Pictures from Santorini

Despite the island's reputation, Santorini was never a place I desired to visit. Its blue water, white sand beaches, and quaint white houses look beautiful on postcards, but my idea of traveling is not exactly the vacation type. If I am spending the time and money to fly across the world, the last thing I want to do is run around sightseeing, drink a cold beer, and lay out on the beach. 

Our weekend plans to Santorini happened overnight and I was grateful to travel with Markella. She has a heart of gold, and as you can tell from the photographs, a smile and laugh of pure joy. Together, in the "Disneyland" of Greece, we were able to practice our Greek and were flattered when locals asked if were indeed Greek or maybe Australian. We ate chocolate and nuts for breakfast every morning, paid a whole 3 Euros for Greek coffees, watched the sunset in Oia, had ice cream with the Yiayiades, swam in the hot springs and mud bath before hiking the famous volcano, and danced with our "toast". 

Although the weekend was truly a gift, we agreed that the only thing missing was our families. <3

Glory to God for all things.

(Above two photos, PC: Markella Patitsas)

4:12 PM

I can’t believe it is Sunday again! I haven’t journaled or blogged in exactly a week. I am on the bus back to Athens, but feel like I literally just left for my weekend in Florina. Where is the time going?

Needless to say, it has been the best week spent with my family. Meeting my cousin’s adorable kiddies for the first time was so worth every page of reading and homework that I neglected.

Also, what kind of a photographer leaves her extra battery and camera charger in the States when she is going abroad? What is wrong with me?

P.S. Aren't they muffins?

2:22 PM

Liturgy, kafeneio, pastry shop, and long conversations on the balcony with good parea. Happy Sunday!

2:16 AM

Aegina is a thirty-minute metro ride and a one-hour ferry ride from the Pangrati neighborhood in Athens. Today, yesterday actually, marked my second trip to the Saronic Island. Three lovely friends of mine, Erika, Markella, and Jenna, hopped a taxi with me for another ten-minute ride to the Monastery of St. Nektarios. A brief synopsis of his life can be read here. The weather was anything like my previous three trips to Greece. It was a day of gray skies with steady drizzling rain. Regardless, the monastery was as beautiful as I had remembered it. The property was surrounded by desert, mountainous terrain, with flowers and plants lining the white cement and brick buildings. Although the visit lasted all of two hours, there is something about being there that is so peaceful. I can’t pinpoint if it is the beauty in its simplistic environment, the chapels, tomb, or the quiet of the monastery itself. I can only hope that through photographs, blogging, and written journal entries, I can go back to that place and remember the indescribable way it felt.

PC: Erika Tobin

12:41 AM

I follow one of my favorite printing companies on Instagram, Artifact Uprising. I recently read a caption on one of their photographs that really resonated with me. It said:

“Don’t lament so much about how your career is going to turn out. You don’t have a career. You have a life. Do the work. Keep the faith. Be true blue. Keep writing…your book has a birthday. You don’t know what it is yet.”

–Cheryl Strayed

And with this, my anxiety was instantly tamed. I live in a world of people telling me how to be successful, but none of it is true, for everyone else's idea of success is centered on pure materialism.

I happen to believe that, “If you’re breathing, you are living; and if you’re living, you are learning; so write and write, and keep on writing. Just make sure your life’s exciting.” (Thank you, Danielle Xanthos for introducing me to Happy Home).

Today was my first official day of the study abroad program in Athens, and boy I cannot wait to finish the finals three days of Orientation! In the meantime, I’ll be soaking up the view from my apartment’s balconies and praising the Lord for this opportunity to live, learn, write, and share!