10 Things About Life Greece

10 things I forgot to mention about life in Greece:

1. You can't flush toilet paper down the toilet because the drains are too narrow. Yep, you have to throw it away it the trash can. Sounds gross (and it kind of is), but we are used to it by now.

2. The police carry automatic machine guns. It's sort of unsettling to walk past them on the streets. Oh, and the police are not allowed to enter the universities, so they've had cases of people fleeing to the school after committing a crime.

3. We hang our clothes out to dry on a line. It's awesome! I did it last summer in Africa as well and I really like it. I hope I can have one when I have my own house. They dry really quickly and smell great when they're done!

4. There are stray dogs EVERYWHERE. You can walk down the street and pass as many as 5 stray dogs on your way. And most of them have collars. The people put collars on them so they won't be taken to the pound and then feed them each night.

5. People are crazy, fearless drivers. Between the motorcyclists that drive on the dotted lines and the cars that don't slow down for pedestrians, it's scary traveling anywhere. You can't trust crosswalk signs and you can't be concerned about dents in your car. I've almost been run over twice - once crossing the street when I had a green light and once while running. Seriously, the car came within an inch of my foot.

6. Everyone greets each other with a kiss on each cheek. Boys, girls, everyone.

7. Taxes are included in prices. This is really nice because prices are even and it's much easier to split tabs. Also, you don't tip unless you had extraordinary service.

8. There are only 12,000 Protestant Christians in Greece. Yikes.

9. Gypsies are alive and well. Our leader, Brian, was pickpocketed today moments after telling us all that he suspected there were gypsies nearby. They are so sneaky. He lost about 400 Euro and had to cancel his credit card :(

10. Everyone thinks I am a Spaniard. It's quite fun actually. Natives speak to me in Greek almost everyday assuming I am Greek. If only I knew how to respond. And a side note: Last night at the festival we worked at, one of the Greek teenage boys told me I look like Paris Hilton - ha! Could we look anymore different?!