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So I have jumped on board with this blogging trend, and am excited to see where it takes me

Friday, March 23, 2012

A Normal Week in Parikia

It's finally Friday! I'd forgotten how much I appreciated this day...been a wonderful but long week.
Tomorrow morning we all leave on a trip to Naxos, a neighboring island. Should be about a 45 minute ferry and we're staying there until Sunday night. 
So until the next riveting post describing our trip, I decided to post some of the pictures taken during this week's random events. Enjoy!



Looking at an old pottery workshop through a window (hence our shadows), currently hidden underneath a building. Taking a class field trip to an old marble mosaic floor located in a random field on the side of the road. It apparently used to be the floor in a drinking room for men (ie. mancave). 
And Carleigh did my hair, turned out pretty good!

My little mermaid Allison, and future rockstar Erin.
On the way back from class we stopped at a shop where the owner was making leather sandals. 
So fun getting an inside look at his craft (and previewing for a future shopping trip)

 


I was getting down to business stretching, trying to regain my long lost flexibility. 








Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Food and Inspiration (not necessarily separate)

Nighttime tends to be the time when homesickness hits the hardest, after the day's beauty and distractions wear off.
So naturally Carleigh and I put this nostalgic energy to good use...food!
(Don't worry we get our daily dose of p90x to balance out the addiction)

Here are a few of the creative and incredible dishes we've made so far:
Our own sweet potato fries...with Thousand Island dressing

Ritz filled with peanut butter, dipped in chocolate and frozen

Our favorite carbonated orange drink popsicles
Breakfast for dinner: eggs with sausage, feta, and green peppers


       

In the above photos...Greek yogurt with raspberry jam. 

And we just one upped ourselves grilling peaches and adding Greek yogurt, raspberry jam, honey, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. 
Sometimes words just don't do justice. 

Also, I realize I haven't talked much about school (yes Auntie M, I'm still taking classes!)
Today in my black&white photography class, I FINALLY had my first print from a roll of film I took last week. 
After the many tedious steps I was able to hold in my hands the fruit of my labor and I felt as close as I've ever been to a proud Mom.

To my surprise, my Theory of Art class was the most inspiring class I had today. 
The painting teacher here at HISA, Neva Bergemann, came to speak to our class about her own work and what inspires her..and for the first time I wished I was taking seven classes instead of six so I could be in her class. 
Despite the fact she claimed to speak best through her painting, I found her explanations and quotations just as beautiful. I realize simply writing her quotes won't necessarily convey the inspiration I felt, or explain the context in which she said it, but I write them out of a need to share pieces of that beauty. 

"I tend to paint that which consumes me, in order to understand it"
"There's nothing more permanent than the temporary"-on explaining her trip to Paros turning into living here.
"You paint with your body and mind and soul, sometimes subconsciously" 
"You choose what you want to leave showing, and what you want to hide. All the layers play off each other"-on her background colors mixing in with the subject. I made a connection about the intermixing of the past and present. 
"I'm a happier person when I paint..so he supports that"-on her husband
"Pomegranates, olives, fruit all have almost a human-like sensuality"
"Nothing is just one color"
"Everything is an influence or something to draw on"
"Sometimes you don't need a line, you know that the object ends by what's behind it"
"In pregnancy there are so many opposites. The fears, and the calm and joy. It's the most astonishing experience"
"I wanted to convey the power of a person. A refusal, an embrace. It's meant to be alive"
"The way I had tried to make her be, just wasn't her"-on trying to pose her daughter for a painting
"I'm not trying to change the universe, I just want to represent my world"
"Each time the memory is in a new place, it's not static"-on the trouble of working on the same painting over time. 
Two of her amazing pieces:



Sunday, March 18, 2012

The day of the great hike



It's been two and a half weeks, and while it's going by fast, it also feels like it's been a lifetime. The weather has been SO much nicer, with the sun shining and the wind dying down. I even have a decent tan (except for the minor sunburns I acquired today). 
Finally shops are starting to open for the Spring, the locals are outside more, and Paros has become so much more beautiful!

Today's hike trumped all we've gone on thus far. 
Not necessarily because it was prettier, as all of them have shown their unique beauty, but because of the distance and intense uphill stretches that were required. 
It was a total of 8 miles and 6 hours by the time we were through conquering Agioi Pantes mountain. With our first group that wanted to do the more intense hike leaving at 9:30, and the rest of the students meeting us at the top of the mountain and walking down together. 
I don't think I've ever been so sore in my life. We definitely underestimated the difficulty of climbing up...but it was a great workout and there was this surprisingly intense need to prove to myself that I could do it, so the resulting accomplished feeling was a plus. 

There were a couple stops along our journey. Halfway up we stopped at our teacher Cameron's house. It was small and in a remote location, but had a cozy feeling to it and a majestic mountain that left us all completely jealous!
Also on the way back we stopped at an abandoned house. It was pretty run down but had loads of character. Couldn't help but picture restoring it...guess HGTV hasn't left me quite yet.

First donkey I've seen in person! They've apparently dwindled, but it was a fun surprise seeing one.

Cameron's driveway and front "porch" view
Inside

Some of the decorative accents Cameron made, such talent!



On the roof! Required a jump


Cameron found these in someone's trash, and made them candle holders
My friend is a dork
she bought the water because of the bottle
Such a graphic designer






I spy a little hobbit house?

I love how this picture turned out..my friend Erin's flower decorated hair

What we had climbed up so far

What we had left to climb...love Abbie (Abraham's) and Hayden's faces

Lunchtime, well deserved! Great picnic


Time for a little harmonica


Signaling the rest of the group








Break time




 


Paint chip layers on the abandoned building
 

Erin and Allison