Anyways, after having yet another field trip for class down at the theater of Dionysos (right below the Acropolis, picture included!), we headed to where all the good stores were at. This was the same place that we visited the other day when there was barely anyone on the streets, and all of the stores closed early (well, early to me). This time it seemed like a completely different street, the place was jam packed! There were people everywhere, and you always seemed to be in the way of someone, I was even able to make a "dodge the people" game out of it while we were waiting for group members to make a purchase. So. Many. People!
Speaking of the people here in Greece, I'm really going to miss them! My first impression of Greeks was that they could be not so nice people, and at times, impolite (for example my first rest stop experience where everyone was seemed to be pushing and shoving), But as my time spent here with Greeks here as increased, I have a better understanding about them, and I even feel more comfortable around them :)
Okay, so I'm going to try to explain how things work here in Greece when it comes to people. As for relationships here in Greece, each person pretty much has an ingroup, and an outgroup. The ingroup consists mainly of that person's family and anybody else that they've made friends with, and the outgroup is made up with basically everyone else that he/she doesn't really give a care about (which explains why Greeks can be seen as cold at times). Coming into Greece, I was basically cast aside in the outgroup. Thing is, it's not that hard to switch into their ingroup, and once you do, it's almost like you're best friends (how cool is that?!).
One of my favorite examples is my relationship with the lady who works at the super market down the street. The first time I visited her shop, I was tired, confused, and on the verge of being irritable (so my views might have been a little bit biased), but when I went, I didn't feel all that welcomed. In fact, I felt more in the way than anything. When she rang me up at the register, she breezed through all of my items and quickly went onto the next customer as I scrambled to gather my stuff into bags. But then as I kept coming back to her store (I know, why would I go back if that had happened? But it's super close to the dorms!), and she realized that I wasn't just a drop by customer, she started to become more friendly. She helped me with my bags (we take those Publix guys for granted!), asked me if I needed any help while pacing the store, and get this, I even received a greeting with a smile upon arrival ! Now I actually enjoy going to the market because I get to say hello in Greek! Even some of the other workers are starting to become friendly.
There are lots of other instances that I have noticed during my time in Greece, and seeing as I'm a psychology major, I could go on and on about this kinds of stuff (it's soo interesting!), but I won't put you through that, well, not today at least. But if you every want to know more, or even discuss anything with me, just hit me up! I'd be more than happy to talk about it :)
Overall today was a good day! I got to see some cool sites in Athens, learn some history, and get some good souvenir stuff, including a necklace of my name written in Greek! Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings! Hope you had a good day as well :)
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