Top 5 Moments in Greece

Reflecting back on Greece I am missing it quite a bit, so i decided to rank some of my favorite moments.

1) Seeing the stars at Epidauros.
--Even though this wasn't the main attraction the stars will always be engrained in my mind.

2) Lycabettus Hill
--Who could ever forget our last night in Athens? Even though it was our last night together as a group it was one of our best nights. Hiking to the top of that hill and just hanging out and taking pictures was the best.

3) Lindos at Rhodes
--Our first look at ruins was awe inspiring. I hadn't been able to comprehend that we were actually in Greece until that moment. Standing in front of massive ancient ruins was mind boggling.

4) Climbing down the cliffs of Sounion
--While the main attraction was the Temple of Poseidon the water below just looked a bit more enticing. Climbing down the side of the cliff was exhilarating and stepping into the water was refreshing. I felt like an adventurer you read about in stories. The best part was walking back up with the Kaplans through the dig site and picking up pieces of old pottery. I was actually able to hold some ancient pottery in my hands, a moment I will never forget.

5)Making great friends.
--While this may not be one specific moment there is nothing I would trade this for. I went to Greece not knowing anyone and I've come back with the best of friends I could ask for. I didn't expect anything quite like this.

Back in the US of A

Finally back home, the land of flushable toilet paper, comfy beds and....humidity. As much as I love being home I am already missing Greece. As crazy as it sounds, I am missing being around my peers 24/7. Don't get me wrong, the down time is great, I am getting in some quality "Mary" time with my xbox and enjoying every second of it; however, I miss the excitement of waking up in Greece. Everything in little ole Lakeland, Florida is a bit too predictable and boring in my taste. In Greece I wouldn't just sit around the dorm all day. I would need to walk out the door at least once to go to the grocery store, get something to drink, or to go get gelato with friends. At home I can just camp out on the couch all day knowing that the refrigerator is fully stocked with tasty drinks and savory morsels.

In Greece you are naturally more active, there is more to do and socialization is much more easily accomplished. If I want to hang out with people here in the United States it is more of a "big deal." I have to, somehow, get in contact with my friend- texting, facebook, phone call, etc.- then we have to choose the place to hang out, which is very limited, than we have to drive there and only hang for about an hour, anytime past that and it's a "waste of time." In Greece all you would have to do is walk down the road and pick a coffee shop from one of the many located on the main street. In the U.S. walking somewhere seems almost incredulous. Everyone uses a car or gets a ride from someone.

That is another thing that has struck me as I've returned to the United States, parking lots. In Greece parking lots were  virtually nonexistent and I never really acknowledged it. It's really odd to see so many parking lots everywhere and they take up so much space! It's just interesting to note some of the differences between Greece and America.

I do have to say being surrounded with people I can easily communicate with is such a breath of fresh air. There have been a couple times when I've gone to say thank you it has been my impulse to start saying "effkeristo," but than I realize I can actually speak English and be understood. I wish I could take the Greek culture and merge it with the English language and then I would be set for life.

Resident Plumber

I would like to think of myself as a fairly resourceful person, but when presented with fixing a Greek toilet I felt at a lost. The thing is built like a tank, removing the top is practically impossible and I knew that's what I had to do cause the toilet wasn't flushing which only meant one thing...the chain had come off of the flusher. In America it would have been a simply fixed problem, remove the lid and reattach the chain. But, no, it would not be that easy here in Greece. Here are some steps to fixing your Greek toilet:

1) DO NOT just try to pull the top off. You're toilet will start leaking if you do.

2) Unscrew the button pusher for flushing so you can safely remove the top of the toilet.

3) There should be a plastic rod that will stick into the center piece which has a grouping of holes.

4) Then replace lid and you should be good to go.

Stray Dogs

One thing that has really caught my eye all around Greece is the community of stray dogs. It is something I am not quite use too. Around my neighborhood there are quite a few stray cats and that is quite common place, but dogs seem so different. It doesn't seem like pets are the norm in Greece, rather neighborhood strays are the norm. Every time I walk from the dorm to the Plateia I notice that there are two bowls of dog food set outside and a bowl of water. It seems as though the strays are a neighborhood responsibility not an individuals. 

Shadow Puppetry

After my experience with Aristophanes, Clouds, I decided to accompany my friend, Katieanne, to a shadow puppet show. It was, yet again, another experience where I didn't really understand what was going on and had to rely on visual cues more so then that actual dialogue. Shadow puppetry is aimed towards the younger crowd....as in the 1 to 10 year olds. Katie and I got a couple of funny looks from the mom's there. They were probably wondering what two teenagers were doing at a shadow puppet show by choice.

So....the light shines on this translucent screen (it reminds me of those trace drawing toys I use to have when I was little, mom) and the puppets outline and color shows through. The puppeteer controls the puppets with a little rod so you don't see him at all. The puppets are usually made out of cardboard or something along those lines.

Anyways, the show was pretty simple to understand even though I couldn't understand the language. The best part was all of the children laughing. Since I wasn't quite as "into" the show as the rest of the audience, it gave me the chance to make observations about the people coming to the show. It seems to me that going to the shadow puppet show was a weekly occurrence for some people. As they would come in the ticket lady would greet them with a kiss on the cheek and a light conversation. It goes back to that idea of the "in" circle in the Greek culture. In America some families may go to the movie theater once a week, but it's not like we greet the person at the ticket counter with a kiss on the cheek.  It would look extremely out of place for me to greet the ticket counter person in that way and it just demonstrates the difference in quality of relationships in Greece vs. America.

The lady at the shadow puppet show would see these families with their children every weekend and could start a relationship with them. There was a trust it wouldn't be a waste of time and that efforts out forth wouldn't be brushed aside. If only people could be just as welcoming in the United States, there would be less of the superficial relationships and more of the meaningful ones....even with the ticket lady at the movie theater.

Another quality of Greek culture we were made aware of before we arrived in Athens was the dancing. I hadn't seen too much of it just out and about since we've been here, but the little kids know how to party it up at the shadow puppet theater. When the music came on for the finale of the show there were several children that got up in front and started jamming out. It was almost like watching a mini version of Zorba with one of the kids. He was over in the corner with his parents and he had his hands out, doing the snapping and the whole lot of it. It just goes to show that the tradition of dancing, although not as prevalent, is still being passed down from generation to generation.

Aristophanes, The Clouds

Alright, so I know I haven't been doing the best at giving you guys updates on what I'm doing so I'm going to try to catch everyone up. This past friday I went to a performance of Aristophanes, Clouds at the theater in Epidaurus.  Let me tell you, it was amazing to sit in the same place that the Ancients did and to see a show they would have seen as well.

The play was in Greek which made it difficult to follow, but it was kind of fun. I had to focus on the visual aspects of the play a lot more than I would have if they were speaking English which made for a different experience. I got the jist of the play, however, there were plenty of moments where the Greeks would laugh at a joke and I would find myself completely clueless. The audience would suddenly roar with laughter and I would look at my fellow classmates with and expression of "ha...ha?" There were plenty of moments of contagious laughter too. I might not have understood what was going on, but when the audience would laugh I would join in.

However, even though the play was quite good, my favorite part of the whole evening was looking up at the stars. Any moment when the lights would go down on stage my head would turn up to the heavens. The theater in Epidaurus was literally in the middle of no where, completely away from any large city or town. That means there were no lights to take away from the brightness of the stars. I don't think I have ever seen so many stars in my life, I was completely mesmerized. Gazing up into the dazzling evening sky made me realize why the ancient Greeks believed in so many Gods and Goddesses. How could one not think there is some greater being out there when you are looking at something so purely beautiful?

Out of all of the wonderful experiences I have gained from this trip this one will be my most treasured.

The Influence of Soccer

One thing I have noticed since arriving in Greece is the culture of soccer and how it influences how Greeks live their lives. It goes back to a previous post where I discussed my personal experience with playing with some locals. In America it is really hard to find a place where people of all ages can come together to play a pickup game of any sport. In Greece it would seem ludicrous to suggest anything otherwise. I just got to thinking, what does this say about our cultures?

Soccer is a game of working together, but it also has moments of individual accomplishment. Every player of the field has to have an idea of what they are going to do if they receive the ball and they must always be actively thinking about what's going on on the field. When a player receives the ball they must be fully confident that the decision they make with it is the right one. It seems a lot like the Greeks ideas of shame and honor.
The Greeks, specifically men, are raised to believe their actions are always right and to act with pride. In soccer it is much the same way, when you receive the ball the decision you make with it is the right one. There are many instances when a player is given a penalty and they argue with the ref because they feel their actions were right and the ref has no right to give them a penalty. Soccer--or futbol-- seems to carry the customs and ideas of the culture that values it so highly.

Soccer is not quite the main sport of America as of yet, so what is? We have so many sports that get attention. Some would argue that baseball is the true American pastime, while others would say it is football. In some regions you might even hear Nascar as the response for the "true" American sport. Without a strong unifying sport, like soccer, what does that say about America?

It would, first, explain why we do not have fields for kids to have a pickup game late at night. There are too many different veins of games to play. You cannot just set up a soccer field in every neighborhood because not every child plays it. This also demonstrates how America is a melting pot of many different cultures. Yes, there may be a stereotypical idea of who an American is in general, but there is clearly no way to pinpoint it. There are too many different options for Americans, with a melting pot of cultures we have never quite gained the unity through soccer that the rest of the world has. 

Only two more weeks!

I have been loving my time here in Greece and I can't believe it is coming to a close. Everyone told me that it would go by quickly, but I didn't realize just how quickly it would really be. I've made so many great friends and I don't want to leave. I feel like I've just gotten use to how things work here. Some of the shop keepers and store owners have actually come to recognize me when I go shopping. I don't want to go back yet and I know these next two weeks are probably going to be the fastest. I miss my family, but I do not miss being in America. I love the Greek culture and I wish I could stay here for longer. I am greatly going to miss this culture and the people I've grown to love.

Back to Basics

So, I played soccer for about...13(ish) years of my life. I would have considered myself decently good at it back in the day and then I played with some Greeks. 3 americans versus 2 Greek kids and Hannah, someone who hasn't played soccer, and the 3 Americans kept up pretty well. We scored a few times, but I felt I was holding my own and than I actually stopped and took in the 2 Greeks we were playing against. The youngest had to have been no more than 9 and the eldest was around the elder age of 13. I was giving my all to keep up with kids 6 years younger than me. Talk about an ego bruiser, I was running myself ragged and these kids were completely fine. I don't even want to think what would have happened if we had actually played against kids our age, we would have been demolished.

However, even with the fun of just running out on the soccer field I saw something that I rarely ever see in America. There were people of all ages out at almost midnight, little children, teenagers, older people, you name it. This would never happen in the United States where children are taught that bad things happen at night and you shouldn't be out very late. There doesn't seem to be a negative stigma placed on being out late with friends in this culture. As long as you are having a good time with friends there are no questioning looks of "why are you out so late?" This is the complete opposite of the looks you would get in the United States if you were walking around at midnight. Greece has this emphasis on friendships that the United States lacks. It is safe for children to be out at night in Greece because there are places for them to go and do things  with friends. In the United States we do not have free soccer fields in every neighborhood and they are definitely not within walking distance. I think there is something to be said for the Greeks ability to acknowledge the social needs of the youth.

Check, please?

Alright, so one thing that has been a little frustrating is the way you get the check when going out to eat in this country. In America you sit down to eat, a waiter is immediately there to take your order and no sooner then you've gotten your food you also receive the check. This gives you the ability to just go out to eat and leave as soon as you're done with your meal. In Greece everything works the opposite way. You walk in and find your seat, you aren't seated by anyone, then you wait a considerable amount of time until the waiter/waitress see's you and brings you a menu. The food takes a while to come out because it is freshly made and is REALLY good, but it takes longer than an American meal. So, the whole service already takes longer than the typical American night out, but getting the check is the worse. You have to try really hard to get your servers attention and they are usually pretty preoccupied with a conversation with a customer or something along those lines. In other words, eating out is not just and hour long affair, it is at least 2-3 hour long process...at the LEAST!!

While this does frustrate me when I have other things to do, like school work, I decided to look at meals out from the Greek perspective. One of the reasons that there is not a rush on the meal is Greeks look at eating out as a social event, not just going out to get food. In America you will sometimes get the feeling that you are taking up the restaurants space and they would like to rush you out as soon as you're done eating their food. In Greece you never get that feeling because the emphasis is on the socialization not on the actual process of eating. Greece places a very high importance on friends and taking time to enjoy life. This translates into long meals out. They do not put a rush on the socialization process because they feel if you are enjoying a moment there is no reason to end it to soon. When looking at it from the Greek perspective my frustration suddenly recedes and becomes redirected at the American public. Why do we always have to be in such a rush? Where are we if we don't have friends and family? I feel as though we Americans could learn more from the modern Greeks rather than the ancient ones.

Corinth, Mycenae, Nauplion and Star Wars

This weekend has been quite an eventful and fun one. We started things off at 7 am (ugh!) on saturday morning with an hour and a half journey to Ancient Corinth. We walked through the Agora (the old market place) ruins and one of Dr. Kaplan's friends from Deree gave us the historical content behind what we were seeing. Ancient Corinth is also rumored to be one of the places Paul preached. I had also just learned about Corinth in my art history class as one of it's main products is handmade products. Within the museum at the site there was plenty of pottery to look at and I felt as if I had already gained knowledge from my class because I could identify some of the time periods of the pottery pieces.

The old fountain that supplied water to the Agora.

Some Roman statues on display in the museum.

The highlight of our stop in Corinth had to be the fact that Dr. Kaplan's colleague invited us into her house and served us cornbread and drinks. It was a very nice gesture and she had a very nice view of the sea from her home.

After our stop in Corinth we went on our way to Mycenae, a Bronze Age citadel. Again, another place you are just in awe of and the views of Greece are just amazing. There was a cistern near the walls of the Mycenae acropolis and we climbed down in to the deep dark abyss. It was really cool, but also a bit scary since it was pitch black.

Jimmy following to the bottom of the pitch black abyss.

A beautiful view from Mycenae.

The walls of the Bronze Age Citadel.

We then went gallivanting off to Nauplion where we went to a castle with 999 steps. Don't worry, we took the bus to the top. We only spent 30 minutes there which was kind of a bummer cause there was a lot to explore. Ellie chose me as her designated carrier for this trip and she, of course, wanted to go up and down all of the stairs. Granted, I don't mind because she is so dang adorable, but my shoulders were definitely feeling it this morning when I got up. We also explored the city of Nauplion and, in the process, jumped into the sea in our clothes. It was quite refreshing...but the bus ride back was a bit soggy.

However, one of the best parts of this weekend has been the fact that Katie let me play Star Wars the Old Republic and create a character. I have been wanting to play this game since it came out and I finally got a chance. It was the icing on the cake of an amazing weekend. :)