Lessons From Greece
What’s up, party people? It’s ya girl Ellie Blake back with another nugget episode for you guys. By the way, this is Fuck The Status Quo podcast (in blog form) in cause you didn’t know.
So I went to Greece last month for my sister’s wedding, y’all might remember her from episode number UNO. My sister Jackie has traveled all over the world and shares some pretty epic stories and helpful tips about it all in her interview so go back and check out episode 1 if you haven’t. Or don’t, you do you, homie.
I have been to Mexico once before but other than that, this was my first time traveling out of the country and definitely my first time flying over the Atlantic Ocean and spending over a full day of just traveling.
And while everything is still fresh on my mind, I just wanted to share some of the things I learned and some realizations I had on this trip. Of course, I have a handy dandy list to keep myself focused. Also, I fucking love lists. I should get a to-do list tattoo and then every day fill in the blanks and check it off. Gahhh, it would be so satisfying. Okay, anyway, here’s the list.
- I feel like it’s a universal thing to just despise TSA workers at the airport. Like, most of them are such dicks. And after being in the airport and on an airplane for close to 60 hours for this trip, I have to admit that I totally fuckin’ get it. When you’re in the airport, it’s like being in Walmart but on steroids. You have all sorts of people, especially when you’re traveling internationally, no one knows where they are going, most people don’t pay attention to anything at all, it’s a fuckin’ mad house. And I’m sure that if your job was to put up with the people of the airport all the time, you’d be an asshole too. I’m not saying it’s okay, like they should probably find a new job, but I am saying that I get it and on this trip I was more aware and understanding and had more patience.
2. Those obnoxious looking neck pillow things are crucial when flying over the Atlantic ocean. Shout out to my Mother in Law for that.
3. Okay, done with the airport talk. Let’s talk Greece. I’ll share the bad real quick and then smooth it over with the amazing parts, because it truly is one of the most incredible places on Earth. There is no plumbing in Greece. And this was very … humbling. So when you go to the bathroom, you cannot flush any toilet paper down the toilet. Every bathroom has a trash bin next to the toilet and whether you poop or pee, your toilet paper must go in the trash bin. Hopefully, wherever toilet you’re using, changes that shit at least daily. For one, it was hard for me to remember to not flush my toilet paper, I definitely fucked up a few times. Two, wooooo! It is an intimate thing when you are seeing other people’s shit rags. Needless to say, when I got back to America and could wipe my ass and flush it down the toilet, I was very appreciative and grateful for plumbing.
4. I’m not a world traveler, okay, I get that. I haven’t seen much at all of the world (yet). But from this trip alone, I learned not to listen to the hype. Santorini is a beautiful island, I’m not saying it isn’t, but I am saying it is a tourist trap. It’s not clean, I swear the Greeks don’t believe in trash cans. There was trash everywhereeeee. It really was such a shame to see this beautiful place with garbage everywhere. And if you’re big on shopping, it was disappointing there. The majority of the stores had the same exact clothes and if you look at the tags, a lot of them were made in India or somewhere else. So if you’re looking for some local made clothes, I did see them around places, but in Santorini specifically, it was hard to find. Okay, I’m done blasting Santorini. The whole point of number 4 is to just say, “hey, do some research and maybe try to find a city or area that isn’t sooo touristy and hyped up.”
5. The people of Greece were so fucking friendly and genuine. My husband and I chatted with several pretty amazing people. I learned that in Greece, women don’t work for 5 months out of the year. They work during tourist season, and then the rest of the year they don’t work at all. Most people work every single day, no days off, 12 hours a day during the entirety of tourist season. That is … a lot! I’m definitely one to sit here and say “fuck working 40 hours a week!” and over there, they don’t get that luxury. Many of the people we met were working for a family owned business. And they are there day in and day out. This, again, was really humbling. It definitely made me appreciate my work life more and the fact that even on busy weeks, I still get a weekend.
6. Piggy backing off of number 5 a little bit here, but I also was fascinated that the locals didn’t seem to despise Americans. I definitely had this idea in my head that everyone in the rest of the world hates us and think we’re stupid and ignorant and all the things. And I will admit, it does make you feel behind just realizing how many people in the world speak more than one language. But in talking to a couple of the locals about Americans, the overall consensus was that the traveling Americans, are overall, pretty decent people. It’s the ones who never leave America and experience and learn new shit that are the problem. So, as the world’s leading asshole specialist, I must prescribe some more medication. Go travel, bitch.
That’s it, 6 is all I got for you guys today. Here’s a quick recap;
- Even if they are assholes, try to have a little more compassion towards TSA workers.
- Neck pillow, baby!
- We love plumbing.
- Don’t listen to the hype. Find travel destinations that have less clout.
- Greek people rock. They also work very hard.
- Travel to reduce your assholeness levels.
Byeeeee.
