Greekstentialism

Kalisera from Athens, Greece! Another day, another data integration project with one of our field offices...and thankfully, this one happens to be in one of the cities I've been meaning to visit since I was a child. Growing up a product of the US public school system, you'd often hear stories about ancient Greek civilizations and their culture. This country is indeed the birthplace of democracy and great minds such as Socrates, and of course, being a general math geek that I am, Pythagoras. Heck, ancient Greek reading was even required in high school, as we read Homer's Iliad and Odyssey in our English classes (the latter being one of my favorite books of all time). All things considered, despite having fallen on hard times recently, I believe Greece to still be one of the most fascinating countries in the world. The picture to the left is me seated out front of the Parthenon in the Acropolis, a truly amazing structure that I'd rank up with the Egyptian pyramids as a "must see before time wears it down to nothing."

Anyway, geeky tourist fascination aside, I've learned much about the modern Greek culture since I've been here. Some tips for my fellow Americans who may have never visited Greece before and are planning on coming by in the near future:

• The Greeks LOVE cheese. Not just feta either. Cheese is practically on every dish. For those who are lactose-intolerant, bring all appropriate OTC treatments.
• Eat lunch at 12-1 pm? Most Greeks will look at you strangely. Lunch here typically begins around 2:30pm/3:00pm.
• Eat dinner at 6-7 pm? Again, most Greeks will look at you strangely. Actually, you won't see them looking at you strangely because none of them will be out. Dinner starts around 9:00pm/9:30pm.
• Common Greek phrases can be found here complete with phonetic pronunciation.
• Want to eat some amazing seafood while driving by some of the biggest villas in Greece? Take a trip a little north of Athens to a place called Kiffisias.
• Have ouzo on the rocks when having seafood, then finish off with mastica as a dessert apertif.

Word is I might be headed back around these parts sooner rather than later, so I will be sure to post any more tips as I discover them.