::Kisah hidupku di Greece::

Alhamdullilah..hampir 2 minggu menyepi..lebih kot 2 minggu..baru ada kesempatan nak update blog..time ada mood, taip..pastu brenti..save..pastu taip balik..arini dah siap compile sume, tunggu post je..

Citer kali ni adalah pasal kehidupan 2 minggu di Athens…ada suke, ada kurang suke..macam2 dugaan dan cabaran yang mendatang..biasela adat hidup di tempat orang..pandai2la bawak diri..em, entries kali ni agak panjang sket..biasela, banyak menda nak citer..so, please spend some of ur time reading these..

Selamat membaca...feel free to leave ur comment :-)

::Athens::

Ni merupakan kali pertama sampai di bumi Greece..infact, negara pertama dalam Europe selepas Ireland..tak sangka, akhirnye jejak juga ke bumi pertama kali jadi tuan rumah untuk Sukan Olimpik nih..memang tak sangka..tak pernah bermimpi pun nak datang sini..Mula2 sampai agak terkejut..sebab beza sangat ngan Cork..kat sini summer memang betul ‘summer’ la..panas! Selama 13 hari kat sana, takde satu ari pun hujan..panas terik setiap hari, dan pernah mencecah 42 degree.. I did mention it in my previous post.

Overall okla duk kat cni, penduduk sume pun baik2..takde masalah la kalo pegi sana sorang2 walaupun anda seorang perempuan. Insyaallah, sume selamat..

~Greece~

::King Jason Hotel::

It took 40 minutes from International Airport of Athens to King Jason Hotel. After paid the taxi’s fare (which was 35 eur), I moved to receptionist to check in. It was lucky because I just need to show the booking receipt from Shandon travel, they booked the rooms for me earlier.masa nak check in tu, penyambut tetamu yang bertugas aritu pun cam pelik, campur terkejut kot..maybe tak penah ada orang yang duk lama macam tu kat hotel dia..2 kali dia tanye benda yang sama: 12 nights miss? I just said yup..12 nights..are you here for vacation..no, for business in Demokritos..sempat la pulak orang tu promote suh gi jalan2 kat tempat menarik di Athens..

My room is 404 (mcm citer seram yang zamarul hisham belakon plak-blok 404)..that was the 1st thing in my mind when they gave me the keys..the room that I will stay for 12 nights..mak..lamanyer..sorang2 plak tuh.. It was on the 4th floor..masuk bilik,okla bilik nyer.agak besar dan cantik for just one person….there were 2 single bed, combined together. Same to other 3 star hotel, they provide tv, air-cond (of course), mini fridge..kite carik kettle ke, water heater ke takde..huhu..rupenyer, air panas kena ambil kat bar..tanye pasal intenet la..we provide the intenet, unfortunately, there will be charge, 5 eur per hour..malas nak kata ape, beli jela kad tuh..dah terpaksa..nak cal mak…

Lepas mandi solat sume, makan bekal yang bawak dari Cork (half of my luggage was full with the foods)..pastu gosok baju utk stock 2minggu..and tido..sedar2 dah cerah..dah kul7..lupe nak kunci jam..penat sangat sampai subuh dah terlepas sume..nak nangis rasenyer..dahla lambat, nak makan lagi..nak naik metro satu hal plak..station tak tau, nak brenti kat mana..serious masa tu glabah giler..keluar dari hotel, tnye org kat situ, lepas 2-3 kali tanya orang akhirnye jumpe gak station metro: Metaxiourgio..i suke nama nih..unik..kena tukar tren..takde masalah sangat sebab lebih kurang sama je kat KL sentral..naik tangga turun tangga..jangan tertukar platform dah..kite dah print dari Cork lagi route metro tuh..so, memang bawak kertas tu dalam beg ari2..Akhirnye sampai juga Katehaki Station..kat situ dah ada orang bawak paper tulis Nano2life Summer School..and bermula lah perkenalan dengan kawan2 baru..

~12 hari sorang2 kat cni~

~stok makanan~

::3rd Nano2life Summer School::

Sebab utama datang ke Athens adalah untuk menghadiri Nano2life Summer School kat National Center of Scientific Research (NCSR) Demokritos. Course ni adalah untuk postgrade or post doc yang buat research dalam bidang nanotechnology. Tajuk untuk coarse ni : method in micro-nanotechnology and nanobiotechnology.. sume yang ada hampir 25 orang, dari pelbagai negara, institusi, industri..tapi sume wakil Europe..ada 2 orang asia, me and Indu (India)..Indu wakil Denmark..dan kite wakil Cork..

Kat sini tiap2 hari kena datang kelas..ada lecture, ada lab..sangat penat sebab bayangkan kelas start kul 9 pagi, break utk coffee, lunch tu je..abes kul6 petang..kadang2 ada sampai kul7..satu hari tu ada la tukar lecturer sampai 7 kali..1jam sorang ( ada gak 1jam setengah)..kadang2 tu ngantuk giler..sampai tak bleh tahan dah..yela bukan paham sangat..kalo masuk bab2 engineering tuh, chemist sume melopong. kalo masuk biology, engineer plak melopong..gitule seadanyer..

Kat sini makanan la agak susah, memandangkan kite je muslim..ada sorang lagi, girl dari Turkey, tapi dia agak tak kisah (tolak pork ngan alcohol je), yang lain sume masuk..kite makan salad je ari2..lepas tu Maria (urusetia) sediakan something yang kite leh makan..kadang2 ada sayur, potato, lasagne telur..setiap kali kite nak amik makanan, mesti dia tunggu..u can eat this..u cannot eat this…memang sangat baik la dia..thanks Maria.

Benda paling sronok: dapat kawan baru..dalam masa 2 minggu ni sume rapat..macam dah kenal lama..takdela rasa terpinggir, walaupun kite kan cam pelik sket..nak makan pun susah..nak ajak kuar minum pun tak nak..tapi diorang sume paham pun..sronok kawan ngan diaorang..sekarang pun stil kontek..kot2 nanti ada nak bekerjasama ke suatu ari nanti..manala tau kan..

Dan hari terakhir, dapat sijil..yeay..berjaya gak abeskan coarse ni walaupun sangat memenatkan..huhu.. 8)

::Malam yang menyeramkan::

Malas nak ingat benda tuh, tapi nak citerkan gak pengalaman yang sangat2 menakutkan itu..mintak jauh la benda macam nih, tak nak hadapi lagi..rasa cam nak tercabut jantung..nak nangis..nak balik..sume ada..

Malam tu malam kedua, lepas balik kelas mandi, solat sume, tertido..dah kunci jam..tido tak sampai setengah jam, tersedar sebab bunyi..kite kalo tido cepat tersedar..memang alert sket kalo bab2 bunyi ni..kalo tersedar secara terkejut, memang berdebar giler..kalah orang lari 100 meter..masa tu memang takut sangat.dah kul 12.30 tengah malam..pintu depan bilik hotel tu, takde kunci dari dalam. Tutup macam tu jela..kalo orang dari luar ada kunci, kirenyer leh masuk ar bilik tuh..tu yang agak seram tu..yang balkoni ni plak, walaupun tingkat empat, leh dengar sume benda yang berlaku kat luar…kite penah baca kat dalam internet before dtg, orang comment pasal hotel ni..sume cakap tak selamat..ada plak yang cakap dia duk tingkat empat, tido malam, kawan dia tersedar nampak ada orang nak masuk bilik dari tingkap..pastu malam tu gak diaorang check out..takut tul..dekat 2jam kite takleh tido..bukan stakat nak nangis, memang dah nangis dah..Allah je tau perassan masa tuh..sorang2 kan..kalo ada ape2, nak mintak tolong kat sape?

Tapi alhamdulillah, sume selamat..ari ke 3 tu dah tau Luca ngan Kinga duk kat hotel yang sama kat tingkat 3..malam tu tido dengan lenanya..

::Mycenae::

Mycenae Greek is an archeological site in Greece, located about 90 km south-west of Athens, in the north-eastern Peloponnese. Argos is 6 km to the south; Corinth , 48 km to the north. From the hill on which the palace was located one can see across the Argolid to the Saronic Gulf. In the second millennium BC Mycenae was one of the major centers of Greek civilization, a military stronghold which dominated much of southern Greece. The period of Greek history from about 1600 BC to about 1100 BC is called Mycenaean in reference to Mycenae.

It is believed that Mycenae was settled by Indo-Europeans who practiced farming and herding, close to 2000 BC. Scattered sherds have been found from this period, 2100 BC to 1700 BC. At the same time, Minoan Crete developed a very complex civilization which interacted with Mycenae.

The settlement pattern at Mycenae during the Bronze Age was a fortified hill surrounded by hamlets and estates. Missing is the dense urbanity present on the coast (such as at Argos). Since Mycenae was the capital of a state that ruled, or dominated, much of the eastern Mediterranean world, the rulers must have placed their stronghold in this less populated and more remote region for its defensive value. Since there are few documents on site with datable contents (such as an Egyptian scarab) and since no dendrochronology has yet been performed upon the remains here, the events are listed here according to Helladic period material culture.

::Corinth Canal::

The Corinth Canal is a canal that connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnesian peninsula from the Greek mainland and therefore effectively making the former an island. The canal is 6.3 kilometer in length and was built between 1881 and 1893. The Corinth Canal is considered a great technical achievement for its time. It saves the 400 kilometers long journey around the Peloponnesus for smaller ships, but since it is only 21 meters wide it is too narrow for modern ocean freighters. The canal is nowadays mostly used by tourst ships: 11,000 ships per year travel throgh the waterway. The depth of the canal is 8 meters at low water. At each end of the canal, seashore roads cross using submersible bridges that are lowered to the canal bottom to allow maritime traffic to pass.

::Cape Sounion::

Cape Sounion is a promontory located 69 km (43 mi, by road) SSE of Athens, at the southernmost tip of the Attica peninsula in Greece. Cape Sounion is renowned for the ruins of the ancient Greek temple of Poseidon, the god of the sea in classical mythology. The remains are perched on the headland, surrounded on three sides by the sea. The ruins famously bear the deeply engraved name of English Romantic poet Lord Byron (1788 - 1824).The site is a popular day excursion for tourists from Athens, with sunset over the Aegean Sea viewed from the ruins a sought-after spectacle.

::Acropolis::

The Acropolis of Athens is the best known acropolis (high city, The "Sacred Rock") in the world. Although there are many other acropolis in Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as The Acropolis without qualification. The Acropolis was formally proclaimed as the pre-eminent monument on the European Cultural Heritage list of monuments on 26 march 2007. The Acropolis is a flat-topped rock which rises 150 m (490 ft) above sea level in the city of Athens. It was also known as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man, Kekrops or Cecrops, the first Athenian king.

::Metro::

Metro ni merupakan pengangkutan awam, keretapi bawah tanah…hamper sama seperti komuter, metro merupakan pengangkutan awam yang utama, selain bus ngan teksi..dengan populasi penduduk Athens seramai hampir 5 juta, memang agak padat la pagi2 naik metro nih..melalui pengalaman yang sama masa naik komuter+LRT (julai 2007) ngan cik tuan selama 10 hari dari bangi ke KLCC..masa tu amik class kat British Council, Ampang…tapi beza kat sini sorang2..panas plak tuh..bau toksah citer..macam2 ada..dahla 1st day kite pakai jacket..sume orang pandang..dahla pakai tudung tu satu hal dah peliknyer, pastu pakai jacket la plak tgh2 summer tuh..sume orang pakai baju takde lengan.al maklumlah, kite datang dari Cork..tempat yang sejuk..summer pun kena bawak jacket, payung sume..kalo tak hujan, bukan Cork namanyer..satu keadaan yang sangat berbeza…rasa cam nak pengsan je..lepas keluar tu, fuh lega..

Walaupun dua minggu je kat Athens, kite dah tau la sket2 route metro tu..nak pegi airport route mana, nak pegi port route mana..yang paling suke dengar..waktu dia sebut next station: ekomonistasi (lebey kurang gitu le sebutannya)..suke ikut cara dia sebut..hihi..mula2 terbelit lidah gak..

:Shopping at Monastiraki::

Bab shopping ni, I like..huhu..biasela pompuan..memang takleh lari dah kalo melibatkan shoping2 ni..Monastiraki adalah salah satu tempat yang glamer untuk para pelancong membeli belah..harga standard..mungkin agak mahal..biasela tempat pelancong..mahal la..kena pandai pilih kedai la..survey dulu..tapi kebanyakan sama je..kena pandai tawar menawar..kite ada gak la beli sket2, souveniers utk family..tanda dah penah sampai kat Athens nih..untuk diri sendiri beli sandal ngan beg. Datang Athens bawak 2 pasang kasut, tak bawak sandal..mana la tau panas macam tu skali..kaki pun dah melekit lekit sebab panas..bau pun ‘wangi’. So, jalan terbaik adalah pakai sandal..

Masa gi shoping tu, pegi sorang2 je, senang..tak payah nak tunggu sape2..ahad takde aktiviti..sepanjang pagi memerap kat hotel, kite kuar dalam kul 5.masa tu dah tak panas sangat..amik metro ke stesen monastiraki, start survey, beli barang sume..dalam 2 jam dah sampai hotel balik..

::Orang Melayu di Athens::

Dekat2 ngan King Jason Hotel tu ada sebuah kedai runcit, tauke nyer muslimah, datang dari Egypt. Dia ada bagitau ada restoran Muslim area2 situ..setelah hampir seminggu kat sana, kite try la carik kat mana restoran tuh..dah lalu kawasan situ, tak jumpe gak mana kedai Sara tu..nak tanye polis2 Greece kat situ, tapi macam takut plak..last skali nampai kedai kain India, masukla tanye..ada sorang pakcik India-Pakistan kat dalam kedai tuh..dia tunjuk direction, pastu nampak cam kite blur2, dia keluar kedai tunjuk arah dari luar..senang sket nak paham. Pastu dia tanye, nak pegi kedai tu ke? Yela..kalo tak takkan susah2 tanye plak..pastu dia cakap dlm slang2 gitu..no good, this restaurant all men, no women..u’re girl..no good..baikla plak pakcik tu..dia tanye: are u muslim? Eh eh pakcik ni..terang2 dah pakai tudung..yes I am..kite tanye dia balik..dia pun cakap dia muslim gak..dia tanye datang dari mana? Dengan bangganya jawabla: Malaysia. dia pun tepuk bahu ajak masuk dalam kedai dia balik..tibe2: ape macam?..terkejut! leh cakap melayu keakcik ni? Pastu dia citer la alkisahnyer..mak dia memang pure melayu dari Penang, ayah dia dari Pakistan..kakak ngan adik2 dia sume kat Malaysia..dia je dah 40 taun kat Athens, kawen ngan orang Sri Lanka, bukak kedai kat Athens, dah tukar warganegara Greece dah..cakap melayu pun dah tak boleh sangat dah..kali terakhir balik Malaysia tahun 1980..dah lama sangat dah tuh..dia punyer la excited jumpe kite..sebab kat Athens memang takde orang Malaysia..Indonesian ramaila..Infact, kedutaan Malaysia kat Greece pun takde..dia ajak pegi makan nasik, tido kat rumah dia sume..tapi kite bagi alasan cakap sibuk..bukan ape, baru kenal kan..kena berhati2 gak..tapi ambil jugakla number fon dia, dan nama pakcik tu Azam..before tinggalkan Athens tak sempat nak gi jumpe dia..sampai sekarang pun ada je number fon dia..tapi tak kontek pun..hihi..

::Goodbye Athens::

Em,sronok ada, sedey pun ada gak nak tinggalkan bumi Athens tu..hampir 2 minggu duk kat sana, memang la sedih..nak tinggalkan kawan2 sume..walaupun baru kenal, tapi kitaorg rapat..pegi mana2 sume skali..takkan ada yang ditinggalkan..memang best la..

Insyaallah kalo ada rezeki, akan pegi lagi ke Athens..tapi dah cakap ngan mak awal2, kalo ada keje pegila..kena kursus ke ape ke..tapi kalo nak pegi melancong mungkin tidak..sebab dah pernah sampai kan..cukupla sekali..melancong la kat tempat lain plak..Venice ke, Paris ke..huhu..ni datang Europe nak belajar ke nak melancong??? Opsss! 8)

::Delayed::

Ni paling tak suke..sangat2 tidak suke…memang tak sukela..eee, betul! memang tak suke.. seriously tak suke..damn serious!

Alkisahnyer begini..

Kite amik connecting flight dari Athens ke Cork, transit di Amsterdam. Waktu untuk transfer tu 40 minit je…masih segar di ingatan (ceh, macam lagu la plak), aritu 11 July 2008, flight KLM dari Athens ke Amsterdam jam 17.20. I have to check out from hotel before 12.00..after that, take a cab to International Airport Athens (ape ntah nama die, malas nak check), kul 13.20 dah sampai airport..melayang 40 eur..adoile..sampai sana orang ramai, duk la kat satu seat tunggu..4h to go..dah la ngantuk..nak gi jalan2 tak larat ngan luggage sume..nak borak pon tak tau nak borak ngan sape..lepas check in luggage, pegi beli hot chocolate ngan doughnut..makan la benda tuh dulu..kul 17.15 masuk dalam kapal terbang..dah tunggu dekat 20 minit tak gerak2..pastu pilot buat announcement kata flight delay..kite dah risau dah..takut miss flight ke Cork..cakap ngan pramugari tuh, dia cakap:we don’t know yet..just wait and see..adoile..rase nak nangis je..dalam kepala terbayang, harapan untuk makan nasik berkecai. Akhirnyer kul 20.40 sampai Amsterdam, dan kul 20.40 gak flight ke cork..tanye pramugari tuh, sorry, u missed the flight..please go to transfer counter bla..bla..bla..menyampah..dah la jauh.tau je la Schilpol tu besar..sampai kat sana amik number..rupenyer ramai orang yang missed flight..my number:687. number yang tengah berurusan skrg 554..bayangkan.. lebih 100 orang..mesej kaksal..cakap maybe tak leh balik malam tuh. Kaksal cal, suh tanye dulu macam mana..kot2 ada lagi flight ke Cork..and after waiting for 2hours, baru la tau status..flight ke Cork esoknyer, kul9.30 pagi, and no hotel provided..you can go downstairs, and book the hotel if u want..sebab dah penat+lapar+bengang, pegi la bawah..book hotel..amik yang paling murah..murah pun tak murah mana la..7 eur melayang tanpa sebab..dah nak rugi..pukul 11.30 malam amik bus pegi NOVOTEL..dah check in sume, mandi, smayang,tido..esok have to wake up early..

Pagi esok nyer, perut sakit yang amat sangat..sampai takleh nak berdiri tegak..lepas makan muffin ngan minum milo, stil sakit lagi..teringat dalam beg ada serunding..so, kite pun makan la serunding..lepas tu ok la sket..kalo tak, taktau la ape jadi..dahla sorang2..serunding tu la berjasa pada hari yang berkenaan..jam 7.30 amik cab ke airport dari hotel (mlayang lagi 20 eur), sampai di airport, check in sume dan alhamdulillah lepas tuh sume berjalan dengan lancar..

::Cork::

Alhamdulillah, setelah pelbagai rintangan dilalui, akhirnya selamat juga sampai di Cork..dan seperti biase..seperti dijangka..HUJAN..dari airport terus ambil teksi ke rumah baru, St Ritas..kat Siti ngan husband ada masa tuh..dah simpan barang dalam bilik sume, benda yang perlu dilakukan: isi perut..kak Siti dah panaskan lauk..diaorang pun sangat memahami bahawasanye kite sangatla lapar..mekasihla kepada housemates baru, kak Siti n family, kakSal and Shaz..kenyang aritu..sedap..maklumlah dah 13 hari makan tak menentu…

Ok, kisah Greece tamat di sini.. :-)

::Kembali::

It's hard to start blogging after more than 2 weeks off..so many things to story morry, sampai tak tau mana nak citer dulu..

Em, nak citer pasal ape dulu ye??Pasal my stay in Athens or pasal keje?

Actually, this week i'm quite bz, since this coming friday have to show Eric a draft of my sensors design..2 more days to go. I'm working on it, still blur2, donno the exact way of doing that things..Just try my best, will present as good as I can. Lepas balik dari Athens ni kurang2 nampak la sket jalan..mana nak tuju..before ni, hidup dalam kegelapan je..mana taknya, my project is about nanobiotechnology, combination of biology, physic, engineering and chemistry...mak aihh, cukup lengkap gituh..have to revise some biology topics during high school: eukaryote, prokaryote etc. tu rase cam leh trime lagi..yang kurang leh trime pasal biochip, litar sume tuh..kite ni dah la kurang berminat ngan fizik..masa SPM dulu pon cukup2 makan je..masa matrik pon aliran Sains Hayat..sudah agak lama bidang fizik ini kutinggalkan..ada takde pon waktu 1st year degree, tu pon Fizik Asas je..dapat cukup2 makan je gak..huhu..memang agak kureng la fizik nih..

Tapi nak wat camne kan..dah pilih bidang nih..suke ke tak suke ke, i have to face it..InsyaAllah boleh kot..doakan eh..

Nanti tengokla kalo ada masa kite akan update kisah2 suke duka sepanjang 2minggu kat Athens..bab berjalan2 amik gambar tu amat sangat la suke, tapi bab makanan, amat sangat la berduka..sedih..xmau ingat dah..huhu..em, tak janji bile akan update, sebab agak sibuk.. weekend ni ada planing ngan housemates, nak gi jejalan2..huhu..jalan je kejenya..sib baik jumaat ni dah kena present draft tuh..sesi melepaskan tension la 'konon'..lagi satu sebab yang malas nak update blog minggu ni: intenet sari dua ni agak 'kurang laju'..so, mengambil masa yang agak lama nak upload gambar sume..

Okla, jumpe nanti in the new post yang entah bile.. 8)

::Heat Wave::

ATHENS, Greece -- A massive heat wave is expected to hit the Balkan region this week with temperatures rising to 42 degrees Celsius in Greece and 37 degrees Celsius in Romania, meteorologists say. Greece's National Meteorological Service (EMY) announced on Sunday (July 6th) that the sharp rise in temperatures should start on Tuesday with temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius expected on the Peloponnese peninsula and throughout the islands.

Greece's Electricity Power Corporation is on alert for possible failure of the power system due to overconsumption by air conditioners. Experts expect power consumption to reach 10,500 MW on Tuesday and Wednesday, nearly reaching last year's record of 10,600 MW.

Temperatures are expected to rise gradually over the course of the next few days before reaching as high as 42 Celsius (107.6 Fahrenheit) in some parts of the country, including Attica, on Wednesday. Tomorrow and Wednesday are likely to be the hottest days of the year so far but the weather is expected to cool a little from Thursday.

Emergency services have been placed on alert and people have been warned to restrict their movements as much as possible. The authorities have also advised people to wear loose clothing, sunglasses and hats, drink plenty of water and refrain from alcohol. A number of local authorities, including those in Thessaloniki and Piraeus, have announced that they will be opening the doors of air-conditioned centers for members of the community, especially elderly people seek some respite from the heat.

+--> uhhh...i'm stil in Athens till this coming friday..oh noooooooooooooo....can u imagine?42 deg celcius??uhhh....hangus le akak!