Where I am located
Located right on the coast of the Aegean Sea, I am studying in Thessaloniki! This is the second largest city in the country – but not very commonly visited by Americans due to the popularity of Athens & of course, the islands off the coast. Thessaloniki is a young, urban city and acts as a hub of Northern Greece and the Balkans. Interestingly enough, one in every 10 residents in this city are students – roughly 15% of the population.
TO-DO Thessaloniki
White Tower
THRIFTING!!!!!!!
1 “Weigh It, Wear It”
2 Retro Secret
3 90’s closet
4 Artem Aldo’s
Learning Greek! (the language, customs & traditions)
As it turns out, learning a new language is harder than I anticipated…. duh
I work on the alphabet and diphthongs for a half hour each day – and introduce a new “word of the day” each morning. I feel silly even saying “Kalimera” (Good morning) at the cafes – because it feels painfully obvious I’m not Greek, and, of course, I’m about to order in full English. I think with more practice and routine of visiting the same spots each week I’ll gain some confidence.
Culture Shocks:
The cafe culture! I heard about this through my online research but seeing cafes full throughout the entire day – 7 days a week has been shocking. Greeks seem to drink their coffee from morning until genuinely 8pm at night, I’m just confused as to how they get any sleep
The days seem to start significantly later here. Although all of Europe is known to have a much more relaxed culture, I’ve noticed in Greece that mid day seems to be around 3pm rather than maybe noon at home? For example, my classes do not even begin until 2pm and end potentially up to 10pm! Cafes don’t begin to get crowded until the afternoon hours and nightlife clubs wont even open until 10/11 and commonly close between 5/7am.. That may be the hardest adjustment (other than the language) thus far for me because I’ve turned into a grandma after graduating. Im trying to adjust my hours of the day by simply sleeping in late! No complaints about that