In life we have many hits & misses.
However….
You are the painter
Your aspirations, experiences, desires and things that make you feel alive are the paint brush
And…
Your life is the canvas.
How are you choosing to live it?
I received this revelation as I was driving the scooter back from Kapsali after I had finished my first day of work here. (Update: Yes, I thankfully got a job in a clothing/jewellery boutique for 5 hours each day. I have the most amazing view of the sea and it’s so relaxing! Plus, it helps me practise my Greek as well. I’m not complaining at all!)
As I accelerated, I thought about the fact that I could drive myself off the cliff at any moment. Of course I would never do that because I value my life to much, but it got me thinking that I have the power to do whatever I want with my life. My life starts as a blank canvas, and I paint it from there.
This thought has been contributing towards a deeper understanding of myself. Discovering this via travel is just the beginning of my life’s journey. Oooo Elly that’s deep.
The other day Mum and I were talking about how in life you lose some; however equally win some as well. It’s a hit and miss; you never know what to expect. But you should know that how you choose to enjoy every day- starts with your attitude towards the day.
Never knowing what to expect is both scary and exciting. Being over in Greece has enabled me to try new things, saying “Yeah, why not” to everything! The night could potentially turn out badly, or be one of the best nights ever. But saying yes to whatever comes your way is a good way to experience lots of different things.
A few things I have said “Yes” to recently are:
THE HITS
Party at Kobonada beach
Once again I found myself in a car full of boys journeying to Kobonada beach with a plastic bag full of ice and cheap FIX beers. As we drove we discussed Greek mythology and because there was a guy who lives in Germany with us we also learnt some German; an interesting mix of languages.
I might have been just the slightest bit shocked when I saw the driver drinking beer whilst driving us….especially when the week previous my friend had told me about him running off the road whilst driving my friend home. Scary stuff. Life is definitely a hit and miss.
The beach party was fun as I separated myself between different groups equally, dancing with one group and then making my way over to party with the others.
5am approached and due to complete exhaustion from dancing we ran into the water. I must say, laying on the cool beach in the brisk air of the morning after a satisfying swim is one of my favourite things I’ve done. The sun was rising on the horizon and the atmosphere was beautiful.
I’m not sure how I got home, but I did wake up in my own bed which is always good sign!
Getting a Job
As previously mentioned above, I got a job down in Kapsali! Tourism levels are extremely low this year due to the financial crisis so I am very blessed to have some work. It was quite daunting starting this job as I’m constantly questioning whether I should be sitting down writing this blog post or cleaning the windows for the 5th time…is it acceptable to be this lazy? There are so many items in the store and I have not been told where each of them comes from so it’s very difficult to tell customers “Sorry, I have no idea where that is from” (I assume from somewhere in Greece…)
I’ve had a few funny moments since I started working a week ago.
I was attempting to use the out dated cash register and Eftpos machine for the first time. Thank goodness the lady I was serving was from the UK and thus quite lenient with me as I panicked, pulled out her card from the machine and ran next door for help because the writing on the machine is all in Greek. I managed to find a very unlikely character to help me, a man dressed in nothing else but a budgy smuggler hahahaha; What a kind gentleman. Oh the people I meet!
Turns out the machine is just extremely slow and in the end I managed to redeem myself and off the UK lady went with her purchase.
I’m living and learning dear friends….
Today a little boy and his parents came into the shop and I asked him where he was from. He replied with “I’m from English” which is probably the funniest thing haha. So needless to say I’ve had some interesting customers.
My favourite phrase has become “Signome, Dhen Milao Elenika” (Sorry, I don’t speak Greek). For which the customers will either leave the store because they have an intense impatience when it comes to speaking English. Or they will put on their friendly hat and explain ‘slowly’ what they mean. God bless the ones who do. Because only then will they discover that I am actually a surprisingly nice girl.
Greek Theatre
I didn’t really want to leave my house the other night because I was in my pjs, with the aircon on, listening to Eyes Shut – Kings & Kings on repeat. (Someone say serenity!) But one of my friends lured me back to Kapsali with the idea of sharing a bottle of wine in an outdoor theatre.
We went, expecting to hear some live piano but instead stumbled upon a comedic Greek play which conjured up major nostalgic memories from drama class at SCC. Because him and I have a reputation for nights of extreme randomness, we decided to stay and pop a bottle of local Kytherian wine….the finest in the land might I add (I’m not sure if that’s true but I’ve had this fantasy of saying “I would like to order a bottle of your most finest wine!” for a long time now.)
Even if I couldn’t understand what they were saying during the performance, their facial expressions and body language was hilarious enough! My friend even translated some of the best parts of the play for me, as well as adding a few swear words here and there.
“They surely didn’t say that” I would tell him.
“Nah, they didn’t, but I added that in. Makes it sounds better” He would reply.
The wine was so incredible. I don’t think I’ve tasted anything quite as good, and to share it with good company was another bonus!
FOOD
Need I say more… (Not the best pictures because I’m not your typical ‘tourist’ girl who takes a photo of every meal she consumes. Partially due to the fact I’m so hungry by the time my food gets to the table I don’t have time to get the perfect insta pic!)
Kalamos Dance & Wine Festival
The local dance in the town I live in was on last Saturday night. All of the family was there, it was wonderful. I am constantly in awe of the way a mixture of generations can combine with a common purpose – for the love of dancing and enjoying every moment. The local Kythirian band was playing the sweet sound of traditional Greek music and everyone was laughing. It felt like the night wouldn’t end until the speakers blew up so I made the trek home in the dark at around 3am. A rather early night for me 😉
The Mitata Wine Festival was equally as impressive; if not more.
T h e R u n D o w n
– You pay 5 euro’s for entry
– Seemingly in awe of your surroundings of everyone being merry drinking copious amounts of wine you line up waiting to pay 1 euro for a wine glass. (Or if you know people, you get them to get you a plastic cup….has the same purpose as a glass It’s just cheaper. When I mean cheaper….it costs nothing at all)
– Then you take your glass or plastic cup (whatever suits your fancy) over to the big barrels of ‘goodness’. Goodness = Wine. It’s free, which is both exciting and very fatal as you could end up like these guys I saw last night. Clearly too much to drink, wandering around like lost children in a crowd full of dancers!
Which brings me to my next point….
– Because after your belly is infused with wine and the liver is in the process of being destroyed you then dance of course! Dancing every dance is also another way to look less like a tourist. As you follow the footsteps of others, you are able to adapt into the routine and before you know it you are a pro greek dancer!! OPA!
THE MISSES
Australian BLT burger
I was so disappointed at this one. However, I like to live by the motto “You live and you learn, at least you lived”.
Another friend of mine finishes work everyday at the same time as me so we often venture to eat waffles or have dinner at a different restaurant every night. We were looking at a menu for a particular restaurant and the Australian blt burger caught my eye. The ingredients were written next to the burger – bacon, lettuce, egg, tomato, cheese, etc etc. There was no sign of chicken or beef patty on the AUS one however the menu also contained a USA burger with beef/pork patty. Seemed legit. We asked the waiter if we could have the AUS burger but add the patty onto it. He nodded, the future of my ‘create your taste’ burger looked promising…
Half an hour later, my bright future of glorious cuisine was lost as we stared at a our so-called-Aus-burger which was in fact two pieces of bread slammed together with all the ingredients listed above, PLUS chicken AND the beef/pork patty….. um, okay.
We began our quest of consuming 3 different animals at once, and felt extremely unsatisfied with what we had ordered. Vegetarians would scream.
As I try hard to finish whatever I was eating I thought of three things…
- Why the hell did we order something claiming to be an Australian meal in Greece?
- That ‘burger’ was not a decent representation of my country of origin. I felt ashamed.
3. Why didn’t the waiter inform us that the burger already contained chicken on it?!?
Needless to say, that will not happen again.
“To logarismo parakalo” (The bill please)
9 euros, wow. Tell him his dreaming, I thought! $18 for an awful burger. Never again!
Corona Price
I’m just going to have a lil rage at what despicable thing happened last night. I decided to have my first corona since being on Kythira. Probably my favourite drink, the lemon makes it taste so amazing as well. I’m glad I drank it slowly and enjoyed it because when I went to pay for it, it was 5 euros!
Thats $10, for one drink! Come on mate! Yep- they are all definitely dreaming!
I don’t want to end on a sad note like the price of that corona. So I will end on a high note.
After reading over the blog post again I noticed that I have only had 2 misses because the rest have been hits! It goes to show that when you step out of your comfort zone and choose to experience life, your blank canvas will be filled with so many wonderful memories.
Just remember, Life may be a hit and miss, but it’s your canvas.
Until next time folks, x
P.s Apologies for the poor quality photos. I didn’t take any photos on my camera this last week. I’ve been working every day!
P.p.s Sorry I do not have a broken down list of things I have learnt this week but you can probably guess what the main ones were! (Think: Burgers and the price of a corona.)
ELLY-GRACE 
What do you think?