I went to the market this morning. It’s fun to go and see all the people. I just bought some fruit for the next week or two. This afternoon, Sara, and Melanie and I walked around Athens. We saw the Greek Orthodox Cathedral near Monastiraki and spent time sitting at a café. We tried frappes, a cold coffee beverage that is very popular in Greece. It was good. Trying to do like the Greeks, we sat there for quite some time, talking about what we’d like to do for the rest of the weekend and reading a couple myths from our Greek Mythology book.
On our way back to our apartments, we saw a rally going on in Syntagma Square for the New Democracy party of parliament. Greece is having elections this Sunday, so people are showing their support for different parties. We were interested in what was happening, so we mingled with the crowd grabbing stickers and flags passed out by the rally coordinators. We met some students from the university who told us that they were marching to show their support. We decided to join them so we could get the full experience. It was exciting, but also made me a bit nervous because I was unsure if it was socially acceptable for us, as foreigners, to join in. The students informed us that we would be fine and helped us know what to do along the way. The group had cheers and songs they sang to support their party and boo the other party, PASOK. They tried to teach us one, but I can’t remember it any more. Security people walked alongside the marchers and every once and a while, they set off flares. Sara, Melanie and I walked with them for almost an hour before we had to head back to the school to meet our teacher. I kept the giant flag of Greece with which I was marching and now have it hanging on my bedroom wall. What an experience!
Our teacher showed Sara, Melanie, and I an area of Athens called Psiri where there are a bunch of restaurants, tavernas, and music. Naturally, we found gelato so we could eat our dessert first. Then, Sara, Mel, and I ate at a little taverna. We shared veal and pasta, a Greek cheese, and potatoes and cheese. Mmmmm. We sat there for a few hours just chatting. It was a nice evening.
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