Back it Up

today was greatly needed.
i'm in the grantid paridise, though i felt like i needed to get away for a bit. Sometimes, i can feel a little overwhelmed in certain cercumstances. I will find myself distancing myself. Either emotionally or in physical terms. ask mother, roommates, and friends: steph needs her space. So here comes greece knocking at my door, with no space inbetween. Pappou and I have been having a wonderful time so far, seeing all the ruins and learning all the history. However, it's ironic enough to admit that it's hard to keep up with your own grandfather. With 'type A' plans of events for the days, and heres and there's, and this way and that way, this un-type A personality is having a hard time translating from greek, to type-not-so-a, to 21 year old, to english. if you didnt catch all my mumble jumble, today was the perfect day, because... all i did, was lay on a beach. My cousin stefania and i. and for that, i was grateful.

pappou unfortunately has caught an allgergic reaction, and i worry if it doesn't get fixed soon. His arms, ears, and face are all swollen. from what, we're unsure of, but prayer is defintiely appreciated. He's been to a doctor, but i believe on monday he's visiting for a 2nd opion.

with that said, because pappou is a sickly duck, he stayed home, and stefania and I beached it up. I begged and hinted that if im in greece, i need to be going to the water! so finally, day 6 and water and i shook hands and kissed cheek to cheek.

yes, coffee of the day. a new kind today. obviously forgetful of the name, my heart doesn't forget the blissful flavor in my mouth. I never wanted it to end. Iced coffee never tasted so good: especially when my eyes were fixed on the sea (not the ocean).

I continued to bask in my foolish love for this forign-coffee-in disguise, while the true basking actually began to take play. i kicked back, absorbed the vitamin D, and smiled for where i was in the world. the sea was warm if you told yourself it was, but surprisingly not as temperature savy as i expected. Twas a nice reminder when i got too hot though...

after much cooking and crisping in the sun, stefania and i took it upon ourselves to feed our "barking stomachs".... "i believe you mean growling".

To all the sea of women out there who are scared of fish eyes and textures unknown that onced lurked at the bottom of the ocean: just go for it. You have one life, try everything.
I was classified in that classification above, and i honestly, have never been a fish eater. ever. Tainted by the age of 7 from my own mother by being fed frozen fishsticks every thursday, 'fish' and i really had a bad first impression of eachother. I'm a grown woman in attempt, so recently ive been giving my tastebuds a good kick in the behind and showing them the colors and textures and flavors of salmon, mahi mahi, talapia, and others.
Fast foward to these greek adventures, and i'll let you and my tastebuds fill in the rest...

yes. tastebuds met: a sardine-anchovie crossover, octopus, calamari, crawfish, and muscles. All but the muscles i was thrilled with! especially the sardine-anchovie hybrid. It was lemony, and garicy, and tastebuds and i wanted more. i think it's always best not knowing what you're eating before you chomp down. When in rome, right? ... athens?

I'm thankful that i was able to both emotionally distance myself, as well as physically. this is necessary for my health. don't laugh. i need my space. so yay for sunshine, smartcars, kilometers, centigrade, and all the tastebud dancing that went on today. and thank you to a cousin, that shares the same name, and understandings that with a name so long in letters, it's imperitive to attain some spacing between everything now and then.

as for now, the tastebuds are mildly dancing. greek yogurt and i are more than happy to be in a relationship with eachother tonight. daytime calls for raving buds of taste, and night time calls for buds of taste that savor on the alone time with the familiar: introverted and sweet.