A day trip to Pireus

On a Sunday morning my tandem language course started. It means that people filled an application online to inform what language do they want to learn and what is their mother language. The idea is that you can meet your partner when ever you want and how often you want to. The idea is not to sit in a classroom to study, you go for a coffee or to the supermarket or movies to learn the language. So after the deadline for the applications the ESN people who organize this thing devided people into pairs. I was a bit afraid that no one would want to learn finnish but there was this one girl who did want to learn my language and she will teach me hers, Greek. The first meeting was in this Old Univeristy in Plaka, which is nowadays a sightseeing place and a museum. Despoina, my pair, wasn't there but I've emailed to her and we are gonna meet this week!

Taken from the balcony of the Old University

Sunday was a pretty fine day also (like Saturday had been) so I suggested to the girls that if we would take a metro to Pireus and go walk around to see the area. :) So we (me, Maggie, Anais, Marie and Nina) met at 3 pm and took a metro to Pireus. The metro station was really near to the place which I've been like over 40 times, the place where we took our boat to Poros island. It was a strange and happy feeling to be there and to be reminded of all the familiar smells and hear all the noises. I also went to the Hellenic Seaways office to ask for prices to Poros, 15€ for a student studying in Greek University. Cool!

Pireus

After walking around 3 hours in the public harbour as well as in the private one with yacht boat (Zea Marina) we found a place to eat. It was my first time on this trip eating in a real Greek restaurant with greek music, the view to the sea and the greek restaurant furniture. :) Food was good and we started making our way back to home. We took a trolley which was a slower than a metro but we wanted some change. :) At home I was around 15 minutes so that I just changed my clothes and was off again.

Zea Marina

Only this time I had my skates with me. I was going to my first ice hockey practise! This time the rink was really easy to find. I was there five to ten as I had been told to be there around 10 pm. The first girl arrived 10.20 pm. Then we just waited in the "lobby" or the small area with chairs. There was a problem. Currently the only rink in Athens area is owned by this woman who doesn't like hockey players. She actually once didn't allow the men's national team to go to the ice to practise! The coach and Georgia fought with her around 30 minutes to get a permisson for us to go to the ice. The owner was telling something about some law that it would be illegal to let us to the ice if there wasn't a doctor or ambulance present in a case of emergency. I just didn't quite understand why sometimes she lets the girls to practise. And it would be money for her. I don't know. It was just so so sad to watch the situation and the expressions on the girls faces. They are so close to practise the sport they love but they aren't allowed to the ice. They just wanna practise. It was really sad to imagine what they have to deal with in order to play. To come to the ice rink many times a week and have to deal with the disappointment of just going back to home. The girls looked at me so jealously when I told that in Finland I get to the ice average five times a week. Now I can really understand them. :/ After leaving from the rink empty handed the girls were really nice to me and asking if I can find my way home and I even got a ride to the metro station.

Not that much space on the bench..

Monday I was finally able to go to the supermarket since my fridge was empty, again. I also went to the cosmote store to argue about my phone, again.. Then I went to the post office to get some stamps. :) Then I fixed some food for myself and listened to the thunder and rain outside. I called to my teacher who gave me some number to some student girl to whom I called and she didn't know anything about me or why I had called her.. She just told me that the way to the hospital is really long from where I live.. :/ I called back to the teacher who told me to call to the girl in 10 minutes. I did as told and I had a date with the girl on Wednesday at 7.15 am in some metro station. We are supposed to be at the hospital at 8 am and I have to leave from my home around 6.30..