Whenever I start to think about how our minds work, I always seem to imagine an organized and efficient system of spinning gears in my head. Which is funny, because if there were, in fact, gears in my head, they would most definitely need to be oiled.
It’s a wonderful feeling when your father becomes not a god but a man to you — when he comes down from the mountain and you see he’s this man with weaknesses. And you love him as this whole being, not as a figurehead.
Friday morning, I was on my way to the grocery store to pick up some fresh steaks, when I stumbled upon one of the greatest things I have found thus far in Athens: The Pangrati Farmers Market! It was around 3:30 in the afternoon and the market was approaching closing time, so as I walked through the street, admiring the rainbow or fruits and vegetables spread out across crates and tables, my ears were bombarded with the auctioneer-like shouting of discounted prices and playful vendors grabbing the attention of any and every passerby. For only 7 euros, I as able walk away from the market with a full bag of fresh green beans, a head of lettuce, two cucumbers, an overflowing container of cherry tomatoes, four peaches, and two bags of grapes. And to think, I was afraid of grocery shopping when I first arrived! Ha! A month into this endeavor, and I’ve already mastered the farmers...
If a random European man walks up to you, and he is between the ages of 15 and dead, he’s flirting with you.
What does it mean for an experience to be authentic?
When we travel to other countries, we tend to enter our foreign endeavors with romanticized ideas of the ‘authentic study-abroad experience.’