From December 17 - January 1, I traveled to Greece and Spain. I reconnected with and met some amazing folks, saw and learned so many more things than I could possible express in one email. I've tried to express it out loud and it also doesn't seem to work. Suffice it to say, I had no real expectations for this trip and it really went above and beyond what I thought possible.
I was really lucky because I happened to come to Athens the day after two consecutive general strikes which grounded flights. I also missed the heavy blizzards that messed up travel plans in other parts of Europe, especially France.
Originally, I wasn't sure how long I would stay in Athens and I was thinking of going to Thessaloniki. In the end, however, I stayed because I had so much more to discover and I was incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to spend Christmas with a Greek family. I ate delicious food, including (vegetarian) souvlaki, chickpeas, homemade Crete salad, cheese pie, etc. I really enjoyed hearing the Greek language for the first time and it may sound crazy but I hope to continue learning!
Unfortunately, Greece is going through a really hard time, as you all have probably gathered from the news. People, especially those my age, aren't happy to live there because a lot of them feel they have invested time and money into their work and/or education and there's nothing to show
for it because the job situation is so bad. They want to work and live abroad, also difficult to achieve because that requires money and then they have to leave their families. The austerity measures continue to wreak havoc on ordinary people's salaries and work prospects. That's just one of the many
things I learned. Of course, none of this stops the Greeks I met from being warm, friendly and fun-loving people - even in Athens, a sprawling metropolis. There is a lot of discontent in daily life, though, and it definitely manifests itself in violent uprisings. I didn't see this in real life, but I saw after effects. The city is covered in political graffitti, more so than I've seen in many other places. There was another general strike and I did go to a demonstration in front of Parliament with someone I CouchSurfed with, but it was not a large gathering. For me, it's just another sign of the failure of the structure of capitalism and modern society, and sadly, it really hurts such a beautiful people and country.
Anyway, my most vivid memories of Athens include stray dogs and cats everywhere, views of the city from four hilltops, long nights out on the town, riding on a motorcycle for the first time, and the beautiful weather...yeah, thanks global warming! :/ ;)
Sort of last minute before the trip, I decided to spend the week after Christmas, including New Year's Eve, at home with my Spanish assistant friend from Lille. Her family lives in Vigo, Galicia, a big port city near the northern Portugeuse border. Before we got there, though, we spent a couple days in the magical middle-of-nowhere Spanish countryside. Her grandmother lives in a village with 400 inhabitants. My first day in Spain went like this: I slept from 5 to 6:30 in the morning in Athens because we stayed out late, I rushed to the airport, boarded a 9 a.m. flight to Madrid, got to Madrid at noon, scrambled to find a bus to Salamanca, found an Australian high schooler who took the bus with me, got to Salamanca around 5:30 p.m., saw some of Salamanca, drove down pitchblack country roads to the village and went out stargazing! The stars are totally clear there, that was really a treat :)
Spain is not doing that much better than Greece, honestly, and on the drive from the central West Spain to Galicia, I got an earful about the Spanish Civil War and a bunch of other history that was super powerful and interesting, from my friend's father. I also saw landscapes unlike any other and I didn't catch them on camera, but they're stuck in my mind. I actually saw more different regions and towns in Spain than Greece, so it was slightly more overwhelming because it was all in one week. I feel extremely fortunate to have gotten this tour and I feel that I got somewhat more comfortable with Spanish!
New Year's Eve consisted of dinner with the whole family in Vigo, complete with 12 grapes at midnight, watching homemade fireworks and club-hopping until 6 in the morning. I finished by dancing madly to "Common People," which seems to me a really positive start to 2011 :)
I flew back to Lille from Porto on the 1st and by that time, I just couldn't handle Portugeuse, a third language...
Back in Lille, I'm back to work and seeing friends. I already feel better about teaching and making plans for this year. I definitely want to try to renew my contract, but before then, I am committed to WWOOFING, working on an organic farm, this summer. Perhaps Greece so I can continue with Greek! In any case, my main goal this year is to be open to the same level of magic that I got during this 15-day trip and look at everything as a positive opportunity. Whether in France, Spain, Greece, the States, Asia, or wherever, good things can and will happen!
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