Greece vs. Germany

So, the last few days in Athens have been pretty fantastic. We met some of the other students staying in our dorms. Most of them are from other parts of the U.S., but some a from other parts of the world. We took a tour of the campus, which is absolutely stunning and has great accommodations. We've also been doing a lot of cooking in our free time, and are quickly learning to plan ahead because the stores seem to close right around the time we get a really good idea for something delicious. Athens has a recognized nap time from about 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM, and most of the stores close for that and don't open back up. So, that has definitely been a culture shock to get used to. Another culture shock is the lack of personal space. Now, I'm not one to have a personal bubble, so I didn't think the whole personal space thing would be an issue, but there was an older gentlemen eerily close to me yesterday in the check out line. It was extremely far out of my comfort zone. Also, credit cards aren't accepted much here, and wherever they are accepted it's a slightly long and complicated process (that I've witnessed) to get it to go through. However, I have not let these slight differences detract from the awesome experiences that I'm having, such as tonight.

Tonight we went to watch a soccer match between Greece and Germany. I love soccer, but it's a hard thing to get excited about in American culture, but it was crazy here in Athens. We couldn't really find sitting room anywhere, but we were more than happy to stand and watch and cheer Greece on. Everyone was sporting Greece colors, hats, and one guy was even wearing the Greek flag as a cape! It was super exciting, and I couldn't quite get over how lucky I was to be in Greece during this time. Unfortunately, Germany started to show Greece up, and we left when it was 4 to 1, but then one goal Greece made was one of the most exciting moments of my life. It felt great to stand up and cheer and be surrounded by a bunch of people just as crazy as you are, screaming at the top of their lungs for something they're passionate about. I've loved being in Greece and feeling like I'm on vacation, but during that moment I kind of felt like I was also at home.