Where Did The Time Go?
The small joys in life mean the most to me. As of tomorrow, I will be in Greece for a week. If I didn’t know better, I would say I had been here for a month. The connections I have made with people, the places I have been and the memories I will cherish. I can’t imagine doing anything else this January. Once I am home, I think I will lose my mind when I am not surrounded by the Greek culture. While half of the class was having their hair cut, the others made our way to the beach. We had perfect timing to take in the pinkish sunset. The water was an amazing blue color and I could only imagine how wonderful it would be in the summer. After taking photographs of the marvelous sunset we found a restaurant that overlooked the water and sand. We arrived around 6:00pm and the restaurant was empty due to the fact that Greeks tend to eat dinner around 8:00pm. After consuming our seafood dishes, we were shocked to realize that it took us three hours for dinner. My friends and I are truly embarrassing the Greek style of meal time! I don’t know what I will do when I am back at PLU and dinner in the UC takes less than an hour. I fully appreciate the way of time here-I have never felt rushed. I think I will lose my mind when I have to go back to the Washington reality, when time is important and a strict schedule must be kept. When the class first arrived in Athens, I thought that the Greeks may be the crazy ones to sit and eat one meal for that extended time period, but then I realized that is was a part of their culture. Seeing the sunset, finding starfish, soaking my feet in the water and sand between my toes and even the three hour dinners all add to what Greece has been for me. Without this, I will have a piece of what I know missing.