sick and tired but i survived
it was really a strange weather in germany, eventhough it was summer (06) it was raining all the time and cold, so i was really sick and i cant work anymore, i went to my doc and he said it was only psychological, i think i needed a vacation to where the sun is (i havent seen the sun for quite a time) so, i asked my internet friends who lived in athens if i can stay there for a while and they agreed, wihout even having to pay them.
i was really excited, while the plane was landing... i never seen such a barren landscape in my entire life in a big great city! (save of course in the arabian peninsula) and such i dont know rows and rows of boxed architectures painted white! it was 5 c in düsseldorf and bang 34 c in athens! it was a shock for my body and my head.
it was so humid there and arid, i am not used to the mediterenean climate. the air is so i dont know how to explain-but i can't breath properly. would you believe i can only eat watermelon for the first three days that i lost weight and thats alot coz i am already thin. anyway, i adjusted to the climate little by little.. and i can eat properly.
i was a little bit surprised of athens because it is similar to manila, the mentality of the people, trash everywhere, no system, jaywalking, vendors and neglected buildings - i stayed with my two greek friends and their house has the view of the lycabettus and the acropolis. they promised to show me around, but the situation was changed because all of a sudden they had to do something important for the university, so i was alone.
it was very hard at first, because of the greek symbols but with a little memory help from my trigonometry class 13 years ago :P hahaha i can decipher the greek letters and translate the characters in english. at the first few days (i am there for 2 weeks) i was afraid to use the subway, because maybe i would turn up somewhere far from the city. so i was just walking along the area - i live near omonia and it is not far from syntagma square and monastiraki, its just an hour walk (in the dead heat of athens) hahaha but i always carry a bottle of water with me and cigarettes.
but its not very "accomodating" as i landed here, there were only 2 check out counters available and it was a long wait - and for residence permit holders in the schengen states would be a horror at the check-out because they dont have any idea of it (resident permit holders have the permit in the mother language of the country) so it takes a while for them to figure it out - eventhough it has a seal of the schengen agreement - and they would ask you stupid questions and mumble in greek :D (hahahaha)
its the same thing as checking-in - it would also be a disaster. also have patience (resident permit holders) if its a greek in the counter - because it really takes a while, they talk nonsense with their colleagues before they scrutinize your passports.
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