Night Life

The night life here in Athens is amazing. Not only is there something to do every night but there are always people out (not sure what they mean by effects of the economic crisis :p). There are many areas I've gone to go out and there are still a lot more that I have yet to see! One of my favorite areas is called Gazi, it is a place with many bars and clubs. You can find just about any type of place in this area: a chill taverna, upbeat bars with new music, bars with old music, clubs and more. The center (Syntagma area) is also a good place to go out, Arialena's godfather owns a bar here so we've gone many times, also visiting the surrounding bars. Glyfada is an area farther south from the center, it has great shopping and cafe's during the day but the night life is also really fun. There are a few streets lined with bars that play really good music.

The music that is played in the more upbeat/younger bars is American music (a few months delayed)....but if you wait until 3 am the new Greek music starts. Some of it is actually pretty good, its the older Greek music that I'm not a huge fan of...unless at Buzukia

Buzukia is a type of club here, a traditional Greek club. They have live singers and a band on stage and tables that fill the room. You have to reserve a table which means an automatic bottle (costing about 120 euros). They sing traditional Greek music that usually speaks about love, heartbreak, pain, and beauty. While they are singing you can get on stage and dance, Greek dances of course ;) Many involve getting into a circle and holding hands in the air while kicking out your feet in certain ways...hard to explain...another way is knealing on the ground and clapping while someone in the middle of the circle dances. It is an amazing experience and would suggest it to anyone visiting Greece.

One thing I've learned about going out in Greece is that they love their tequilla shots, almost everytime I go out with friends we either buy tequilla shots or they are given to us on the house. I used to really like tequilla back in the day but then one cinco de mayo a few years back put that relationship on hold for awhile (I'm sure my AZ friends remember this...) I've slowly been trying to become friends with tequilla again and since I've moved here it has been working pretty well...not sure what the brand we drink is but it is actually pretty good, oh and they serve it with an orange slice, not a lime...

The times to go out has definitely taken some getting used to...midnight is early according to most places here and staying out until 7 am is a common occurrence. I don't mind this once in awhile but the only thing is that I don't like wasting my entire next day so i try to be home by 4 am most of the time ;)

Adventures to the Islands...

In the past three months I have been lucky enough to have gone on a few trips. My first weekend here we went to Akrata, a town on the coast opposite from Athens. Van's mother has a summer house there so we went for the weekend for swimming, relaxing, and eating! It was hot outside so the water felt amazing! While we were at the beach a helicopter kept coming and filling a large bucket with sea water because there was a fire some place inland. It was pretty cool to watch because they came so close to shore. The weekend was filled with sun and sleep; we would wake up and go the the beach and then around 2:00 we would return home for lunch and then take a nap. Then again around 6:00 we would go back to the beach for a few more hours and then come back and get ready for dinner. Overall a very relaxing trip! I had only been in Greece a few days so this was the first time I met Van's mother. When we were leaving she told Van she approved of the new aupair! Now we get along very well, she's such a sweet old woman!

A few weeks later we took their boat out to some of the islands: Αίγινα (Aegina), Αγκίστρι (Agistri), Πόρος (Poros), and Ύδρα (Ydra). Here we swam, ate, enjoyed the sunshine and relaxed. A few fun facts about the islands: Aegina was named after a Naiad nymph that was loved by Zeus, he carried her off in the guise of an eagle to the island which he named after her. Poros was first given to the god Apollo but he decided to trade it to the god Poseidon for the island of Delphi, you will find remnants of Poseidon's Temple here. Ydra to this day does not allow any motor vehicles on land. There is a small port that the boats can dock but to reach the top of the mountains you have to either walk to ride a mule! There are also many cats on this island which I enjoyed because they were all very friendly! (don't worry, I washed my hands after petting them...)





the boat




Poros





Ydra



 Again a few weeks later we took the families boat out, this time we went to: Σίφνος (Sifnos), Κίμωλος (Kimolos), Μήλος (Milos), and back to Ύδρα (Ydra) and Αγκίστρι (Agistri). The Venus de Milo statue was discovered on Milos island in 1820 when farmers were digging up stones for their houses. The capital city on Kimolos, Chora, is an attraction for tourists because of the many pirate attacks the village has been built like a true labyrinth, in order to confuse the enemies. Also, in case you're wondering, the movie Mama Mia was filmed on Skiathos and Skopelos Islands....I have yet to visit there....



Sifnos





Milos





We spent the days laying in the sun, swimming, drinking, sleeping, and eating; all the necessary ingredients for a fabulous vacation! I will admit, I have somewhat of a fear of fish but I overcame it enough to swim each day and enjoy the water. I also jumped off the top of the boat! (again, a fear of heights...this blog is starting to make me sound a little weak but whatever) We had an absolutely amazing time!









Some experiences so far...

Nicolas
When I first met Nicolas he was being held by his father (Van), he stared at me very intensely for a few seconds and then pushed away from his father so he could get down. He then walked over to my feet and put up his arms for me to pick him up, he continued staring at me for a few more seconds and then pointed to his toy chest and wanted me to play with him! It was SO cute! He is a beautiful child with the bluest eyes!

He can definitely be a handful at times, after all, he is going through the terrible two's phase...he enjoys breaking most things, throwing anything he can get his hands on, and screaming at the top of his lungs because he thinks it is a funny noise...The other day Nancy said to me "it seems like he gets naughtier and naughtier every day!" I told her that it was just his age and that most children go through it, they had never heard about this! They have had an aupair since Nicolas was born because they didn't know anything about babies, not even how to change a diaper! So, their first aupair taught them how to take care of the little guy and they have been taking it one step at a time ever since. I feel like I know more about kids than they do, I mean they know their child; his likes/dislikes, his attitude, etc but they have to read books to know what is to come! I find it amusing!

The Food
The food here is delicious! At home we eat mostly fruits and vegetable dishes, sometimes with pasta and then usually bread and cheese on the side. Greek salads are always on the table and luckily for me very easy to make! Just tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, olive oil, oregano, and feta! There are many variations of this salad of course but this is how we like it. (Nancy and I don't like to add the onions) About two times per week we eat meat and then once a week they eat fish. Nancy goes to the market on Saturday mornings to pick up a fresh fish that was brought in that morning. A few weeks ago they tried to get me to try the fish...we were out at a restaurant in Akrata, a town about 3 hours north of Athens on the coast of the big island connected to the mainland by a few roads. They had told me that even though I normally don't enjoy the taste of fish that I needed to try it here because it is much better due to the saltiness of the Mediterranean, so I agreed to try it...when I saw them bring it out I completely retracted my willingness to try it...it was the whole fish! Head, tail, everything! One look and I completely lost my appetite...They were confused at my reaction and so I explained that in the U.S. fish is served as fillets, not as the entire thing...they were surprised that this was the norm there...either way, I didn't eat it. They had also ordered octopus, I was a little curious about trying it but once again when they brought it out it was the whole thing, suction cups still attached! I was able to get myself to try a small piece, but I cut off all the suction cups... I then made the joke "it tastes like chicken!" but they didn't get it, turns out they don't use that expression here...

Gypsies

So maybe I grew up a little too sheltered or just lacking much cultural experience but before I came to Greece I didn't know that gypsies still existed...the only one I had ever seen or heard of was Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. My first encounter came when we were sitting down for dinner one night at a restaurant by the sea. When we were finished eating a woman and two children came up to the table and started speaking to Van (it was in Greek so I didn't understand). Van then asked the server for some to go containers, he boxed up the rest of the food and gave it to the woman. After they left I asked what they were saying, he said that the woman was asking for money and he said no but that he would give them food. I figured that they were like the beggars I've seen in the states...I mentioned that the children looked really tan and Nancy told me that they are naturally dark but that they live outside, in tents or in the back of vehicles and that they were gypsies. Later that night I was walking down the street and this little girl walked past me, probably 7-8 years old, she was walking alone and selling flowers, I smiled at her when she past and instead of smiling back at me she just put out her hand for me to give her money... Now, I see them more often, I also hear them! They drive around in trucks with speakers attached to the top asking people to bring out anything they don't want from their houses. It is a strange way of life, they send out their children to work at all hours of the day and night while they stay at the tent or truck...I feel bad for the children but from what I've seen they really don't mind...





Opener

So, as I'm sure most of you that are checking this out know, I am working as an aupair in Athens, Greece. I take care of a little boy named Nicolas, he is two years old and an amazing child! I have been teaching him English the past three months and as of now he speaks more English than he does Greek! I'm sure part of this is due to the difficulty in pronouncing many of the Greek words...example: puppy vs. σκυλάκι (skee-la-kee). The family I live with is Greek, Van and Nancy Papatheodorou. Van owns a technology distribution company and Nancy works as a loan analyst at the bank. They are both great! After only three months of being here I really feel like a part of the family :)