Living in Greece

I have been "living" in Greece for exactly eight days now. I use "living" loosely, because I am here to visit and study. But nonetheless, I am temporarily living here.

I am staying right outside of Athens, in a neighborhood called Agia Paraskevi. It's a quant little neighborhood with all the necessities within walking distance. It's a neighborhood covered in graffiti, just like the rest of the country. Who would've thought there'd be so much graffiti from the beautiful pictures pictures we've seen with he white and blue buildings. Well, that's because that's not the "real" Greece.

Now, those places are a part of Greece, of course. However, those are the islands. The tourist stops. The places that, in a sense, need to be pretty. Athens, on the other hand, is full of graffiti, stray animals, and people playing the accordion in your face until you tip them (yes, this really does happen, just take the metro once).

I can definitely say living in Greece has been difficult so far. First, because I'm not in a tourist spot, not many people speak English and not many signs/labels are in English. So, trying to communicate is a huge challenge. Even pointing at English menus, the odds of you getting what you actually want are slim. And grocery shopping, goodness gracious. Try finding a can of soup, something basic, like chicken noodle. You probably picked up a can of beans, or dog food and had no clue because you can't read it and there are no pictures to help!

Next, it's been hard enjoying this experience as much as I should because I expected something totally different. I expected the islands we all see in the pictures. I'm slowly adapting to the unexpected environment, and it does help that there are plenty of gelato shops nearby. Whenever I'm down in the dumps, gelato. Whenever I'm confused because of the difficulty of communicating, gelato. Whenever I'm hot and sweaty, because it's literally 95 degrees everyday and I have to walk up plenty hills, gelato. Gelato is always the answer. And thank goodness communicating with the gelato man isn't too difficult.

I couldn't imagine staying here longer than I have planned. On the second day I was ready to go home. It's hard to really enjoy everything because I'm always tired. I have class in the morning, then class at night past my bedtime. The middle of the day is me trying to find food or working on papers. It's just exhausting at this point.

I am thankful that I have the chance to be here. Aside from the negativity I've been spewing, there are many beautiful things about Greece. Like the history, the streets downtown, and...THE GELATO.

This was just another rant, sorry.

love always,

angelina