Wine MIxed With Water

Today was a very eventful day. It started off fairly calm though as I got ready for the day by singing and dancing to Justin Bieber and then I want to class. After class is when everything started to get interesting. I was really looking foreword to going to the Greek restaurant just up the street, for lunch, and ordering the Zucchini Balls and Giant Beans to eat. Sadly, though, when I finally made it up there around 1:30, the restaurant was closed. As I wondered what else I could eat and where else I could go, I saw a handsome man (around 22 I'd say) walking my way. He must have noticed that I looked puzzled because he stopped to ask me where I was heading, but he asked me in Greek (assuming that I was Greek)! I said that I was sorry and that I didn't speak Greek and he smiled, repeating himself in English. I told him about my closed cafe and my dilemma of no place to go for a good meal and he offered to take me to what he believed to be the best restaurant in all of Athens. I asked him his name while we wandered through the side streets of the city until we came to this little Taverna. When we sat down for lunch, Alexander would not stop staring at me and when I finally asked him why he said it was because of my blonde hair. He said, "You are more beautiful than Aphrodite!" We talked all through our meal (Alexander told me how to make the best wine) and because I was from Seattle and with such blonde hair, the owner of the Taverna gave us a free dessert. After a last minute cappuccino, Alexander paid the bill and we left the restaurant. That is where I said my goodbyes and thanks to Alexander for showing me the best Taverna in all of Athens! He kissed me once on each cheek and then he was gone.

[The free dessert!]

I wandered back through the streets towards my apartment and I met up with my class to go to the Archeological Museum together. I am not a huge fan of most museums so I was not looking foreword to this trip but I actually found it to be very beautiful and interesting. Plus, I had a great surprise waiting for me when I got there. I walked through the museum looking at the statues and taking photos of the different artifacts when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something small shivering in the corner of the room. I walked over to it and to my surprise, it was a baby hedgehog! It was adorable and it quickly took a liking to me so I decided to keep it. I named it Hercules, gave him a piece of my granola bar to eat, and put him in my pocket to bring back home with me.

To walk back to my apartments without going very out of my way, I have to pass through a rough part of Athens. This part of town is rarely dangerous and I've walked it's streets so many times before that I had no worries about walking through it tonight. After I was about 3 or 4 blocks in, I saw a kid spray painting a storefront. I didn't really think much of it until the owner of the store came out screaming. She grabbed the kid by the ear and the street was filled with tension. Just at that moment an old man walked out of the shop right next door and suddenly got caught up in the argument. The old man looked incredibly startled and afraid so I rushed over to try and help him break loose of the growing argument. Passer-bys watched with intense curiosity and it wasn't long before more people joined in fighting. After about 5 minutes I was suddenly caught up in a riot and didn't know how to escape. As I searched for a way out of the crowd, I saw the old man sneak back into the shop he had first come out of and I saw a small alleyway just next to it. So I ducked behind a wall and managed to find my way out of the chaos that had erupted. The streets were pleasantly calm as I walked the rest of the way back to my apartment in safety.

And after such a stressful and eventful day, I could only manage to write this blog and build Hercules a little bed before falling fast asleep in my bed. I hope your day wasn't quite as eventful as mine.

Second Maccabees 15:38-39

"If it is will told and to the point, that is what I myself desired; if it is poorly done and mediocre, that was the best I could do. For just as it is harmful to drink wine alone, or, again, to drink water alone, while wine mixed with water is sweet and delicious and enhances one's enjoyment, so also the style of the story delights the ears of those who read the work. And here will be the end."

-Jess