until i arrived in tripoli this evening, today was quite annoying. i spent most of the day in the car, lost in greece. i found myself extremely angry that i didn’t find my way immediately and was frustrated that it didn’t work out exactly as i wanted. but through this, i realized that that is how life is. things don’t always work out perfectly. things go wrong. things are frustrating. and we just have to live it. i think we get better at it with time.

i drove to olympia to see the place where the ancient games were held. it was really cool to walk around and see how the olympics once were. what i didn’t know is that to participate in the olympics, you had to be greek. in addition to that, i learned that only men were allowed to be spectators. any man, free, slave, rich, poor, etc. was allowed to watch the olympics. yet, no women, aside from one woman who had some sort of royal blood, were allowed on site. the emperor nero, you know, the one who persecuted the early christians, had an extremely luxurious house on the site of the ancient games. it was really strange. leaving ancient olympia was a nightmare because i wasted gas for an hour before i figured out exactly where i was going. it wasn’t the fact that i was lost that really upset me, it was the fact that i was using more gas than i had planned. go figure.

when i finally did reach tripoli and meet up with my hosts, all was well. we ran errands for awhile and i helped them pick out a rug for their house. they just got married so they are trying to piece everything together now. they are extremely friendly and altogether nice to be around. we had a long dinner tonight, where we were joined by their friend eva. i kinda like life this way. making dinner and chatting, eating and chatting, drinking and laughing. they are far more easier to talk to than anyone i have met here so far, so i enjoy their presence immensely.

tonight felt like a culture-intake night. with all the talking and getting to know each other, i felt like i was doing research into greek culture. maybe i’m always researching culture. it is, afterall, what fascinates me. either way, i loved learning more about greek weddings, family, relationships, and daily life. good stuff.

i don’t know what tomorrow holds, but i’ll figure it out when it gets here.