Jobs, Soccer, Americans

Have I mentioned that Greece is hot? I'm permanently lethargic thanks to the heat. It takes all my energy to get my ass out to the beach so I can cool off. And then I have all this work stuff. Which I have learned to never complain about, because having work is a precious thing. Speaking of... in an hour I have a little Skype date with a potential employer back in America. I'm pretty psyched because it is a campaign job which would be a nice transition back into American life. Welcome home, let's throw you into the lion's den. Better than editing English books. It will be good for me to have my head wrapped around something for a few months while I regain my balance. It blows my mind that I'm going to be back in America in a month in a half. I'm happy and excited and terrified and sad all at once. I'm going to really miss it here and I know it would be easy to just keep sliding along in my cushy Greek life (cushy minus the part that we're broke all the time). But as the old adage says... "the easiest path is not always the best". Or something like that. (Speaking of adages, Joanna I miss you.)

Last night Alex invited his current English teachers (backstory if you don't know: I met Alex when I was training to teach English. He was a kind of practice student and still attends the school, getting new teachers every few weeks.) out to watch The Big Game with us last night. He didn't tell them A) he has a girlfriend or B) his girlfriend would be with him whichhh I feel like is a little slimy because, hey, if it was me and some cute Ukranian boy said "Hey why don't you and your friends come watch the game with me" I'd be like ooohhhhhh ahhhh. (In fact a little more than a year ago I think that did happen to me... and look where we are now.) Anyway it was pretty funny when I met them because they didn't think I was America (why would I be?) and one was like "So, uh, we all speak English here huh?" And Alex and I laughed. It was nice to talk to the girls and I warned them (maybe a little too well) what TEFL Corinth and living in Greece as an American is all about. I think they appreciated my honesty but I felt a little bad afterwards. After all, anything could happen. Maybe Angeliki will finally find someone a job.

Cheers... I'm off to negotiate.

Dear Blog

Dear blog-

How are you? How are the kids? Has the weather been nice on the Internet lately? Things are going well here although the heat is sometimes unbearable. If Greece has taught me anything it is that actually LIVING in a vacation destination is NOT the same as vacationing there. Rather than spending my days on the beach (which ok I do but not nearly as much as I COULD) I'm hiding inside working and avoiding the fry-an-egg-on-the-sidewalk sun. 

Anyway... Last night Alex and I went to a birthday party at a club on the "other sea" for this Russian girl who is a friend of the family. To be honest I'm not particularly fond of her and wasn't looking forward to it for a variety of reasons, but I did have a cute new dress (the kind that is way too fancy to wear to any NH club) and was obliged to be Alex's plus one. The evening began at Jessica's filharmoniki concert which was adorable. I've never seen someone play a meaner tambourine! We had to leave early though to get dressed and walk (or for me I should say teeter on four inch heels.) like three miles to the birthday girl's house as fast as we could only to find out everyone else was incredibly late. When we gave her the present (that I will note I bought and wrapped) she said "Alex spaceba! Oh Alex!" and didn't even LOOK at me. I was pretty pissed to be perfectly honest and since she admittedly used to be in love with Alex, I'm always on my guard around her. So then we sat around for another half hour while I sweated in my beautiful new dress. (How is it that Greece is so hot at NIGHT?) I felt invisible for the next 30 minutes because everyone was speaking Russian but finally people with cars arrived and we headed off, smushed in the back of some teenytiny car. It was nice being there with Alex though, wind blowing in our hair, forced to be incredibly close and therefore nuzzling and kissing like new lovers. And discussing football, which has become a favorite subject of mine. (Russia at this point was beating Holland, yes HOLLAND, 3-1 in overtime but we didn't know until Lazerith called.) When we arrived at the club there was no one there despite the fact that it was after midnight and because the birthday girl had taken another car (and apparently gone to Russia and back since it took her a good hour) we had to wait for her and no one was drinking. Bor-ing. It did give me a new respect for Alex though who always manages to be the life of the party regardless the situation. Unfortunately he was being the life of the party mostly in Russian. (And okay I admit it, I don't understand screamed-over-the-music Greek at all.) Finally the birthday girl arrived and the waiter brought out tonsss of bottles of alcohol. Finally. Alex even managed to special-order some tonic for my vodka which was very sweet of him. Vodka tonics aren't a popular drink around here. So we started to drink, and because I am supposed to be on a grechka-only detox diet for the next week I only had two drinks the whole night. I'm so boring sometimes. The night ended up not being too terrible... I did some napkin-throwing Greek dancing and the birthday girl went absolutely wild which was good for her. At one point she decided to try to give Alex a lap dance while he sat next to me. I jabbed my fingernail into his back and he screamed and everyone caught on and thought it was pretty funny. The nerve, honestly. Finally it was time to go home and we piled into the car of this Albanian guy. On the way back he asked me where I was from, thinking I was Russian. "oxi, oxi, Amerikey..." AMERICA? Oh my GOD American is AMAZING. He couldn't start talking about how his cousin moved there and NO ONE was racist towards him (as Greeks are to Albanians). It made me think and I came to the conclusion that EVERY country has its prejudices. Some, clearly, are worse than others, but I'm sure if that guy's cousin was Mexican or Iraqi things would be different. I DO think that generally America is pretty good for foreigners though. I mean, maybe I'm just a little ignorant but MY reaction to foreigners living in America is "wow cool" not "get out of my freaking country". I realize though not everyone shares these feelings, but I've never experienced racism like I have living in Greece. 

After that little night out Alex and I spent the day sleeping/lying around and (for me) working. Now we're drinking rum and coke and watching Spain-Italy. Have I mentioned I love soccer (football)?

Hope things are well.

Love, Elena

One Year

Today officially marks Alex and my one-year anniversary. Well, officially only because we decided on the 18th because we never had a real "Let's be boyfriend and girlfriend" moment. The day didn't start so well... at 5 am we had an earthquake and had to go outside in case of an aftershock or something and I never got back to sleep. Then Alex went to work and I did some work/got some groceries (I tried to buy Alex that new on-the-rocks tequila but accidentally bought rum. I also left my groceries at the register after paying for them "coritsie mou? you idiot you left your bags". And I gave a beggar with a tiny child 2 Euros... I think because I'm currently reading Orwell's "Down and Out in Paris and London".) Then my boss called and said "oh yeah can you do blah blah blah and blah before you come in tomorrow?" I spent most of the afternoon working and baking an anniversary cake. It looks edible but very home made, with a heart made out of pieces of white chocolate. I don't think Alex really likes cake, but I think he'll like the idea of me baking for him. When he gets home we're going out for a late lunch (or regular dinner in America) and then going out to watch Greece and Russia play Spain and Sweden respectively. I'm becoming Euro Cup OBSESSED.

Ok back to work, let's hope we get through the rest of the day with no more earthquakes... and Alex likes his cake.

on being 'greek'

I have a hangover. Alex says it is because I drank tequila after drinking cheap wine. He has a point. But let's start at the beginning:

Last night Alex was at his English lesson and I was dragging on my freelance. I couldn't handle another minute of rearranging old FCE tests... the problem with freelance, well one of the problems, is you're always burdened with getting things done, regardless of the time of day. I also spend way too much time at home. Anyway, I was feeling unmotivated so I thought I'd go for a little walk by the harbor. I was five minutes into the walk when I saw Jessica and her friend sitting at a table on the sidewalk. This is normal in Greece, to drag your furniture onto the sidewalk and drink and chat and pull up chairs when your neighbors walk by. Not something you'd see in America but I like the idea of it. If only we had a sidewalk in Francestown. So Jessica waved at me to come over and I pulled up a chair and they poured me some 2-euro-a-plastic-container rose. Mmm. We talked for a while and then Jessica and the other woman's little girls showed up and then I decided I should call Alex and let him know where I was. He was a little pissed at me for just disappearing and not taking my phone and had actually taken Ira's bike out looking for me. (I'm not sure what he expected to find. Me dead on the side of the road?) I told him to come over and, allbeit grudgingly, he obliged. By the time he arrived the Austria Poland game was about to begin so we turned a TV around in the window and watched football from the sidewalk. And everyone seemed to think this was totally normal. One of those little things I appreciate about Greece. As the evening progressed more people showed up around our little table and the alcohol flowed. Which is why we ended up going to Lazerith's place after and drinking tequila. The end. (Also, Poland and Austria tied.)

earthquake

Welcome back earthquakes. Even though we HADN'T had one in months, every time the wind blows too hard or Alex shakes the bed I panic for a split second... which is why it's sort of ironic that today when the earthquake (a 6.5 in Patras) hit at first I thought it was just a strong wind. Then I saw everyone crossing themselves and I turned around and watched Corinth sway for about 60 seconds. When it stopped Alex ran home to make sure his mom was OK and she called me a moment later in histerics but OK. Everything glass on our shelves was broken and the TV had fallen off the shelf but she managed to catch it so it didn't break. In Patras, two people were killed. (BBC NEWS) Earthquakes are the biggest reason I want to go home. I hate living in fear of them... and maybe I'm overreacting but I really am afraid. I guess this crosses San Francisco off my list of future-residences. 

Apparently, Ime ena pop star!

So last yesterday was kind of weird. Spent the day being lazy... except I did shop and cook a delicious artichoke/asparagus pasta and watching movies/losing at tavli with Alex. After lunch Alex's mom proposed to me that I start cooking all the time (currently I cook somewhere between once and three days a week). It was a huge compliment (Russian mother handing over COOKING rights??) but truth be told I don't want to cook ALL the time. I like it to be special... I like my cooking to be appreciated, otherwise I don't like cooking. And I know being the primary cook means your cooking is not really appreciated. We'll see what happens. 

So after lazing around Alex and I went out to watch "the game" (Euro Cup Portugal V. Turkey). Portugal won and may I just say they have some damn hot players (Ronaldo included of course). Also, so far my picks have been right. CR and Portugal. So we watched the game with Niko and then Jessica and then somehow the night turned a little crazy... we ended up at the bar drinking tequila with orange slices and no salt and, of course, Heinekens. Eventually the crowd was just Alex, Jessica, Lazerith (the bar owner), Kiki (the bartender), Costa and this other guy named Alex. Kiki started DJing with the same 5 songs over and over again and we were dancing (in Greece??) and stuff. At one point Costas leans over to me and says, in broken English, "Do you know Kalomiora?" "Yes..." "You look JUST like her." I'm starting to get used to being told this. My role in Corinth is "the American girl who looks like Kalomiora". Well, better than nothing... 

Also, Alex and I are joining a soccer team! I am SO excited even though it is ALL Greek guys, Alex and me (making me a teeny bit the oddball) but really at this point whatever, I just want to playyyyy. So what if I'll be underestimated by chauvinistic Greek guys. Intramural soccer has taught me one thing: I can beat up guys on the soccer field, especially when they underestimate me. Hmph. 

Ok... let Sunday morning (afternoon) begin...

Friday Night Slice of Life

It is Friday night. I'm sitting on the couch wearing just Alex's t-shirt (and I'm still hot) and working... Yep, on a Friday night. This is either a function of working freelance or being broke. Or maybe both. We're saving our money for tomorrow night because it is a football-night which means lots of beers at the bar. At least for Alex. He was just watching a movie in French with Greek subtitles (which is still on but I'm not paying attention) but he just left to get us some beer at the periptero... and then got intercepted at the door by a yaya neighbor who needs help fixing her lamp. He's such a good boy.  And we're such a married couple sometimes: spending our Friday nights like this. It's nice to be in love. 

slice of my life, there you go. 

Sometimes I talk to myself

Sorry for not writing for a few days... I'm not sure who I'm addressing that apology to... but perhaps I have some loyal blog readers out there who were terribly disappointed in me. When I was younger (9,10) I used to write apologies in my diary (journal for you Brits) when I didn't write for a while. My entries would go something like this. June 1st: I went to Sarah's house today. It was so much fun, we played Barbies and then her mom took us to the beach. September 1st: I am SOOOO SORRY I HAVEN'T WRITTEN IN SO LONG! I've been sooo busy and it was summer and I hid my diary under my bed and forgot about it.... But... 

You get the point. 

Alex's mom just came in here with a beach towel and told me she was going to the banyo (bathroom). I was like... "ok..." (why is she telling me this?) And thennn I remembered that bathroom and beach are the same word sometimes. Ahh Greek. Sometimes I can't wait to go back to America where everyone speaks English and the word for bathroom and beach are completely different. 

Now to the blog title: Not a very interesting story, actually, but I was writing (and apparently concentrating really hard) and I hear a little knock at the door and Alex's mom was like... "who is here?" and I was like "what?" and she laughed and said "you were talking..." and I was like "I was?" And she laughed and now thinks I'm crazy. Is talking to yourself when you write normal? When I'm really concentrating on writing... (not like this blog where I just write whatever comes to my head) sometimes I need to actually say words before they make sense. I donno.

Oh ALSO, last night Alex and I had a conversation I can't BELIEVE we hadn't had until now. We were lying in bed trying to force ourselves asleep so we could be up at six (have I mentioned what a wonderful girlfriend I am because I wake up with Alex to make him breakfast and coffee before work?) and for some reason we started talking about animal sounds. I think he mispronounced a word and I said he sounds like a chicken "bawk bawk" and he said "BAWK?" and then we went through every animal we could think of and the ONLY sound that is the same in Russian and English is moo. Everything else is wildly different. Maybe I'll attach a video clip of Alex saying animal sounds in Russian later... but I doubt he'd agree to that. 

Anyway I am absolutely bogged down with work, which is why I haven't been writing much, so I'm going to end this here.

Cheers