Food for Thought

Nick the Greek is back, and feeling considerably less Greek by the day. The honeymoon is over, Santorini is a distant memory, and classes are in session. The first week is already winding down, to my dismay. I may feel less in tune with the culture the longer that I'm here and the more I learn about it, but that doesn't mean I want to leave! I feel like by the time our stay here is up, I will just be getting into a groove and finding my comfort level. It's a difficult process of learning the language, going to class, and still finding time for fun and exploration. And while our neighborhood is safe, I don't adventure out on my own without good reason. The city is still fresh and new after only a week, even as the streets become familiar around the dorms. Our group is less like a crew now and more like ships passing by each other on the Aegean, each with its on crew that waves as the wind carries them past. This weekend we travel to Corinth, Mycenae, and Sparta and our group will be back together again, so I'm not worried about the separation of this week. But I do wonder if the dynamics will shift at all...

These last few days have included a lot of walking to campus, reading for class, and trying to learn the language. Our class is in the farthest building, away from the core of campus and a brisk ten minute walk from the dorm. It is slightly inconvenient, but we have managed to make it work so far. I hope to spend more time on campus the next few weeks and soak up what it has to offer.

I've also spent more time thinking about the States this week compared to the barely fleeting thoughts of home that rarely intruded during our vacation on Santorini. Specifically I've been comparing the lifestyle differences as related to food. Here, you spend five minutes to walk down the street to the little grocery store on the corner and get what you need for that day. In the States, you only want to make a trip to the store once every two weeks and stock up. It's very different, but why? My thoughts focused on the spatial issues, considering the separation  between home and store is much greater in the States. But it is also cultural. Greeks come from a history of tight-knit communities, and the haphazard city of Athens reflects how new and foreign the metropolis is here. It's a conglomeration of small communities that calls itself a city rather than the deliberate planning for a singular city that is usually the case in America. So far, I prefer the Athenian way that oddly feels more intimate even if you don't speak to a single soul the whole way to and from the store.

Differences in food are also evident in the restaurants here. At 3am you can find a place that is open for you to sit and eat, and the selection isn't limited to McDonald's or some other 24-7 fast food junk. The whole menu might not be served, but you can still find any kind of meal that you are wanting within a relatively short walk at all times of day. Here it is not unusual to find the square in our neighborhood packed full of people in the middle of the night. Some people are just deciding what to do with their nights at midnight. This cultural difference almost necessitates that restaurants are open to serve during odd hours, especially because Greeks rarely, if ever, drink alcohol without food. In America we have no problem with sitting around and drinking without a source of nourishment in sight. It's interesting how food can both bring cultures together and distinguish them from one another at the same time.