I Made It!!!

I finally made it into Athens yesterday afternoon! After a 6 hour delay from the airport, a new plane, a 9.5 hour plane ride, a 1.5 hour bus ride, a 15 minute cab ride, and a hike up a neighborhood hill, I made it to my apartment finally! About 25 of us were on the same flight and 15 of us girls were in a group most of the time chatting and getting to know each other! When we arrived, after a sigh of relief and checking in, four of us braved taking the bus from the airport to our area, instead of a pricey taxi, which was quite a crazy adventure! It was full of passengers' laughter and luggage flopping all over the place. The four of us and our TONS of luggage blocked one doorway completely, and I was practically in the doorway! It was an adventure. I've got a couple of tired arms after that! So after the bus ride, we stopped of on the main street not far from our streets, but too far to tote luggage! So we finally hailed a cab after many passed by us, and split up, heading to our apartments. From there, we went to the Academic Center, which is about a 7 to 10 minute walk from my apartment, in the Pangrati region of Athens. Some other students are staying in the Kolonaki region, which is a neighborhood on the slopes of Lykavittos Hill, which is the same region I lived in last summer for the archaeological dig in the Agora! I'm glad to be in a new neighborhood since I already lived in Kolonaki, but it is making things interesting since I'm just learning my way around and getting used to Athenian heat again!!! Anyway, I digress.
We went the Academic Center to get oriented and get our information, forms, Center keys, schedule, etc... So, last night was good, but long! After getting situated at the Academic Center, some of us met back up at a taverna restaurant and had some food, which was great. So about 10 or so of us were eating and chatting, until we were falling asleep we were so tired! Greeks eat much later at night than Americans, so it'll be interesting getting into that habit! The taverna was hopping at 11! After that, I went back to my place and met my roommates and got used to our apartment. It's cute!
this morning, we went to an orientation and are meeting our administrators and resources, and we've got a neighborhood tour this afternoon to get ourselves familiar with our regions! I'm looking forward to that. I'm looking into cooking classes, dance classes, and kickboxing! :) I'll keep you updated.
I will post photos soon and attach the link for my web album!