A Big Fat Triathlon Blog: July 2014

So again...time seems to have flown by!!! Since I have last written a lot has happened, so I will try to recap all of it!

First, school ended. Although I am always excited for a break, I was really sad to see my class go! :( I had some great students and we had a lot of fun!! Also, for a lot of my students it was their last year in Greece, so I won't have a chance to see them grow into young men and young women. I am looking forward to the day I decide to stay in one spot and I get to watch my students grow up and see all the great things they choose to do in life. It's weird to think that this next year will be my 7th year of teaching!!!! Where has the time gone!! Also, that'll mean that my first group of kids will be 10th graders?!?!?!? I don't think that is right...maybe 9th graders?!?!?!?!? Yes, I think it is 9th graders..Ek!!!

Next, after school ended, I hung around for 2 weeks and worked at ACS Summer Camp. This summer camp was nothing like the summer camp that I usually do in Hawaii! Instead of doing art projects, playing outside, catching fish at the Lily Pond, I was inside teaching English to some students who were fluent and others who barely knew any English. On top of this, the students were speaking in Greek most of the time and didn't want to be there! I taught five sections each day and out of those five, one was good, two were okay, and two were horrible!!! On the bright side, I did learn some Greek at camp!

After camp, some friends and I traveled to another Greek island Paros and near by Antiparos for the week. I love Greek Islands!! My friends and I rent four-wheelers or scooters and ride around and explore the island. It is sooooo much fun!! Also, this time I brought my bike along so I was able to do some exploring by myself. It was so relaxing and so much fun.

Next I did a triathlon in the Peloponnese. This is a part of Greece that is full of trees, mountains, small villages, and nothing like Athens. The race took place around a beautiful lake. The day we arrived the weather was perfect and it was sooo beautiful! However, race day was full of wind!!!! In Athens, during the summers, it is more windy, but I guess it was unusual for that side of the country. Luckily, the race was in the afternoon, so the wind started to die down a bit, but it was still a pretty windy race!

As far as the race went, I felt good about it. It was another Sprint, so short and quick compared to what I have coming up in September. I was the second girl, the girl that bet me is the Greek Champion and former Olympic athlete. She is quite good. I hope some day I can catch up to her, but as I mentioned before I struggle with training and traveling. I feel like I have done a good job trying to maintain a balance, but both have to give in order for this to happen. (more on this later).

Then after this, my sister came to visit!!!! For those that know us, know that we are not a like. This can make hanging out together challenging, but we both just have to remember that we love each other and that we want the best for the other person. Although at times we had our differences, it was a great trip!!! We got to visit Meteora, Greece where there are monasteries that sit atop varies mountain tops. It was quite amazing to see. From there we went to Skiathos, another Greek island. And, you know how I feel about Greek Islands!! It was fun being able to share this experience with my sister. Skiathos is a northeastern island, so it was a little bit different than the other islands that I had been to before. It still had a very touristy side, but as usual we were able to find less crowded and more beautiful beaches. Next, we went to Croatia. We were only able to visit Dubrovnik and Spilt, but on the bus between the two cities, I picked out my next destinations in Croatia. Lastly, we spent two days in Athens. It was fun walking downtown and seeing the sights here with her. I felt very proud to be showing off the city to her. :)

Now, this brings me to today, July 27. My sister left this morning to go visit a friend from college in Austria. I am excited for her to be seeing so many new places!!! Also today, I said goodbye to two of my fellow Americans, Jakob and Shanna. :( I am really going to miss these two! They share a lot of the same values as me and they love to travel and explore the world!! It was really sad saying goodbye to them. First off, I HATE goodbyes. I was thinking why do I move all the time since saying goodbye to people make me so sad. :( It even makes me sad when my friends leave my house after a dinner party or something. :( Also, I don't seem to get better at them. It is just so sad!! I know that we will keep in touch and I will keep up with their new adventures and travels, but I felt like they made my life better and they were just fun to be around. :(

So now, after having a full house (Caitlin-and Jakob and Shanna) I am all by myself. Luckily, only for two and half more days since I am going to Hawaii on Wednesday for month. I have been go-go-go for a while now, it is always so weird to just relax and be alone. I am looking forward to my time in Hawaii with my mom and also with my friends there. I am also very excited to see some friends that I haven't seen in a VERY long time at one my best friends from high schools wedding! She is the first one to get married, so it'll be a lot of fun!!!!

Ohh..back to training. So I am excited to head to Hawaii and get in some good training. I made my ticket for Denmark, so now my 70.3 is even more real!! I will be making the trip in September, but I still have a lot of miles to swim, bike, and run before then. I have signed up for some races in Hawaii, which I am excited about. Like I said before I am a bit anxious about my training. I have been doing my best to keep it as consistent as possible, but still being about to explore the world and see and experience new things.

Anyways guys. Thanks for reading and as always I'd love to know how you are doing too!!!! Miss you all!!!!!

Here are some pictures..so I just realized that I left somethings out..but here are some pictures of them :)