Iraklion... at last!

Things they don't tell you about the Iraklion airport...

1. It is utter chaos and there are at least three flights to each baggage claim carousel.
2. Bus drives there have MAD skills. They pack as many Greyhound-style buses as they can in this teeny-tiny parking lot and them make them maneuver them out. I saw this happen... I can't even begin to describe the ninja skills required for this.
3. Greek people have NO sense of turn-taking. I was almost run over in the aisle of the plane from Rome to Athens and Tara experienced the same in Iraklion. In fact, this almost made us late for our shuttle bus from the airport to our hotel.
4. No smoking signs actually don't mean anything. In fact, I might just take up smoking again just for kicks. I mean, since most of the Europeans we've encountered smoke-- I might as well get mine through a filter. Interestingly enough, we were able to see four or five people blatantly smoking right in front of the "No Smoking!" sign in the baggage claim area of the airport.
5. The airport is TINY. And they mean it. Seriously, how can they pack so many people in such a small space? The Lubbock airport is HUGE and it has never been as packed as this.

Now... for some other interesting observations about GREECE:
1. Do not try to cheat them. For example, don't think you can try to put three people in a room for two. They're not having any of that. We thought we could pull that off-- but not so. Now, we might face the possibility of paying an extra $30/night (or 22 euros) for attempting to do so.
2. Just because MOST of them speak english, doesn't mean all of them speak it WELL. Therefore, in an attempt to be proactive and to not appear like ignorant Americans, we are starting to learn basic Greek phrases. And, I mean this is going to be hard-- and very rough, but we're going to try.
3. You can never seem to buy enough bottled water. It's a little strange to think that you can't flush toilet paper because of the "fragile" sewer system. However, the drinking water situation is also a little strange. Seriously, you can go through 20 euros alone just buying bottled water.
4. PARTICIPATE! It never looks good to be anti-social, especially here in Greece! Today at dinner, Tara and I danced at a barbecue our hotel hosted with some dancers who were featured as well. It was so fun dancing around the pool and having a good time. It seems to be exactly like that movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."

Tomorrow begins the conference festivities (woo hoo!), so I'll have to tell you more about Crete tomorrow. Adio!