We weren't lost for long because members of the staff came and helped us find our apartment and move in. We got lucky. There was an elevator in our building. It may have only been about 3 x 3 ft square, but it was way better than carrying my two 40-pound duffel bags and my 20-pound carry-on up two flights of a badly lit, curved marble staircase. Once in our apartment we were introduced to the rules:

Rule 1: Do not flush the toilet paper down the toilet. You must throw it in the trash can. Evidently the pipes in this part of Athens (because its old) are small and get clogged easily... Great.

Rule 2: Throw away your bathroom and kitchen garbage everyday or else you will get cockroaches... **shudder**

Rule 3: Turn the hot water on 20 minutes before you take a shower, but make sure you turn it off before you get in because you could get electrocuted... fun fun.

Rule 4: Don't wear shoes around the house because you'll annoy your neighbors. The walls and floors are thin... no wonder it's so cold right now.

Rule 5: Mandatory quiet hours between 2:30 and 5:30... known as a siesta in other countries :)

I am sure that we will discover many others in the next several week, but these are the basics that I have learned so far.

We live about a block from the Arcadia Center where we will be going to school, so we went there for dinner and a little socialization, then my flatmates and I strolled around the area a little bit. Found a cute little pet store with puppies that licked the window and a sweet bakery where the owner didn't speak any English. My favorite observation so far has been the 20 bars that occupy the four blocks surrounding our apartment. Good thing for me is that all five of us are not big drinkers. I can't say the same for others on this trip, but I'm happy with my situation.

Today (Monday), my first full day in Athens, included a 45-minute bus ride to a local clinic followed by a TB test and an x-ray of my chest to check for... TB. Ugh. Evidently the Greeks enjoy giving x-rays for anything and everything. Including tests that I've already been given. I don't think the whole experience would have been so bad except that we were there for three hours. I couldn't really complain though. I was SUPPOSED to have a TB test. There were 22 people in my group, and six of us hadn't had TB tests in the states, but the clinic said the TB tests done in the states on the other students were invalid because the paperwork wasn't correct (paperwork that Arcadia had provided for us, so it wasn't a doctor's fault or anything). SO, everyone had to go through and get new TB tests. And then have the x-ray. It was great.

And I went very first of everyone, so I sat around for three hours waiting to leave. I did get to meet some more of the students, which was nice, but we spent a lot of time complaining about being there.

We concluded the day with the normal, ridiculous ice breakers that you always do when forced to meet new people (I'm Kelly and my favorite book is Wild Magic, she's Kristen and her favorite book is Until the Streetcars Come Back, and so on). At five, we started our first Greek lessons. Nothing special. Just the letters and some numbers and pronunciation for three hours, but I'm hopeful that I'll catch on fast.

Having fun!