the greek life for american students

All CYA students are living in apartments spread across central Athens. L&C students were given apartments in the fabulous district of Kolonaki, which is where many of the embassies (including our own) are located along with the more trendy shops and little parks full of trees, statues, and non-working fountains.

I live with Carolyn, Gussi, Clariece, and Amanada. Gussi and I are rooming together, while Clariece and Carolyn share and room and Amanda has a room to herself. Besides the three bedrooms, our apartment comes equipped with a small but serviceable kitchen (complete with pots, pans, utensils, and plates), a small living room (two chairs, a couch, and a coffee table) with veranda doors that open onto a fabulous balcony which is always in constant use, a decent sized bathroom for five girls, and a few miscellaneous closets, one of which contains a fake Christmas tree.

The flooring is either fabulous wood planks or awful 60's orange-ish laminate. The walls are stark white, but all that does is give us room to decorate. The ceilings are very high, probably 10-12 feet with crown-molding. The stairwell floor and steps are composed completely of marble, as is most of Greece's stairs.

Besides the inside space, the outside is what truly makes our apartment the best of the bunch. The balcony opens up to a fabulous view of a small cathedral, who's bells woke us up Sunday morning at a very ungodly hour, as well as the many trees that line our street. There is a little garden/yard area before the gate to out apartment in which three cats reside. We've named them εφαρσςτη, παρακαλο, and τιροπιτα- "Thank-you" (the papa- all grey with black stripes), "Please" (the momma- grey and black stripes with a cream belly and paws), and "Cheese-pie" (who is the kitten- fluffy and all grey with black stripes).

There is also a great little market and grocery about a black away which has almost everything that we'll need. There are also tons of restaurants, bars, kiosks, miscellaneous stores, and cafes. The only problem, which really isn't a problem considering that we receive a per-diem, is that they can be a very expensive compared to the remainder of Athens.

However, the neighborhood is beautiful, the apartment is beautiful, the city is amazing and I have everything I need (if not everything I desire- namely wireless Internet access in our apartment) and this is going to be an experience that I will never forget.