So, other than the air conditioner crisis, things have been going pretty smoothly, sunday night we all just kinda chilled because we had class early the next morning. The first day wasn't too bad, we basically just talk about Greece and the trip, lol we never get to the actual lesson, and then my second class, she only has one hour so she tries to squeeze everything in. The second class is a history class, and i like history, so i don't mind it. She talks a lot though. The breakfast here is surprisingly good and the lunches aren't too bad. I'm surviving. Dinner is on our own everynight though and that can get pretty expensive...so Monday night after class and some free time, we went on some site visits to two popular restaurants here in Thessaloniki. We visited YaMas which in greek means Cheers! and Kitchen Bar...about 8 of us decided to go back to YaMas and eat. It was more of a fine dining experience. I've been wanting some seafood and they had a special seafood menu. The restaurants here are always decorated really modern like, they're nice. I had a greek salad, sea bass, and a milk pie for dessert. The salad was delicious and the milk pie was to die for! The sea bass was overpowered by this zesty sauce but it was still good. After dinner we walked back to the hotel and i passed out because i was really tired. BTW i've noticed that Thessaloniki is much easier to get around than Athens. The streets here are not winding in circles, they're straight. It's sorta as if this city was planned out before they did major damage. lol I will say though, it is a little run down, there are parts that are really nice but most of the city got destroyed by the war, and because they are really slow at doing things here, it's STILL in the process of being rebuilt. (i heard the war in the 40's)
Tuesday morning i was dozing off in class, it was kinda boring, the same stuff, just talking about our experience thus far and such, and then in my second class we discussed democracy and the history of how it came about in the US from Greece...very entertaining discussion, nobody knew the answers to the stuff the professor asked about america, like how many senators we have, yada yada, yada...things like that, i will say, i was a little embarrassed..I did know my senators though, and we had a discussion about how long byrd has been in office...A LONG TIME! I told her i thought he was like 80 something!! so after class we had lunch and then i worked on my homework and relaxed until 6pm or 18:00 here, when we all went to this amazing mall called Mediterranean Cosmos! It was fabulous!! The visa got put to use and i spent about 65 Euros which is about $100 US dollars almost exactly. The trip to the mall was interesting, those of us who went piled in 5 cabs about 12 Euros each way and headed to the mall. I seriously thought my life was going to end and thought, "I can't go out like THIS!" Our cab driver smelled like straight B.O., OMG i swear, the men here in Greece do not believe in deodorant because it's like this everywhere i go...it was like this on the metro, on the bus, in the hotels, walking on the streets..they all smell bad...i mean it is hot here so people are going to sweat but come on! Reapply or something!! So as we were about halfway through this 15 min. trip...the guy has only his window cracked and lights up a freakin cigarette!!! OMG...at this point i was like, "thats it, i've had it with this country!" He was already driving like a maniac, much worse than any cab ride i've had in the states and i've had them in NYC, LA, Charlotte, Orlando, Atlanta...trust me, they all drive like crazy here but the taxis are 3 times as bad...then when we made it onto the interstate..i swear on my life that we were doing 100!! I was scared for my life!!! We were all seriously hanging on for dear life and looking at each other like WTH? Once we made it to the mall, i had to use the bathroom but was just thankful we made it in one piece!
This smoking stuff leads me to another point...everyone and i mean E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E in Greece smokes and i've heard its like that in the rest of Europe as well. It's crazy...i thought people in America smoked...hell no...these people smoke everywhere. I know smoking has been banned not to long ago in American inside buildings but here people smoke inside of everything....I see the front desk clerks at all my hotels smoking, for example, when i'm using the phone in the lobby, i can't even breath because they're all smoking at the front desk!! How unprofessional!? I hope you don't think thats too bad because this next one might really shock ya......THE cooks in the restaurants(when i can see the kitchen) are smoking while they're back there cooking my food. The waiters here are constantly sitting down and taking smoke breaks like one or two tables away from ours! And let me tell ya...they are chain smokers here like i've never seen before! It's just shocking!! People were smoking inside the mall yesterday. There is no fresh air here! It's just crazy and the people who shouldn't be smoking like the cooks cooking your food or the server serving it and the front desk clerk are the people who are! I mean everyone does, but they should seriously put limits on this stuff.
So anyways at the mall I got this really cute dress that was made in Greece...it was at this very unique store, they had cute thing, and i also got a new pair of white shorts that button up really cool and then a new pink halter top that buttons that i think will be perfect for everyday things and the club. The malls here are very different btw...this mall had a bowling alley, movie cinemas, and a CHURCH...haha i know..that one was a shocker...like a full fledged church that people attend..it was crazy. The fashion here resembles the majority of fashion in the states. You can tell though that they are ahead and much of what i see here i'm sure i'll see back home within the next year...i liked it, also everything is either expensive or cheap there isn't really an in-between. Everyone dresses up really nice to go to the mall, i've seen this in charlotte but some students were surprised and also the people that always harass you at the entrance of the store, follow you while you're inside, and thank you for leaving in the US don't exist here in Greece...they don't always talk to you and don't follow you around like your a shoplifter and let you do your thing..its nice and relaxing really! I liked it, plus the stores here are nothing like they are in America. So after the mall, we had another taxi ride...this one was scarier as it was around 9 when people start going out for like dinner and such...late i know but thats how they do it...he didnt smell as bad and taught us some greek words...a girl in my group was entertained...i was just ready for food and bed...lol
After we got back i went out with a few girls and grabbed a bite, i had a greek salad, some bread and water and then headed back to the hotel to pass out.
Today - Wednesday we had class...not too bad today, we discussed a book that we had to read in the second class and in the first we talked about the history of the olympics and how unprepared athens was for the 2004 games....greek tradition, don't be shocked! After class we had lunch and it was good, pork chops, mashed potatoes that tasted like dirt, salad, bread, and chocolate mousse. Also, the breakfast is standard European but for the lunches here I feel like they try to do as much American food as they can, which is nice of them, but sometimes i'm insulted. lol i'd rather just have what they want to make us! lol Regardless, they give us variety at lunch everyday and i will applaud them for this and its also pretty tasty. At 14:30 or 2:30 pm we walked to our site visits today which were of the Electra Palace Hotel and the Makedonia Palace Hotel - and yes thats how they smelled it with a "k"....They were both extremely nice and i wish we were staying there...after this we took taxi's back...this experience wasn't too bad and then we headed out for a dinner...again i had a greek salad, bread and water..cost about 8 to 10 euros each time...its hard to tell what the other stuff is and some of it just sounds gross. so i stick with the basics. Since dinner i got a shower, read some of my book, and have been working on my homework..thank goodness i brought my computer because they are down to 6 in the lab now, and none of them print and word is in greek! haha...THANK THE LORD FOR MAC!!! This thing is the love of my life!!! ::))) Compliments of mommy dearest! It's been an interesting couple of days and i'm going to explain some things about the greek culture here at the bottom and then i'll post again tomorrow or friday...i think we might be doing a one day ferry tour of the islands off Thessaloniki for the free weekend and we're going out tomorrow night but other than that we haven't made any cool plans..so if you have any ideas...let me know!!! Night!
Greeks - they have a very laid back approach to life, they are never in a hurry and when it comes to work they don't identify themselves with their job or what they do like us americans...we usually say, hi, i'm leandra and i'm a server...they identify themselves with family and religion here. They don't work well in teams because every greek is very loud with such strong opinions that they just can't all agree on one thing... Arguing here isn't arguing because they're angry either, its a form of conversation for them...they're raised like this. They work hard when they feel like it, sometimes they speed up and other times they slow down...this could be while it takes so long to get anything done here! The finished the olympic stadium 8 weeks before the games began (hint hint) Their work life doesn't take priority ever unlike in American where we are workaholics and only care about monetary things and are a very materialistic culture. They value other things like family, friends, their religion. They take the time to enjoy things and don't move at a fast pace...EVER...(it takes forever to get something to eat here) They don't care about what happens at the end of their life just as long as they enjoy the journey there ---One greeks statement on why they smoke so much.
They don't love Americans but don't always hate us but do rely on us for more than 1/4 of their tourism...which btw makes up 74% of their economies "wealth." (they should really be nicer) They also like when you try to attempt to speak their language
they also tend to be pretty trusting...it's very safe in greece which could be one of the reasons they don't follow you around like a shoplifter in the mall, they're very trustworthy of other usually, there isn't a lot of crime here.....ok --- more tomorrow...just some things i thought would be relevant...
4 comments:
BTW..... Byrd is 91 and there are 100 senators. Yes, World War II happened in the early 1940's.
Sounds like someone is learning!!! And it sounds like you should lose some major weight while living on salad and bread for a month.
I'm thinking they try to give you at least one american meal a day in case someone is not doing well with the greek food. They have to make sure you eat something.
Liked your review at the end. It's neat to learn some of the things you are learning and your opinions of it.
Very good lessons. Now we are all learning about Greece, thanks for being our eyes . . . ears and food sampler! I take it there's no metro in Thesoloniki . . try to avoid those cab rides, ok?
In a different county, you learn to look "outside the box." What wisdom you are acquiring.
We are grandparents, see your email for a picture!
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