While both of my twin brothers inherited the water element from our father, I actually received both the gift of water and fire element. No one outside of the family knows this. I had promised my parents not to use my elements, unless absolutely necessary.
“Here we are. Go ahead and check in with the dorm advisor and I will bring your luggage up.” Kosta told me.
It was Friday afternoon in Greece, and we were ten hours ahead of home. I sent my dad a text to let him know we had arrived, and I was at the dorm. Then I knocked on the door of the dorm advisor who answered right away.
“Hi, I’m Raven, I’ve just arrived.” I said.
“Yes, we’ve been excepting you, I’m Karla, come in.” She said with a thick Greek accent. She was short, warm and in her late forties. She reached for a manilla envelope and handed it to me.
“Looks like you’re on the penthouse floor.” She teased.
“Excuse me?” I asked, wondering if there was a penthouse level.
“The top floor is the single occupancy floor and all the dorms have their own private bathroom. The other floors are double occupancy with shared bathroom facilities and common rooms.”
I waved to Kosta who managed to bring all my luggage to the elevator. Karla walked with me towards him and pressed the elevator button to call it to the lobby. “You’re on the sixth floor and the laundry facility is in the basement. The most important thing to remember in Greece, you don’t flush anything in the toilet. Not even toilet paper, our pipes can’t handle it.”
Amazing, here we are in Greece, the cradle of western civilization and yet the plumbing is still flawed. We pulled my luggage into the elevator and Karla pressed the sixth floor number.
“The stairs are next to the elevator and can take you to the roof top for fresh air. We have a lovely rooftop patio and tables up there.” Karla said and we piled out of the elevator with my luggage in tow.
“Ah, here we are, six A, as in Alpha. Your keys are in the envelope and the box you shipped is already in the room. If you need anything, you know where to find me.” She smiled and left.
“Do you think she knows? She said A is for Alpha?” I whispered to Kosta.
He chuckled. “No, Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet.”
“Oh, that’s right.” I laughed back.
I opened the door and stepped inside; it was like a small studio apartment. A queen sized bed, closet, tiny bathroom with shower, a study desk and chair. There was a small kitchen space that had a little refrigerator, microwave, hot plate and sink. It had a few shelves and cupboards stocked with plates and cups; with room to store food.
“This is pretty nice, once you decorate it. Do you want to go shopping?” Kosta asked me.
“We already shipped some things from home in the box, I think I’m okay.” I told him.
“There’s a market on the corner down the street if you want to buy any groceries.” He said.
“That’s convenient. I’ll settle in and maybe take a walk this afternoon to the market.” I said.
“I’ll leave you then. Don’t forget to call me if you need anything. I live nearby, okay?”
“Thank you Kosta.” I smiled and closed the door when he left.
Classes start on Monday and I have two and a half days to get settled in. I opened my first large suitcase and hung up all my clothes in the closet. I was surprised by how much I was able to fit in it. The second suitcase contained shoes, jackets, a coat for the winter, pajamas, T-shirts and sweats. The smaller suitcase had underwear, socks, toiletries and accessories.
There was a smaller dresser with three drawers, I stuffed my underwear and other clothes in. I also had a backpack with my laptop, iPad and other belongings. Once I was done with the suitcases, I tucked them into each other like nesting dolls and slid them under the bed for storage.
We were required to bring our own bedding and towels, so my mom had shipped over a big box. I opened the box and found bath towels, hand towels and wash cloths. I took some to the bathroom and put the rest away in the closet on the top shelf.
Then I took out two sets of sheets, my favorite blanket and a comforter. I found two pillows at the very bottom of the box and a note from my mother with a framed family photo. I set the photo down on the desk with the note and made the bed. I stored the extra set of sheets in the closet.
I removed the tape from the box and folded it down to store under the bed, in case I needed it later. Then I set up my laptop and other desk supplies in the desk. I placed the family photo on my desk.
I tried not to cry when I opened the note from my mom, it said, “We miss you already, Love Mom and Dad.”
I sat on the bed and debated if I should take a shower and try to nap, but I wasn’t really tired yet, I had slept on the plane.
“Let’s go have a look around and maybe go do some grocery shopping.” Rae suggested.
We went upstairs to the roof top and I was pleasantly surprised. There were three propane gas grills to cook on, tables, outdoor furniture and beautiful potted plants up here. The city view was also beautiful. I could see the market from here.
