Greece

Hello from Greece!  Today I went to the Acropolis in Athens, where the Parthenon, the Erecthion (temple dedicated to the Goddess Athena), the Theatre of Dionysos are located.  I also saw the Temple of Olympian Zeus.  It was amazing!  All these huge structures are made out of marble!  I can't wait to post my pictures when I get back to Malta.  

Merry Christmas Family!!

Merry Christmas! Right now I'm in Graz,Austria with my friend Maria. It's beautiful here, and snowy! For Christmas breakfast we ate toast and salmon...mmm...it was delicious. Today we're going ice skating...wish me luck. I love you all!

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells...

It looks like Christmas in Malta, but feels like spring time! And the Maltese do like their hanging Santas... I love my "Christmas tree in a box" my parents sent me...all the girls here are enjoying it as well. It feels like December is going by so fast! I leave for my trip in four days!! In most of the places i'll be staying, i'll have internet access...so i'll be sure to keep posting.

Monday...Monday...

Hello family!! Well the countdown has begun...12 days until Christmas break! Yeah!! But of course I can't get excited until my papers are finished, but hopefully soon. For those who haven't heard...my Christmas travels are quite extensive. I'm flying to Venice, because it's only 20 euro round trip!! Then, take the train to Switzerland, and stay there for a night. From there I will go to Graz, Austria and spend Christmas with my friend Maria, who I met here in the residence. I'll leave Austria after about a week, and head to Amsterdam where I will meet up with Zack, a friend from home studying there, and three other friends from home. I'll also be meeting two friends from Malta there. After the New Year on the 3 of January I'll fly to Athens and stay with my friend Fotis, who is Greek but he goes to OU, and explore Greece for a week. After Greece I'll take the ferry to Bari, Italy...then work my way North: Rome, Bologna, and finally fly home from Venice on the 12....I'm so excited!!

Thanksgiving!

Well....Thanksgiving was a success. We had about 28 people, 9 pies, two 20lb. turkeys, and a partridge and a pear tree. Me and two other American girls cooked all the food with lots of help from our housemates of course. In the true meaning of Thanksgiving we made entirely too much food, nonetheless everyone was stuffed. I made Grandma Anne's cheesy potato casserole, which was delicious, and Grandma Betty's homemade rolls and pecan pie. All my dishes were very popular, not quite as good as when Grandma makes them, but still well-liked. I also made deviled eggs, a plum pie, which I have only made once before, and I attempted to make a chocolate meringue pie...but since it's very difficult to make meringue without an electrical appliance, it turned out just being a chocolate pie. It was an all day event of eating, drinking, and enjoying each others company. Since most of our guests had never been to a Thanksgiving feast before we told them of "the first Thanksgiving" and why we celebrate and give thanks. So after a weekend of nonstop cooking and preparation, I enjoyed my day of rest on Monday, to say the least. Gobble Gobble!

Trip to Camino

Camino is a tiny island in between Malta and Gozo. It's totally unspoiled, and home to the Blue Lagoon, where the most beautiful water is in Malta. This tiny chunk of limestone is 2.5km by 1.5km. The only people on it are sun-bathers, and staff of the only hotel on the island. Camino was known to be the hide-out of pirates and smugglers in the past. There are lots of caves on the island, and some of the best places to scuba dive in the world! The fort looking structure in the above pictures is where "The Count of Monte Cristo" was filmed.

It's Almost Thanksgiving!!

I'm in the process of getting ready for Thanksgiving! One of my roommates is making Thanksgiving dinner (stuffing, turkey, mashed potatoes, 4 pumpkin pies, etc.), and anyone else who wants to help. I'm going to make 2 pecan pies, cheesy potato casserole, rolls, and maybe a plum pie...mmmmm. It won't be the same without all my family, but at least we'll have a celebration. I'm also in the process of making a turkey pinata (any celebration would not be complete without a pinata)!! We will also make Thanksgiving decorations such as hand turkeys, pilgrim and native american hats, pumpkins, etc.