Visions of Greece

Anonymous

Today was a light day when it came to activities for me.  I woke up to skype with my best friend and then took my time to get ready for class.  We sat in class for three and a half hours and then were set loose on the city once more.  At first, nearly everyone from our class took off together to explore.  Now, if you've ever been to a foreign country, you know that 20 people walking around together is not very inconspicuous, nor is is the most convenient thing to do.   So, by nature, we ended up splitting our very large group into about four more manageable ones.

There are some things money just can't buy.  While entering a store, just for a quick look around, I said a quick hello (in Greek) to the man working there.  He instantly thought I spoke the language and was sort of surprised when I told him I did not understand Greek.  To that he responded with more Greek and I became self conscious that I'd said the phrase wrong, but it turned out that he just wanted to share some phrases with me. :)  I asked him a question about why so many items had the eye on it and he began to explain it all to me. By the way he told the story, you could tell that he was very passionate about his life and sharing his knowledge with people.  He was very adamant in explaining to me that the eye is not just a part of Greek tradition but it is used in many countries all around the world.  What makes it unique here is the coloring.  Our conversation felt like a mini bonding session and it made me want to look around the store more.  At the end of my browsing, I only bought a tiny little bracelet, but he gave my two roommates and myself this little trinket: a safety pin with a flower and the eye on it.   This trinket made my day so wonderful.  It wasn't just a little token, it was an offering of friendship and understanding.  From my experience so far, it is not just this man that has a heart to connect with people and be generous to them, it is the people of Greece as a whole.  They have a genuine quality we often pass over, but I guarentee, it is a beautiful thing to witness.