Living the Greek Life Day by Day
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| Parthenon atop of the Acropolis |
Form the moment I found out that the Theatrical Design course didn't get cancelled, I began to fantasize the great experiences I would hopefully have upon arrival to Athens. Little did I know that these fantasies would become reality, and give me the fulfillment of immersing in another culture and lifestyle. Fantasies aside, I found that walking around the neighborhood streets, having a daily routine, and blending in with the crowd gave me the most vivid idea of how Greek life prospered, outside of the bubble of tourism.
My morning would start around 10am, which is considerably normal for most Athenians, and find a local pastry shop (which there are probably 3-4 per block). The main pastries to get are either Spinach Pies - flaky pastries with spinach, feta, and sometimes grape leaves - or a similar pastry pie with ham, cheese, and pizza sauce. The staple morning snack, however, are these large ringed shaped breads covered in sesame seeds called "Koulouri" . These would go around 0.50 euros.
After the morning snack, I headed to class, until it was time for lunch. The most popular and affordable lunch-time meal was the souvlaki with pita (or Gyros). This came with your meat of choice - Chicken, Kebab, Pork, beef - nicely wrapped in a steaming hot pita bread along with lettuce, onions, tomatoes, french fries, and tzatziki (a yogurt based sauce) on top. All of this was below €3.00. (scene in the picture on the right)
Once class was done, which in my case was around 2pm, it was "Siesta" time. Our class gave the time slot 2pm-5pm this title because it was common in Greece to have a time period in the afternoon where people would put their children to sleep, close up shop, and take a leisurely 3 hours to themselves. Of course not all stores were closed, but most in our neighborhood were, or there were minimal people in them. I came to find that this was also the perfect time to get in my gym hours (yes, they had a Planet Fitness all the way in Greece) without dealing with the crowds of buff Grecians scrambling to get on the weight machines.
The evening (7pm) is when most restaurants begin to glow with lights and sounds from families, locals, and tourists looking to find a hefty traditional Greek meal. Though, one thing that boggled me was the time it took to get these meals. Every night if I decided to go out with a group of friends to one of these places, the average wait and meal time was around 2-3 hours. If traveling to Greece prepare to get acquainted with the word "leisure", as there is no rush in anything the Greeks do, and once you get a table, it'll be yours for however long you want it. Tips is also non-existent. Instead you would normally round up to the nearest euro and call it a night.
Now, one would think that 10pm is the time of night where the young people and party goers begin their night. Unfortunately, that is not true. If you are one to go out for some fun on the town, get ready to be up between the hours of 12am-5am. The Greeks party hard into the night, with most bars and nightclubs not getting busy until around 2am. Not only that, but the weekends are the busiest, as expected, but almost nonexistent during the weekdays.
All in all, some summarizing tips and checkpoints to be aware of when living like a Grecian day by day is as follows:
-Christopher Hutchinson
My morning would start around 10am, which is considerably normal for most Athenians, and find a local pastry shop (which there are probably 3-4 per block). The main pastries to get are either Spinach Pies - flaky pastries with spinach, feta, and sometimes grape leaves - or a similar pastry pie with ham, cheese, and pizza sauce. The staple morning snack, however, are these large ringed shaped breads covered in sesame seeds called "Koulouri" . These would go around 0.50 euros.
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| Souvlaki |
After the morning snack, I headed to class, until it was time for lunch. The most popular and affordable lunch-time meal was the souvlaki with pita (or Gyros). This came with your meat of choice - Chicken, Kebab, Pork, beef - nicely wrapped in a steaming hot pita bread along with lettuce, onions, tomatoes, french fries, and tzatziki (a yogurt based sauce) on top. All of this was below €3.00. (scene in the picture on the right)
Once class was done, which in my case was around 2pm, it was "Siesta" time. Our class gave the time slot 2pm-5pm this title because it was common in Greece to have a time period in the afternoon where people would put their children to sleep, close up shop, and take a leisurely 3 hours to themselves. Of course not all stores were closed, but most in our neighborhood were, or there were minimal people in them. I came to find that this was also the perfect time to get in my gym hours (yes, they had a Planet Fitness all the way in Greece) without dealing with the crowds of buff Grecians scrambling to get on the weight machines.
The evening (7pm) is when most restaurants begin to glow with lights and sounds from families, locals, and tourists looking to find a hefty traditional Greek meal. Though, one thing that boggled me was the time it took to get these meals. Every night if I decided to go out with a group of friends to one of these places, the average wait and meal time was around 2-3 hours. If traveling to Greece prepare to get acquainted with the word "leisure", as there is no rush in anything the Greeks do, and once you get a table, it'll be yours for however long you want it. Tips is also non-existent. Instead you would normally round up to the nearest euro and call it a night.
Now, one would think that 10pm is the time of night where the young people and party goers begin their night. Unfortunately, that is not true. If you are one to go out for some fun on the town, get ready to be up between the hours of 12am-5am. The Greeks party hard into the night, with most bars and nightclubs not getting busy until around 2am. Not only that, but the weekends are the busiest, as expected, but almost nonexistent during the weekdays.
All in all, some summarizing tips and checkpoints to be aware of when living like a Grecian day by day is as follows:
- Start your morning with a fresh pastry, accompanied with a frappe or coffe
- Spend the day studying, or if you don't have class, explore the different districts in Athens such as Plaka, Monastiraki, etc.
- Prepare to have a long evening if eating out, and once you get a table, it's yours for the night
- If you plan to go out for the night, adjust your sleeping schedule, prepare for loads of cigarette smoke, and be safe (but have fun :))
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