Things I won't miss about Greece...

• The lack of separate checks at restaurants
• I've already discussed this in a post. It is so frustrating. I can't wait to go out with my friends in the U.S. and ask for separate checks!
• The absence of Taco bell and chik fil a
• I may be in Greece but I'm American, I need my doritos locos tacos and waffle fries. I can't help it. 
• The sidewalks
• Let's make a 3 foot wide sidewalk then plant a tree right in the middle of it. Then, we're gonna put dumpsters and even bigger trees all up and down it! Oh, and dogs can poop on it too! Seriously, I just started walking in the road...
• Walking 2 miles from the market with heavy groceries
• At first, I overloaded myself and nearly died walking back to the dorm, especially when we went to Carre-four or the Bazaar. When we shopped at Effie's it wasn't too bad, and after a while, I finally learned my lesson and bought lighter. 
• The staring
• I know it's a different culture but honestly, no matter how hard I try, I cannot make myself understand how it is not interpreted as rude here. It's really uncomfortable too...
• Chicken Pitas
• I'm sorry, but after about twenty of these, I had had enough. Now, I really don't care if I ever have one again...though that might change when we get back to the States.
• Lack of air conditioning in most places
• It's hot. I sweat constantly. Everybody does. The difference is that the Greeks don't seem to care...I can't not care. It bothers me. I hate the heat. I've been showering more than once a day on many occasions
• The crappy and confusing European washers and dryer 
• 5 dryers and eight hours later and my clothes are finally dry. This one doesn't work, that one just makes your clothes really hot, but doesn't actually dry them. This one shuts off in the middle of a cycle. That one is possessed and your clothes smell now. Go wash them again. This may have just been the case with the washers and dryers in the dorm though...
• Not being able to flush toilet paper
• It's the little things, really. To be honest, I had a few uh-oh moments. It wasn't terrible but it was another thing we had to keep up with. Taking out the trash every day, not to mention it's just a little gross. 
• Stairs
• I've climbed enough stairs, rocks, hills and mountains to last me a lifetime. 

Things I'll miss about Greece...

• The food
• Such good food and such fresh ingredients. It doesn't get much better than that!
• Incredibly fresh and juicy fruit
• The Farmer's market had the most incredible fruit. The fruit back home won't be able to compare.
• The ease of public transportation
• It really was designed for stupid people...and I thought it was hard at first...
• Mountains
• So pretty. It's so nice to wake up every morning, open my shutters and see the beautiful mountains on the horizon.
• Our incredible group of people 
• We seriously had the best group of people. I've made some incredible friends who I probably never would have met if it weren't for this trip. I hope we can stay in touch. And our leaders were perfect. They know so much about life here and the culture and they really prepared us well for this trip.
• Palmie Bistro
• PALMIE :( I love that place. It's so Americanized....which I guess isn't good since we're on a study abroad trip, but it's so good and they give discounts and it's right there if we ever need food in an emergency, and oh my gosh, the chef's potatoes :O 
• Drinking age of 18
• It was really nice to be able to order a glass of sangria or wine with dinner. I'm going to miss being able to order drinks when I get home.
• The lack of humidity
• I'm pretty sure I'm going to choke on the humidity when I get back to Florida. Greece is hot, but it's not humid and that makes the heat so much easier to bare. 
• The numerous coffee shops and bakeries
• So convenient, especially if you need a quick snack on the go. It's so much better than buying an icee and a bag of chips from the gas station...
• Crepes
• Christmas crepe! White chocolatey, banana goodness. I don't even know what I'm going to do without that amazing crepe in my life :( 
• Mousaka
• Without a doubt my favorite Greek food. I don't know why...I just love it!
• Merenda (a European off-brand Nutella but better)
• They don't have it in the States :( It's even better than Nutella!
• Being so close to so many social hubs
• It is so easy to go out and find something to do if you're bored. Boredom doesn't exist. Even just people watching is really interesting. 
• The endless incredible photo opportunities
• I got more practice with my camera than I ever expected to get. This country is absolutely beautiful. Of all the different landscapes we saw there wasn't one that wasn't breathtaking.

The First Cemetery

After Nicki gave her site report on the First Cemetery, and we had a group discussion about Greek burial practices, I knew this was one place I had to see before we left. Since we're leaving in four days, I figured today was as good a day as any, so I grabbed my frozen water bottle, hopped on a bus and headed for the cemetery.

Upon walking into the cemetery, I was immediately struck by the numerous massive grave monuments that could rival that of JFK's. I snapped a few pictures, not sure if that would be insulting to the families of the dead whose monuments were so glorious they had to be famous people, or rich, at least.

I mean, really. Is the twenty foot marble monument
really necessary?

Needless to say, it was pretty cool to see all of the grave monuments. I'd never seen anything like that back home. This cemetery is specifically for the really rich and the really famous, since those people are the only ones who can afford it. The honor of being in this cemetery seems to be similar to the honor of being in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C. And let me tell you that cemetery is beautiful. The exact rows of pristine, white crosses covering every inch of every hill. It's amazing. But it is so different from the glorified, materialistic projection of wealth that was seen at the First Cemetery. It was interesting...but what I saw next took the cake by a landslide. 

The Ossuary. Greeks have this practice of burying their dead relative for three years, digging them up, cleaning their bones, then placing them in a little metal box which then goes into an ossuary. 

Yep, it's a skull...

These were the little, "boring" graves for the
people who were going to be placed in an
ossuary after their three year mark was up. Some
of them were a few months overdue...

So basically, an ossuary is a place for the bones of dead people. We had a lot of discussion about why this is and came to the conclusion that it's partially a result of a lack of land in Greece. The little land that they do have, they try to use for agriculture, so there is a very small amount of land space available for burial. But I think it also has to do with the mourning period. After three years, the family has to clean the bones of their dead relative and put them into a pit with thousands of other peoples' bones. It seems a little callous, but I think it would definitely help the family come to terms with their loss. 

I hope the Greeks don't mind me posting pictures of this....apparently, it's sort of taboo in their culture. But I'm trying to justify it by the fact that I'm American and this is just really unbelievable. One of those "pictures or it didn't happen" moments. 

   

It was interesting to see how differently things were done, even the burial practices. The First Cemetery was actually one of the coolest places I've seen since I've been here. I really enjoyed my visit and would recommend it to anyone who goes to Greece in the future. 

The Financial Crisis in Greece

It's hard to live in a country that is in such a bad financial state without noticing the effects, and believe me, there are many, but not all are bad.

One of the most prominent, at least for me, a tourist, was the lack of staff at historical sites, museums and other tourist attractions. At some places, it didn't make much difference, while at others exhibits were closed off or the hours were extremely minimal, defying the hours that were promised on the website. Still, we managed to work around it.

It's pretty much impossible not to notice the amount of people that go around begging for money, since they will come right up to you and start speaking to you in Greek, telling you their pitiful story that tugs on your heartstrings...at least, I'm guessing. There are people, we called them gypsies, who sat on the side of the tourist streets and tried to win your affection; children with their cute puppies playing the accordion, women with their little baby all swaddled up. There were even black men in the flea market trying to sell knockoff designer bags. Most of these people appear not to be from Greece, and I was informed by my art history teacher, that Greece has open borders, so anyone who is trying to make it into Europe can do so through Greece. Because of this, there are tons of immigrants from other countries, middle eastern countries in particular.

Going into this trip, we had heard a lot about protests and riots, bus strikes and power outages, but we did  not see a single sign of any of these activities. In fact, every time I went to Syntagma square (the main site for riots and protests since it's the location of the parliament building), I didn't see any indications of past or future riots.

In terms of hospitality, the Greeks were extremely hospitable, particularly in restaurants. We rarely dined at a Greek style restaurant without being offered free deserts, free shots or the like. I'm not sure if this is in response to the financial crisis, maybe an attempt to gain regular customers, or if it was just a result of the Greek culture, in which business is usually done with people you know and are close to, and dissatisfaction spreads quickly. More than likely it's a little bit of both, but regardless, it was a positive effect of the financial crisis...if you can really call any of the effects of such a terrible situation "positive."

I didn't expect to see so many Greeks spending money so freely. The articles and resources I read in preparation for this trip all seemed to agree on the fact that the financial crisis is affecting just about everyone. No one is really getting by unscathed. While I'm sure it affects some people worse than others, you would never guess that based on how often you see them out and about, shopping, getting coffee and other extra-curriculars that cost money. I will say that when they do go out to restaurants and bars, their purchases seem to be minimal; maybe one small cup of coffee. But I'm guessing all those cigarettes aren't cheap either!

One of the positive effects (again, not sure if that is the right wording) that I really enjoyed was the month of July, during which all stores on Ermou street (which is basically Greece's 5th avenue) have incredible sales; thirty, forty even fifty percent off! Seriously, these sales just about put Black Friday to shame. It was pretty clear that the Greeks enjoyed it too!

Overall, I'm sure that I can't even begin to comprehend all of the effects in the short amount of time that I spent in Greece. There were some that were very evident in day-to-day life, though I'm sure I don't know the half of it. In the future, I really hope Greece can come out of this financial state and make a comeback.

The Temple of Olympian Zeus

As a part of our art history class, we make site visits to ruins and museums that have items of significance from classical antiquity. Friday, our destination was the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Despite the fact that it was the 9th site visit we had made in a matter of two weeks and the fact that we had to be there at 9 am, I was actually really excited to see the temple. I mean come on, it's where Hercules found out he was the son of Zeus and where he finally met Pegasus and vowed to make himself a true hero! Okay, I'm kidding. But seriously, the biggest temple of any god, 104 columns all the way around, a ginormous ivory and gold statue of Zeus inside. How freaking cool is that? Obviously, I was pretty happy to finally see the temple. Although when we got there all I saw was 15 standing columns concentrated into one corner and one collapsed column (there were originally 104). It was kind of sad to see how ruined this temple really was. Trying to imagine it when it was still completely in tact was difficult, but I managed to get an idea of what it must have been like to stand in front of something so massive and to walk inside and pay homage to the enormous statue of Zeus. I tried to imagine actually building it but that didn't work out so well...I've been here for five weeks, seen ruins left and right, yet I still don't understand how, in ancient times, people could build such massive structures out of marble or limestone. You definitely have got to give the ancient Greeks credit for that.

Part of what really enhanced my experience at the temple was having some knowledge of its background and history. The previous week, in our class with Dr. Kaplan, we each presented a report on a site in Athens. Brianna had Olympeion and gave a really interesting presentation about the history of the temple and the site itself. I was really fascinated by the fact that the temple took nearly 600 years to build. Through various reigns and rulers, this temple stood as a constant, never being finished until 600 years after it was originally started by a completely different person with completely different people. Yet, it still got finished and it's still partially standing today. This temple is absolutely incredible; the detail of the massive Corinthian columns and the beauty of the site itself, with the acropolis overlooking it, and Lycabettus hill in the distance. It's a shame the temple had such a short lived glory because all it takes is one quick look to realize how incredibly phenomenal it was.

One thing is for sure: If this temple says anything about what Zeus was believed to be like, he must have been a freaking awesome guy. 

The Amazing Spiderman...with a Greek twist

The Amazing Spiderman came out in Greece last week and our group decided to go see it at the theater in our neighborhood. The cool thing about this theater? It's outdoors! So we walked into the movie right at 9 o'clock when it was scheduled to start (we're starting to understand this whole "Greek time" concept). It was not at all what I was expecting from an outdoor theater but it was really cool. The "theater" was a small courtyard full of rows of semi-comfy folding chairs. Up front was a giant projector screen where the moviewas played (duh). There was a little booth where you could buy small popcorn, soda, even alcohol, but I was shocked to see that they didn't have candy. The prices were cheap compared to our movie theater prices back home. I bought a drink and took a seat close to the front to watch the movie. At first there was still a little daylight so it was difficult to see (it doesn't get dark in Greece until 9:30ish). But once the sun was down completely, I could see perfectly. Most Greek people (excluding children) speak pretty good English, so the movie was in English with Greek subtitles, thankfully. What really surprised me despite the fact that I knew it was coming was the random "intermission" right in the middle of the movie (in the middle of a pretty intense scene nonetheless). There wasn't any sort of fading, or warning, the movie just cut off, out of nowhere and started playing a very weird advertisement for Domino's Pizza. It was strange, but allowed for restroom breaks and snack breaks, if necessary. I liked that I didn't have to sacrifice movie time to go to the restroom. The intermission lasted about five minutes, after which the movie resumed, once again with no warning or indication.

One thing I noticed while watching the movie was that Greeks don't seem to mind talking during a movie. Personally, I hate when people talk in the movies if they can't keep it to a whisper...and I don't think Greeks know what whispering is. But this was only a problem at the beginning of the movie; they quieted down after a while. The theater was about half-full but the majority of the people there were Greeks. I'm not sure if Greeks actually have interest in Spiderman (we were told superhero movies aren't really a big deal here), or if they were just there because it was the only movie playing, or if maybe movies are another form of social interaction that helps them maintain their "in group" but it was cool to see so many locals enjoying a movie that is probably a big deal back home.

The outdoor theater was a very different experience but it was pretty cool. I can't say that I wish all theaters were like that back home (the heat and bugs were enough to bother me) but it would be nice to have a few for nice days. Although I don't miss the incredibly expensive tickets and overpriced concessions of the theater back home, I do miss having candy to eat during movies...

The Cerulean Paradise

On weekends, day trips seem to be the name of the game. And this weekend was no different. This weekend's destination to Hydra (pronounced "ee-dra") was one of the most exciting, simply because of the lack of plans. We literally had one thing planned during the 10 hours we were there and that was lunch. Other than that, we had absolute and total freedom to do whatever we wanted and it was really nice.

Hydra is a really small island, located in the Saronic islands off the coast of Attica. So, to get there we had to take a sort of ferry, more commonly known as a hydrofoil. Hydrofoils are high speed boats that are elevated on metal rutters which are wing-like to allow them to get above the water in order to move faster.

An older hydrofoil

The hydrofoil we took to Hydra.

Now, for someone like me who has an extreme propensity for motion sickness, the thought of a super fast boat on the rocky waters of the Aegean sea was a little nauseating. And when the seat I was assigned was facing backwards, I was justifiably worried. After switching seats with a fortunate soul who was born with a stomach of steel, I got comfortable and tried to push any thoughts of sickness out of my head. While we waited for everyone to board, the rocking and rolling of the boat next to the dock was extremely unnerving and for once I was longing for the bitter, vomit-inducing taste of Dramamine. But once we were in transit and picking up speed, I quickly realized that this would probably be one of the most comfortable boat rides I've ever taken. Shortly after we began our hour and a half journey to Hydra, I fell asleep and didn't wake until we reached our beautiful destination. 

Hydra is a very small island; only about 25 total square miles. It's so small that cars aren't allowed so transportation is done by donkey, bicycle or foot. It has a population of 2,700 and thrives on tourism. Hydra is absolutely beautiful. I'm not sure if there's a law in place that requires orange roofs or if the town roofer only builds orange roofs, but let me tell you, the uniform beauty of the white-washed houses with their orange roofs and blue shutters is so cliche and characteristic of Greece, but still so unique. I took one look at the houses in the harbor and I knew I was in Greece. It's that sort of defining design that you'd expect on a Greek island. And it's beautiful. 

When we got off of the hydrofoil we were greeted by a tour guide who would give us a brief tour of the harbor and surrounding buildings (okay, so I lied about lunch being the only organized activity). This is where we got an introduction to the history of Hydra and got to explore the harbor in Hydra Town. 

       

The "donkey" that is most definitely a pony...

After the tour we changed into our swimsuits and set out in search of a beach where we could relax and cool down before lunch. We headed in the general direction of the coast and after about twenty minutes of walking came to a beautiful beach with crystal blue waters and gorgeous rock cliffs. When we got down to the beach, we realized that this was similar to the beach we visited in Sounion; that is, club style, with lounge chairs, umbrellas, waitresses and a full bar. After paying only three euros per person, we claimed our chairs and let the relaxation begin. 

We took a quick dip in the ever-chilling waters of the Cerulean sea, enjoying the see-through blue waters and the panoramic views of cliffs in the distance, before trekking back across the hot, rocky shoreline to our chairs. I decided to order a pizza (which turned out to be one of the best pizzas I've ever had), and my favorite refreshment on a hot Greek day; fresh-squeezed orange juice. We spent a few more hours swimming, and napping, taking in fully the Greek practice of siesta time, before beginning our trek back to the harbor for lunch. 

Finally, we headed back to the harbor, eager for a free lunch and full tummies. We ended up eating at this traditional Greek restaurant that served traditional Greek food in traditional family style which, if you haven't already figured it out from past posts, is my absolute favorite kind of food/dining. After the numerous shared plates of fried cheese, spinach pies and Greek salad, we were given an option of lasagna or Aubergine, an eggplant dish. I ordered the lasagna for myself, not entirely sure of my approval for eggplant and was pleased to see that it was a different sort of lasagna than I'm used to. All of the food was delicious, and despite my deep disgust for watermelon (which was for dessert), I managed to choke down a few bites at the end of the meal so as not to appear unappreciative or rude to the restaurant staff. 

After lunch, it was back out on the town for shopping. And let me tell you, these shops will not let you forget that Hydra relies so heavily on tourism. In all of our travels so far, I haven't seen anything as ridiculously priced as the shops in Hydra. I ended up not buying anything due to budget and a decent sense of self-preservation. As the heat rose, shopping became too taxing, so we found a nice shop on the harbor, ordered cold drinks and relaxed until we had to meet up again to go home. 

When we met up back at the dock to wait on the ferry we were all exhausted (having gotten up at 5 am) and much to our dismay, the ferry was late...very late. We are constantly reminded about "Greek time" here and how being on time isn't really a common occurrence, however, the ferry being 30 minutes late put even Greek time to shame. Finally, we saw the red and white of the hydrofoil in the distance and eagerly shoved our way through the mob of people  waiting to get on (there is no such thing as a line in Greece). We got comfortable once again and began our transit back to Piraeus, the port in Athens. Although we were scheduled to get back around ten, we ended up getting back to the dorms closer to 11 o'clock. The hydrofoil we were on broke down in transit and couldn't get up to full speed. After about twenty minutes, they got it fixed and we were on our way. 

The clock tower overlooking the harbor.

Despite the long day, Hydra was really nice and relaxing. Although we had to get up super early and didn't get back until late at night (and I had a midterm the next day), it wasn't exhausting. Hydra is a beautiful little island and has such a cool history and culture. To anyone who is visiting or plans to visit Greece, definitely add Hydra to your list of visits. It's totally worth it.