Halkidiki Pics

The group.

One of the beaches.

Lunch.

Ponder.

Breaking Spring

Beloved Reader,

Happy Spring Break. If you currently work a real job or lead a lifestyle that does not allow you a Spring Break, I encourage you to take a deep breath, quit your job, and pursue a way of life that enables you to celebrate this wondrous phenomenon.

Spring Break commenced on Thursday, and the weather was perfect for tennis then loitering downtown with my co-worker Emily and the American interns from Anatolia (another private high school in Tniki). As we strolled, I suggested a trip to the beach for the following morning. We pitched some ideas around and formulated a tentative plan to hop on a bus to Halkidiki, a beautiful region of beach-heavy peninsulas about an hour southeast of Thessaloniki. As the sun set and we planned to head home, we ran into Teo, a Greek friend of the Anatolia interns. It was a fateful encounter. We mentioned the beach idea and he happily proclaimed that he would not only be willing to drive but also that his family owns an apartment at the beach, where we could spend the night. Gaaame ooooonnn.

The next morning Teo picked us up and off we went. It was an amazing two-day excursion. The two-tone clear blue water was frigid but invigorating; the tourist season hasn't kicked off yet, so we had the picturesque beaches all to ourselves. We ate lunch at a beachside seafood taverna, where - instead of ordering from menus - we perused the fresh morning catch and pointed at the fish we wanted to eat; it was a perfect meal. We slept at Teo's apartment, and spent today at yet another flawless, deserted beach. A competitive game of four square passed the afternoon nicely, then we headed back to Thessaloniki. It was an ideal start to Spring Break.

I only have two more weeks of Spring Break. I board a plane in nine hours for Barcelona. Life is tough. Maybe I should pack...

Pics from Amos's Visit

The Rotunda in Downtown Thessaloniki.

The tippy top.

Strollin' the walls of the Old City.

Surprise, Surprise.

Unofficial Spring Break (Whoo!)

Amos (first cousin / like a brother / finishing up law school at Emory / exemplary American) came to visit for his Spring Break. As is customary in Greece when somebody doesn't feel like working, I went on strike and we ran amok in Thessaloniki. The good news: we may have ended the Greek financial crisis simply by the amount of gyros, bus tickets, and Greek pastries we purchased throughout the week. The bad news: Spring Break is over, Amos is gone, and it's back to the grind for both of us in our respective lives. The silver lining: my daily grind is relaxing and my actual Spring Break is in two weeks.

Here's a quick rundown of the highlights from the past week:

Amos arrived and got reacquainted with the farm school (Amos held my exact job at AFS a few years ago and is the reason I am in Greece). We probably walked for over 10 hours together during the week. We walked around campus, strolled the downtown boardwalk, hiked the entire perimeter of the ancient walls of the old city, and meandered around town.

We planned to go on an overnight trip as well, however the transportation industry was on strike so we only got as far as downtown Thessaloniki. Although we didn't accomplish anything monumental during the week, it was great to catch up and have one of my best pals around. We both laughed until we cried several times a day. At first I laughed unreasonably hard during conversations that would have seemed ordinary among our friends in the States. I truly miss speaking our own made-up language that is a combination of movie quotes, Coach Rubesch sayings, and Sabourisms (a.k.a. single brain-celled Utah jargon). I digress.

Coincidentally the Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival commenced this week, so we headed down to get in on the action. In true Prosser form, we didn't want to pay for admission and decided to try to acquire guest passes, which would allow us to see the films for free. After a bit of verbal finagling, we found ourselves with passes for the opening ceremony, the premier screening, and the festival kick-off party. After the premier screening, we met the star of the documentary, an eccentric 81-year old Japanese inventor who holds over 3,400 patents and claims he will live to be 144 years old (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_w9XMTJnpM). It was quite an evening. The next night, we returned for a screening about North Korean defectors who tell their stories of arrests, starvation, work camps, and escape; it was powerful and devastating. Afterwards, I approached the filmmaker to fish for a job on her next project - I'll keep you posted.

What a week. What a year. What a life.