One Week Down

The past week has been much different than my usual lifestyle of running from appointment to appointment. Over the summer, I have been teaching sailing lessons, lifeguarding, and babysitting, averaging roughly 40-60 hrs a week. My normal high stress activity has helped me in saving up for my gap year, but it took a lot out of me.

To kick off the year, my mother and I flew to Crete, Greece, to meet up with friends from Nuremberg, Germany. We met at the Istron Bay Hotel and spent our first week making difficult decisions: Should we go to the pool or the beach today? As much as I loved and appreciated the much-needed relaxation with an incredible view of the Mediterranean, I found it hard to relax. I went from 110 to 0 in the matter of a day. I took advantage of my lack of responsibility to read as much as I could. The first book I read was by Colleen Hoover, titled It Ends With Us. It was not my usual book, but I enjoyed her writing. Lily Bloom, a strong woman, finds herself caught between her love for a man and the violence that he inflicts. I finished the book in two days, between eating as much Greek yogurt as I could stomach and sleeping.

Over the course of our stay, we made good friends with the bartender, Anslo. He made us try the Greek drink Ouzo. The drink is quite strong, tasting of a licorice candy that your grandmother would have hidden in the back of a drawer for a few too many years. Neither my mom nor I could finish it. The night before our Ouzo experience, we encountered the joys of an Italian travel group's karaoke night. I convinced my mom and friends from Nuremberg to get up and dance with the Italians. We ended that Night with another visit to our friend, Anslo.

The Hotel offered Yoga and Pilates some mornings. Our first morning, my mom and I decided to try the Yoga. In the Middle of a deep backstretch, looking up at the mountain next to us, I saw five or more goats running and playing. They bounced around the steep cliffs as their Shepard stood at the top of the mountain. You could faintly hear the ringing of their bells over the sound of the cicadas in the trees next to us. My mom was extremely pleased to see them. We found out that the Goats, despite being wild, have care takers that look over them. Around sundown every night, the goats will make their way back to where they sleep and get fed. That hardly sounds like wild to me, but it is a necessary precaution that the island takes, as the goats were once endangered.

One day we ventured into the City of Agios Nikolaos. We walked through the markets and shops, finding little treasures along the way. We went to a small cafe, not crowded by any means, that overlooked a bay and marina with a shocking number of sailboats. I could not get enough of their homemade lemonade. The sweet drink was gone before the owner had even left our table. Agios Nikolaos was about 20 minutes by car, so good for a day trip. Istron is the town much closer to the hotel. In Istron I stopped at a local small restaurant, recommended by a cashier in the market. The owner showed me the different types of fish he had caught that morning and fried one up. The restaurant had a great view and a nice breeze.

My time on Crete was great, but I was ready to head for the airport when the time came. I have been so anxious with excitement to get to my family in Germany. While waiting for our flight, I played tic-tac-toe with a young girl waiting next to me. Unfortunately, our flight kept getting delayed. My mom went to grab food to hold us over, and just happened to hear our names beginning called for final boarding on the other side of the terminal. We had been waiting for the wrong flight to Frankfurt. My mother then proceed to run back to me, and we pulled an Oj Simpson to the correct gate. The Greece air had never felt hotter. Thankfully, we made the flight in time and are now safely in Germany, staying with my great aunt and uncle.