Possibly the Last Post from Athens...

It's Wednesday afternoon and I've been sitting here writing a paper for the last few hours and figured I'd take a break by...writing? Anyway, it's crunch time. I've got a 15 page job sitting in front of me and about a week to do it. I'm not too worried because I've only got about 10 pages left and plenty of time. It sure has been great having such a laid-back schedule this semester. I don't wanna think about the spring semester, though...definitely gonna be tougher than this semester, that's for sure. Finals start next Tuesday, but I have a great kinda "end to the dream semester" trip planned out this Friday-coming Monday.
I'm going to fly to Berlin and meet up with Ben and Kristy Williams. Ben was my small group leader in high school for youth group and since then, he and Kristy have gone to the Ukraine to serve as missionaries there. It's been about a year since I've last seen them, so I'm really excited to connect again. They are two of the most amazing people I've ever met and outside of my parents, probably have had the greatest impact on my life in so many areas. Needless to say, I'm really pumped to hang with them for a few days and see a great city, too. I hear Berlin is fantastic. We're going to eat some really great food and see some really great, famous sights, including a day trip to a concentration camp. I'm really looking forward to that, although I don't anticipate having a great time. It will just be interesting and really humbling to see what we've learned so much about in school over the years.
I'm also looking forward to getting out of southern Europe a bit and venturing into a different area. Rome and Greece were both warm, although very different cities, but Berlin should be something completely new. I was in Prague a few years ago, and absolutely loved it, so hopefully the Berlin experience is similar. I am not going to be prepared for the snow and wind, but hey, it should be a nice change of pace and good preparation for winter weather at home after spending three months on same parallel as Florida. Anyway, I should really get back to my paper. The sooner I get this done, the sooner I can start my "last time I'll see this tour" around Athens. I anticipate getting back to the Acropolis, Mars Hill, and Lycavittos Hill one more time.
I'll try and post one more time (maybe a little more sentimental?) before I leave, but if not, it's been good to hear that this has been a good way to keep everyone at home up to date. I'm lucky to have people in my life that care so much. Thanks for reading.
-Ryan