she is a lesbian, radical feminist, cat lover, bibliophile, non-smoker, unitarian universalist (though she doesn't go to fellowship on a regular basis) and in the process of becoming athletic again. she dreams of being jeanne d' arc and swooping in and saving those that need saved (though she'd rather not be burned at the stake). she is a loyal friend who will do anything she can for those she loves, but she can flakey sometimes when her depression flares up. she is a loner. a southerner self-transplanted to the pacific northwest in 1998 and now believes that it doesn't rain enough here. she's known for her honesty, she can't help it, its the only way to be. she is 4'8" tall, and round. she has natural blonde hair and she also has blue eyes. she is very intense. she hates small and large crowds, she prefers the one on one or the one on a few. she has no idea what she wants to do with her life, though she would like to see more of the world than what she has seen so far (a good part of the continental united states) and she very much wants to be a mother. finally, she has huge crushes on alix olson and carolyn gage (these are from a far).

so, its saturday and i have been in mytlini since wednesday. i'm
desperate to get out, see more. so, i plan to go to thermi. thermi is a
not very much visited fishing village, but it is the home of hot springs,
thermal spas, that the goddess aphrodited or artemis is rumored to have
used.

i wake early this morning after falling asleep last night at 9pm. early =
4am. the figure skating world championships are on. for once i don't
need to know any greek to watch the tv. well, watching that, a movie, and
2 soaps from the us that i'd never watch at home.

the bus to thermi is to leave every 1/2 hour starting at 7.30. i make it
there for the 8 o'clock bus. while waiting at the bus station i meet a
woman, she speaks no english, i speak no greek, but i do remember a weeee
bit of german, so we speak some in german. she says i speak good german
for only bieng able to speak bischen (little). i realize that i should
have gotten that german-english dictionary. last night i was asked
"sprichst du deutsch?", so i'm thinking people here learn english or
german.

so. my trip to thermi. i am going just for the spa. there is nothing
much else to see there. i am desperate to get out of mytlini. on the way
to thermi i see a sign for the roman aqueduct. i think "hey, i should
rent a motorbike and go see the aqueduct." but i'm focused on the
spa. big time.

i get to thermi, after passing the spa, and walk down. its closed till
may. so, there i am, sitting on the side of the road, not sure what to
do. my only choice-- head back here. and then i think "rent a motorbike,
go to the aqueduct."

i get back to mytilini, and i try to rent a motorbike. no luck. then the
car-- they'd sell me insurace that would cause me to be fully responsible
if i'm in an accident, this is because i don't have an international
license. the greek drive like maniacs. i debate. nope.

so then i think " the gulf of yera! the bus will go there, to the
hotsprings there?" no.

so here i am, one more day in mytlini. until noon tommorrow, when i will
head across the island to molyvos for a night and then down to skala
eressos for 2 days. then back to mytilini and hopefully across the
channel to turkey. i don't care about travel restrictions, i'm going to
turkey. i'm desperate. either that or i'll take an early ferry to
athens, but from what i hear about athens the three days i've got planned
in enough. well, all this ferry stuff is based on weather. and turkey is
based on whether people are scared or not, at least thats what i was told
by a travel agent. people are scared to go there.

greece is certianly not london or the usa. things are so old here. its
hard to believe unless you've been here. a cross between western europe
and ... somepalce i've never seen.. maybe it s like eastern europe.

anyhow. there is more to say. but i do't have it right now. i'm taking
pictures, but probably not of things people would be interested in, things
i am interested in. tommorrow at 8am is service at the greek orthodox
church. i might go. i went there yesteday and took pictures.

i think thats it. a long with these emails i'm sendig out i am also
keeping a written journal. it has become my best friend. recording my
thoughts, my ups and downs. my place where english reigns. yes, i now
get it how hard it is for people to come to america and not speak our
language. i can understand why non english speakers seek out other
speakers of their language at home. i never realized the power of
language until i had none.