Ashley Gets Lost

I’ve started and abandoned writing a post several times in the last week. Everything has just been a lot. There was an election, I got my period, Olya was moving and is now gone (cries). You can expect an outdated post about going out to the city for karaoke someday when I have a mind to finish it.

How about some random updates instead? Yesterday afternoon a storm rolled in and we got a PRE rainbow. As in before it rained! Or I guess as it was just starting. And then it dumped angry god levels of rain on us for a while. Sometime after five I decided it was safe to run down to town to try and find an open pharmacy. Google maps is living in a den of lies. There were in fact none open. Which is how I ended up a ten minute walk from the car cowering in a lotions and potions shop while Poseidon himself tried to drown us.

I bought some eyeshadow and lotion, and when I was going to leave the lady told me that I had better stay for a while. She noted that I had no umbrella and said I was wearing “bad shoes.” Yes my good lotion lady, I made a grave error in footwear, and I left my umbrella in America. I thought I was safe for a quick trip! I was not. I got splashed by a truck. I abandoned all thoughts of making dinner and ordered us all something from a street food cafe we hadn’t tried yet. Joshua and I got monster crepes (that’s what they’re called), and they were indeed huge. I finished mine for lunch today. Approximately 24 hours later we have some blue sky again!

Look at this fun new chip variety I will not be trying this year! I do not love turkey, so I will leave these for someone who does!

Friday night was cool denim jacket night at the bar. And by that I mean that my friend Justin and I were both wearing cool denim jackets. A local Greek band was playing that we had seen once before. Joshua and Felix really like them, and they came and stayed the whole time. It was a really fun night!

Olya had her going away party/karaoke night last Wednesday. She is seen here doing her finest Mu Deng impression. This is a new thing I started a few weeks ago. If you’re feeling feisty, you should just bite your friend’s knee.

Also I have homework again and I don’t like it. Last week I was a big girl and did it the night before, but usually I’m doing it Friday morning right before class. I am really enjoying my Greek classes though! The group is fun, and I am learning a lot. My Greek writing is getting so much better too. Learning with rules is so much easier than learning without them on Duolingo. I definitely have a great base of vocabulary from over two years of Duolingo, but starting back at the beginning with actual rules is making so much more sense to me.

Here’s a giant cabbage just because. This was taken last Sunday, which was the last day I saw that ring. I was on a scooter ride, and my hands got a little cold. I’m not sure if I lost it that way or took it off in the night as a sacrifice to the demons (and by demons I mean Conglomerate Garfield Lincoln specifically).

Speaking of demons, we are currently housing this delightfully grumpy old man. This is Olya’s best friend Crash, who will be joining her in Albania as soon as possible. He likes to growl and hiss, but his fur is so soft! He actually let me pet him today, so we’re making some progress! He thinks Cong is annoying and likes to stand at the top of the stairs so BMO can’t get by. Yes, you read that right, he has BMO absolutely terrified, which is fine by me. You gotta respect the puss in this house!

In other good news, it sounds like our visa is coming through soon! We go in next week for biometrics, and then we’ll have our residency cards a week or two after that. It feels exciting to be able to leave the country if we want. We were supposed to go to Paris next week for our twenty year Boneaversary, but we can’t leave Greece until we get those cards! We’re planning a trip to the mainland instead. I won’t be filling my belly or spirit with fancy french food or going to see a cabaret show like I had hoped, but I am looking forward to eating some other cuisines in Athens and then driving around to look at ancient shit. I can probably find some boobs on some statues if I’m lucky!