I have always known someone on the other side of the trip. In Alaska I was with my mom, cousins and and grandparents, and after flying alone to Greece, I stayed with family as well. Today is the first time I am really traveling alone. It is really daunting. The night before my flight I could not fall asleep. Surprisingly, I became extremely nervous. I thought to myslef "What am I doing?" "Have I made a mistake?"
Well... hopefully my anxieties and nerves will disappear.
In Crete a friend of my father picked me up. Loukia, a Creten lady from Chania (the town where I will be working) spoke as much English as I speak Greek, which is not a lot. That made the car ride extremely funny. We tried to communicate but most of the times we failed, so we laughed.
When she pulled up to the campsite where I'll be living, she asked in her very broken English "Come my house?" This was histerical and I could not stop laughing for a minute or so.
I have never been camping so I hada very similar reaction. But I got out of the car, introduced myself and put up my tent, relatively quickly.
The leader of the camp, John Colins told me to relax today, and I would start working tomorrow.
Today I boarded the plane to Crete where I am going to work with an organization called ARCHELON: a non-profit organization aimed at helping an endangered sea turtle species, the loggerhead, survive.
I have been traveling for over 10 days so far, but I have always known someone on the other side of the trip. In Alaska I was with my mom, cousins and and grandparents, and after flying alone to Greece, I stayed with family as well. Today is the first time I am really traveling alone. It is really daunting. The night before my flight I could not fall asleep. Surprisingly, I became extremely nervous. I thought to myslef "What am I doing?" "Have I made a mistake?"
Well... hopefully my anxieties and nerves will disappear.
In Crete a friend of my father picked me up. Loukia, a Creten lady from Chania (the town where I will be working) spoke as much English as I speak Greek, which is not a lot. That made the car ride extremely funny. We tried to communicate but most of the times we failed, so we laughed.
When she pulled up to the campsite where I'll be living, she asked in her very broken English "Come my house?" This was histerical and I could not stop laughing for a minute or so.
I have never been camping so I hada very similar reaction. But I got out of the car, introduced myself and put up my tent, relatively quickly.
The leader of the camp, John Colins told me to relax today, and I would start working tomorrow.
Athens, Greece
September 2009
Tuesday September 1
Today I arrived in Greece but before I go to Crete to start my first service site, I will spend one day with my family in Glyfada, a suburb near Athens.
Since I did not go to Greece this summer, I was really excited to be here and see my family.
Once I walked off the plane, I heard people speaking Greeke to one another and I immediately smiled. Even though I live in New York, I feel like this is a second home to me, so I felt like I was returning home after being gone for a year.
I saw my Uncle Kostas, Aunt Mandy, Uncle John and my cousin Ioanna the Iguana. I was very pleased to see them.
For lunch I had a gyros with tzajiki, french fries and onions-- it was so good.
At night Ioanna and I went out for dinner. She really wanted to go to TGI Fridays, so I said I would go. This is extremely funny for people I hang out with a lot because we ALWAYS end up eating at Fridays, even if we look for other restaurants to eat. I actually ate there the night before I left with a couple of friends. It was too busy so we did not go.
Then me and Ioanna took a lot of pictures of ourselves, because we are freaks.
Tuesday September 1
Today I arrived in Greece but before I go to Crete to start my first service site, I will spend one day with my family in Glyfada, a suburb near Athens.
Since I did not go to Greece this summer, I was really excited to be here and see my family.
Once I walked off the plane, I heard people speaking Greeke to one another and I immediately smiled. Even though I live in New York, I feel like this is a second home to me, so I felt like I was returning home after being gone for a year.
I saw my Uncle Kostas, Aunt Mandy, Uncle John and my cousin Ioanna the Iguana. I was very pleased to see them.
For lunch I had a gyros with tzajiki, french fries and onions-- it was so good.
At night Ioanna and I went out for dinner. She really wanted to go to TGI Fridays, so I said I would go. This is extremely funny for people I hang out with a lot because we ALWAYS end up eating at Fridays, even if we look for other restaurants to eat. I actually ate there the night before I left with a couple of friends. It was too busy so we did not go.
Then me and Ioanna took a lot of pictures of ourselves, because we are freaks.
Flight to Greece
Monday August 31st
Today is the day I leave to travel alone.
I've been excited for this trip since even before I knew it was a possibility. I haven't really been nervous or scared either. I knew in June and after graduation that everything was going to change.I knew high school would never come back to me, but I had the summer ahead of me. i saw a lor of my friends and people from Regis that I did not really think of the drastic change. Even when I was saying bye to everyone, it still had not hit me that I would not be spending every day with them; I knew I was saying good-bye, but it did not feel like farewell.
I got to the airport and checked in all three of my over-weight bags. Even when we were sitting at Dunkin Doughnuts it still feel like I was about to leave.
But when I had to go on line to pass through security and said good-bye to my parents, it hit me. I was sad that I was leaving my parents, but I'll see them again in less than a month. For me getting on this line represented the real good-bye of my old life. Once I went through the checkpoint I couldn't turn back, figuratively and literally.
It's upsetting to think that I will not have class with my the class of '09 again, and I will not see a lot of people who I've had friendships with ever again. I know I'll keep in contact with my close friends, but I was saying good-bye to so much more; I was saying bye to the past 4 years, a lifestyle. I have learnt and grown so much, and I will miss most of the people I have come in contact with at Regis.
Well, that's life and I have a new chapter in my life in which to look forward. If it is half as rewarding than I would be happy.
Well, while on the plane I met a really nice lady for Seattle, Megan, who was going to Greece to write a book about nutrition. We talked a lot during the flight about different foods, my trip, history as well as her previous travels. She said she goes to different countries for months of even years at a time; experiences seemed fascinating. From the stories she told me, I felt like she completely immersed herself in all the cultures.
She was extremely nice, and put up with my talking a lot on the flight. If you are reading this sorry, and thanks.
Today is the day I leave to travel alone.
I've been excited for this trip since even before I knew it was a possibility. I haven't really been nervous or scared either. I knew in June and after graduation that everything was going to change.I knew high school would never come back to me, but I had the summer ahead of me. i saw a lor of my friends and people from Regis that I did not really think of the drastic change. Even when I was saying bye to everyone, it still had not hit me that I would not be spending every day with them; I knew I was saying good-bye, but it did not feel like farewell.
I got to the airport and checked in all three of my over-weight bags. Even when we were sitting at Dunkin Doughnuts it still feel like I was about to leave.
But when I had to go on line to pass through security and said good-bye to my parents, it hit me. I was sad that I was leaving my parents, but I'll see them again in less than a month. For me getting on this line represented the real good-bye of my old life. Once I went through the checkpoint I couldn't turn back, figuratively and literally.
It's upsetting to think that I will not have class with my the class of '09 again, and I will not see a lot of people who I've had friendships with ever again. I know I'll keep in contact with my close friends, but I was saying good-bye to so much more; I was saying bye to the past 4 years, a lifestyle. I have learnt and grown so much, and I will miss most of the people I have come in contact with at Regis.
Well, that's life and I have a new chapter in my life in which to look forward. If it is half as rewarding than I would be happy.
Well, while on the plane I met a really nice lady for Seattle, Megan, who was going to Greece to write a book about nutrition. We talked a lot during the flight about different foods, my trip, history as well as her previous travels. She said she goes to different countries for months of even years at a time; experiences seemed fascinating. From the stories she told me, I felt like she completely immersed herself in all the cultures.
She was extremely nice, and put up with my talking a lot on the flight. If you are reading this sorry, and thanks.
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