Girl Scout Camp

When I was about 10 or 12, I decided to spend a week at Girl Scout camp.  The way it worked out, I wasn't going to be going with anyone that I knew; my sister was going the same week, but she would be in a completely different age group.  I told myself that I would be okay - it was supposed to be a better experience if you didn't take a friend along to cling to, and I would make new friends.

It was miserable.  I was lonely and homesick, and I spent most of the week on the verge of tears, but I was stubborn enough to stick it out until the end of the week.  Needless to say, I never went back to Girl Scout camp.

The last few weeks of my time in Greece have brought this long-ago experience to mind.  Now, I don't want to give the impression that I've been miserable my entire time abroad - I've had amazing experiences.  But whether it was the visit from my parents that reminded me what I'd been missing, or whether I've simply run out of plucky resilience, my time in Greece is winding down, and the only thing I can think of is... I'm ready to go.  All in all, this could be seen as a positive thing - maybe I won't regret leaving when the time comes.  But, I'm not ready to go because I feel I've gotten all I can out of the experience, or I've seen all that Greece has to offer, or even that I'm simply ready for a change.  I'm ready to leave because I'm lonely, and my biggest regret is all the things that I still want to do here - I just don't want to do them alone.

I've never had an easy time making friends - meeting new people can be an anxiety-filled experience for me.  To me, moving abroad is nothing compared to putting myself out there on a daily basis.  My roommates and I didn't click, personality-wise, and I found myself at a loss.  Instead of taking the more challenging route of making friends, I decided I could do things on my own.  And for a long while, I did.  I've realized that even if I don't need someone else to do something, I still want someone to share the experience with me.  What fun is it to discover something new if there's no one to share the excitement with?

I did make a friend at Girl Scout camp, though I can't remember her name now.  It's good to know that even unhappy experiences are never entirely unhappy.  But I've learned something important: people are what make things worthwhile.

My Exciting Greek Life

When you're in Greece and your job gives you plenty of free time in the evenings and on weekends, what do you do?  Do you plan a series of weekend getaways?  Explore Athens' bar scene?  Drink endless cups of coffee in a string of Greek cafes?

Although I admit to being tempted by the last option (and sometimes indulging in the first), I spend a lot of my spare time... crocheting.  I know, I know, it's not exactly a Greek hobby, nor is it one that will help me meet people or explore exciting new places (except yarn shops, of course.)  However, on the endless days when I'm stuck with nothing to do or, more commonly, no one to do it with, I give in to my hermit-like tendencies and spend hours with my crocheting.

Okay - so it's also not the most glamorous of pursuits, considering that the majority of those involved are above the retirement age.  When knitting became trendy, somehow crochet got left behind.  But my mother taught me to crochet when I was only about eight years old, and it's stuck with me in a way that knitting, which I tried years later, never did.  It's also a bit of a family legacy, as both my great-grandmother and my great-aunt crocheted.  And I'm actually getting quite good!  After seeing a woman selling crocheted headbands in Meteora I thought, "I can do that!  I can do that better."  So I did, making an ear-warming headband out of spare blue and green yarn and adding a zig-zag around the edge.  I also tried my first crocheted piece that isn't flat - a cute red hat for which I used a pattern I found online and that I managed to alter to fit my head.

And I finally found a yarn shop - at least three, actually.  Thanks to Matt Barrett's website on all things Greek, I found out where they've been hiding.  (If you ever find yourself planning a trip to Greece, do yourself a favor and visit Matt Barrett's website.  His first-hand advice is incredibly helpful, and I wish he would just go ahead and write a book so I wouldn't have to keep looking stuff up!)  I also found some really great shopping to drool over in the same area - a win-win situation.

So, just in case you needed proof that my life in Greece is truly as exciting as it seems, here it is: I crochet.  Be jealous.