A day that boosted my pride

Today was the best day I've had here so far. Took about three weeks. My roommate and living situation has not improved, as yesterday showed. So this morning I decided I'd had enough of it--I was going to go downtown by myself. Honestly, the idea scared the living daylights out of me. I've never even been in San Francisco by myself before, and here I was in a completely foreign country, barely able to speak the language, and not having a phone. But I knew, hey, I'll be in Spain for two weeks completely alone anyway, I should get used to it already.

Once I finally left this wretched building I started feeling calmer. When I hopped on the bus, I felt totally blissful. When I hopped off the metro, I was elated.

My experience downtown in Athens has consisted of four places, the previous ones being the Acropolis, Syntagma square, and Chinatown (DON'T go there. There are drug dealers). Today, when I got out of the metro station, which was really nice-looking, I thought for a second that I was in Disneyland: Monastiraki

It was a trip into Greek culture that is an absolute must. Under the protective majesty of the Acropolis is the bustling flea market of Monastiraki. I'd wanted to see it for a while now, and I figured my first excursion alone should be in a safe tourist trap. There are streets upon streets upon STREETS of hole-in-the-wall shops, and they have literally everything. There was a spot where the things just looked like junk...and there were shops that were obviously souvenir shops. There were tons of cool stuff, though, and it just went on forever. And ever. And ever. I also discovered the Plaka, which is like a higher-class version of the flea market. I heard some music playing, I ate some food from the side carts (are you supposed to eat the shells on chestnuts?), and I got to talk to some people. I bought a necklace and learned the history behind the symbol on it: the Evil Eye. It came from Homer. Homer wrote about the ships in Athens having the symbol on them to bring good luck and protection. Evil Eye memorobila has taken over Greece now.

One thing I find adorable about Athens is it's random ancient mysteries. Amidst a rush of apartment buildings that I feel really characterize Europe, there will be one stone chapel, and a few buildings later, there will be another one. I wandered into some ruins today next to Monastiraki, to take a break from the hustle-bustle. The sign said "free on Sundays until March 31," so I shrugged and said, "Yeah, okay," and went in. Turns out it was the relic of a 12th-century library. There were turtles in it :) I really appreciate this old-time care that Athens has taken its time to preserve. As much as I loved the Spanish architectural miracles of the 20th century, the work of the ancients, who only used what they had, is equally impressive. The pyramids in Mexico, too, I remembered those when I was in Spain having my life changed by one church, I remember thinking, "You can't compare this to the Mayan pyramids." I can't really describe the awe and appreciation I have for Athens yet. I'm impressed by the works of people who didn't have the resources we have today, but there's something deeper than that. I haven't pinpointed it yet.

The moral of the story is: travel where YOU want, and don't be afraid to do it alone. I had a lot of fun, and even though I had to spend maybe a few minutes fretting about something, it was a day very well spent. My dad just pointed out to me that I write a lot of negative things on here...well, not today! Happy traveling to everyone!