Southern Discoveries

My travels pick up in Searcy, AR, where I am stationed for the rest of my senior year of college. What I have discovered since arriving in Arkansas four years ago is that there is a vast difference between the north and the south. That being said, I must admit I have taken a liking to the endless flow of sweet tea and the draw of the southern language over my native tongue of Pittsburgheese.

This semester I plan to explore as much of the natural state as possible before possibly saying goodbye to it in May. Last year, I ventured to the beautiful northwest(ish?) region of Arkansas and visited the vibrant town of Eureka Springs, sometimes referred to as the "Little Switzerland of the Ozarks".

My two sisters and I were able to grace the presence of the Christ of the Ozarks, visit the haunted Crescent Hotel, and explore the colorful shops and restaurants that line the historic downtown area.

Next stop? Petit Jean State Park.

The Bad Blogger

I admit, I have been a terrible blogger. I started this blog to keep up with my travels in Europe, and now, almost a year later, and back in the states, I am coming back to it for the first time. Although this blog was never intended to document my travels within the borders of the US, I have discovered in the past two weeks that some areas of the states are just as foreign to me as Europe. So, I am here to formally announce that life outside of Europe is in technicolor as well. In the past month I have been to Oklahoma City, Dallas,  Pittsburgh, and Chicago. So now, I am preparing to document those travels because, after all, they're pretty colorful places too.

A Dustland Fairytale

Yesterday we said "shalom" to Israel after a ten day journey through the Holy Lands. We began our pilgrimage in Tel Aviv on February 6. Our first stop was the beautiful city of Jaffa, where Peter received the vision about clean and unclean animals. Unlike the portrait of Israel I had in my head- a sandy land roamed by panting nomads, northern Israel had the green landscape of Ireland. Our willful Israeli tour guide, Yossi Paz, showed us through the countryside highlighting the areas of Caesarea Maritima, Nazareth, Capernaum, Caesarea Philippi, and Jerusalem.  We spent the majority of our nights in kibbutzes. As Yossi explained, a Kibbutz is a collective community farm. The little church camp-like cabin village reminded me of a monastery. Also placing vacancy at the kibbutzes was a large number of felines. At the second kibbutz we awoke to the meowing harmonies of 15 stray cats outside our window.

My favorite parts of the trip were spent on the water. On the third day we went for a boat ride on the bright blue waters of Galilee (which turns out to be a giant lake) and sang the children’s song “the sea of Galilee”, hand motions and all. The next morning Kelcey, Mark and I revisited the sea and observed a pastel sunrise over the glasslike sea. The next day we visited a second famous body of water, the Dead Sea. Under a blue sky, me and the other huggers ventured into the salty waters and floated like buoys on the rolling waves. Afterwards we got to take a short ride on a brightly clad camel named Charlie. 

We spent the last leg of our journey in the mighty city of Jerusalem. We visited the garden of Gethsemane, Golgotha, the Temple of the Rock and the Wailing Wall. Despite the significance of these places in regards to the bible, what really touched me was not related to the historical city at all. On the last evening we gathered in a round pavilion on the top of a mountain. To show our appreciation for our wonderful tour guide and bus driver (a smiling man named Gidher) we sang “The Lord Bless You and Keep You.” Looking out over the green valleys of Israel it struck me how this land brought our group of American Christians to a place dominated by religious conflict. As we sang to our guides, I realized how unknowingly we had both literally and figuratively followed in Jesus' footsteps as we traveled across Israel. I believe that even though we were not aware of it, God brought us to that country of turmoil to let our Christian lights shine on the people who needed it the most. While we learned a lot from our various guides, I think they also learned a lot about Christianity through the love our HUG family emits. 

When in Greece, Bake Bread

A couple of days ago, a few huggers held a secret meeting in order to organize a beach bonfire to break away from the monotony of the nightly movie routine. The next night that plan was successfully put into action. Although people were skeptical of the plan, the group bundled up against the cold and hiked down to the beach. After a little difficulty, Nathan got a good fire going despite the chilly sea winds. We all huddled together and took turns telling stories. Eventually Steven began shuttling people back to Artemis. When the group had dwindled to about 10 remainders Josh suggested singing, so we gathered closely around the diminishing fire to sing songs to the Lord. My favorite, as always, was “Do not fear.” It gave me chills as our voices echoed across the vast Aegean. As we were singing our last song, two men, a teenager and middle-aged man, walked up and asked us where we were from. It turned out they were from a church in Florida and doing a mission trip in Porto Rafti. 

A few days later I woke up to a pitch black room at 5:00 a.m. After meeting Kelcey we walked down the dark rainy street to the … bakery. Kelsey introduced me to Zoe, the beautiful young counterworker. We then headed to the back of the shop where Thanassis, a large Greek man with a sweet face and warm smile, let us watch him bake the bread. Him and his 23 year old assistant, Leonitas, used a bathtub-sized mixer to mix the different types of dough. They then, almost mechanically, proceeded to knead, slice, and shape the dough into all different forms of delicious breads. Zoe was the only one of the crew who spoke English, but Theo and Leonitas joked around with us in Greek. Even though Kelsey and I did not have a clue what they were saying, we had a good time laughing and watching them fill the enormous wicker baskets with warm bread. Theo insisted that Zoe made coffee for us, and then welcomed us to our choice of baked goodies (we choose cinnamon cookies for breakfast, like good healthy Americans). Zoe even taught us a few Greek names for the food. For instance, the little spinach filled pastries are called “spanakopita”. At 7:00 we finally said our farewells to the warm crew and made our way back to the Artemis to set up breakfast for the rest of the group.

The Journey Begins

          Since our arrival here in Porto Rafti, the group has been busy conquering the Aegean seaside. Already we’ve visited the Acropolis, the Athens Mall, the Athens shopping square known as the Plaka, mount Porto Rafti and an AEK football match. Our destination campus at the hotel Artemis has already become a cozy home away from home. It took some to adjust to Greek life. One of the most important cultural lessons I quickly learned is that you do not flush the toilet paper in Greece. Other unacceptable things include waving with an open palm which is actually an offensive gestured, demonstrated by the AEK fans after a loss to rival Thessolonikki. The group quickly took a liking to the food, enjoying the fresh baked pastries and gyros as often as possible. Already we’ve learned a few important Greek phrases thanks to our sweet Greek coach, Vicky. She taught us the polite phrases necessary for living in a foreign country like, ”kalimera” which means good morning, and “efharisto” which means thank you. At the Artemis we have tea time each evening before popping in a movie. Already we’ve become a close-knit group. Its painful knowing that at the end of the semester we'll all go our separate ways, but I can already tell that this group of 30-some Harding students will forever be part of my life.