I think its safe to say we’re all pretty happy. I’m currently writing this on my hotel balcony. The sun has just risen. The view is amazing. You can see the whole town from here, as well as the mountains and the ship ports. It’s absolutely beautiful. There’s birds flying, scooters passing, and boats sailing out to sea. There’s so much life happening, yet it’s so simplistic. I’ve been here for one day and I’ve already fallen in love with Greek culture.

Yesterday when we arrived, we flew straight from Athens to Kalymnos. The small plain was a fun experience. It’s so refreshing to see so much land, untouched by big corporations, social norms, and man in general. The water is so blue, the mountains are so high. Our hotel is right next to the main area of the town, the port. There’s restaurants, shops, clubs, and so much life!

We were all so excited, yet so exhausted. We all went to our rooms, took a power nap and then headed out into the town. Our host Maria took us around to all of the local and handmade shops, then to her favorite restaurant. The food was amazing! I had a real Greek salad for the first time, which by the way, features absolutely no lettuce. I also had pork souvlaki and of course, ouzo. Man, has America butchered Greek food! Josh, one of the students with me, ordered fried feta. I’m pretty sure I dreamed about it last night… It was fried in paper you make baklava with, then covered in honey and balsamic drizzle. Such a great combination of flavors. The food just tastes so real here, it’s amazing. At the table we talked about American and Greek stereotypes with our new friend Maria. It’s was mostly all laughs. Though the entire group hardly knows one another, we all seem to get along pretty well, and have established a new friendship experience.

I’m about to head down for breakfast, today’s a long day! Can’t wait to tell you about it later!

With love from the island of Kalymnos,

Rosalie