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Trip Start Jul 28, 2010 Previous
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  Greece, Attica, Greece
Sunday, August 15, 2010

Yessas (hello),

Well, my time in Greece is coming to a close.  I'm not goin to be doing any more sight seeing... but I have seen and experienced a lot!

Religion is such an important part of any country and culture, and I like to learn about what the local customs are. Most of the churches in Greece are Orthodox. I sat in on a service... The priest has his back turned toward the parishioners in a little room almost the whole time, while chanting. Women sit on the left, men on the right, even families. Everything is very, very serious, until it's time to receive the bread. Suddenly everyone starts laughing and talking, as they walk up front to get their bread and wine. I couldn't understand a word but hey it was still interesting to observe. The icons in the churches are all very ancient, and the parishioners walk around and kiss the icons.

Meteora is fascinating, it's about 6 hours outside of Athens by bus. Back in the 16th century, these were built for Monks to isolate themselves. HOW they managed this at that time we will never know. And there were 24 of them!!  Only 6 exist today. We went inside one of them... Paintings all over the walls, depicting the fall of Christianity by the Romans. The paintings show decapitations, stoning, stabbing, etc. They suffered a lot and didn't want it to ever be forgotten. the faces of the Christians in the paintings show long noses (Spirituality) and small mouths with big ears (hearing is more important than speaking) and big eyes (windows to the soul). But how much motivation would one need to build 24 monestaries on top of those massively high rocks!! And not only that but you should see the paintings on the inside!!

I really enjoyed the archaeological excavation! Some of you have asked what experience is required to participate in such a project, and I'm not sure.  I took some classes in Archaeology and Anthropology in college as a minor, and apparently that was enough to qualify.

The people that I met at the excavation project have been just as memorable as the scenery and the ruins.  My roommate from Spain, Nurianna, was great!  We spent so much time together that it could have been a potential nightmare if we didn't get along. She insisted, sometimes to the point of being aggressive (haha), that I have the only seat available on the bus instead of her, that she poors me water in the glass before hers, that I eat the only food she has in the room because I could use a snack, that I sit on the only chair available because she will stand, that I eat the last piece of food that we are sharing, etc. And it didn't feel like a coddling, caretaking situation. But she respects people. And she always, and I mean always put others needs before her own. She is a very humble, gracious and... rare kind of person.

We talked about perspectives, and she said ;Americans fascinate me. If they want to start a company, change their name, or change careers, they do it. There is such initiative. You are very brave. People in my country don't really take risks. I'm happy for you, I really am." She looked sad though... I know there is a part of her that wants to give herself more opportunities and do more things. She lights up when I suggest she move to Greece to learn the language (she has such an obvious passion for it!!) but loyalty to family and to customs is a powerful force.  And when I walked her to the bus last night, she said "I know I am an ocean away but if I can ever do anything for you, please let me know and I will help you. Mi casa es su casa." I'm pretty sure we'll keep in touch for the rest of our lives.

Then there was Marc and Maria. They are a Brazilian married couple, now living in the UK.  Nurianna and I spent lots of time with them. He is an Artificial Intelligence professor, she is an Archaeologist, Nurianna is an Ancient History specialist, and I brought Psychology to the table. We sure did have some fascinating dinner conversations! I asked Marc something I often wonder about: "So, if we were to travel a trillion x a trillion light years from here, what do you think would we find?"

His answer: "Probably the same elements we have here."

Not quite the interesting answer I was hoping for haha... ;)

But still, I'm not sure I agree with his opinion.

Maria is perpetually optimistic and positive. I have to say I've never seen anything quite like it. She would often describe scenery or events as "absolutely beauuuuutiful!" in her half Brazilian, half British accent. And sometimes the object she was describing seemed quite mediocre to me. So I started asking her, what exactly are you appreciating about this? When she explained, then I could see how she habitually focuses in on the positive in any situation or scene, and she is very skilled at it. And then she appreciates the heck out of it.  I found her to be quite intriguing because she was simply always happy and always had the "glass is overflowing" perspective. And it was authentic. Not only that, but after 34 years of marriage, she and Marc are completely best friends and act like newly weds. I pointed all of this out to her. She said, "Marc and I do something fun together every night, and we always, always keep the lines of communication open. And, I only have 1 shot at life.  Life is not always easy, but I look for and appreciate the positive."  I've heard that a million times. But, for someone to have learned how to truly integrate this concept into their life to the extent that she has is something to write home about, I think.

When I left, they said, "please come and visit us in England! We are only 1.5 hours from London by train." That was after they very nonchalantly mentioned that they share their home with a "friendly ghost." Apparently it only makes itself known when they have guests, usually by turning the radio on and changing stations. But most recently, they were standing in the kitchen with some guests and laughing about their ghost, when the TV suddenly turned on. They had one eye on the remote across the room, and the other on the TV as the volume turned up very loud. So, perhaps if I ever make it out that way, we could meet for a coffee down the street instead ;)

And so friends, all for now. Next up: Switzerland!

Ef haristo poli, adio (thank you very much, bye)

P.S. I loooove seeing your comments about my blog here :))) But please don't post comments about the blog to my faceb0ok wall, thanks!!

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Near Delphi	Church Fountain	Man fishing	Route to the Acropolis   Comments!
Ferry	Meteora	A Meteora building up close	inside one of the Meteora buildings

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