Camille the Greek

Since our arrival in Athens this trip has been such an exhilarating adventure taken at lightning speed.  It seems as though we have been everywhere and yet nowhere at all in the country.  Greece has about 1400 islands and we have only been to three of them and yet it seems as though we have seen so many different sights and aspects of the culture already.  Athens is a very busy place being the capital of Greece and having so many people.  I love the constant motion in the city and the way that at night, if you left the windows open, you could hear the honking of horns, and sounds of tires skidding over the ground.  We started out waiting at crosswalks for the little walking person to turn green but then as we began to learn from the Greeks around us, it is much faster and easier to just dart across the street in between cars.  Starting with the night of the Death March we quickly picked up the way to our apartments and back and then how to get around much of the large city.  Athens is a city that sprawls on for what seems like forever as it fills every crack in between the hills surrounding it.

Finitsis began teaching us Greek back in the States and we all continue to learn more and more Greek phrases every day.  We use them on the streets saying hello to people, greeting good day to them in the morning, and showing our appreciation through our thank-yous.  As I knew would happen, I have become more comfortable speaking Greek to those on a daily basis and we are all already commenting on the fact that when we get back to the States it will be difficult to break our habits of shouting kalimera to each other in the morning, or laughing when we mix up our parakalos and our efharistos. 

Yesterday I did not have the best day.  I wasn’t feeling super great after the ferry ride that emulated the ride Splash Mountain in Disney World and just wasn’t a happy camper.  The sights were gorgeous and everyone around me was being very supportive and good to be around but I just wasn’t feeling it.  Markelle, Khadijah, and I had a fabulous lunch at this little Greek restaurant where we all got delicious sea food and free appetizers, dessert, and drinks.  I had garlic prawns that were about as large as my entire hand and they were delectable.  We even had a lovely chat with the owner of the shop later as he told us about his life on the island and this was his last day of the season and how he was about to leave on his vacation for the next 40 days around Turkey. The island itself is about 24 square miles so it was great meeting a local Greek and getting to really know someone just within an hour or two even on such a small island.  Everywhere we go it seems we meet just welcoming people who are so gracious and nice.  They love to share their stories as well as learn about our own, such as where we are from and what exactly are we doing in Greece in the middle of winter. 

Camille the Greek has thoroughly enjoyed being here with such an amazing class of students, as well as thrived on learning about the Greek culture in different parts of the country, and loved being enlightened about the hospitality in Greece.  This has been such an amazing and life-changing experience abroad in such a short amount of time.