What I Am Learning Living in Greece

In my entire life there have been two times that I have made a decision without even a second thought, knowing without a doubt it was the choice for me. The first was when I moved to NYC to pursue a career in Musical Theater. The second, was when I was offered a job in Greece and decided to put all my things in storage in NY and move to the Island of Crete. I didn’t hesitate for one second. These have been the two things that felt like callings for me. Things that in my life I must explore. The career in Musical Theater, we all know how that went. The other, moving to Greece has been completely different than I had expected it to be. Over the last 2 years there have been some really crazy challenges that I could never have prepared for. I came in being so naive on how things actually work in the country. Growing up Greek American and vacationing in Greece every summer in no way means you know what the ins and outs of a life in Greece are going to look like. What I have learned over the past 2 years, and will continue to learn, will no doubt be huge in my personal growth and development.

Patience - First and foremost, I have been forced to learn a lot of patience in Greece. It is a pretty difficult place to live if you are someone who likes to feel they are getting things done quickly and efficiently. I used to be this person, I’m slowly becoming not this person anymore. Banks in Greece close at 2:00pm and basically you need an appointment for anything. Many of the shops close at 3pm on Saturdays and all of them are closed on Sundays making any of the non working days really challenging when it’s the only time to get things done. My apartment is still pretty bare even after a year. I have learned in Greece to expect any appointment to take a minimum of two tries, but this is just how it is. At first this was highly frustrating, but now, I’m learning to be patient and just go with the flow. If I’m honest with myself, I really needed this in my life, so thank you Greece.
I am more American than I realized - In America I was always the Greek friend. Greek-Americans take pride in our Heritage and we do things in a very traditional way. We were raised with the customs, traditions and religion almost more than the young Greeks in Greece today because the people raising us left Greece many years ago and still held on to these customs in their new home, America. I never thought of myself as being very American. I grew up in Alaska and then moved to NYC. These are definitely not the typical American experiences. What I realized moving to Greece however is that I am very American. From the mindset, to my clothing style, to my lifestyle, to the oneness of my character. I am always hearing from people “that’s so American of you”. I wouldn’t even know what that means, until now, and yes, most things I do are so American, but I’m adapting slowly and morphing into this half American, half Greek person who is learning to love the differences in the laid back culture of Greece.
Good food and good weather will change your life - When I first landed in Athens, I had rented an airbnb in the area of Kolonaki in the center. The owner of the flat had to come help me with something and he brought me a bottle of wine. He was also a Greek American, although born in Greece who had moved back from California. He told me something I will never forget, “the food and the weather will change your life”. He was right. I just finished my second winter in Greece. Yes, it was much colder in Crete than in Athens I must admit, and much colder than I expected from Greece. But this year we had an unusually mild winter in Athens, It’s the first place I have ever lived that doesn’t have much of a winter and it was LIFE CHANGING. Just to not have to shovel or trudge through snow or battle umbrellas in the sleet/hail/snow has really been so nice. Waking up on Thanksgiving Day to 70 degree weather, and having sunshine for most of the winter months….Heaven! I think I am definitely not a winter person, and I’ve realized that here in Greece.
Greece is FULL of foreigners - This is the naive part coming in again. When I moved to Greece I figured it was mostly Greeks who lived there right? So wrong. I have met so many foreigners from all over the world. From Serbia to Czech Republic, Africa, the Philippines, I even recently met a gentleman who speaks Greek perfectly from Venezuela. There are of course many Europeans (Germans, Austrians, Swiss, French, and throw in a few Scandinavians and Brits). My friendship base now is about a 50/50 split between Greeks and Foreigners. I love it. I have learned so much not only about Greece but about the world just by being in the melting pot that Crete and Athens are.
How healing a 3 hour coffee is - I remember when I was coming to Greece on holidays and my Greek friends would want to go for coffee. For those of you not familiar this is an outing in itself. The coffee culture in the US is seriously lacking compared to Europe. In Greece, when someone says let’s meet for a coffee, it’s going to be the entire afternoon. I recall on vacation feeling like I wanted to do and see so much and never understood how the Greeks could just sit for hours and have a coffee and do nothing else. Now, I totally get it. In fact, one of my favorite things in the world to do on a weekend is to go for coffee. It’s a leisurely activity. One that involves catching up with a close friend or even getting to know a new one. It’s the essence of the Greek social culture and it’s amazing for stress relief. There is something so lovely about an afternoon coffee beneath the Greek pine trees with NOWHERE to be.

These are of course only a few of the many lessons I have learned, and will learn living here. Moving to a new country always allows you to discover and learn about yourself. This is one of the things I love about the experience. I have discovered so much about myself as a person, and sometimes I am really shocked by how little I knew about a country that I was so close to before moving here. For two years there were many times that I questioned my choice to move my entire life to Greece. The decision to come was the easy part, the reality of how hard it has been was the challenge. Now, 2 years in, I’m getting to the other side. I will always be the American in Greece, I know that, but I am learning to really embrace the challenges and lessons, and I have to say Greece is starting to prove very good for my body and soul.