After spending 3 days in Chania, I’ve started to notice a few things.
It’s
pretty impossible for me to sleep passed 6am! Daniel and I leave the
window open because the breeze feels wonderful. There is some sort of
sparrow that you can find almost anywhere in the harbor. They fly
around like mad in the morning, chirping like crazy. Don’t get me
wrong…it wakes me up…but I like it.
I mentioned before that the streets of Chania aren’t busy until around 8am, so waking up before 7 or 7:30 is kinda pointless 🙂
The
street vendors aren’t pushy at all – now the restaurant owners…that’s
another story! Every sentence begins with “Hello Friend!” and some
encouraging words in order to get you to eat at their restaurant. This,
of course, happens mostly in the tourist spots [i.e. by the water].
I’ve
been trying to use the few Greek words I know whenever I can. One of
two things tend to happen. Either the person thinks I speak fluent
Greek [hmmm my “thank you” must sound impressive!] and continues to
speak in Greek – to which I promptly reply “I’m sorry?” and then they
understand….tourist. Or! The Greek person is impressed that Daniel and I are trying
to speak a little bit and help me use the words correctly [yesterday I
was taught how to request change for money correctly…haha].
I
have been looking for a hair straightener. I finally found one in a
super market, right next to the irons [haha]. The super market I went
to is in the city center, where things aren’t so old like the
port/harbor. Most people in the center live here, so I was all sorts of
confused when two women spoke to me in nothing but Greek. Oy! As soon
as I said “I’m sorry?” their faces kinda fell. I’m sorry?? haha 🙂
People are love sitting outside! It seems like there are chairs everywhere. And sometimes little tables. In fact, yesterday I saw a mini table with two mini chairs around it in a souvenir shop!
The
hotel manager where we stay is incredibly nice! And when Daniel and I
say “ya sas” or “calee mera” he is quite impressed. I’m glad we ended
up staying here – after the silly drama I caused!
My friend told
me that I should lose some weight before visiting Greece because bread
is served with every meal – and YES that is true! Bread and wonderful
olive oil. Also, if you think they’ve forgotten your utensils, check
the bread basket! It’s all hidden inside. haha Greek coffee is pretty
good, but I enjoy a large cup, so after a couple Greek coffees, I’ve
been ordering “filtered coffee” – it’s either like American drip or in a
French Press – and is usually quite tasty 🙂
Raki [pronounced
rocky i believe] is a very popular alcohol here made of grapes. You
take it like a shot. “Ya mas!” means cheers. I had a couple shots of
raki over a couple days [a lot of restaurants give it to you for free
after your meal – sometimes a small bottle of it!] and umm….I normally
refuse it. haha Daniel enjoys it, but I’m not much of a shooter!
Cats
are EVERYWHERE. I didn’t quite understand why there was a cat on the
cover of my Greek book/dictionary….and now I do. Cats are wild here –
and it seems as thought they are treated like birds…they roam free
and nobody really bothers them! They are also quite skittish and
untrusting of humans. For the most part they are pretty…but the
dumpster cats….are kinda scary looking!
Lastly, since I will
soon prepare for this…we eat breakfast at the Hotel Porto del Colombo.
The lady who serves us breakfast is so nice! We are given plenty that
keeps us quite happy and full until passed 2pm. There is bread of
course, coffee or tea, orange juice, 2 different cheeses, ham [not for
me!], cookies, and Greek yogurt with honey. SO GOOD. Sometimes water
is given to you, but usually you have to order it. Most water is served
from a bottle.
Okay, on to photographs from the evening of Day 2 and all of Day 3!
Yesterday I started freaking out. I realized that there are so many things we should
do, but not enough time to do it all. So D and I decided…let’s just
relax. We are here for the Creativity Workshop…let’s just take in
what we’re learning, do the assignments, and take it slow. After that
decision my mind stopped racing and I could relax. Woo!
As I just
mentioned, Daniel and I are taking a Creativity Workshop. Shelley and
Alejandro are our instructors. Shelley is a writer, and Alejandro is a
multimedia artist. They are incredibly sweet and incredibly smart!
I’d like to also share some things that have made on impression on me.
I
mentioned interviews in the last entry. They have been so incredibly
fun! Everyone seems to get into character when they are describing the
other person [they have to ACT like they are them]. It’s been extremely
interesting and a lot of fun.
Another great activity I’ve enjoyed
is the 10 tiny object assignment. Participants needed to bring 10
small objects that fit in your hand. They are to pass these objects to
the person to their right, and then write a play or story with the
objects. Everyone is so creative! Most everyone uses the objects to
represent something else – or makes up quirkly little names for them.
For example, a friend of ours included Finger Land as the home of four
rings. Someone else included lentil soup in their story because they
had to incorporate a piece of lint. And the way people shared their
stories was very fun to listen to. 🙂
We have also been practicing
“automatic writing.” I’ve never actually done automatic writing and
became quite frustrated with it! The second day, though, we had to
partner up and share…and I learned a LOT. My partner was extremely
helpful and explained the process so well…that when we had to do it
again I felt a lot better about my writing [which I perceive as my
weakness].
Every day I am incredibly impressed by the sincerity of
our instructors. Shelley complimented me on my speaking skills the
second day of class [after I shared my “interview”]. I felt silly and
laughed it off because I was so nervous having to speak to a crowd of
peers! She grabbed my arm and said “No, Roxy, look at me.” She told me
I was captivating up there. I couldn’t believe it. But the way she
told me and looked straight at me – I seriously almost cried. I have a
deep respect for all these people with whom I have interacted in the
workshop…they are all lovely and honest and it’s quite a pleasure to
work with them every day.
