My German language course came to an end on November 17th, the same day Matthias came back. I was sad to say goodbye to the people I befriended in the class, but I was excited to see Matthias. We met at the airport that night. Of course, the weather just turned COLD, and poor Matthias nearly froze on the way home. A few days later, Jennifer and Brenda came to visit. It was so nice to see them and we had a great time – eating, drinking and sightseeing. We even got an early taste of some of the Christmas markets in Berlin.
As the CELTA teacher training started to wind down, we all started to look forward to completing the course. It was a tough three months, but definitely worth it (in my opinion) and I’m going to miss my classmates and teachers. I really liked teaching – at least in that controlled environment – and hope I get to do it (for a living) sometime soon. So, although I was sorry to see the class come to an end, and to say goodbye to all my new friends, I couldn’t complain about our next destination.
Crete is really beautiful, and it’s so nice to have our bikes here. It wasn’t too bad taking the bike on the plane either, although it would have been really hard if I had to do it myself. When we got on the Metro in Athens, the conductor told us that bikes weren’t allowed, but we could ride with the bike if we took the front wheel off (??) Then he told us to “be careful” in Athens because of the riots (not sure how we were supposed to “be careful”) but luckily our hotel was right by the train station and all was quiet. Actually, the hotel was brilliantly located, and we enjoyed the next (sunny) morning walking around downtown Athens. Getting the bike on the Metro to the ferry terminal was another drama – because it was so crowded – but no one told us we couldn’t go…
The overnight ferry ride was nice and comfy (we were able to stretch out on three seats with our sleeping bags) but when we got to Iraklion we were worried that the bus driver wouldn’t let us put the bike on the bus. That would have meant that Matthias would have had to ride 60km over the mountain – in the pouring rain, no less – to the village of Pitsidia. But, fortunately, the bus driver was amenable. And, when we changed buses in Mires, we saw our new landlady – who let us into our apartment as soon as we arrived. The apartment is basic, but cute, and has a nice garden – it will be fine for the winter. Unfortunately – no internet (in the whole town as far as I can see.) but we’ll go at least twice a week to the internet café to maintain contact.
And, finally, the bike riding here is really nice. Though I was wrong to think that riding to class everyday in Berlin was keeping me in shape. I guess I forgot about something they call hills. That’s what makes the scenery so beautiful, I guess. We’ve been to the beach and to nearby villages, so far. And we’ve also met some nice (and interesting) folks here. Hopefully, I’ll have more adventures to report on soon.
Here's a link to a few photos. More to come (hopefully) soon. http://picasaweb.google.es/jrosenyc/December2008#
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