I must share my fabulous finds: Friday market clementines, seedless and juicy, freshly picked with their leaves and branches still attached — only one euro for a great bunch of the sweet fruit. There were also olives, apples, golden currant, vegetables of all sorts.

But a girl cannot live on plant matter alone, so I set out to find a bakery, and succeeded thanks one of my many flatmates. Most bakeries in Athens have every pastry you can imagine — with chocolate a mere alias for Nutella — but no basic bread. Yet on Aubrey’s suggestion, I walked through the narrow streets in Pangrati, arranged like pick-up sticks, to a small bakery with fresh-baked bread. I bought a delicious wholemeal loaf with sesame seeds on top for only 80 lepta (compared to 2.50 euro at the supermarket).

These transactions occurred entirely in Greek, albeit exhausting my knowledge of the language in the process. Still I feel proud.

In addition to food, I have found friends. I met one group on the Saturday hike, which was more of a walk around a hill while being blasted by wind. I joined them in the evening for dinner and a climb to a little church on a hill, with an amazing view of Athens lit up below, an exaggeration of the sparse stars above.

Greeks live most of their lives between sundown and sunup, using the afternoon siesta to catch up on sleep. My flatmates join the party around the time I go to bed, and wake up when I have already finished the day’s adventures. This is what happened yesterday, when the second group of… is it too early to call them friends? joined me in the morning for a walk to the Monastiraki flea market and through the National Gardens, taking a break for crepes in between.

So I am getting along, with those I live with, those I am learning from, those I have found, and those I am trying to understand.

I have arrived. I have gotten lost. I have not found myself yet. Though my flight came in Monday morning, I did not have orientation until Wednesday afternoon. The logic, which they soon made explicit, was to cut us loose to experience Athens on our own terms. Or rather, on Greek terms, but on our own. I feel more out of place around the students than the city, however. Last night I was glad of “adult” company when the administrators and teachers took us out in groups to tavernas around town, and I talked with the VP, Alex, and his wife Svenja about everyday life and culture in Athens. Basically it sounds exactly like My Big Fat Greek Wedding, full of as much humor and as much community support… and social expectations. I plan to find a nice cafe and watch the people go by, as the Greeks do.

The weather is nice, and not too cold, and the air smells like tangerines (it’s a pity they’re too sour to eat). There are dogs and cats here, but they are more communal pets than mangy beggars. The dogs defend their territory from other dogs, but they are well-fed and well-behaved; one even waited at a cross-walk before following me across. The pigeons are the same ubiquitous breed, and the cars are just as inconsiderate of pedestrians as anywhere else. But there are sidewalks and lovely winding alleyways, trees on the roadside, and large public gardens. Since English books are expensive, I will just have spend my leisure time exploring the city on foot. This is also one cure for homesickness. The other is eating food, which is excellent here. My dollars may not go far here, but I think they will be well spent on the occasional culinary adventure.

There is a place that I know,
where I like sometimes to go,
on a hill near the sea
where the warm winds blow.

There are raised beds of vegetables,
carrots and peas,
little tomatoes and silky-leaved greens,
fine herbs and spices and colorful beans.

It’s dappled in sunlight and rustling leaves,
fragrant from flowers and fruit-bearing trees.
There are apples and olives, almonds and plums,
ripe for the picking when the right season comes.

The light of the morning and the late afternoon
filter through windows and fill all the rooms.
The rain, when it falls, plays most delicate tunes.

The honey wood floor sings soft on my feet
as I hum to myself and pick out my seat
on the low lazy steps by the windowsill ledge
with bread sweet with fruit from the blueberry hedge.

Then I lay in the grass under swaying bamboo
reading stories from books in a dress just as blue
as the sky between clouds forming great curlicues.

I sleep then with insect wings brushing my face,
dreaming that I only dream of this place.
A bright little house on a hill near the sea,
where living and laughter find someplace to be.

I awake to the muffled sound of snow
One thin frame betwixt warm and chill,
The smell of soft blankets beckoning dreams
As animate static holds the world still.

Here’s what’s been happening on the East Coast: on Thursday morning, Jessica called me and said that she was in Cambridge. Cambridge, I asked incredulously? Cambridge, she assured me. It turns out that she was visiting Akira, who is currently attending MIT, on very short notice. So I spent the day hanging out with Jessica and her friends, wandering about Harvard (we even ate in the Freshman dining hall) and the Natural History Museum (which never gets old).

On Friday, I spent the day with Rachael’s friend Ed. We did a few errands, including looking at beautiful watercolors by Kenneth Stubbs, before going to the Museum of Fine Arts. We had a delicious lunch (salad with pears, radishes and candied pecans) and looked at a small collection of impressionist paintings. Somehow I never thought being in the presence of Van Gough’s brush strokes would be so profound — art is so much more meaningful when you see it up close, with all its glorious texture. The “Empire Art” exhibit, our main event of the day, was almost pale in comparison, full of the baroque and heavy furniture and artwork of Napolean’s reign. Ironically, one of the few pieces I genuinely liked was the silver cup molded from Napolean sister’s breast.

Then, yesterday, it snowed. It was glorious! Inches of it carpeting the ground and the roofs and the railings, and big fat puffs of it tumbling from the sky. Yet it was not long before the streets and sidewalks were cleared, and Mary even took her driving test this morning with no problems (due to neither weather nor skill). Ah, but it was a lovely sunny afternoon, and I walked miles along Christmas-y Cambridge streets.

I saw Thomas off on Sunday. Now I am in the odd position of living with his mother and younger sister, observing their daily lives while I sit quietly and read. Or else I am off walking about Cambridge, window-shopping in bookstores and design galleries. There is also excellent food to be had, and so far I’ve been treated to crepes, Ethiopean, and Herrell’s ice cream. But the best has been the little frozen yogurt place I discovered myself.

Since I’ve been in Cambridge, I have also spent much time exploring museums. The Gods in Color exhibit was particularly interesting given that I’ll be able to see many of the original statues soon enough. The colors are a bit unsettling, but I think the matte finish of the plaster-like faux marble contributes a lot to their garishness.

I have been spending a lot of time with Thom’s mother’s family and friends. In fact, I’m off to an art museum on Friday with one of them. Their lives are fascinating to me, filled with theater productions, art galleries, real estate, philanthropy, and fancy restaurants. Of course, eating out at a fancy restaurant is only as good as the company you’re with, and I have been in very good company. No one’s boringly high-brow — if they have money, they’re doing cool things with it, not showing it off. And I rarely feel out of place around interesting people.

So it looks like I am surrounded by good things here: beautiful architecture, stimulating sights, good books, delicious food, friendly people… It’s true, I’ll not see Thomas for many months, but in the meantime I won’t let myself miss out due to angsty wallowing. Rather, let my adventures continue.

I gave up wrestling with Typo and moved to WordPress for my blog engine. I apologize for the downtime, and please have patience while I get the thing back up to speed.