Athens, Greece
2:02pm
One thing I've learned about myself in the short time I've been in Greece is that communication is a huge part of who I am. I like to think that I'm friendly, decently outgoing, and easy to talk to, and when I can't portray that to people I feel constrained. Like now, in Greece, where I'm just learning how to speak Greek, know a few words, and everyone automatically knows I'm a tourist (either because of the way I look, or the fact that I have my own personal photographer at all times, I'm not sure), I'm confined to only speaking to one person, and occasionally the people at the front desk of our hostel. I hate this! I need to talk to people to understand them! You get to know people, and perhaps a culture, by listening in on snidbits of their conversations, what kind of problems they have, how the children act and what they say, the context of businessmen's conversations in cafe's, etc. But even though I'm surrounded by all of these things, I have no idea what they're saying.
This is why I basically bury myself in my Greek phrase book 24/7, running through possible conversations people might have with me wondering how I can make myself seem like a local. I suppose this is because I hate being judged so harshly. I know foreign countries aren't so fond of Americans, but I often find myself missing out on opportunities just because I don't want to talk to salesmen/women because they'll know I only speak English. But I'm learning, and hopefully when the program actually begins I'll have more people to practice with. (I wish I could find a Greek friend to converse with!)
How was my New Year's Eve, or paramoni protokhronias, as a whole? Both interesting, boring, and unconventional. It started out as usual, we woke up, went to breakfast, explored a little, then we were feeling a little off, so Brendon went out to take pictures, and I planned on finding some fun activity to do, but ended up falling asleep (imagine that?). We had decided that we'd meet at 7pm and then go to dinner. Well apparently I was in a dead slumber because Brendon continuously knocked at the door at 7 (I had the key) until he decided I wasn't there, ended up waiting in the hall for an hour and a half, thinking I'd gotten lost and kidnapped, until he got a clerk to open the door. While I was there the entire time, asleep. What a horrible traveling buddy I am!
We then proceeded to find a good place to eat dinner, soon having a host of a restaurant approach us, sound terribly convincing about how delicious the food was, and swindled us into eating there. Unfortunately the food wasn't as great as the price would make it appear to be. I had lamb souvlaki, which is kind of like a lamb kabob,and Brendon had some oddly cut grilled salmon, both good but wayy overpriced even if it was New Year's Eve (we had to pay for our water and 'complimentary' bread by the way).
Because Brendon had been off adventuring and waiting on me most of the day, he was tired and fell asleep, so of course I did the same. We ended up completely missing New Years Eve even though that was the main reason we had come to Athens so early.
The Real New Years
When we woke up we were pretty upset about missing this huge event, so I decided that we hadn't. Nope, we sure hadn't missed New Year's Eve, we still had ten hours until the new year hit Seattle, pacific standard time. So we pretended the New Year didn't hit until 11am, plenty of time to do something amazing.
We stepped out onto the street next to our hostel and there was literally not a soul in sight. No streets filled with people, mopeds buzzing past every which way, only an occasional stray animal made an appearance. Where was everyone? It's a Saturday morning, only 8am. If New York City is known as the "City That Never Sleeps" then Athens should be the city that "Sleeps in on Saturdays." Brendon and I walked from street to street, only occasionally seeing a tourist or two, and a man from Naples who wanted to see his fancy camera. We had intended to have breakfast but all the usually bustling shops were closed.
Acropolis was our next stop. On his adventure the day before, Brendon had found a spot next to the Acropolis that overlooked the entire city. I wanted to go there and so we headed that direction, stopping frequently to take pictures and even entered a creepy, boarded-up, abandoned house. On our way to the hill we met a woman from Nicaragua who felt scared to walk alone so we accompanied her. When we got to the hilltop the view was phenomenal; Athens is absolutely astounding. Instead of skyscrapers lining your vision there's ruins and ancient buildings, the birthplace of democracy. We spent a good hour up there, and were even there when "midnight" rolled around. As soon as the hour turned to 11am you could hear church bells ring all across the city, one would begin and another would follow 10 seconds later, until you could hear nothing but church bells. This scene, complete with the breathtaking view, church bells ringing, standing on a hilltop overlooking one of the largest cities in the world with a great friend of mine, is one I'll never forget.
Winding down the hill to a place we'd never been before we began wandering the streets looking for a place to eat. Instead we found people finally emerging from goodness knows where, setting up these little stands you might see at a carnival, full of jewelery and crafts. Diving deeper and deeper into the city we also came across "Athens Flea Market" which, on Sundays, is full of citizens selling items as useless as paper dolls to as expensive as binoculars, knock-off handbags, and chargers. But on a Saturday like today there were random little blankets laid about with knickknacks. Even though this wasn't the real deal, it still surprised me to see this part of Greece's culture: peddling on the street, haggling even, instead of just stores everywhere. We are definitely coming back there tomorrow.
Ice Cream Cafe is where we ended up eating the most amazing donuts and baklava one could ever experience. It was super trendy, chic, with great service, not to mention huge portions of delicious donuts (I got donuts with honey and nuts, Brendon got nutella-covered donuts with kiwi gelato on the side). Amazing. Plus we watched power rangers in an awesome booth while we ate. Hello, nostalgia!
New Year's Resolution:
1. 365 Day Project- write a poem a day for an entire year. This will not only enhance my writing skills but also make me reflect on my days and what is most meaningful in them.
2. Go swimming at the American College in Greece (Deree) at least 5 days a week.
3. Use every single weekend I have in Greece to explore. No Exceptions.
I hope to add more :)
It's only 3pm and we'll see what the day holds for me! I'm hoping to hit up a club later tonight and see how the young people of Greece dance, dress, and socialize.
Back in the Groove,
Sleepy Susie
Picture 2- a deserted square with graffiti that we stopped to take pictures at
Picture 3- Athens from our wanderings
Picture 4- the most ADORABLE CATS IVE EVER SEEN! sleeping on exhaust pipe-like things, trying to keep warm
Picture 5-Laundry hanging out to dry on people's roofs
Picture 6-an awesomely named church
Picture 7- Me at the hilltop next to the Acropolis
Picture 8-9- Brendon at the Hilltop
Picture 10- We wound back down the hill an unconventional way and I took this picture, such a beautiful place!
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