I think that I have reached the point now that I stopped becoming a tourist and I became a local. That does not mean that I am by any means a Greek. In antiquity, a person was considered a Greek if they spoke the language, no matter where they lived or what they looked like. I still like to use those standards. I only know a few phrases in Greek and am good enough to order a meal or ask where to get onto the bus. I am no where close to being Greek, but I am still recognized in my neighborhood of Pagkrati. I go into Beneth bakery everyday on my way to work and they know my order. Even some of the store owners and street vendors in Plaka don't bother me with their sale pitches anymore, because they've seen me a number of times.

Although I am enjoying my time being a local here, I sure do miss America. I'm bummed that I won't be there for the fireworks and when I wear red, white, and blue, it means nothing to the people around me. I will still do my best to celebrate while I'm here. Tonight, I am going to treat myself to some KFC and eat watermelon on my rooftop. If things get exciting, I might have a watermelon seed spitting contest with… myself. haha only kidding. There are a couple of American families staying in the apartments upstairs. I will see if I can intrude on their family and convince them to celebrate with me tonight.

Going back to the Greeks vs. Americans, here are the top ten things I can think of at the moment that are different here than at home:
1. The Metro!! I'm not going to say anything else about this because I could get going for days about how crappy MARTA is in Atlanta compared to the places i've been in Europe.
2. Food. The majority of food that you can find at a local taverna will either be meat or fish. Obviously, tourist attractions will have the famous gyro or souvlaki-- a pita wrapped around grilled lamb, pork, or chicken with tsaziki sauce and french fries. The food that I have been eating at home is a bit different than this, consisting of a picture of Russian, Romanian, Moldovan, Greek, Italian, and American food. No matter where the dish is from though, it will always consist of vegetables, meat, and some type of grain-- pasta or rice.

3. Work schedule. I work from 9 until 3:30 everyday and I am always one of the last people at the office.
4. Work ethic. I have seen people painting their nails, surfing their eBay page, drinking a frappe/ socializing for 30 minutes, and all sorts of procrastination. Although they have their ways of avoiding work, when they do get down to business, they don't like to be interrupted. The man, Angelo, that I work next to always puts on his classical music when he wants to be avoided. It's like a mutual agreement that I will take a break from asking him the numerous questions that I ask him daily, which I completely respect.
5. The coffee. Here, they have a thing called a frappe. No, it's not a frapaeccino like from Starbucks. It is an extreme amount of caffeine mixed with a miniature blender until it starts to foam. Then the Greeks put a few spoonfuls of sugar and ice in the drink. I have had my fair share of frappes, and when I do, I always end up with my leg bouncing and the words coming out of my mouth a mile a minute.
6. Frappe cafes. These places, designed for the luxury of drinking a frappe with friends, are located on every street corner. I have heard of Greeks spending 4 hours with their friends at a frappe cafe. And every day from 4-10 pm you can find the frappe cafes packed full of people, with some sort of sports game playing on TV.

7. Olive oil. Instead of using butter on everything at home, the Greeks use olive oil. They use it for frying, salad dressing, to dip bread into... you name it.

8. Toilets… I already mentioned before in my blog that Greeks don't flush toilet paper down the toilet. But luckily there are trash cans in every bathroom. 

9. Greek names. I have noticed that the majority of the Greek men that I have met or heard about are either called Nikos or Costas. Trust me, there is always a Costas around.

10. The policemen and the guards. I'm not sure if consciously pick them this way, but all of the workers are gorgeous and they sure don't eat doughnuts on their lunch breaks.

Anyways, Joseph came to visit this past weekend!! We had a wonderful time catching up and exploring Athens together. We went to Piraeus on Saturday for lunch to eat some of the best seafood I've had since I've been in Greece. We ate calamari and grilled octopus, something that is new to both of our diets.
I even had the opportunity of taking him on top of the Parthenon. Something that two American students have never done before!!! In fact, we were the ONLY two people in the temple at the time. :) I'm glad I got to share that wonderful moment with him and I'm glad he appreciated it.






It's hard to believe that things are slowly coming to an end.
-12 more days of work
-22 more days until I leave Greece
-26 more days until I am home

But between now and then, I have exciting things planned:
-Weekend in Santorini with Hannah, Brooke, Emily and Victoria
-4 days in Crete, exploring the island alone
-4 days in Oxford/ Bath/ London to see Joseph

I can't wait to be home though. For those of you who don't know, I became an aunt a couple of days ago!!! I will meet baby Zoe Jane in person in 26 days. :) I'm sure the pictures don't do that precious baby justice.

All for now, I will blog later about my trip to Santorini with my girl friends!! :)

Emily
ps. Fun fact-- I am the youngest American to ever work on the Parthenon. And the only American to do work there that people at work have heard of!!