It's all ελληνικά to me!: Καλώς Ήρθατε!

Welcome to my blog! For the next four months this is where I'll be keeping my thoughts on my new life in Athens.

We arrived in Athens on Monday morning to a beautiful three bedroom apartment in Kolonaki, which is supposed to be one of the more upscale areas in Athens. We live near a multitude of restaurants and shops, and there's even a fresh market every Friday just a street above us. I say above, because we live on a hill! The climb up is quite a feat, and now I see why there are so many Athenians with Herculean calves running about.

So getting to the interesting part, here are things (some subtle, others not so much) that are different from life in the United States:

1) Gestures with open palms are rude. Showing your palm with your fingers spread out is the equivalent of the middle finger. As someone who waves to indicate hello, goodbye, thanks, you welcome, and any other sentiment you can think of, I think I've become the rudest, most vulgar person in this city since my arrival.

2) Toilet paper does not belong in the toilet. This may be true for other countries as well, but it's the first time I've experienced the idea of toilet paper as a misnomer. I haven't been very good at adapting to this (sorry Aegean?) but hopefully I'll get better as time goes on.

3) Bedtimes don't exist. Dinner is at 10pm, and the night begins around 1 or 2am. Leaving clubs around sunrise is the norm, and this isn't only just for the weekend.

4) Americans run on Dunkin' Donuts, and Greeks run on frappe. Frappe is a Nescafe instant coffee drink that has affectionately been dubbed Nescrack. A mix of instant coffee, milk, sugar (lots!), frappe is drunken by nearly every Greek you see on the street, always with a brightly colored straw.

4) Racism is conspicuous. At a club, I was told by a Greek that his acquaintance, an Albanian, is from the worst race of people, and that all Albanians are assholes. As someone living in a college bubble in arguably one of the most accepting nations, this open prejudice shocked me. I'm now more in tune with the tension between Greeks and Albanians.

5) Greeks love American pop culture! Michael Jackson posters are everywhere, and Lady Gaga plays in the clubs nearly on repeat. As my new Greek friend on the beach noted today, "Duffy is my favorite. Absolute favorite. 'Mercy' is the best song."

And now, the obligatory photos of a travel blog.