Rome

I'm back from a 10 day "vacation."

Firstly, Happy Easter to everyone on the "western" calendar. The Catholic church here has adapted to the "eastern" calendar, so my Easter will be celebrated five weeks later than all of yours.

Vacation included:
-a mock Easter dinner with The Family, Maura, Manos, Lucianna, and Katie's best friend Mercador (visiting)
-a day trip to Meteora
-a field trip to Thessaloniki and northern Greece

I leave for the Pope's funeral in Rome on Wednesday, so I will not be able to post about our vacationing adventures until next week.

I must say that I've found it very frustrating to be in this Orthodox country right now. Upon telling a staff member that I was planning on going to Rome, she replied, "You're going to spend all that money on just a funeral? Ah, well, you will find other things to do in Rome. You DO know it will be unbelievably crowded right?" ... I was completely insulted (I thought about telling her what I DID know) but bit my tongue to be polite. I was sent to Giocarinis, the director of studies, and he told me, "Look, I cannot excuse that. I mean, he was a wonderful person, an important figure in the world. I would like to go there too, but there are academic responsibilities to consider." ... Sigh, I think there's a bit of a difference in our situations. Can the guy understand the magnitude to which this would affect a Catholic? I would miss two days of class and a day-long field trip to a place I can visit on my own. So, not wanting to burn my bridges that cross the Aegean, I bit my tongue again. I immediately went online and booked my tickets. I don't deny my academic responsibilities (I haven't missed a single class this entire semester), but there exists also the religious responsibility of a religious person who cannot pass up the opportunity to witness an important event such as this one. I'm a two-hour flight away. For the record, I'm also an adult and can do whatever I damn well please, not matter how much money I want to spend on "just a funeral."