The Unexpected Struggles (and How I’ve Overcome Them)

My first month in Greece has flown by far quicker than I expected. It has been filled with fun, excitement, new places and plenty of laughter. I have made some really amazing friends and feel very much at home. While there has been so many great parts, there has also been a couple unexpected problems.

The strangest issue I’ve had is that here in Greece the plumbing system cannot handle toilet paper. This means that everywhere you go, you have to put your toilet paper in the bin. Now this is fine at school and restaurants but at home it is quite an inconvenience. In our housing we have 12 girls sharing 4 toilets and so the toilet paper quickly piles up in the tiny bin provided. Then someone has to have the unfortunate job of having to empty it. This was what I struggled with most at first because it’s just not a natural reaction to put it in the bin instead of the toilet. It’s just one of those things that I need to be mindful of and it honestly hasn’t been that hard to adjust.

Another interesting problem I’ve encountered is the lack of diverse food. I knew that I would be eating a lot of Greek food here, but I didn’t expect it to be the only food available. I really enjoy eating a wide variety of food and I’m not really the kind of person who goes to one restaurant over and over. I also enjoy cooking food from different cuisines but the lack of diversity also extends to the supermarkets. I spent 5 minutes just looking for taco seasoning or spices to combine myself and they didn’t have either! While this has been frustrating when I’m craving something in particular, for the most part I’m happy to eat the amazing greek food.

The last unexpected problem is the distance from where I live to downtown Athens. When I thought about living in a suburb of Athens I pictured it to be like Melbourne where it would be a 15/20min trip into the city at most. For us to get to Monastiraki or Syntagma it takes about an hour because of the walk to the station and the train ride. While this does limit the amount we can go downtown, it also opens the opportunity to experience what it is like living here and not being a tourist. I even find myself missing Agia Paraskevi (my suburb) when I leave for more than a day. My suburb could use a little more action but I like that it has forced me to go out and find activities. It has also kept me in good shape because I walk 4 miles a day just going to classes plus when I’m bored I just go to the gym!