I simply love colors. I am all about colors. 

Stand out. Shine. Be unique. Be you. Be colorful.

You might be wondering why I am mentioning this? 

Because I love that splash of colors in Athens created with graffiti and murals.

That was the first thing I noticed about the city. The graffiti that we see on the streets may seem like an insignificant tag or scribble to some people, but there is usually a lot of meaning behind it. It is a visual representation of someone’s identity.

I always admired graffiti as street art. It is a way to become visible. For those who create it, graffiti is an ultimate expression of identity and a creative escape. Street art has become a big part of mainstream culture.

I know some of the graffiti art has been closely associated with political situations in the country itself or around the world, but I believe the things have changed in recent decades. Street art has, to a certain degree, assimilated with the city and art culture in general. It is an eye-catching way to make cities alive.

And that's exactly the way I feel about Athens, where the ruins of an ancient civilization co-habit and merge with the modern city. 

I love to walk around, get lost in the small streets, and wander off into unknown areas... you would be surprised by the cool stuff you can discover.

Of course you can find the usual rough and makes no sense hit-and-run tagging, but there’s also quite a lot of graffiti that has taken real thought and effort to pull it off. Those are simply brilliant and as pretty as a picture.

During these few months here I had the chance to experience and get to know the city a bit closer. When you travel, you usually go for the highlights of a certain place, but once you live somewhere, you have a lot of time to explore. I did run to see Acropolis the second day, also the third day when I just arrived  (standing in the city center in all its glory, so who can blame me), but I didn't enter, because there were tons of tourists and the last thing I wanted to do was squeeze in heat and have only people on my pics instead of magnificent Acropolis.

I believe cities have personalities, because they are reflections of the people living in them and vice versa. But the real deal is dealing with people's attitude, habits and culture. 

And last but not least: Cats, cats and more cats. 

You will be followed by, stared at, Puss in Boots eyed and meowed at. 

I was excited to move to Greece. Another place with a long history and rich culture. I didn't know what to expect though. Besides, I haven't been living in Europe for such a long time, that whatever I would face, would probably be a reverse cultural shock, which I mentioned in the previous post.

The first impression was delightful. I moved here in May, so its was already nice and warm. But what i liked the most, were the neranzties, or bitter orange trees. I simply adore it. Gives Athens so much color and liveliness. Fruits look super tempting, but sadly they are not edible because of their bitterness.

The trees are usually used as decorative street trees and the ripe fruit is left to rot away however, the small green fruits are made into spoon sweet bitter orange preserves.

I heard so many things about Athens. Some people agreed that “it’s a very nice and vibrant place”. Others told me “ You are really going to enjoy your time” while some even envied me for this opportunity. On the other hand, I also received some negative points of view. Friends who traveled or lived there warned me that people in Athens can be loud and rude, and “are not friendly as you’d think they are”. Well isn't it like that in all the big capitals? I heard completely the same for New York. I never let my ears witness what my eyes didn't see. 

For me, it is odd to be in a country, where I can’t read the signs. I speak a few languages, and yet a little good that did me in Athens, where I can't even pick up the basics of conversation. But I found that English could go a long way, and if that fails, waving my hands and trying to explain works just fine. From my experience, I find Greek people extremely hospitable, warm and eager to understand you. They love their coffee, flavorful food and chill time. More about my observations about Greece will be dedicated in next post. 

Athens are lively and buzzing capital, place where history meets modern pace of life. But I never have a feeling of that big city, sorry gotta run, leave me alone and don’t bother me kind of a vibe. It’s rather something I like. Taking it easy, day by day. Ok, some things could be done waaay faster though, but that’s another story.

I traveled to China for the first time in 2001, because I got a scholarship in Chengdu ( FYI: I am a proper nerd, although I prefer to call myself an intellectual bad ass). Back in time, China was a whole different story than it is today. I landed into the world of unknown weirdness. To me only, of course, because it’s something I didn’t expect, haven’t seen or experienced. I was not afraid of a change, I was actually looking forward to it.

Quite a challenge for the first solo travel huh? All alone, all the way to China. Transfers and layovers in Europe were done with my eyes shut, but once I arrived at Beijing airport, troubles started. I had to buy a plane ticket to Chengdu on my own. Finding Sichuan airlines was not a problem, but buying a ticket was. The nice lady didn't speak any English. But heeeeey, I speak Chinese. Confidence kicked in, because, let me tell you, I could recite every sentence from the book by heart. Guess what? She didn't understand a word I said, I repeated myself at least four times and I was about to cry my eyes out. I wrote my request down on a piece of paper in Chinese, she read it, smiled and issued the ticket. So much for speaking Chinese after two years of studying.

Another shock came later that evening, when they assigned me the room in the dorms. There was no mattress, the bed was a hard board with a thin cover over it. Don't let me even start with the bathroom and the squat toilet. Oh, lets not forget the blue tinted windows with the metal bars on it. Seeing all this I was wondering how I will manage. And I did. Took it as a part of culture. It didn't mean I understood every custom and quirk of China, but I accepted I don't need to in order to feel at home. And China was my home for over 15 years. ( I lived in Chengdu for the past 12 years.)

I also believe I was hit by a REVERSE cultural shock. It was not a Cupid love arrow, welcome back to Europe, kinda hit. It was way more intense, stressful and emotional. Crocodile tears were shed when landing back home, everything felt strange, nothing seemed right, even language sounded weird. Readjustment to my own culture. I have to admit that I find this more surprising and difficult to deal with than the original culture shock.

Getting there, step by step. Positive vibes only!