First of all apologies, it appears that no-one is able to subscribe to this blog because the creator has no idea what she’s doing! I can see that you have visited but for some reason your info has not made it to the back end of the site. You’ll just have to check when you remember please. I will endeavour to post every day, but no promises 😘
Today was massive for me & for Athens. It was Independence Day & there was a huge display of Greece’s militia parading along the Main Street of the city. It would have been a good day for an enemy to strike since it seems that all of the nations forces were playing, marching, driving or flying by.
I made my way further along the road today than I got yesterday & bagged myself a prime position on a wall at the back of the crowds. There were thousands of people lining both sides of the street & looking for vantage points wherever they could. Here is a pic of me & my two wall mates who made me feel like part of the gang. The chap on the left has a son marching & the lady who spoke a little English was really friendly.
The parade officially started at 11am but I got there by about 10am so waited & watched the crowds gather. It lasted until almost 1pm by which time I was all paraded out! It was great to see so many women marching in the parade but it was the divers in their scuba outfits who got the biggest cheer from the crowd. Apparently they are the strongest men & from the shouts & applause from the crowds it was clear they are highly revered. Every young boys dream (along with the tanks?).
I loved the Evzones, the elite group of soldiers who stand guard at the Presidential Mansion. They are the ones with the Pom-poms on their shoes & the white ‘dresses’. I saw them last time I was here & they represent, for me, an iconic symbol of Greece. It’s a real honour to be called up into this guard & those chosen are all volunteers identified during Basic Training. The only requirement is height, no-one under 6’2” is able to join.
Conscription is compulsory & all male Greek citizens between the ages of 19 & 45 are required to serve in the Greek Armed Forces. Word has it that to be called into the Evzones guard is every Granny’s dream for their boy! However I think that all the Granny’s, Mum’s & Dad’s would have been very proud of their boys & girls today. I felt proud for the Greek’s in general, it was obvious that this was a really important day for them & I feel really privileged to have been able to share it with so many happy people.
Once the parade had finished I rushed down to language class & spent the next 2 hours frying my brain. Barely a word of English was spoken 🤯 there were only 2 of us in the class (many were away because it’s a long weekend) so it was pretty intense. I got 2 comprehension books & we were asked to read several dialogues & answer true or false . All this was done at a cracking pace with numbers thrown in for fun! Even though it’s a beginners class I got lots wrong but it was great to practise reading at such a pace!
I am scheduled to do another 2 hour online class tomorrow morning & I’ve just seen a message pop up on the group chat with my name on it telling me that I have homework to do before class! I also have my usual once a week class before the new class, so that’s 3 hours of back to back Greek. I think I’ll need a lie down after all that mental exercise!
After class my new friend Monami, a Japanese girl who’s chosen to live here for a couple of years and I went to have lunch down a grotty alleyway where all the locals were hanging out. We ate the traditional meal of the day, salted cod & garlic potatoes… delicious. There were some lovely people next to us & he told me bits & pieces about the Greek tragedies, which I didn’t get round to reading prior to coming here! Greek culture is steeped in stories & that’s really obvious here in this ancient city where every corner has a story attached to it.
We were both full & sleepy when we left at 5.30pm. Saying goodbye at Syntagma Square I walked back through the gardens via the bakery where I bought my breakfast for tomorrow morning as I will be here until 1pm in class! I’d better go & check my messages, looks like I’ve got homework I need to be getting on with.
