An explanation of events (after the worry bead store...see post 49):
Thursday, June 30, 2011
#48--Part II
Greek food. Part 2.
For this reason specifically: fried cheese. Also called Saganaki something or other.
Monday, June 20, 2011
#53.
As I'm getting ready to leave Greece, I've been thinking about all the things that were so foreign to me when I first got here that are "normal" to me now. It's amazing how much I appreciate some of these things, even if that doesn't make a lot of sense. So here's my list:
Throwing toilet paper away. Greece has really crappy (haha - pun!) sewer systems so flushing ANYTHING down the toilet is a no-no. Not gonna lie, it was really weird to get used to at first. Especially because that meant you have to take out the trash every day. Not just once a week, like I do at home in the country.
Eating family style. My first day here, I was challenged to sit at a cafe longer than a Greek. It was a feat. They sit and sip ouzo, tsiporou, or frappes for HOURS. Two and a half to 3 is about the average. It's amazing! And they eat their meals the same way. They order family style--so they order a bunch of dishes and just all share. And they will sit there and enjoy it forever. The restaurant doesn't kick them out or kindly tell them it's time to leave. Greeks just like to host and they genuinely want you to have a good time. Not so they get paid more or get a better tip (because they don't tip here). There's just such an emphasis on people and relationships that I love.
Siesta. Mmmmm....love mid-afternoon nap time :) All the stores close. ALL OF THEM. So you can't NOT sleep or relax for a little bit. It's quite lovely. I've been to Spain and fell deeply in love with siesta time there but actually living in a country, and not just visiting, has made me appreciate it so much more.
Keys go in upside down. This was one of the harder things to get used to in the beginning. The teeth point up rather than down to unlock anything. I don't know why this is but it was probably the hardest because I have 4 keys to my apartment. That means, I have to use each of them and unlock 4 bolts. All upside down. Frustrating.
Lights on the outside of the door. When you go to the bathroom, this is the time you especially most forget about this....you'll walk in and reach on the inside of the door and the switch isn't there....it's on the wall OUTSIDE of the bathroom.
Hot water. If you want hot water, you have to flip a switch on for about 20 mins and then flip it off. Then you will have hot water. For approximately half the time the switch was on. I've had many sneak-attack cold showers because the hot water has suddenly run out after 5 mins.
No dryer. Not a big deal but I don't think there's much water softener here....so when you dry things outside on a line, they are rock hard. Bedsheets are the worst.
Mopeds. These things terrify me. To no end. They weave and dodge and come out of nowhere. They're gutsy. Red lights mean nothing to them. Frikin daredevils! Oh, and they are the loudest things ever.
Stray animals EVERYWHERE. In a city, Athens takes the cake. If you go for more than 3 mins without seeing a cat or dog....it's very strange.
Ruins. Just outside your apartment, next to your cafe, underneath your restaurant and hotel.....No big deal. Just some very old ruins.
Hearing Greek all the time. My first day here, I nearly cried because I had no idea how to communicate, how to read signs, how to understand what people were saying to me, or how to ask for help. After just a few short weeks, I can do all of those things. I can understand Greek and speak a little of it. Granted, not very well.....but I can figure things out slowly and get myself from point A to point B. I can order food, ask for directions, and say simple phrases. I also know a few curse words, though I haven't had to use them :) Well, that's a lie. I thought to use them once after my friend got "love-tapped" by 5 completely crude strangers. It's seriously going to be bizarre to fly home and hear English everywhere. I'll be able to understand conversations in public places. I'll be able to eavesdrop and know what people are talking about. It's weird to think about. There's so much mystery here because I can't do those things.
Throwing toilet paper away. Greece has really crappy (haha - pun!) sewer systems so flushing ANYTHING down the toilet is a no-no. Not gonna lie, it was really weird to get used to at first. Especially because that meant you have to take out the trash every day. Not just once a week, like I do at home in the country.
Eating family style. My first day here, I was challenged to sit at a cafe longer than a Greek. It was a feat. They sit and sip ouzo, tsiporou, or frappes for HOURS. Two and a half to 3 is about the average. It's amazing! And they eat their meals the same way. They order family style--so they order a bunch of dishes and just all share. And they will sit there and enjoy it forever. The restaurant doesn't kick them out or kindly tell them it's time to leave. Greeks just like to host and they genuinely want you to have a good time. Not so they get paid more or get a better tip (because they don't tip here). There's just such an emphasis on people and relationships that I love.
Siesta. Mmmmm....love mid-afternoon nap time :) All the stores close. ALL OF THEM. So you can't NOT sleep or relax for a little bit. It's quite lovely. I've been to Spain and fell deeply in love with siesta time there but actually living in a country, and not just visiting, has made me appreciate it so much more.
Keys go in upside down. This was one of the harder things to get used to in the beginning. The teeth point up rather than down to unlock anything. I don't know why this is but it was probably the hardest because I have 4 keys to my apartment. That means, I have to use each of them and unlock 4 bolts. All upside down. Frustrating.
Lights on the outside of the door. When you go to the bathroom, this is the time you especially most forget about this....you'll walk in and reach on the inside of the door and the switch isn't there....it's on the wall OUTSIDE of the bathroom.
Hot water. If you want hot water, you have to flip a switch on for about 20 mins and then flip it off. Then you will have hot water. For approximately half the time the switch was on. I've had many sneak-attack cold showers because the hot water has suddenly run out after 5 mins.
No dryer. Not a big deal but I don't think there's much water softener here....so when you dry things outside on a line, they are rock hard. Bedsheets are the worst.
Mopeds. These things terrify me. To no end. They weave and dodge and come out of nowhere. They're gutsy. Red lights mean nothing to them. Frikin daredevils! Oh, and they are the loudest things ever.
Stray animals EVERYWHERE. In a city, Athens takes the cake. If you go for more than 3 mins without seeing a cat or dog....it's very strange.
Ruins. Just outside your apartment, next to your cafe, underneath your restaurant and hotel.....No big deal. Just some very old ruins.
Hearing Greek all the time. My first day here, I nearly cried because I had no idea how to communicate, how to read signs, how to understand what people were saying to me, or how to ask for help. After just a few short weeks, I can do all of those things. I can understand Greek and speak a little of it. Granted, not very well.....but I can figure things out slowly and get myself from point A to point B. I can order food, ask for directions, and say simple phrases. I also know a few curse words, though I haven't had to use them :) Well, that's a lie. I thought to use them once after my friend got "love-tapped" by 5 completely crude strangers. It's seriously going to be bizarre to fly home and hear English everywhere. I'll be able to understand conversations in public places. I'll be able to eavesdrop and know what people are talking about. It's weird to think about. There's so much mystery here because I can't do those things.
#52.
My FAVORITE artist of all time (yes, probably even more than Elvis) is Marc Broussard and he released his new album at the beginning of the month. But as I have been in Greece since then, I could not buy it until now.
Needless to say, I've been playing it on repeat while studying tonight :) It's the little things.
This is one of my favorite songs off the album. I've been listening to it since October and this is how Marc prefaced it at one of his concerts:
Me and my wife were weeding in the flower bed one day when my wife says, "I don't think so and so likes me anymore." So I said, "Why, baby?"
"Well, she didn't respond to me on facebook."
"Well...that doesn't mean that she don't like you. It might mean that she doesn't have time to respond, or time to see it, or whatever. It doesn't mean she doesn't like you. I'm sure you've done the same thing."
"I just wish you would agree with me!!"
"Well, do you want my love or do you want a 'yes' man?" So I wrote this song.....
Needless to say, I've been playing it on repeat while studying tonight :) It's the little things.
This is one of my favorite songs off the album. I've been listening to it since October and this is how Marc prefaced it at one of his concerts:
Me and my wife were weeding in the flower bed one day when my wife says, "I don't think so and so likes me anymore." So I said, "Why, baby?"
"Well, she didn't respond to me on facebook."
"Well...that doesn't mean that she don't like you. It might mean that she doesn't have time to respond, or time to see it, or whatever. It doesn't mean she doesn't like you. I'm sure you've done the same thing."
"I just wish you would agree with me!!"
"Well, do you want my love or do you want a 'yes' man?" So I wrote this song.....
Saturday, June 11, 2011
#51.
Let me just preface this post a little bit....
I was doing some quite unintentional writing therapy. Or at least, I was writing to put out what I was feeling regarding a very different target subject. I very surprisingly found the "therapy", as I'm calling it, to work for a rather different reason. I shouldn't have been stumped, really,....because here I am on this blog, writing a little with each post (sometimes writing A LOT) and it has been incredibly helpful and personally encouraging in many ways (regardless of who reads it, if any one actually reads it).
As I finished writing, re-read what I wrote, I had the idea to use that scrap material to create a blog post. Buuuuuuut, being that it is therapy, that would mean exposing the ugly things. I editted a bit and wondered how much to expose....considering my blog is all about the little HAPPY things. I guess happy is just implied. But I realized the power of implication. It doesn't have to be the happy little things that encourage you or get you through. It could be a whole, new, undiscovered adjective instead. And that's what this little thing was today.
Bear with me as I backtrack just a bit more before the big reveal of this little thing.
I was messaging my [really cool, super awesome, best one in the whole wide world] Mom today about how to respond to another message I had received a while ago which I finally felt ready to respond to now. The problem was that there just aren’t words. I wish I could capture exactly how I feel my life has been completely changed….but words are not to be found. Maybe I could find it in a picture. A still shot.
As I was doing this writing therapy, I realized that I indeed had found it.
I bought a painting in the Agora 2 days ago. I’ve bought canvas paintings from every country I have gone to but this one in the Agora caught my eye. It was just black, white, and red, and it was made out of metal and wood instead of canvas. It’s the white silhouette of a girl against a black and red backdrop. I bought it just because I felt so connected to it. I mean, it’s just matter. It’s just a rectangle piece of what a street vendor in a an ancient marketplace can call art. But I bought it as if it was already mine. As if it was a piece of me that I dropped along the road and just found once again. And this picture, I thought at first, perfectly captures all that words can’t put together. But then, thinking about the events of that sunny day in October, I realized that it was more than just the beginning emotions during this trip in Greece. It was the emotions of the whole year. It was the harsh, reckless wails. It was the out of body drowning. It was the anger and disbelief. It was the confusion. It was the physical tearing apart. It was, ultimately, the beauty in the breakdown.
And this painting isn't exactly a HAPPY little thing, in relation to all the little things in this blog. It's more like a marvel. Like a fascination or intriguing subject. Like something to capture your attention, making you reflect in a non-destructive way. It's still positive, yet retaining all it's negative affects. Because healing can't happen without pain being there first.
That's the little thing. This painting and all that I've typed.
I was doing some quite unintentional writing therapy. Or at least, I was writing to put out what I was feeling regarding a very different target subject. I very surprisingly found the "therapy", as I'm calling it, to work for a rather different reason. I shouldn't have been stumped, really,....because here I am on this blog, writing a little with each post (sometimes writing A LOT) and it has been incredibly helpful and personally encouraging in many ways (regardless of who reads it, if any one actually reads it).
As I finished writing, re-read what I wrote, I had the idea to use that scrap material to create a blog post. Buuuuuuut, being that it is therapy, that would mean exposing the ugly things. I editted a bit and wondered how much to expose....considering my blog is all about the little HAPPY things. I guess happy is just implied. But I realized the power of implication. It doesn't have to be the happy little things that encourage you or get you through. It could be a whole, new, undiscovered adjective instead. And that's what this little thing was today.
Bear with me as I backtrack just a bit more before the big reveal of this little thing.
I was messaging my [really cool, super awesome, best one in the whole wide world] Mom today about how to respond to another message I had received a while ago which I finally felt ready to respond to now. The problem was that there just aren’t words. I wish I could capture exactly how I feel my life has been completely changed….but words are not to be found. Maybe I could find it in a picture. A still shot.
As I was doing this writing therapy, I realized that I indeed had found it.
I bought a painting in the Agora 2 days ago. I’ve bought canvas paintings from every country I have gone to but this one in the Agora caught my eye. It was just black, white, and red, and it was made out of metal and wood instead of canvas. It’s the white silhouette of a girl against a black and red backdrop. I bought it just because I felt so connected to it. I mean, it’s just matter. It’s just a rectangle piece of what a street vendor in a an ancient marketplace can call art. But I bought it as if it was already mine. As if it was a piece of me that I dropped along the road and just found once again. And this picture, I thought at first, perfectly captures all that words can’t put together. But then, thinking about the events of that sunny day in October, I realized that it was more than just the beginning emotions during this trip in Greece. It was the emotions of the whole year. It was the harsh, reckless wails. It was the out of body drowning. It was the anger and disbelief. It was the confusion. It was the physical tearing apart. It was, ultimately, the beauty in the breakdown.
And this painting isn't exactly a HAPPY little thing, in relation to all the little things in this blog. It's more like a marvel. Like a fascination or intriguing subject. Like something to capture your attention, making you reflect in a non-destructive way. It's still positive, yet retaining all it's negative affects. Because healing can't happen without pain being there first.
That's the little thing. This painting and all that I've typed.
Monday, June 6, 2011
#50.
Checking Things Off 'My Someday List'.
Obviously, I've done some of these....can you guess which ones? :)
1. Get a tattoo.
2. Get a bikini wax.
3.Do bikram yoga.
4. Have tea and play croquet in a public garden.
5. Get my nose pierced.
6. Live in another country for more than 2 weeks.
7. Live in a castle.
8. Meet Saidy. (She's my absolutely adorable Compassion Child)
9. Red Rover a couple mackin' on the dance floor.
10. Perform Ballroom competitively (not just in a show choir form).
11. Run a marathon! I've run a 10 mile race....almost halfway there haha.
12. Ride bareback on a beach at sunset.
13. Achieve financial abundance with my passions. (Photography, modeling, theatre...watch me do it!)
14. Fly in a hot air balloon.
15. Start a tradition just for myself of watching the sunrise every morning of my birthday. Just me. No company.
16. Witness a solar eclipse.
17. Stargaze with a best friend.
18. Own a labradoodle.
19. Be a foster mom.
20. Get a pixie haircut.
21. Play piano. Or guitar.
22. Have a muse.
23. Go on a serious road trip. I'm talking drive each day and not have a hotel destination in mind. Just find something spontaneously.
24. Be an extra in a movie.
25. Create my dream house.
26. Fall asleep on grassy plains (though my allergies probably wouldn't like that).
27. Try being a vegetarian.
28. Then try being a vegan.
29. Go on a meditation retreat.
30. Hit the bullseye on a dartboard.
31. Go skinny dipping after dusk.
32. Design a dress.
33. Kiss a man in a foreign country.
34. Become a motivational speaker.
35. Teach Shakespeare to high school students.
36. Plant and maintain a garden full of peppers, tomatoes, arugula, sage, onions, rosemary, carrots, basil, oregano, and mint.
37. Sing a solo.
38. Go to NYC.
39. Live by the beach.
40. Model for Larry Fink, Nigel Barker, Irving Penn (well, missed my chance there. May he rest in peace!), or Baldomero Fernandez.
41. Own a Porsche.
42. Take a class in speed reading.
43. Master the Scarlett O'Hara eyebrow raise. (so proud to say that I have mastered this and it has come in handy in a variety of situations!!)
44. Master the piercing stare......"You know when someone looks at you and it feels like they can see into your soul? Well that’s not a hereditary characteristic, it just takes practice. Work on sharpening your gaze in the mirror. You’ll know you have it when it’s intimidating to continue looking at yourself."
45. Love all there is. Love. Love. Love. (all the little things!)
46. Develop a charismatic personality.
47. Be a nude model for an art class, or at least attend a class as a student. This woman's experience cracks me up!
48. Be a Disney Princess.
49. Have a library in my dream house grand enough to make Belle jealous.
50. Be a member of a rock climbing gym and rock climb a couple days a week.
Obviously, I've done some of these....can you guess which ones? :)
1. Get a tattoo.
2. Get a bikini wax.
3.Do bikram yoga.
4. Have tea and play croquet in a public garden.
5. Get my nose pierced.
6. Live in another country for more than 2 weeks.
7. Live in a castle.
8. Meet Saidy. (She's my absolutely adorable Compassion Child)
9. Red Rover a couple mackin' on the dance floor.
10. Perform Ballroom competitively (not just in a show choir form).
11. Run a marathon! I've run a 10 mile race....almost halfway there haha.
12. Ride bareback on a beach at sunset.
13. Achieve financial abundance with my passions. (Photography, modeling, theatre...watch me do it!)
14. Fly in a hot air balloon.
15. Start a tradition just for myself of watching the sunrise every morning of my birthday. Just me. No company.
16. Witness a solar eclipse.
17. Stargaze with a best friend.
18. Own a labradoodle.
19. Be a foster mom.
20. Get a pixie haircut.
21. Play piano. Or guitar.
22. Have a muse.
23. Go on a serious road trip. I'm talking drive each day and not have a hotel destination in mind. Just find something spontaneously.
24. Be an extra in a movie.
25. Create my dream house.
26. Fall asleep on grassy plains (though my allergies probably wouldn't like that).
27. Try being a vegetarian.
28. Then try being a vegan.
29. Go on a meditation retreat.
30. Hit the bullseye on a dartboard.
31. Go skinny dipping after dusk.
32. Design a dress.
33. Kiss a man in a foreign country.
34. Become a motivational speaker.
35. Teach Shakespeare to high school students.
36. Plant and maintain a garden full of peppers, tomatoes, arugula, sage, onions, rosemary, carrots, basil, oregano, and mint.
37. Sing a solo.
38. Go to NYC.
39. Live by the beach.
40. Model for Larry Fink, Nigel Barker, Irving Penn (well, missed my chance there. May he rest in peace!), or Baldomero Fernandez.
 |
| Larry Fink |
 |
| Larry Fink |
 |
| Irving Penn |
 |
| Baldomero Fernandez |
 |
| Baldomero Fernandez |
41. Own a Porsche.
42. Take a class in speed reading.
43. Master the Scarlett O'Hara eyebrow raise. (so proud to say that I have mastered this and it has come in handy in a variety of situations!!)
44. Master the piercing stare......"You know when someone looks at you and it feels like they can see into your soul? Well that’s not a hereditary characteristic, it just takes practice. Work on sharpening your gaze in the mirror. You’ll know you have it when it’s intimidating to continue looking at yourself."
45. Love all there is. Love. Love. Love. (all the little things!)
46. Develop a charismatic personality.
47. Be a nude model for an art class, or at least attend a class as a student. This woman's experience cracks me up!
48. Be a Disney Princess.
49. Have a library in my dream house grand enough to make Belle jealous.
50. Be a member of a rock climbing gym and rock climb a couple days a week.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
#49.
Worry Beads.
I spent an hour in this tiny store in Nafplio tonight where every square inch of the place was covered in worry beads! The Greeks use this beads almost like Catholics would use a rosary...but not quite. It's difficult to describe. They are beads on a string, like a short Y necklace. But they're tossed back and forth in a specific way. The shopkeeper patiently taught my friends and I how to do this and shared in our joy when we finally mastered it :) What was extraordinarily remarkable to us was that each type of bead represented something different, or as the shopkeeper told us....each precious stone gave us a different energy for a different purpose. For example, rose quartz and amethyst gave energy to maintain a healthy heart. Tiger bead were for protection (from, which is Greek for "accidents"). Agat (which has many types) is for sex, eyes, and sleep. Porcelain and ivory are more delicate beads which are fingered differently than the traditional worry beads. Bone, horn, and ivory are for companionship. These last 3 were mad expensive...and I think there's a sermon or deeper meaning in that somewhere.
video: 3550
I spent an hour in this tiny store in Nafplio tonight where every square inch of the place was covered in worry beads! The Greeks use this beads almost like Catholics would use a rosary...but not quite. It's difficult to describe. They are beads on a string, like a short Y necklace. But they're tossed back and forth in a specific way. The shopkeeper patiently taught my friends and I how to do this and shared in our joy when we finally mastered it :) What was extraordinarily remarkable to us was that each type of bead represented something different, or as the shopkeeper told us....each precious stone gave us a different energy for a different purpose. For example, rose quartz and amethyst gave energy to maintain a healthy heart. Tiger bead were for protection (from, which is Greek for "accidents"). Agat (which has many types) is for sex, eyes, and sleep. Porcelain and ivory are more delicate beads which are fingered differently than the traditional worry beads. Bone, horn, and ivory are for companionship. These last 3 were mad expensive...and I think there's a sermon or deeper meaning in that somewhere.
video: 3550
Thursday, June 2, 2011
#48.
Greek food and family-style cultural dinners.
I am so pleasantly content after every meal I eat here in Greece! Greek salad. Tzatziki. Fried cheese. Some dessert I didn't catch the name of that is basically an apple soaked in wine. Complimentary ouzo and limoncello everywhere I go (pretty sure it's because of two simple reasons: I'm an American and I'm a woman). Greek yogurt with honey drizzled over it. Wine leaves.....well, I could take 'em or leave 'em....I don't think I've had really spectacular ones yet and so I haven't been impressed.
What I love even more than the food is how the Greeks eat. When I first arrived here, I was told to just go sit at a cafe and try to stay there as long as other Greek people do.
I learned quickly that they sit around enjoying one another's company for approximately 2 hours or more each time. They could be done eating and possibly done drinking but they'll still be sitting there. Waiters don't tell them they need to leave. Water's still get refilled. Another round of ouzo is still delivered. As a person who loves just being around people, I love the emphasis on relationships around food here. It is so delightful to sit under a pergola roof, sipping wine, and still spreading spicy cheese or olive oil on bread an hour after we have finished most of our food.
It's going to be very difficult to go back to the states and each out.
I am so pleasantly content after every meal I eat here in Greece! Greek salad. Tzatziki. Fried cheese. Some dessert I didn't catch the name of that is basically an apple soaked in wine. Complimentary ouzo and limoncello everywhere I go (pretty sure it's because of two simple reasons: I'm an American and I'm a woman). Greek yogurt with honey drizzled over it. Wine leaves.....well, I could take 'em or leave 'em....I don't think I've had really spectacular ones yet and so I haven't been impressed.
What I love even more than the food is how the Greeks eat. When I first arrived here, I was told to just go sit at a cafe and try to stay there as long as other Greek people do.
I learned quickly that they sit around enjoying one another's company for approximately 2 hours or more each time. They could be done eating and possibly done drinking but they'll still be sitting there. Waiters don't tell them they need to leave. Water's still get refilled. Another round of ouzo is still delivered. As a person who loves just being around people, I love the emphasis on relationships around food here. It is so delightful to sit under a pergola roof, sipping wine, and still spreading spicy cheese or olive oil on bread an hour after we have finished most of our food.
It's going to be very difficult to go back to the states and each out.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
#47.
Chocolate Cafe. Greek style!
I went to the Agora today with my class. 'Agora' is Greek for 'market' so the ruins that are being excavated there are mainly political buildings and administrative buildings and various temples. On our way there, we passed this place!! I didn't get to go in but I'll be in Greece for awhile so I plan on going back :)
I went to the Agora today with my class. 'Agora' is Greek for 'market' so the ruins that are being excavated there are mainly political buildings and administrative buildings and various temples. On our way there, we passed this place!! I didn't get to go in but I'll be in Greece for awhile so I plan on going back :)
If you know me or at least read this blog, you know why this find is just one of the little things in life that make me happy! Check out my 27th post to see how this connects if you're still wondering.
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