"Oh, MY..."

Disclaimer: I have led a very sheltered life for nearly seventeen years. I've had my parents and one older sister to "learn" from, no younger or older brothers; I had no innate curiosity concerning the male body when I was young.

That being said, I can officially declare that I learned a LOT today. Mostly while using my hands to cover my hot, blushing face.

We got back on the bus again (with Bus Driver stuck in my head. Darn it, where did I put my mp3 player?!) and drove to Delphi, where we toured the museum and the temples on the side of the mountain. I predict we will be on mountains for a while yet.

Oh, and it seems that Patrick has already acquired a sort of fan club, and while I didn't consider myself a true "fan", I've been labeled as a member. o_O I have a standing friendship with him, no interest in anything further, and above all, a guy waiting for me back home. Sure, whatever -- at least I wasn't the Entity. *pauses to beat her head against a wall*

Anyway... back to Delphi. We saw wonderful artifacts, like sphinxes, helmets, pottery... the usual. However, I should've guessed that Vickie was up to something when she led us into her 'favorite room' after saying, "Girls, go first!"

My first thought was, "My GODS!"

This was quickly followed by, "I'm glad I can hide under my hat. My, isn't this marble floor so lovely..."

I forgot to count how many statues of naked men there were in that room, only because I was staring at my shoes and trying not to think about it. When I'd been forewarned about the more provocative areas of Greek art, I really hadn't stopped to consider how much of an overload it could be. Naomi was laughing at me, and I'm sure Andrew (who was behind me) was snickering under his breath. -_-; so sue me -- I'd never been properly introduced to the finer points of male anatomy. Er... or, maybe those weren't the finer points. Can I go back to counting ribs instead?

Huzzah for great Greek art.

Breaking away from the room (we spent a LOT more time in there than I'd liked), we saw more wonderful (clothed) statues, such as a bronze centurion. Had a few appendages missing, but he was still a centurion ^^

After lunch in the village (mmmm... Moussaka...), we went back to see the Oracle. ...I actually did NOT know that "Oracle" was not only a job title, but the name of the TYPE of temple. Sweet. And the ruins were fascinating! Vickie described the temple and its surrounding area at its busiest: the seven months during which the Oracle (person) would predict answers to people's questions brought up to the Oracle (place). With a vivid picture painted for us, I could almost hear the sounds of the marketplace bustling all around.

Then I realized, no, it was only the huge masses of bees that inhabited the flower-covered mountainside.

I have an irrational fear of bees.

Naomi found one on my jacket, tried to get it off, and thus set off my paranoia. She managed to dislodge it (I guess I smelled good or something, because it really didn't want to let go) and stomp it into submission, but not before a bit of hyperventilation on my part.

After walking to the very top of the Oracle (place) and walking the length of the field used for games (chariot racing, I think, was the main event. It's an educated guess, anyway XD), we marched back down the stairs and I followed Patrick, Andrew, Katina, Abigail, and Naomi down to the sacred spring of Kastalia. When that got boring, we found our way to more ruins, surrounded by more bee-infested flowers. It was Katina's brilliant idea to walk down the least-trodden path to see what we could find, and about halfway, the combined constant buzzing echoing in my ears, fear, and extreme lack of escape routes caused my first ever nervous breakdown. By the time we headed back to the fork from which the path had split, I was tearful and hiding behind my jacket, following wherever I saw whoever's feet stepped in front of me.

Second Disclaimer: Today was not a good day.

I was so embarrassed that I couldn't stop crying for a bit. When it did pass, we headed back and joined the rest of our crew, waited for Yorgos and Vickie, and rode back to our hotel in the village. We did some shopping and internet cafe hopping before dinner, and I managed to e-mail my parents for the first time since the trip had started.

Then came the late night... but that's another story.