Some FAQs that I've been getting: What exactly are you going to do for MEDASSET? Do you get to touch turtles? Can you bring one home?
Answers: I am currently in the stages of creating a promotional video that describes MEDASSET and the efforts is has undertaken in sea turtle conservation. I probably won't get to touch any turtles because I'm not doing research on them, but hopefully, I'll get to see a few! And it's probably against many regulations by many countries and international laws and all that to bring one home. So my turtle Tony, probably won't be getting a new European friend any time soon. And even if he did, salt water and fresh water turtles just do not get along. Must be something in the water.
Monday was my first day of work. I get up early (7:00 AM) reheat my left over souvlaki, and nommed my way to work, located in the Kolonaki district. It's actually nice and cool in the morning and not too sunny, so the walk over is nice, if a little humid. However, my shoes are not exactly made for walking, which eventually ends up with my getting a strained whatever the muscle is below your calf. BOO.
I get to work but the building seems hidden, so I walk down an alleyway and find a woman sweeping the steps. She's more than glad to help me find the office, which is actually an apartment converted into an office for about 10 people. It also includes a living space for in house volunteers who come from other countries. Currently, there is a Harvard undergrad working and living there, who is remarkably similar to me in interests and taste. I imagine she's what I would be like if I went to Harvard, maybe. It's an interesting thought, one that I've wondered many times during first semester freshman year. And now, I suppose I know.
When I get to the office, I am right on time at 9 AM sharp, as the packet sent to me indicated, but no one is there, so I sit outside on the stairwell for awhile until someone comes. As I step into the office, I am instantly greeted by turtles on every side, on the walls, the cabinets, on pamphlets, etc. To me, it's a beautiful site. I've always loved turtles; I suppose in a way, I identified with them: a little slow, a little misunderstood, carried my backpack like a shell, and never let people get that close to me.
Slowly, people begin to trickle in and as they do, I re-realize the laid back nature of the people of Greece. They are incredibly hard workers when they work, but incredibly laid back the rest of the time. As I await the arrival of my main director, Jenny, the Communications Officer, I begin reading materials and watching tapes dealing with sea turtles, which may be the cutest things ever. When she finally comes, we start talking about hours and vacation time. I suggest that the rest of my internship buddies are doing a lot of 9 AM - 3 PM days, which is what most of the Greek stores subscribe by, so she says that's fine; the last intern worked for less than 6 hours a day. "How many days a week do they work?" she asks, then suggests that I work 3 days a week, as the last intern did. I'm perfectly fine with this suggestion as it will give me time to explore Athens and complete the things on my list, which at this point is a sad 0/20 (unless you count all the half points in which case I have 2/20). And that's how I ended up with the 3 day/week, 6 hr work day. :)
Recall from the last paragraph that many Greek businesses close at 3 PM, at least on MWF (on TThS, they're open until 2:30, then reopen from 5-8 PM), and remember from a couple posts ago where my "unblocked" phone wasn't actually unlocked in Greece. Thus, I had to leave work early on a journey to get a cell phone that I could actually use, using the What's Up plan, which would allow me to call anyone from the What's Up plan for 1500 minutes and send 1500 texts for free (incoming calls are also free). Still unfamiliar with the terrain, I went to this store in the hot hot heat only to find out that they were out of "What's Up" cheapo phones and the cheapest phone was 50 euros. NO, I said. I'll find another Germanos store nearby. I went to the next store that was on my map, only to find that it did not exist. Simply WAS NOT THERE. Where are you Germanos store? So I walk allllllll the way to the other one on the other side of Kolonaki and finally, finally, get my phone. Look here it is! It's extremely simple. Only makes phone calls and texts, which is really all I need in this crazy mixed up world that is Greece.In the evening, I am invited to a get together with the people from the office for "beer and a bite," which I take to mean dinner and drinks. Unfortunately, the bite is just that...basically a shared platter of bite-sized bread/cucumber/tomatoes/cheese/meat. So most of the calories actually came from the beer, which is what the people of medieval Europe got most of their calories from, I suppose. So I ate like a medieval farmer with more vegetables than meat that night. Acceptable. After dinner, we went out for drinks at this place:
This was very Greek to me, because of the music, the atmosphere, and the fact that people were smoking everywhere, all the time. The saving grace for that was that mosquitoes, who love me, don't like the smoke so much so they didn't bother us. We had great conversations about life, love, and expectations, and with every clink of the glass, with every Yiamas! [Cheers], I found myself a little more happy to be here for the summer, and a little more excited to get to work with these awesome people for this awesome cause.
Medasset Link Again
I like the little break Greece seems to take from around 3-5 pm. I thought when I went to Mexico, people would actually take ciestas in the afternoon, that business districts would close down for a brief nap, and the hustle and bustle of Mexico City would take a breather. Nope. If anything, it gets busier when this supposed ciesta is supposed to take place. Not a fan of Mexico. Nice people, though there are too many of them in general.
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