Yep. Definitely Greek.
The view from a mountain top near my house. Favorite place to go!
Back in the Greekland.
Welp, public transportation is still striking at least 3 times a week, so that hasn't changed... oh Greece. Coming off of the plane and leaving the airport seemed so natural to me. I knew exactly where I was heading and exactly how to get there. Let's just say that Athens definitely feels like a home to me now. Despite this fact, it was not very pleasant to lug around my 50lb suitcase full of unimportant shit that I felt the need to bring back with me. Some "essentials" that I brought back: Twizzlers (both red and black), an abundance of hair accessories, string to make bracelets, the heaviest books I own, multiple mosquito nets, and much more. Carrying luggage might be one of the worst things in the world. Between having my rolling bag flip over as I'm rolling it, to getting my hair tangling in the multiple bags attached to my body, I am usually uncontrollably sweaty and exhausted by the time I make it to my destination. Let's just say that this excursion back to my house was no exception. Alas, I made it.
It feels good to be back because Greece is a cool place but its also endlessly frustrating because of some of the "Greek" ways of life. Unreliable, unorganized... let's just say Mediterranean. Despite their faults, there are a lot of good things that we could learn from their style. One: Maybe Americans could learn how to relax every once in awhile... sit back and get coffee for 2 hours, eat dinner with friends and family for a few hours without giving the waiter the evil eye when you expect the bill, go out and party every night... (not sure this one is feasible). A saying I would like to live by: Work to live, don't live to work. This is one thing that I believe the Greeks know how to do very well. Sometimes I sit back and think about what the hell I am doing in life... and then I come up with no clear answer. One thing I do know though is that I don't want my life to be consumed by my work. I want to be able to have a social and personal life outside of work. Here in Greece I am definitely awarded time to live my life. Enough of this shit. Onto the first day of school.
On our first day back to work I enter the teachers lounge (where my desk is) and am surprised to see about 60 people crammed into the room, excitedly chatting in the usual LOUD Greek manner. Huh? I make my way to the English teachers and inquire as to what the occasion is. Apparently it is "the pita' cutting. And by "pita" they mean cake with one coin baked into it. And by cake they mean a 4ft x 2ft sized monstrosity considered to be a cake. You could have lived off of this cake for at least a month... I have never seen such a large baked good in my entire life! How do you even bake something like that? It was one solid cake. That must have been the biggest oven ever! Awesome. So I am sure you are wondering why we have a cake as large as a coffee table. Well, it is a Greek New Year's tradition to do a "pita cutting". The pita is cut into even pieces and one piece is given to each person at the cutting. After each person is given a piece they look at the bottom of their cake to see if they have the coin. The person who ends up with the coin in the bottom of their cake is said to have good luck for the next year. Just so happens that a small, old Greek lady was the lucky winner of the coin this year at our school. Maybe next year... I do love the tradition though. I think its a very fun activity that brings people together. Anyway, thought I'd share this little piece of Greek culture before I forgot to write about it. OH and along with the pita the teachers brought in at least 9 bottles of champagne. Goooo elementary schools! Nothing like getting a little loopy to teach a lesson. Needless to say I didn't drink any because it was about 9am. Still bad at day drinking.
-to post soon
Rob
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