Beach Trip to Halkidiki

Club W was amazing last night!  I think almost everyone from the program was there, and we all had a great time.  The inside of the club was so nice.  They had oversized swings that served the VIP area, and there wasn't a roof so you could see the stars.  Thursday nights are what they call "swag R&B" night, and a lot of the American music they listen to came out years ago back home.  It was a blast and I'm so glad I was able to celebrate it with great new friends in this amazing country.

Friday morning, everyone had to be at the bus at 10am to load up and head out for our 2-day trip to Halkidiki!  Because it was such a late night and an early morning, everyone slept the entire way there;  it's about 2-3 hours away from Thessaloniki.  Here is a link to the camp we stayed at, it will help give you a better idea of the entire area where we stayed: http://www.thalattacamp.gr/en

When we arrived around 1pm, we made our way to our caravans, aka campers, that were our homes for the night.  Although they weren't exactly spacious, they were fine for the night since all we needed to do there was change clothes and sleep.  Erin, Jade, and I all shared this caravan.  Like any campground, there were communal bathrooms and showers just down the path.  We quickly settled in, changed, ate a quick lunch, and headed for the beach!  On the walk there, we passed this interesting set up.  Those are octopus tentacles hanging out to dry before they can be cooked to eat later!  On the beach, there are straw umbrellas set up with 4 chairs per umbrella.  The girls and I set our stuff down and immediately went down to the water.  The beaches here are much different from American ones.  First of all, the sand isn't really sand.  It's a bunch of tiny rocks, so it's so much hotter, harder to walk on, and hurts your feet after awhile.  Secondly, the water was incredibly clear up close, and therefore was a beautiful shade of turquoise from afar.  It was also the saltiest water I've ever been in; gross when you accidentally got some in your mouth, but super easy to float in.  On this beach, we were set up in an alcove type area surrounded by hills, mountains, and a breathtaking view of Mount Olympus.  Today consisted mostly of swimming and napping on the beach.  It was beautiful and relaxing and pretty darn close to perfect.

Around 8pm, we headed in to shower and get ready for the evening.  We ordered some handmade pepperoni pizza, which was delicious, and went to watch the game with the locals.  The camp had set up a few big screens so everyone could watch the Greece vs. Germany soccer game in the EuroCup tournament.  Although I'm not a big soccer fan, it was really exciting to watch it while surrounded by the people of Greece.  When Greece scored, the place went nuts.  Everyone started screaming and jumping out of their seats in celebration, it was really cool to experience that.  (On a side note:  Greece ended up losing 2-4 to Germany, and therefore is out of the tournament.)  Went to bed pretty quickly after the game was over.  Swimming, the sun, and the beach are all exhausting and we knew we were in for another full day tomorrow.