Out of luck...?

OK, so those of you who are interested in continuity and chronology don't read any further.

My blog begins the morning of the 5th November 2008. It was a nice and sunny morning with a nice temperature. I arrive very early to the archeology museum for my art history class. Class goes smoothly if not slowly. We learn a little about pottery and marble sculptures.

Then the adventure really begins. On our way out of the museum I find out that one of the girls in our group got fined 48 euros because she hadn't validated her ticket. I walk confidentally to the bus and validate my ticket and sit down. The bus ride isn't long and I am having a good time talking about how good McDonald's is sometimes. When suddenly out of nowhere a dark clad figure enters teh bus and demands to see our bus tickets. I pull mine out and he asks me for my passport. I scratch my head wondering why he needs to see that. Then it dawns on me something isn't right with my ticekt. So I dig through my tickets and try to see if I had given him the other one. I find it and pull it out. He says no it is wrong. I start to panic because I am at my stop. He pulls out a piece of paper and starts to take down my information.

Oh no this isn't good. I try to explain to him that there is something wrong and that I hadn't done anything wrong. He doesn't care. He doesn't speak English. I pay him the 48 euro that he is demanding and he finally lets me off the trolley (* note it was a trolley not actually a bus). I am somewhere in Athens... Lost... and I am shaking with rage because there is no way in H that I deserve this ticket. And to top it all off now I am lost. I consider calling home right then and there and telling them I want to go home right now. That I hate Greece and Greek people, but I wait a little while. It is like 4 in the morning there. oh... btw I had asked repeatedly if there was someone I could talk to about the ticket and of course this dark clad figure doesn't speak english and says nothing. I look at the ticket figuring it will say something in english as to where i can go. But no it is totally Greek to me!.

I go to CYA and ask them if they can help. They told me I had validated my ticket twice and that is why I had got the ticket. I show them the ticket and my other ticket and tell them there is no way I could have used that ticket because I had never used the trolley before. I was sold a used ticket at the kiosk. That was sweet. So I am super pissed and talking to the councilors at CYA and they are to say the least unsympathetic. They take one look at the ticket and tell me I am out of luck. I unfrotunately slip into the I'm from America and in America this would never happen. I say that it was the first time I had used the trolley and that wouldn't it be nice if they had some compassion.

They don't think it is necessary. But they tell me to go to syntagma square and ask them there. I go there and they tell me I have to go to another place so I have to take the subway 5 stops away to a place called Attaki and find my way from there. I have to ask many people for directions because I find greek people will send you in the right direction (sometimes) and that's about it. So Finally I get to where I am supposed to and they don't speak English there except to tell me to come back between 8 and 2 tomorrow. Great there goes 3 hours of my life that I will never have back and on top of that I missed Lit class which I am not officially in yet...

So I wake up this morning with a mission. I go do laundry, eat breakfeast, check to see if Coleman really won or not and head to the place where I was told to go yesterday. I get there and they tell me that the place I am going to is for if I was going to pay and since I already did that they tell me to go to another place... in very poor english and I get very confused. I have to go back again for directions. They tell me to take the number 6 trolley to the end. I do and the bus driver yells at me and tells me to go the other direction. I do and then the bus driver yells at me to go the other direction. They think I want to go pay my ticket. I don't. Finally, a kind Greek man takes pity on me and translates for me. He writes down the station I am supposed to go to and points me to the right trolley. I get on and ask the bus driver. He tells me to go back to where I came from. The place where I had tried several times... I tell him I want to go to the address on the ticket and he says nothing. The entire time I am thinking that he will get to the end and be like this is the end where are you going. And the time is flying by. I have a class at 2:00 and it is 1:30. So much for lunch. I get to the place and there is a crabby greek man who immediately doesn't like me and makes that known. He tells me in poor English that I am out of luck. He gets a nice greek woman to translate and she agrees with me that I should get my money back. But says there is nothing that they can do. So she tells me to go to yet another place to try and get my money back. Great another place... thats like the 6^th I have tried. So I leave and try to find a trolley number 6 to go to the national museum to try and find this place that might give me my money back. On my way out a kind greek man tries to help me but says to me sprichts du deutsch? And I say I am better at English. And then he calls his coworker over to him. His coworker says he will help me out and leads me to the bus stop. He talks with other bus drivers and then invites me on board. He is probably a greek rock god that drives bus for fun. He reminds me of Daniel from Sweden because he is nice and cool. So the time flies by and I get nervous. I am going to miss history. Great I miss 2 classes to get 38 euros back.

I get to the national museum which just so happens to be the archeaological museum whose fault it was that I got into this mess anyways... symbolical...

And I am told that I should go behind the museum and it is there. I do and I go to number 15 and I am told I am in totally wrong place. So I wander around trying to find this place... I see a post office and feel as though I am saved. I go in and show them the piece of paper that I am given with the address. They tell me to wait a minute and a girl who is just getting off work tells me she will take me to the place. She does. She takes me exactly to the place... see this is whay should happen when your lost. Some kind soul should take you exactly where you want to go. I know it is inconvenient but it is so nice for the lost person. So I go in and talk to the security guard who clearly enjoys his job lording the authority he has over everyone he can. I tell him I want to talk to someone about my ticket. He tells me to come back tomorrow at 1:00. and I am like is there no one I can talk to because I have tried to sort this out for 2 days and I am leaving tomorrow. And he tells me I am out of luck... a common phrase here I guess. But by the grace of god this american greek hears me and comes and asks if he can help. I ask him about the ticket. He asks me who did you vote for? I think quickly and say Obama. He smiles and says it doesn't matter and he would have helped me anyways. He has his secretary take me over and personally show me where to go. Again with the showing me exactly where to go. I like that. So I go there and have the run around with random greek men gesticulating at my paper and my ticket saying something to the effect of why are we going to give him his money back...

in the end I got my money back. So I try to take a trolley back but I get on the wrong one and decide to walk back. I get back at 3:30 and all my classmates are out of class. They finished early and it was a pointless class. Yay, I didn't miss anything. So I eat lunch which they thankfully give to me even though they shouldn't have. I go to theology, and now here I am reciting this beautiful prose to you.