Wow. what more can I say right now then that word that elicits the emotion of pure awe. Wow. I write this on my plane ride back home to Canada after four long amazing months. Let me first, before embarking on a very necessary rant about my current emotional state, tell you more about the wonderful Greek culture!
Firstly the food. A cuisine so fresh, flavourful and healthy that you sit down at every shared dish meal finding room in your belly you never thought existed! Eating olives tomatoes and cucumbers grown in a garden you walked by in the morning, consuming copious amounts of 'homemade wines' along with figs that were picked by myself or a relatives hands 10 minutes ago. Or eating veleeta greens doused in lemon so fresh it makes your mouth tingle for more of the sour fruit juice. Or a pepino, a melon, so flavourful bought from one of the weekly neighbourhood street markets, its puts a new idea in your head as to what natural sweetness really is!
And Secondly, the people. Alright, I'll give it to you, I had an in, travelling through Greece with my Greek uncle, visiting Theo Yani and Thia Ana's Glefada home and eating zesty cool dolmades. Or staying at "Hotel Canadiana" with friends that make our meals especially for us that fill our glasses full with that pungent homemade brew tinking glasses and chanting "yamas" to celebrate one another's presence. All the while sitting at a Taverna only meters away from the Sea off the coast of Evia, near the darling village of Vasillika, with four old Greek gentleman chanting old Greek songs loud over their card game.
The Landscape, Cyclades islands of volcanic origin barren and surrounded on one side by cliff where white washed villas, tavernas and homes teeter on the confusing cliff edge, forming an astonishing labyrinth of cobblestone walkways so fun to explore by day and even more alive and amazing by night. This island of Santorini is where two of my very favourite wanderers (achem Mom, Auntie Bonnie) and I scaled the cliff side starting far down into the abysmal Caldera waters, and walked 15km from Fira to Oia, this was a feat, we were proud of I tell ya. And oh, lets not forget the Greek Beaches. From the black sand volcanic rock beach on Santorini to the turquoise waters off the coast of the much greener island of Skaithos (North Eastern Greece) the beaches of Greece are quite stunning. And so, as my time in Greece has come to an end, I will remember many things; the food of course, the salty residue after swimming in the sea and counting to 100 in Greek, the welcoming people, the generous uncle, aunt and extended family, the laughs and the way it was a perfect end to my summer.
As I think right now, about heading back to Canada, tears well up in my eyes. My chest aches when you think about my Dad, my friends and family back home that I haven't connected with in just too long. Although I know I could carry on travelling I am looking forward to a small bit of consistency. I have been "instantly" thrown from Otesha, to Southeast Asia with Krista, to Greece with my Aunt, Uncle, cousins and mother. All three experiences have been so dramatically different from one another I learned so much from them all; skills and lessons and knowledge that is not necessarily tangible, but that will be brought forward with me whenever I end up. I have learned some things in bold: live life. play. communicate. be nice. say thank you. And on that note I owe thanks, to the universe for acting greatly in my favour, to my Otesha teammates, who I think about daily and who really changed my world. To my parents for being the absolute best; supporting me in all my crazy plans, and for keeping to big stuff in perspective. To Krista, whom is the best soul mate and travel mate a girl could ever wish for. To my Greek family for treating me, exposing me and welcoming me oh so well. To every person who came into contact with me over the past four months whether it was for four days in Vancouver BC when I house crashed, or for two minutes when I evoked a smile in the Vietnamese Mekong delta upon a long boat paddled between greenery or whether it was the person I just spoke to whose broken English didn't stop me from seeing her excitement in visiting her husband for the first time in Canada. Thank you all, you have taught me lessons no institution could ever teach. And to you, for caring enough to read my wordy blogs, I can't wait for our reunion in Canada!
