planes, trains, and automobiles.

Opa!!! We just returned from a week backpacking through Greece, and the first thing I learned was that "Opa" does not mean cheers. All those years of watching movies, and I realize that Opa is nothing more than a jibberish word, used in lieu "oops" and "congrats". Yiamas! is what you say.

Our trek started when seven of us boarded a 12-hour night train from Istanbul to Thessaloniki. What do you get when you cram seven people into one of our three cabins with twelve hours to go? madness. It only took an hour or two before we all became exhausted and seperated to go to sleep. After 6 hours on the train, we hit the Greek border.

Customs on a train is by far one of the most disorienting, exhausting things I have done. Picture this: you are all sound asleep on a train when two intimidating police men pound on your door, asking for your passport in broken english. You look up, dazed and confused as they stare you down, comparing you with your passport photo. They say nothing and leave with your passport. (For anyone who has never traveled abroad, being separated from your passport is a really bad feeling) You doze off again, still out of it. Five minutes later, customs officials bang again, slam open the door, turn on the lights, and ask you questions about your trip. They leave as quickly as they came, and you doze off again. They come back a third time to return your newly stamped passport. That was for leaving Istanbul, and ten minutes later Greek officials come through to do the same thing.

The weather report had informed us that we would be traveling in non-stop rain, so we were all relieved to get to Thessaloniki and find 65 degrees and sunshine. Thessaloniki is typically described as "the Seattle of Greece". I'm not sure what that is supposed to mean, but it is a smaller college city on the water, full of cafes, bars, and restaurants. Around 4pm, the coffee shops and small bars lining the water front become extremely crowded.

After exploring Thessaloniki, we took another train to Athens, where we spent another two days. We spent half a day at the Acropolis, and the rest of the time wandering aimlessly through the city, stopping only long enough to eat a lifetime supply of gyros. Our last night in Athens, we bought a few bottles of wine, olive bread and cheese, and hiked up to the top of the mountain to watch the sun set, and the lights come on at the Acropolis.

Our last few days in Greece were spent at a shady beach, about an hour from Thessaloniki, where we finally slept, and were able to walk on the beach, look out at the water, and see an island with a snow-capped mountain on it.

We are all back in Istanbul now, getting ready for school to start. The language is still somewhat of a barrier, but in general, Turkish people get a good laugh out of Americans speaking pitiful Turkish.