After having spent half a day in Athens, my first impression of the city and the culture is that it would take me far longer than the two weeks I will be here to even begin to understand the nuances and gain a decent sense of direction.
The group just spent several hours walking through part of the city. This excursion began at the church across the street from my apartment. Here we went in to see part of a wedding ceremony that was taking place this evening. For myself and many of my comrades, the experience was rather nerve-wracking. While professor Finitsis assured us that it was 'just a wedding' and that our going into the church during the ceremony was acceptable, I just couldn't shake the feeling of intruding on someone else's private event. The customs for the type of wedding we witnessed tonight are far different from any I have experienced before. And even though these customs allow for people to come and go while the wedding ceremony is taking place, I simply wasn't able to forget the customs I am acquainted with.
I imagine that many more of these types of experiences will come about over the next several weeks. I will continue to observe the differences, and look for similarities, between customs here in Greece and those I am used to at home. This should prove to be an uncomfortable experience at times, but the discomfort will be well worth the sum of the experience.
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