Surprises

I don't really experience culture shock. But there are few things about Greece that a lot of people don't talk about and that caught me off guard a little bit.


1. Cats

There are cats everywhere. There are at least 9 different cats that live on or around the walkway from the coffee shop to the Academic Center and that stretch is about a block in length. Cats. I don't mind them because they either run away from you or don't care about your existence, but it just surprised me how many cats there are!

2. Safety rules

One of the first days of CYA, there was a presentation about our safety in Greece. The one rule that I found interesting was that no one could carry weapons. No guns. No knives. No mace. Nothing that looks like or can act like a weapon. And, with that being said, police linger around and randomly check backpacks. Also, as rowdy as the stereotype says Greeks are, what with their constant rioting, by law, they not supposed to get into physical fights. More often than Greeks, Americans get detained due to drunken spats. In addition to that, if something does happen, like a guy gets a little too touchy-feely with a girl or if two people start getting physical, Greeks intervene. Our anthropologist teacher said that she has seen a girl yell at a boy for touching her butt on the bus. Then everyone else on the bus yelled at him for touching her butt. It's a very shame based culture apparently. Also, she has seen two guys get in a fight and another guy physically get in between them and pull them apart. I mean, I believe that Greek will do that. And I believe in the general goodness of people. People care and are invested in your life, but it seems a little more noticeable here. For example, when I slept in for a majority of one day, I walked by my friends restaurant and he said I had him worried because neither he nor his co-worker saw me all day until then and he was worried I was sick or something had happened <3 it was pretty sweet.

3. Graffiti

Just like cats, it's everywhere. Even if you look at the two cats I posted earlier, you can see scribbling. There's some "Kony 2012," some anarchist symbols, a few "f the police" here and there, names, numbers, words I can't even make out. But there are some truly beautiful pieces I have seen. I don't stop to take a picture of each one because then I'll get separated from the group or I'm on public transportation, but believe me when I say that there is some graffiti that is art. And it is really everywhere. Even on the Academic center!


4. Coffee

Okay I honestly did not think that the Greeks had any sort of coffee besides Greek coffee. Oh, I was wrong. I don't know a lot of the orders because I get the same order every time. It's called cappuccino freddo. It's iced cappuccino coffee at the bottom then foam on top. Some cocoa powder or cinnamon can be added too. But, my dear friend, Alex, makes me homemade whipped cream and puts it on my coffee because, you know, he loves me and we talk Greek. And they have different ideas of sugar. Ha. Okay so you can have it σκετοσ or plain, which means no sugar. You can have it μετριοσ which means you have the same ratio of sugar to coffee. Or, if you want to get diabetes in an hour, you can have γλυκοσ. That is twice the amount of sugar to coffee. Zero to one, one to one, two to one. Those are the main options. Ha. I mean, of course you can personalize it, but it's so much easier to just say one of those. Oh, and the Greek coffee is good naturally! I know they have frappes, instant coffee, cappuccino either hot or cold, and espresso. Like I said, I haven't had it all, but I can imagine how great they taste!

5. Friendliness

Greek hospitality-friendliness is a thing. A lot of people in the study abroad program say they haven't really encountered it, but I don't know how! It's everywhere! Every time I order food or coffee, they strike up a conversation with me, like why are you in Greece, what are you studying, but what everyone always asks me is where I'm from. They always assume Italian before American. Ha. Ha. I am acculturating! And, if the cashiers really like my Greek, I get half off, and sometimes free food! I can't even tell you how many times my friends look at me with green eyes for getting free stuff! But the Greeks are so friendly. Like I said, my friend Miguel at the pizza shop greets me every day and helps me with Greek. Alex, at the coffee shops, personalizes my coffee and also helps me with my Greek. Cleo knows my favorite pastry at her bakery. Dimitris tells me a story every time I have a chance to talk. And these are just people on my street! If I venture out, I'll come home with a million friends! I really cannot get enough of Greece. I am so happy I am living here for the next few months! Can I say that any more?