My final outing in Athens, only for now I hope, was spent with my two new wonderful friends. The night was full of constant laughter about everything and anything while three different accents were exchanging language lessons, teaching each other random, yet helpful, phrases. This night out was followed by a negotiation of payment with the hostel staff to pay for just a few hours of sleep, leaving me feeling a bit like a call girl trying to get the best price for a bed. A few very short hours later after tossing and turning while trying to stop sweating profusely, the alarm buzzed at me and it was time to get up. There was a brief misunderstanding with my makeshift ladder while crawling down from the top bunk and I almost suffered from a broken leg, but after surviving the fall and quickly brushing my teeth, I threw on my backpack and headed out the door. The metro ride was spent trading stories with a new friend from Canada, her adventures were ending as mine were continuing, and now I was leaving with some new information about places to see and ideas of things to do. We said our goodbyes at the airport and I waited for the puddle jumper plane to escort me to my new home. In Greek fashion we boarded the plane 20 minutes after the scheduled departure time, with no real explanation as to why. My hopes of taking a brief nap were squashed by the untamed toddler that decided my chair was the beginning of his kick box training, but as soon as we were up in the air we were heading back down and I had arrived on the island of Corfu.
After wandering around the tiny airport looking for anyone that vaguely resembled the woman from the email exchange and finding no one, I began convincing myself that this opportunity may not actually exist after all. I approached a rowdy group of Australia's that were on my flight and were still waiting for a pick up as well. When I asked where they were headed I was relieved to hear them say "The Pink Palace," and I stuck close by them until the van arrived. Climbing our way up and down a mountain side, while the driver redefined my definition of wild driving and windy roads we eventually reached the location of my new home. Greeted by the spunky staff and a shot of hot pink ouzu, I was apprehensive about what I may have gotten myself into, but the positive atmosphere of this place and the breath taking view was enough to keep me interested.
Since then I've met people from all over the world, and have been welcomed in as the newest staff member, that will be here for as long as she can hack it with the job placement, since my employer has had over 40 staff cycle through just this summer. My days have been spent laying in the sun and enjoying the warm ocean water as well as taking care of an adorable little girl and doing various chores around the house. The nights are spent making new friends that I'm not likely to remember the names of the next day, enjoying the night life, and late night swims. My schedule allows for a decent amount of sleep while I watch everyone else zombie there way through the day, until the festivities of the night begin and then they are in full swing of it again. There is a lot of exploring left to do of this island, and I'm planning to use my time off to see as much of this beautiful island as I can in my short time here.
After wandering around the tiny airport looking for anyone that vaguely resembled the woman from the email exchange and finding no one, I began convincing myself that this opportunity may not actually exist after all. I approached a rowdy group of Australia's that were on my flight and were still waiting for a pick up as well. When I asked where they were headed I was relieved to hear them say "The Pink Palace," and I stuck close by them until the van arrived. Climbing our way up and down a mountain side, while the driver redefined my definition of wild driving and windy roads we eventually reached the location of my new home. Greeted by the spunky staff and a shot of hot pink ouzu, I was apprehensive about what I may have gotten myself into, but the positive atmosphere of this place and the breath taking view was enough to keep me interested.
Since then I've met people from all over the world, and have been welcomed in as the newest staff member, that will be here for as long as she can hack it with the job placement, since my employer has had over 40 staff cycle through just this summer. My days have been spent laying in the sun and enjoying the warm ocean water as well as taking care of an adorable little girl and doing various chores around the house. The nights are spent making new friends that I'm not likely to remember the names of the next day, enjoying the night life, and late night swims. My schedule allows for a decent amount of sleep while I watch everyone else zombie there way through the day, until the festivities of the night begin and then they are in full swing of it again. There is a lot of exploring left to do of this island, and I'm planning to use my time off to see as much of this beautiful island as I can in my short time here.
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