Sunday, November 27, 2011

Farewell, Greece!

I have been excessively MIA the past month।

I think, mostly, I wanted to just soak up my last remnants of Greece; secondly I have been entirely bagged, and the thought of stringing coherent sentences together was a no go.

And then thirdly, I was getting stuff ready to come here, to France: A village called Couiza, about 45 minutes outside of Carcasonne. I arrived here this morning, after a few days of chaos and hilarity, and am here for the next three or so months.

Let me start at the beginning.

I left "Villa Sunshine" last Tuesday morning, bright and early. It took 6 hours to get into Athens via bus, and I sat next to a lady who obviously had never heard about deoderant. Oh my gosh. Enough said.

I had three full days in Athens, since my flight did not leave until Saturday morning, and so among other things, I arranged a three Island cruise with a tour company. Basically, they pick you up at your hotel in a huge tour bus, cart you to Piraeus, usher you on board a cruise ship, and whirl you between Hydra, Poros, and Aegina. Midway through, they serve lunch in the glassed in dining room, and as the boat returns to Athens in the early evening, they have bouzouka dancing. Not bad for 99 euro.

It was magical. Hydra, especially, was an absolute fairy book. Unfortunately - and I should not have been surprised since I never keep track of these things - my camera battery died just as we landed in Hydra, the first Island. Oh the gods laughed
.
I got collared almost immediately by a guy traveling alone on business, and after about twenty minutes, I had predicted all the answers he subsequently gave me.

"I am spiritual. Not religious. I don't believe in the oppression of organized religion."

Check

"I am libertarian, I guess. But beyond anything, I seriously do not believe in elected government officials."

Check

"I refuse to eat meat. I am a complete vegan."

Check

"I could never bring children into the world. The world is grossly overpopulated."

AND check.

Could he be more of a cliche?

These differences of opinion did not prevent us from having a good time exploring Hyrda and Poros together, mostly because I just nodded and smiled, since he did not seem to expect or need a reply, and because I enjoyed making predications - and being entirely right - about what he would say or how he would react to things.

Beyond that, though, he was just a very well intentioned person - albeit misguided - as well as someone with a lot to say about pretty much everything. He actually, in some faint way, reminded me of combination of my two brothers next to me. So it was fun.

On the way to Aegina though, I ended up in a conversation with a man from the States, currently living in Switzerland.

I found myself embroiled in this discussion, which carried into dinner, first about traveling, books, and movies, and then about his two failed marriages, his current "partner," and, most importantly, as I kept trying to figure out: how you know when to end a marriage, and how, after repeated failures, you know when to begin another one. I mean, in his case, it seems that he is a) impressively hopeful or b) just really dumb.

He is a psychologist, and it was fascinating to get his take on commitment. By fascinating, I mean depressing. However, depressing can still be interesting. And interesting always takes the cake. Even if I can't sleep afterwards. He was floored that I was so interested, but when I explained that when I grow up I probably want to land in Marriage and Family Therapy, he was more than happy to oblige.

Oh the places you go.




On my last day in Athens, I climbed up to the Parthenon, was completely and utterly boggled and awestruck, and then headed back to my hotel in the early evening to work and pack and organize myself. At about 9:30 PM though, I realized I was so hungry that I was going to fall into utter collapse. This surprised me, since I had partaken of a big, rather late lunch.

Feeling sufficiently confident in the area, having wandered around it for three days, I headed out to find somewhere to eat.

I ended up at about 10 PM - the normal eating hour for most Greeks - at this Taverna with absolutely no tourists, but crammed with locals. Just what I was looking for. There was live Greek music playing, and if anyone heard a song they liked, up they would get to whirl around the tables. At a few points, almost the whole restaurant was waving their arms and kicking their legs and shaking their hips.

Yes, I joined them. But only after downing a glass of Ouza, and after intense pressure from the (god-like) waiter to "just try it." Oh my gosh it was so fun. And completely out of character. I blame the ouzo.

It was a perfect end to the Greek part of my travels.

Tune back to hear about Mary bawling in the middle of Notre Dame, sharing her sleeping quarters on the train with four frenchmen, being on the wrong train platform, and to put the icing on the cake, buying the wrong ticket for the bus to Couiza, but convincing the driver to let her on anyway.

I don't think I have had a more crazy twenty four hours in my twenty four years.

But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and always turns into a great story.

1 comment:

  1. I identify with your reactions to everything you say. My wish for you is that on your journeys you'll actually meet someone who shares your values, and I guess by that I mean someone who has similar instincts about what is true, good and beautiful. Such beings are, I realize, very hard to find, but, I believe, exist. Never sell yourself short, Mary, I dare say, as someone many years older than you are. You require nothing less than a friend or friends with whom there is a deep and earnest search for that which endures, the 'better", rather than the merely 'agreeable.' It's fun, in some sense, to hear about the troubled beings you're meeting but also, very sad. Don't ever let go, dear Mary, of your ideals. Along the way, we can pray, you will actually meet other beings who share and understand those things you care about. You may feel alone but you aren't. It's just that the best and what is truly worthwhile is hard to find. Don't give up! With respect, love and all my heart, Al

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