Feeling Settled in the Unsettled
It’s been a full 3 weeks (plus a few days) since I landed in Greece. I’ve been staying with a friend in the neighborhood of Ano Petralona, which has sort of a village vibe studded with hipster bars in the middle of Athens, just under Filopappou Hill behind the Acropolis. Basically, it’s perfect. I’ve sort of forced myself to stay in one place, trying to find a daily routine (but mostly failing), exploring my neighborhood, and those beyond walking distance. My time staying with my friend is soon coming to an end. He’s going to work for the summer season on the island of Paros, and I’m going to another island for a few days before returning to Athens to stay until the end of July.
The urge within me to FIND A PLACE AND SETTLE DOWN has never been stronger. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way. In all of my dozen moves over the last twenty years, I’ve never really had the desire to stay in one place for very long. Something within me has changed, and it’s a little uncomfortable if I’m being honest. I don’t really know what to do with the feeling, so I’m trying some Eckhart Tolle tactics and just observing the feeling without judgement, and moving past it. I’m also incorporating the Greek motto of “Siga, Siga” which ultimately wants us to believe that everything will happen in it’s own time. If you know me, you know that’s never been one of my core beliefs, but here we are!
Speaking of Eckhart Tolle, I know I’m late to the party, but wow. What a guy, right? I started listening to his first “podcast” with Oprah from 2019 when I landed about a month ago. Then suddenly - synchronicity - and he’s everywhere around me, including on Kendrick Lamar’s phenomenal new album. Wild.
To catch you up on what’s been going on over here, I’ve had some really wonderful experiences. I hosted a group tour for herbalists from Northern California who are currently doing a retreat on the island of Ikaria. We walked through Athens’ main open-air agora and saw fresh meats, local fish and produce, and locally made dairy products.
From there we went through "spice alley” where shops showcase locally-grown herbs and spices, as well as those which have become staples in Greek cuisine but are non-native like cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg, and highlight the influence of immigrants from the Levant, East and South Asia, and Africa with ingredients like kafir lime, berbere, Aleppo chili, and curry, which are slowly being integrated into some Greek kitchens.
We had lunch at one of my absolute favorite restaurants, where we spent three hours eating, drinking, chatting, and opening up about our personal lives. It really was a special meal!
In the evening we took a sunset stroll through the historic Plaka, Athens’ oldest neighborhood located just at the foot of the Acropolis. Full of trinket shops and overpriced tourist traps, I was thrilled to take the group to a few of the shops in the area that feature handicrafts and fine goods made by local artists, as opposed to mass-produced tchotchkes that are made thousands of miles away. Overall it was a wonderful day, and I’m so grateful the group put their trust in me to show them around!
This week Athens Jazz Fest is celebrating its 21st year in existence. The Technopolis at the former Gas Works is hosting the event, which is free an open to the public. Some really great musicians from Europe and the US are featured, and last night I got to see Maria Faust, an Estonian saxophonist go ham on stage with her trio called the Jazz Catastrophe. She was magnificent and really funny too.
The evening was capped off by American jazz vocalist Lucy Woodward. I, admittedly, know very little about jazz, but generally speaking it was a fun night. The festival doesn’t just feature music, but also food trucks, local artists selling their goods, a photography exhibition, and lots and lots of beer. As a casual observation, it does seem strange that only a couple of the artists in the entire festival are black or non-white people of color. Regardless, I’m so grateful I got to experience it and am looking forward to attending more music festivals in Greece!
I’m not really watching any shows or movies at the moment. I don’t have easy access to WiFi at home, and there’s no TV in the house! But I wanted to share some of the things I’m listening to:
UkraineCast from the BBC. A really fantastic, in-depth look at daily developments in the war.
The new album by Giannis Haroulis, Kolimpri.
Giuseppe Verdi’s opera, Rigoletto, because I’m going to see it at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus next week and I want to be prepared (nerd)
I hope you are all enjoying the tail end of spring wherever you are. Here in Athens it’s already hitting the 90s (or upper 30s if we’re using Celsius). I’m excited for summer to come, officially, and for friends and family to start pouring into Greece for their holidays. I hope you stay well, stay safe, and do what you can to break the systemic chains of oppression in whatever form they might present themselves in your life.
Sending love and sweaty hugs xoxo Anastasia