1. HOT WATER: In Greek homes, hot water does not circulate all the time. So when you want hot water to, say, shower- you have to turn on the hot water switch... and wait 30 minutes for the water to heat up and be transported to your room. Even then, the water only lasts about 5 minutes, if that, before it turns icy cold!
2. TOILETS: The plumbing system in Greece is really old. Basically, it sucks. They get blocked easily, so naturally one cannot deposit toilet paper or anything else besides excrement into the toilets. You have to throw them in a waste bin and thus take out your trash frequently.
3. LAUNDRY: Most Greeks wash their own laundry by hand and hang them to dry outside. This practice is exhausting for those who are not used to it and I do not wish it upon anyone.
4. DOGS: There are packs of dogs that are essentially wild and roam around central Athens. Each year, the government gathers all the dogs and they receive vaccinations, and those that need it are spayed/neutered. They get name tags and a collars to identify that they've been treated. Most of them are very friendly and tend to follow people who pet them (Americans). One followed me almost all the way home once.
5. EXERCISE: Greeks run. A lot. At the stadium where I got to run, there are an average of about 15 people at any given time running. Practically every Greek man can also do pull-ups and chin-ups, regardless of age.
6. FAUCETS: Most Greek faucets are set high on the wall, about 18-24 inches above the lip of the sink. This is obnoxious. Water splashes everywhere and when you try to wash anything, the result is giving everything within a 2 foot radius a bath, including yourself.
7. GROCERY STORES: Grocers who scan your items are always seated on swivel chairs and do not bag your items. In fact, there are no baggers. Thus, you load your items onto the belt, pay and then bag as quickly as possible to get out of the way of anyone who is behind you. Most Greeks shop at the farmers' market; however, larger grocery stores do exist. "AB" (Alpha Beta) is a larger grocery store that has two floors. It's navigation is a bit iffy and it is fairly crowded from the hours of 6-7 p.m. Which brings me to my next quirk...
8. GREEKS HAVE NO MIND FOR PERSONAL SPACE: They will either push you aside or just push right past you, without so much as a "signomi."
9. COFFEE: Greeks drink a lot of coffee. However, they drink instant coffee or "Turkish" coffee, both of which taste like crap. Instant coffee is just gross and watery. Turkish (also called Greek coffee) is basically hot water with ground coffee beans dumped into it, swirled and served. It's also very strong... and kind of nasty if you're a spoiled coffee brat like myself. "Filtered coffee" (AKA, what you drink anywhere else) is only served at a select few places. Brown sugar is also an option for sugar when ordering coffee, and most Greeks take condensed milk with their coffee rather than regular milk or cream.
10. BREAD VENDORS: There are all kinds of kiosks and street vendors in central Athens. "Bread vendors," as I call them, sell these weird sesame seed covered bread rings, funky giant sugar coated doughnuts that are the size of an average human head, and other assorted ring-shaped, sweet bready things. The average cost for one of these things is about 1 euro.
11. HILLS & HEELS: The streets of Athens are hilly, and when I say hilly, I mean it. Once you get to the bottom of one street, you are hiking up another, so on and so forth. The sidewalks of Athens are square cut marble. If it were ever to snow or ice, it would be a death trip to walk anywhere. It is a serious leg workout just to walk a few streets over. Yet, the women of Athens wear the most ridiculous heels! I'm talking 5-6 inches tall, super spiky and platform. It's amazing we don't see more girls with broken ankles and legs.
12. PARTIES & CLUBS: Greeks are social beings. They like to spend hours hanging out; this includes parties. Most clubs open up around 11 p.m. but people get there around midnight, seeing as some Greeks are still eating dinner at 11 (but I'll get around to that...). Peole stay, drink, sway to music and don't leave the club until 6 a.m. Greeks don't really dance either. They just sort of hang out and bob their heads and people-watch... and when cute little Americans come along and actually dance, most of them just kind of stare.
13. QUIET HOURS: There are legally inforceable quiet hours in Athens. Yes. By the government. It's totally understandable why, since the apartment walls and doors are literally paper-thin, and you can hear everything- people walking around, the microwave next door, people coming up the stairs, turning keys in locks... you name it.
14. THE AVERAGE GREEK DAY: It was said to me about Greeks that they are, I quote, "lazy bastards." Well, that seems to be somewhat true. Greeks generally get up at a decent hour, go to work until 3 or 5 p.m., close shop and then usually take a little siesta for a few hours. Afterwards, they might work a little more... or not. Lunch time in Greece is around 3 p.m. Dinner time in Greece is around 8-11 p.m. Greeks also take forever to eat and spend a lot of time just socializing at the table. It is no wonder that Greeks take siestas, since they party it up all night and get up early to go to work.
15. STAIRS: Because everything is so close together in Athens, the stairs must take up a very small amount of space. This means that they are almost all spiral staircases. Not only that but they tend to be very steep (and, at times, uneven) steps.
16. FARMERS' MARKET: Farmers' markets take place only on Fridays in almost every town in Greece. They take up a whole street and it's just as you would imagine... fruit and vegetables out the wazoo! Everything is super fresh and the vendors are all very friendly. There are even people who sell towels, rugs and occasionally shoes.
17. PARKING: Not a lot of buildings have parking garages in Athens. Most people "park" on the street... well, partly on the street. Greeks drive tiny cars and park as close to each other as physically possible. They are also master parrallel parkers. At times, they are mere inches from the car ahead and behind them. Greeks have to fold their sideview mirrors in because, with such narrow streets, other cars could easily take them off while driving by. Half the time, Greeks actually park on the sidewalks. They also will park in the middle of the roads... it makes no sense. Greeks also tend to park like they drive. Crazy. Which leads me to my next subject...
18. DRIVING: Like I said, Greeks drive small cars (e.g., Smart Cars) and mopeds and motorcycles. They drive like insane people. When there is bad traffic (or just whenever they feel like it, actually), mororcyclists and moped drivers will just weave through the other insane drivers and even drive up on the sidewalks to get ahead of them. Motorcyclists will often park their bikes in the middle of sidewalks. Taxis are everywhere in Athens as well. Drivers seem to get frustrated with the stupidity of other drivers and honk... a lot... especially on the street where we live at night. Motorcyclists and moped drivers also seem to think that wearing a helmet is either optional or just plain uncool. Many of them can be seen riding around carrying their helmets under their arm. I'm sure that will give them loads of protection from the insanity of other Greek drivers. Motorcylists also talk on the cell phone while weaving like a crazy person through traffic. Darwin Awards anyone?
19. FLEA MARKETS: Every Sunday, there is a flea market in downtown Athens. It's a weird place and an interesting sight; one should try to go if given the opportunity. People set out sheets on the ground to display their products, which usually consist of strange knicknacks, quirky antiques and books, or collections of records. There are also people setting a lot of strange jewelry and funky animatronic figures. It's very popular since it was really packed when we went last.
20. ELEVATORS: Greek elevators, like everything else in Greek residencies, are very small, barely fitting more than one person. The elevator at 33 Stilponous works like this: you press the button and wait for it to get to whatever floor your are on, then you pull the door open and get in and pull the door closed, then you press what floor you want, and the elevator starts to go. However, there is nothing separating you from the wall that is moving in front of you. As you ascend or descend, you pass floors and doors, all of which you can touch all the way down. It's a little scary.
21. GREEK WOMEN: I don't know what it is about them that makes them this way, but most Greek women are kind of bitchy, to be quite blunt. So far, I've noticed that they have a tendency to be rude and pushy. I don't know if it's just because they don't like Americans or foreigners in general, but they are almost always mean and have this look on their face like some stuck a rotten gyro under their nose. There are a few exceptions, mainly because the Greek women from the Athens Centre and one lady from Xaizn bakery are all sweethearts.
22. SIDEWALKS: Only about half of Athens has sidewalks. As I mentioned before, they are trecherous and are made out of square-cut marble and stone. Sometimes, there are stairs in the sidewalks... sometimes not. Sometimes, they just end or will randomly begin. They also can change size. It's an "Alice in Wonderland" world of sidewalks here. They keep getting "curiouser and curiouser."
23. CATS: Just like any other Mediterranean city, there are loads of stray cats here. They are skittish, cute and a lot of them have calico markings. As far as I know, they are not cared for by the state like the dogs are.
24. PIGEONS: Lots of them. We have some living on a light post outside our apartment just below our balcony. They coo and hum for us in the morning and during the day.
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