Tuesday, September 15, 2009

It really is all greek to me.

Today was my first full day in Greece.  We went to bed at 2:30 am and set our alarms for 10:00 and slept right through till 1pm.  In Greece from 3-5 shops shuts down for a nap kind of like a siesta.  It's a mandatory quiet time too.  During that time we just walked through the city searching for an ATM or a bank.   That was when I started feeling like I was in Greece, not Epcot.  We walked by the fresh markets and all of the fake purses!  They sell fake purses on the street here!  I was really happy haha.  After that we went to a CVS like store and got some snacks for the apartment.  It's a ton of walking and carrying heavy things, so hopefully It will get me in shape.  After that we decided to go out for our first Greek dinner.  We walked down to the waterfront and picked the first restaurant we saw.  I would tell you what it was called but it was all in Greek.  Erica and I just stood there not knowing if we should seat ourselves or wait to be seated.  Finally, a waiter told us just to sit down somewhere.  The menus had some English under the Greek so that was perfect.  I ordered a Greek coffee and ravioli with some kind of Greek cheese.  Yummy!  We felt very dumb at our dinner, we figured it out though!  It was really strange, people come up asking for money and trying to sell you things while you're eating.  Little kids came up to Erica trying to sell her a light-up clock with dogs on it... and the kids are so cute its really hard to resist them.  While we were eating, a man came over playing an accordian and singing... I gave him .50 euros. 

There are so many stray cats and dogs here.  All over the city.  They were walking under our table at the restaurant.  They're all so much prettier than the strays at home.  There are old ruins all around downtown Thessaloniki where they live too.  Emmaline, you would be in heaven... and It would really distract you at dinner!

Most everyone seems very helpful so far.  The traffic is crazy though!  The cars don't stop for pedestrians so that's pretty scary.  Tomorrow orientation starts. 
I miss you all.  Feel free to comment, anyone!
Also, you can call me free on Skype at my number, 814-331-4496, or email.  I love hearing from everyone!

Oh, I'm going to take more pictures too :)

1 comment:

Maria said...

Oh, I love reading about your adventures in Greece. Keep them coming!