Greek FOOOOD! It is amazing. The drinking culture is completely different here than "northern countries," as the Greeks put it. Greeks drink to be social and solely for this reason. They drink to loosen up to tell jokes, stories, make eye contact and enjoy the food. If a friend gets drunk it is not only embarrassing for the friend but for the people he/she is with as well. The person then will be less likely to hang out with the group and is seen as a fool almost.

This does not mean that Greeks do not go out, however. Greeks go out every night. They go to coffee shops by day, which then turn to fun bars at night. They are fancy and play techno (!!!) and American music. Older Greeks stay out at Tavernas and talk and drink wine or Ozo until midnight. Greeks are able to stay out so late because their day is split into two. They start work at eight, work until 2 and then siesta until 6 and resume working until 9. This is because of the climate. It is so hot during the summer that it is brutal to work during the middle of the day so instead, they break the day up, nap and then return to work and are able to stay out late. Public service workers and government workers, however, now work the normal 9 to 5.

Back to FOOOODD! So I will describe my dinner to you in full! we were split up into groups alphabetically and sent to tavernas (or taverns) with professors and introduced to all things authentically Greek. Basically, you are served small glasses of wine and tapas all meal long and it is all family style. We first were served boiled cucumbers and greens drenched in lemon and salt. Very delicious. Next we were served greek salad consisting of tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, onions, and lots of feta cheese. You salt this. You salt everything and put lemon on everything too. Next, (and this is served right after the other so its very overwhelming) came french fries or as they are called in greek, fried potatoes (I forget the greek words). Fried feta cheese was next. OH MY GOD. the cheese here is unreal. I will never be able to enjoy cheese in america again. Fried cucumber with tezeki (or yogurt, onion, garlic and cucumber sauce) was served soon after. Next, legume puree kind of like hummus came with onion. Finally, amazingly moist, fresh and tender chicken with lemon and lamb (I did not have the lamb but I heard it was incredible) was served. The table was jammed pack and you take a little bit of each, decide what you like and take a little more. You never stuff yourself and you are overwhelmed with flavors. it is simply the best way to eat. Incredible water melon was dessert as it is in season now. We have watermelon at every lunch in the dining hall (lunch is the only meal we get from the school).

So excuse my poor, fast writing with lots of mistakes. Hope your mouth watered.