Arrived Safe and Sound

SECOND POST ALREADY?! WHAT IS THIS?! A LIVE FEED OR SOMETHING?

Just joking. Arrived in Mytilini safe and sound.

On the plane I met a fellow Canadian on a Mission Tour with a group of fellow students travelling all the way from Australia! (And I thought I had a long way to go!)

Once at the airport, I met a woman who was convinced she saw Ai Weiwei on our plane. This is entirely possible as I just checked and he is indeed on the island! That same woman, Kat, was met by her friend and along with their other friends, they offered me a ride to my hotel. The kindness of strangers is something that always gives me a few moments of grateful pause. It would also seem that my life as a semi-vagabond has already begun.

While in the car my new friends told me about their experience on the island and what to expect. Kat told me that LUSH Cosmetics has donated 50 tents that are due to arrive in the port tomorrow, on their way to Moria (a major camp in a near by town on the island). I myself will be off to a camp called Pipka tomorrow with my new friends, where many women and children are staying at the moment. From what I am told, this camp is a little less chaotic than Moria and is a good place to start.

Once at the hotel, I met my 22 year old Polish roommate, who lives in Sweden and made friends with Nikos, the hotel manager who told me all about the Greek origins of my name (apparently, a budding plant). I then took a stroll into the centre of town and got myself a gyros (because when in Greece…). This port city is incredibly beautiful and I still have yet to see it in the day light.

A few things I’ve learned so far:

1. Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way here. Something my Canadian upbringing has caused me to take for granted.
2. Although packing your clothes in a dry sack initially seems like a good way to save space, it’s a pain to get what you’re looking for if you didn’t have the foresight to pack it with things in the order you might need them.
3. Stray dogs are not always friendly dogs. (There are strays everywhere here.) Having said that, there seems to be a culture of communal responsibility when it comes to strays and that is a beautiful thing. I walked by the very restaurant mentioned in this Buzzfeed post from a few days ago and there were dogs hanging out and sleeping next to patrons enjoying their late night tipple.

Off to bed now and on to a new adventure tomorrow.

Chloe