It's fascinating to think that these structures were built over a thousand years ago and they still stand today! Well pieces of them, but that's mainly due to intentional destruction because of various empires that have overtaken Athens as opposed to natural factors. The pillars are in sections with an iron rod that goes through the middle so that when there is an earthquake, the sections move, but the pillar stays put. Even modern architecture has been destroyed by recent earthquakes in Athens, but these pillars remain.
It was only a few short days but already I fell in love with Greece. From the moment I stepped off the plane, I met a Canadian couple taking the same metro who invited me to follow them. Once off the metro, I was greeted in Monastiraki Square by an older Greek man who could tell I was lost and showed me the way to my hostel. I'd begun to forget that strangers can be kind, this was a really nice reminder.
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| Dinner outdoors with a friend I made at my hostel and an old friend from Dhaka. |
I ate a ton of delicious Greek food including souvlaki, gyros, tzatziki sauce, lamb stew, baklava, Greek frozen yogurt (which is way better), and homemade gelato. I roamed the ancient ruins including the acropolis, the ancient agora, the olympic stadium, and the temple of Zeus. I took a one day tour of islands around Athens and swam in the beautiful blue Aegean Sea. I also had the opportunity to sit in the ancient theater of Dionysus and watch a 1920's Charlie Chaplin film accompanied by a live orchestra. That was incredible.
But what I loved most about Greece was the clean air, bright blue sky, warm sun (without humidity!), friendly strangers, and the freedom to come and go as I pleased and wear whatever I wanted to and never once feel the uncomfortable glare of hundreds of Bengali men. That was priceless.
Landing in Toronto I was met with a shocking $60 cab ride...WHAT?! I don't think I'm going to like paying Canadian prices for things again. Why wouldn't the cab driver accept my 100 taka? I feel like that was more than generous!
I was also met with a slobbery kisses from my brother's friendly dog who's part husky part German Sheppard. We took him for a walk and had a picnic in the park with some friends and I said, this is what I've missed. We can walk down the nice, clean sidewalk to a nice, clean park filled with trees and grass and it's so quiet. No horns honking, no guys trying to sell bananas at the top of their lungs with one note, no spitting, no peeing in the open sewers, no power lines frayed and dangling over your face as you cross the street. Just calm and orderly streets with free and beautiful parks to play in.
I made it home in time for my dear friend's wedding and Canada Day. I've never been more thankful to be Canadian. Our government is by no means perfect, but we have a lot of really great things going for us like our adherence to protecting human rights, our health care and education system, and so many others. Being a young woman in Canada is so much more freeing than so many other places in the world. I am truly thankful for that.
Not to mention, I get to do things like eat the last portion of the world's largest poutine!
