Maddie The Greek

I'm realizing more and more how much of an American I am. I thought when I came here that it would be easy to fit in with everything. But more and more I'm realizing that there are a lot of differences between the Greek people and me.

For example, anyone who knows me understands that I'm not a huge fan of vegetables. I like some, but majority of the time I shy away from them. Greeks seem to love their vegetables. I've been trying a lot and its been mostly ok, but a ton of dishes here have eggplant, zucchini, peppers, and other such foods. But they do generally serve a ton of bread and meat at their meals, which I quite enjoy.

I have also realized that Greek people are very animated when they talk. I think I blogged about this yesterday, but it fits here too. Whenever I see two Greek people talking together, its impossible to tell what they're talking about, or sometimes even if they're angry or happy with each other, simply because they are so animated about what they're talking about. Last night, one of the characters in the movie we watched made a comment that showed how Greek people not only talk with words, but use their arms and legs and other body parts in communicating with others. Looking at myself and many Americans I know, we talk with our hands at our sides and with very little animation, unless its something super exciting or making us really angry.

Greece has been fun. But it's not my community and not a place where I feel comfortable beyond my little circle of people. I'm so grateful for Finitsis because if he wasn't here I wouldn't know how to do anything. Reading and speaking the language is difficult, because they don't have the same alphabet as us. Overall, Greece has been an interesting experience, but its showing me more and more how American, or not Greek, I am.