We have spent about 6 hours in the past two days in our pre-assigned small groups.  There are 12 groups (2 French, 10 English), and each group is set up with a variety of nations represented in each of them.  Aside from two girls, one from Georgia and the other from Armenia, the remainder of the participants seem eager to participate in the discussion.
 
One of my group members, Furkan from Turkey, missed yesterday afternoon’s meeting.  The meeting was from 4:30-6:00, and his roommate came in and said that he’s not going to make it because his foot hurts.  Because his foot hurts?!  I took the time to tell Daniel from Denmark that we would call him soft (I love teachable moments).  Fast forward to 6:00 when my football team had its shot at redemption.  On the other team was none other than Furkan, and he even made it a point to tell me that his foot was hurting so he didn’t come to discussion.  Wow, his foot sure didn’t look like it was bothering him at all, as he was an integral part in helping his team smash Team Zidane 7-4.  Though my hat trick wasn’t enough, it did warrant many comments from other participants.
 
Another of my group members is Alberto from Italy.  Even though he has a neatly-trimmed pencil thin mustache and beard, I call him Alberto Tomba, after the dominant Italian downhill skier in the late 80s and 90s.  He likes the reference, so I’ll keep calling him that.
 
After all of the soccer I have played in the last two days, I feel like my quads are going to explode.  Walking up and down steps is a chore, so hopefully that takes care of itself soon.  Being sore and being injured are two separate things, so I guess fortunately I’m just sore.
 
It rained here last night!  Well, more so sprinkled for a few minutes, but there were legitimate rain drops for a minute or two.  It rained long enough to delay our walk to Olympia, that was about it.  I was a little weary of eating dinner last night, as Sunday night’s dinner left way more to be desired.  A group of us trekked the 2 kilometers to town, and while the majority of the group went to Zorbas to dance, Daworin (Slovenia) and I went to grab some food.  My gyro was awesome.  That is the second one I’ve had in Greece; both were awesome, and both had French fries in the gyro.  I have to say, it’s a great addition.
 
Our walk back from downtown was interesting.  I wore jeans, and on the walk back, Adam, in just shorts, was cold.  He said it is the first time he’s ever been cold in Athens (remember, he was in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens).  About half of the way back, four of us jumped in a car that gave us a ride back to the IOA.  Before you are worried about randomly hitchhiking, I will let you know that the driver and passenger are both IOA employees who we recognized.  It was a pretty funny site to see four adults pile in the backseat of a car that was about the same size as a 1980s Ford Fiesta.  Real comfortable.
 
Today was round two of washing my clothes in my shower.  I brought some high strength detergent with, so sticking a sock in the drain of the shower works like a charm.  When I was in college, Barry Davis would tell me about how he would have to do that while he was on trips, and I couldn’t believe that people don’t use washing machines.  Maybe I need to share my technique with Murodali so his clothes won’t smell anymore.  He’s working on his English every time we’re in the room together, and I think he’s getting better.
 
Tomorrow is an excursion to the beach instead of lectures and discussions.  I’ll see if I can’t get a count of what percent of the guys where speedos instead of shorts.  You can bet that I will have shorts on.  The sun hasn’t been out at all today, so hopefully that changes tomorrow.  Not that I need a sunburn or anything, that’s what I have sunscreen for.
 
I just handed in our group’s first paper of the week, as I was the group’s reporter.  We still have to finish the PowerPoint presentation, but that’s not due until Thursday.
 
Lastly, I just got a chuckle out of the scene outside of my dorm room.  There is a social evening tonight outside of my room, where participants show something from their culture (music, dance, video, etc.).  The stage is being constructed, and sound check is taking place.  What made me laugh was “You’re Beautiful” by James Blunt being blasted at about 120 decibels.  Okay, probably not quite that loud, but someone is jamming out there!
 
Citius!  Altius!  Fortius!