Between Parkland and Pangrati: One Week Down, Not Enough to Go

Yesterday was our one week anniversary of being in Greece, which we celebrated with a day trip to the beautiful island of Corfu. With all the things we've done it's hard to believe we've only been here that long. We manage to fit so many things into one day that each day seems like it's three or four days. And I'm loving every minute of it, even the 7am bus rides! Because each and every thing we do is a great experience that we may never get the opportunity to do again.

A few differences I've noticed: Athens builds out, not up. While Seattle and most big cities in America have tall skyscrapers, I haven't seen many buildings in Athens that are taller than about six stories. This leads to the city being very sprawled out, making for a great view from the top of Mt. Lycabettus. The streets are very narrow, and drivers seem to think that honking will solve all of the worlds' problems. There are stray dogs everywhere, and they bark a lot. While they seem to like our group pretty well, they don't seem to be big fans of Greek men. Dinner in Greece is much later, and also lasts a lot longer. It seems like every time we go to grab a quick bite to eat, it turns into a three hour adventure. Stores close really early. When we got back from Corfu last night at about 8:15 we wanted to make a quick run to the supermarket, but it was already closed. Much different from the 24 hours that many stores are conveniently open in the US.

A few things I've learned in the past week: I can try new foods and live to talk about it. I can live without being attached to my cell phone 24/7. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to handle not constantly texting, but surprisingly it's actually been really refreshing. I sometimes panic when I don't have it in my pocket before remembering that I don't have it with me. American culture and media are very far-reaching, especially the music. It seems like everywhere we go, even the places you'd least expect it, American music is playing. Even the tiny shop on the island of Corfu was playing "Party Rock Anthem." I don't think I'm ever going to be able to escape that song. If I'm doing something really awesome, I can get up early and not be crabby all day. But 8am classes are not really awesome, so I will continue to avoid those. Greece is a beautiful country, and our time here is going by way too fast!

I'm looking forward to more adventures!