second day of classes...and chaos...but winding down slowly

kali mera (g'morning)
alrighty, my cell phone number is.....(drum roll please).........
from the states: (001 30) 694 444 2317.
i get free incoming calls (free to me), but the caller pays the charges, but dont let that scare you! it's not that bad and a 5-10min call from a familiar voice would make more MORE than happy :) i just put refill minutes on my phone from phonecards i buy at kiosks and such around town. i would love to hear from you!
in other news, i FINALLY got an email from nate as i opened my inbox this morning after my 830am class saying that he is fine, had some interesting, and sometimes frustrating, travel experiences making it to instanbul, but he's fine and in his dorm w/other americans and trying to rest and get his bearings. so, he made it. goooooooooooooooooood.
as for me, still no luggage...... i bought a 5 euro shirt yesterday to hold me over til laundry can be done and my luggage comes. plus grocery shopping is fun; im glad i lived a year in an apt in the states and learned to do this well and this summer on crete and got used to greek grocery stores and what they offer. most kids i saw in the store seem lost and confused looking for white milk or peanut butter (which are not too hard to find, but MUCH more expensive here). i drink the MIILKO chocolate milk to get my calcium and its cheaper than white milk very often, so it's ok. plus milko is awwwwwwwwwesome and u can only get it in greece. it's the best chocolate milk evvvvver and it's made by one of the premium greek ice cream companies in greece, so what else can you say??? the best snak food ive found, next to the plentiful american and greek varieties of chips offered are dried, salted pumpkin seeds in bulk. i found them this summer and they are wonderful. just dont eat them everyday or youll find yourself buying immodium everyday too...... ;)
on from that nice lil comment.....
well, im slowly, slowwwwly geting used to and accepting that i will be here for a while and this place will be my home and he ppl my family. i like my roomies so far and am trying to meet more ppl. there are alota folks from the east coast (USA) and some from southern california, a few from kalmazoo, michigan, and then random everywheres too. i met someone from st olaf, but from milwaukee, and then just the michigan kids for midwesterners. one guy i met yesterday said to me after i said i was from minnesota, 'ya, minnesooooota, ay?' original. real original. then proceeded with, 'is everyone from minnesota blonde-haired and blue-eyed?' i couldnt help but shake my head and let the marbles roll around after he left to try to understand that some ppl just get stuck on the cliches and make bad first impressions. perhaps after this summer ive learned that just living w/folks from all over your OWN country can be a cultural experience in itself. sometimes different native accents make communicating in your own language difficult. if you ever wanna read about my summer experience here's the link: http://www.xanga.com/ChrisInGreece
for now, ive gtg and ill ttyl
yassu