Goodbye Oxford...Hello Thessaloniki!

Before sunrise on Monday morning I left Oxford by bus and flew from Heathrow to Thessaloniki, Greece to visit Heather, my friend from Stonehill. I was very sad to leave Oxford, and I was surprised by the realization that I will not be returning to Oxford anytime soon. My last week in Oxford was a really good one though! I got in the Christmas spirit with Christmas dinner in the dining hall – complete with little toys and paper crowns in our “crackers,” a roaring fire, carols sung by the coed choir, pigs in a blanket, and mince pies! Yum! My last two tutorials went well (although I had a couple really long days and really late nights in order to get all my work done.) We also had Provost’s Collections, which was when each student met with the Provost, the head tutor, and the director for visiting students at Worcester, who happened to be one of my tutors. A statement by each of our tutors about what we did well and what we need to improve on, ending with our British grades converted into American grades, was read aloud to us. All of the visiting students did really well! The week ended with a couple nights out with friends to clubs, and a couple quiet dinner and a movie nights in with American friends after the British students left on Saturday. I got to hang out with my friend Tom one night. Here’s a picture of the two of us:

Tom had just had the Worcester rugby team dinner, and they all had to wear shirts of bad rugby teams, so Tom was sporting a Wales rugby shirt (and then dressed it up…and I think maybe tried to cover it up?!)

I especially enjoyed the final bop put on by the Entz (entertainment) team at Worcester. The theme was cartoons, so everyone went all out for costumes; there were the Incredibles, Smirfs, 101 Dalmations, and more! I was Cinderella, courtesy of a frilly dress from Primark (a store like Target that’s really cheap). Here is a picture of my friend Tom and me in the college bar during the bop:

It was really sad to leave all my new friends…and Oxford. But I am confident I am going to stay in touch with these new friends – and maybe see some of my new American friends back in the States!

So that brings me to where I am now! Heather is studying at the American College of Thessaloniki, and invited me to come and stay with her. I traveled all by myself from London to Thessaloniki (scary…but I’m so proud of myself for being able to do it without any problems!) yesterday, which took all day. Last night we stayed in, we caught up, I met Heather’s friends here, and we watched a movie. I was happy to stay in, but there is another reason that we decided to stay in last night. As you may or may not have seen in the news, there are riots going on, mainly in Athens, but also in Thessaloniki. The Greek college students are rioting against the police, in an attempt to rebel against the government. From my understanding, the rioting has all been instigated by the death of a fifteen year old boy who was shot (after instigation) by a police officer, but many Greeks aren’t happy with the government and thus the rioting has been carried on. There have been lots of tear gas bombs, rioters throwing things at the police from roofs, and today there was a peaceful march that went by while we were in a grocery store. I am separate and safe from the riots where I am staying, but the neighborhood that I am in is down the street from the University where the riots are taking place. The rioters are staying on the university campus because the police legally cannot enter their campus. So we just need to stay away from that area. But sadly, it is interfering somewhat with my ability to sightsee and enjoy Thessaloniki! Today is the funeral for the young boy in Athens, so we are hoping that things will calm down by the end of the week, and so far, they seem to have already quieted down.

On Saturday morning, Heather and I are traveling to Italy to meet a couple of her friends and do a week of sightseeing in Italy! Our plans are to start in Venice, then go to Florence, and finish in Rome. But, in Venice, there have been really terrible floods…so once again my travel plans may be thrown off! How long we will spend in Venice depends on how the city is by the end of the week.

With all my travels coming up, I won’t be able to be in touch for the next week and a half, but I will be flying home next Friday, December 19^th, and I will update on my Greece and Italy trips then – with lots and lots of pictures!