Sad News...

Someone reported my blog as being spammy... SHAME ON YOU... So, I'm switching over to a new blog. I think this blog is better anyway... it's more like a whole website.

Here is the link... http://adventuresinathens.weebly.com/ ...it's not really done yet.

Finally got my Passport & My Plans in Greece

It's official. I can legally leave the country! (I'm pretty excited about that). :)

Just an update to all my friends and family:

* I'm leaving June 16th and will arrive in Athens on June 17th at 8:30 PM.
* My classes start June 19th, which means...
* I will be spending one full day and two nights ON MY OWN in Athens!!
* I'm staying with fellow named George Z. (the guy from airbnb.com that is letting me rent his spare room)
* My classes are over on July 9th.
* I will return on July 18th which means...
* I will be spending another 9 days in Athens ON MY OWN!!! :) It's going to be a blast.

I don't have any arrangements made for those 9 days at this point. It will be a true European backpacking experience... (hopefully not a backpacking disaster!)

Wish me luck! Oh, and I'm still fundraising for my trip. Everything is essentially paid for EXCEPT my living expenses while I'm there... still trying to figure that all out. :S

Cheap Accomodations

I randomly stumbled across this website, airbnb, a few years back. It finally came in handy. I found a place to stay in Athens for 2 nights, private room (in an apartment) for only $32 (or something like 20 Euros).

They have listings all over the world. In my case, it's in someone's apartment that they are just renting the room. But there are all kinds of properties, yurts, houses, treehouses... some shared, some totally private. Check it out if you're considering traveling. It's a fun alternative to staying in a hotel.

Airbnb.com

Taking Electronics Abroad

It was just brought to my attention that Europe has different outlets than America does... their electronics also run on different voltages. So, this means I have to buy an adapter AND a 110V to 220V converter. I heard they are very expensive at airports and abroad, so you should always buy them before you leave. I also heard AAA (Triple A?) had good deals, but here are some adapters I found on Amazon.com.

















The best converter I could find was this one. It's a good price compared to the other ones I've seen. I will definitely purchase this one and let you know how it works later.

Airfare to Greece... Finalized!

On a side note... Hope you like the new blog design!

I will be leaving on June 16th and coming back on July 18th. The total cost was a whopping $1786.20!!!!!!!!

Yeah, I cried a little...

I probably could have gotten a better deal if I had searched more, but I honestly spent so much time trying to find a good deal that it really stressed me out. I kept hearing "student discounts," and "cheap airfare," but $1,800 did not seem very cheap to me! Especially when my study abroad program estimated that it would only be $1,000. What bugs me even more is that had I been traveling in March or April, the cost would have been half! Traveling in the summer is expensive no matter where you look. Anyway, here are the websites and travel agencies I tried:

Student Universe <https://www.studentuniverse.com/>

•  They were pretty much like any other flight finding website such as Orbits or Expedia. No discounts for students that I could find. One nice thing is that they let you cross reference your search on several other websites such as: Priceline, Expedia, Webjet.com and Travel-Ticker.

STA Travel <http://www.statravel.com/>

• They claimed to have student discounted airfare for ISIC holders, which I have, but honestly their prices ended up being VERY similar to any other website I looked at. The plus side: I found a scholarship through them and won $1000 for my trip. They have some other good services and resources for students traveling abroad though. They aren't all bad! And the ISIC (International Student Identification Card) does get you other discounts... 10% off any purchase at Target!

And the winner goes to...

Expedia <http://www.expedia.com/>

• Not only were they the cheapest, they offer a nice reward package. They also allowed me to save itineraries so that I could come back and easily find a flight I had previously looked at.

So there you have it.

Also, something else I wanted to mention about trying to get cheaper airfare. I posted on some travel forums and a lot of people suggested that I buy separate tickets or fly out of larger airports to get a better deal... In theory this works. For example, I could have got about $200 off of my airfare if I had flown out of Seattle or LA instead of Portland, Oregon... BUT, it would have cost $150 or more for me to travel to these cities and the hassle wouldn't have been worth the effort to save a few dollars here and there. I tried many combinations of this idea - buying a ticket to London and then a separate ticket to Greece - they all were slightly cheaper but a lot more schedule juggling and hassle involved.... and in some cases, it was more expensive to buy two separate tickets. Not saying this wouldn't work for everyone, I'm just saying it didn't work for me. Perhaps Athens is just an expensive city to travel to?

Scholarship.... WOOOHOOOO!!!

I almost can't believe it... I was selected for the Diversityabroad.com / Globalink Study Abroad Scholarship! This is the first time I've ever applied online for a scholarship and was chosen. I'm so excited, and it couldn't have come at a better time! Thank you Diversityabroad.com and Globalink!!!

With that being said, however, I still have a ways to go to make up the difference for my trip. As I've probably said before, the airfare alone was $1,800 and this scholarship was only $1,000. Even though that is a big chunk, it's still not enough to cover all of my fees. So, please do consider a donation and don't forget that there are rewards for donating!!

Thanks guys!

Interesting Tidbits about Greece

These are just some questions I had to answer for my capstone project. Feel free to correct me if I made any mistakes.

1. What are the names of the major political leaders and what offices do they hold?
1. President: Karolos Paoulias
2. Prime Minister: George A Papandreou

2. What are the names of the major political parties?
1. The New Democracy
2. Panhellenic Socialist Movement

3. What are the major religion(s)/spiritual beliefs and their effect on the host country?
1. Greek Orthodox 98%
2. Muslim 1.3%
3. Other 0.7% (Catholicism) 

International Flights

Boy, the price goes up and down on almost a daily basis... and it's really expensive in the summer months! When I was looking at average flights a few months ago, it was around $900-$1200 for flights to Europe... now, I'm going to have to cough up about $1,700 for my flight to Greece. Does anyone know of any cheaper methods? I've heard of mixing and matching flights/airports to sometimes get a better deal, but so far with the hassle of catching different flights on my own and getting transportation to the airports that are farther away, it still ends up costing about the same with a LOT more hassle involved.

If anyone knows of a concrete way of getting cheaper travel, please share! I have to say though, I'm tired of being called lazy in the travel forums... I have spent a LOT of time looking at different methods and all these people offer are vague suggestions like, "There's cheaper ways to travel, you just have to look for them..." Well, DUH! I've been looking...

Keeping my chin up in the meantime... wish me luck!

Orientation for my Trip to Greece

The final stages of my trip are being put into place and all of my paper work is turned in. All I have left to do is pay! The Orientation was very informational... I learned a lot about what to expect and how to survive while abroad.

I'm feeling a mixture of excitement and nervousness about the whole thing. I'm still worried that I might not get to go because of finances, but I'm really working hard to come up with the funds from various outlets. I'm also still waiting to hear about a few large scholarships that I may get, so wish me luck on that.

I feel very confident that I will get to go.... the hope is that I will only add a minimal amount of debt in the process. I'm looking at a private educational loan as a backup incase I don't make enough before the deadline, but I'm really hoping that I don't have to take it. The interest on that loan is ridiculous!

What I'm really hoping for is that my friends and family will sponsor my trip by purchasing the photos and other artwork I'm selling... I understand that finances are tight, so that's why I'm selling 4" x 6" prints for only $2... so it's very cheap and easy to swing.... I mean, come on, $2... that's not even a cup of daily coffee.

Okay, I'll stop ranting about money now. I already feel bad enough for spamming Facebook every day! I'll keep you updated if anything else interesting comes up about my trip.

Sorry!

I forgot to add Meaghan to the list of Donors! Even though she was struggling with her new business, she was kind enough to make a donation for my trip a loooooong time ago. Thank you Meaghan!

And if you happen to be in Monmouth, she serves up some delicious ice cream at the:

Monmouth Main Street Ice Cream Parlor
Check her out on Facebook.

Only 16 days left to fundraise...

Passport Advice

Silly me, thinking I could just walk-in and buy a passport.... no.... Passports take 3-6 weeks to process!! Plus, you gotta have your birth certificate. I don't know how many times I've seen that stupid piece of paper laying around the house, waiting to be filed in the proper place... and of course the moment I need it... It's NOWHERE to be found. So, $50 dollars later (after having my birth certificate expedited) I went and got my passport paperwork filed today. FINALLY! :D

I'm not too worried though, if it's not here in three weeks (plenty of time before my trip), I can call and have it expedited for another $60... CROSS YOUR FINGERS THAT THEY GET IT DONE QUICKLY!

Things are starting to happen

I had my initial appointment with the Study Abroad office today. It was just an entrance interview type thing... and I learned some more detailed stuff about my trip. But, I'll talk more about that later. Oh, but one interesting tidbit I learned... Apparently, you can't flush toilet paper in Greece! You gotta throw it away after you... well... you know... It will be an interesting trip to say the least, but I am so excited to go! I can't wait!

I also got my award letter for Summer Session. I'm only getting about $1,900 - and it's not even guaranteed because of all this BS happening with the Government regarding the Pell Grant. The good ol' Republicans want to cut $1,000 off everyone's grant and make it even less accessible to people who need it. Grr! So, cross your fingers that some of those scholarships go through for me!! I'm really going to need them to make this trip happen... if not, I guess I'll just have to work that much harder. But, I'm sure I can do it!

If you haven't already, do please consider a donation! I know that times are tough, but really a $5 donation is not too little. Every little bit counts. And I'm not below taking bottles and cans either!

To those who already donated... THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! You're amazing and I love ya!

In review...

All of my applications regarding my trip to Athens are in review right now... even my financial aid! I'm super stressed out about all this. Cross your fingers for me and wish me luck! I need it...

Fundraising Efforts.... Continued

Okay friends and family... time to sweeten the pot...

Anyone who donates:
$1  - gets a 4x6" original photo taken my be of Athens
$20 - 4x6" FRAMED original photo of Athens
$30 - Two 4x6" FRAMED original photo of Athens
$40 - 5x7" framed original photo of Athens
$50 - 8x10" framed original photo of Athens
$100 - 8x10" framed photo of Athens and authentic Greek souvenirs
$200 - Two framed photos and authentic Greek souvenirs
$500 - Multiple Photos, Greek souvenir and your choice of an original painting made by my while in Athens (from assignments).
$1000 - You may commission a painting of your choosing (max 4' in any direction) and anything else you want from this list.

Questions? Click Below to donate now.

Getting Started...

I've got my heart set on the Acropolis and I cannot wait to start painting the scenic "Greek Light" I keep hearing so much about. But, before all that can happen, I've got to finish this paperwork! I had no idea how much stuff I had to orchestrate to leave the country!

Anyway, more to come later. Right now I must finish an essay!

Fundraising Efforts

I'm humbly asking for your help! Even if you can only part with $5 or $10, ever little bit is adding up quick. I need to come up with $1,800 to pay for my airfare to and from Athens, Greece. It is expensive! I've set up an account with Fundrazr, an app I use associated with Facebook, where you can donate using any method accepted by Paypal. It's quick, it's easy, and it's for a good cause.
Click here to donate now!

Thank you very much for your support.