I went to pray to Poseidon for a good Akon concert...

Dear all,
Yesterday was a day I would love to share with you all. It was filled with some of the most interesting experiences I have had in Greece so far. With that said, I know more stories are waiting for me to experience here in Athens, and those stories will be shared with you.

Yesterday began with the idea of a trip to Poseidon's temple in Sounion. This was a planned trip that was led by my wonderful student director person *(I don't really know what her official title is, but in essence she just helps out the students in any way possible) whose name is Joanna. Maria was also along for the trip, who is also a staff member of Arcadia. We took a coach to the Lavrion Technological Cultural Park where we got to experience a little taste of Athenian history in terms of its economic structure. This place was home to Athens' biggest supply of Lead, which was able to fund many things for Athens and to essentially create its own economy. This was a short tour becasue we couldn't go into the mines, but we were able to see what the surrounding area of Athens is like.

So then we traveled to the Archaeological museum in some small town near Sounion, or we were in Sounion, but I digress. There we were able to see some of the archaeological discoveries of, what appeared to be, the ancient mining technology of the Greeks since there was the mine in the general vincinity of where we were. This museum, however, was pretty small and only contained some small things that showed a little taste of what ancient Greek life was like. One of the best parts of this museum, however, was this small piece of jewelery that was in the shape of a penis. It was designed for furtility, and I don't blame the ancient Greeks for making bling like that. **Pictures on my facebook**

But then we took the bus on over to the ancient temple of Poseidon. This temple was on the top of this hill that looked out across the Aegean sea. One of the most spectacular views I have seen so far here in Greece. They put it there because from that point, more than, or at least, 75% of what you can see is water. Pretty good spot to put the temple to the god of the sea... Then we went down to a beach that was near by, got some lunch, and hung out in the water that was so nice, I wish I had brought my swimsuit. The bus ride back home was pretty painless, minus the massive amount of traffic that we encountered as we entered Athens.

But then... A free concert was being held at the new Olympic stadium... Featuring Akon?? I decided a free concert was a free concert, even if all the other bands that were playing before Akon were Greek bands playing western rock and rap. There were some good beats being played, but I had no idea what they were singing about... But the real story lies not necessarily at the concert itself, but actually getting to the concert. A friend and I decided that a little pre-gaming was in order before the concert. We then joined a group of ladies and started heading down to a bus stop to take the really long bus ride out there. Along the way, my friend and I were forced to get off the bus because he was in dire need of a restroom and couldn't make it all the way to the concert. So we departed the bus, only a couple of stops away from where the girls told us to go. We searched high and low for some sort of resturaunt or cafe, and finally found a cafe that was more than willing to let us use their bathroom. After which, we found ourselves sort of lost. It wasn't that we were lost, but rather that we decided to not get back on the bus, but to continue on foot, since we could see the arches of one of the football stadiums that is in the Olympic stadium park area. We walked down streets, asking a couple of people which way to the music, and they were kind enough to point us in the right direction. We then met up with the girls, and the concert was underway.

Akon was last, of course, but was certainly not least. What made the experience even crazier was that it started to lightly rain as Akon's set was underway, so everyone was getting wet and hot and crazy, since he claimed that France and Italy had louder crowds. He then changed that statement... But then, the concert had to end. It had stopped raining, but the best part comes last. Apparently the busses in Athens either don't run past 12 or they run really irregularly. In either case, me being really dehydrated and hungry, and being with a group of girls and 1 other guy, we hopped into cabs and took our 10 euro ride home. Not so cheap! But, as I had prayed to Poseidon earlier before, he granted me my prayer, which was one hell of a night!