Hold On Life Gets Better Than You Know

I woke up in my apartment with the sunlight shining on my face. The smell of fresh bread and pasta cooking was making it’s way in through the crack in my shutter from the restaurant down the alleyway. The room was cozy and a soft breeze tickled my skin. It was house cleaning day. Something rare my family would think, but when you live in a studio apartment, it is nice to clean it and clear the clutter from your space and also your mind. So with the smell of fresh anti-antibacterial cleaning spray that is probably Windex (but since I can’t read Greek…and they probably lie about what it is anyway on the bottle..), I opened my shutters and let my morning begin…at 4:30pm.

I have been lucky enough to find a lot of things that I miss from home. Like Maple Syrup and hot wing sauce. You have no idea how much you miss some of those things when you think they are not available. Even Pillsbury and Betty Crocker got a passport and made it over to the super markets here. I also found a super market larger than an AM PM. It says MEGA STORE on the front of it. That is the difference between stores here: Mini, Super and Mega. Genious. No one cares if the name is Top Foods, Albertsons or Walmart. Think Simple America! Mini..Super..and Mega is all you need to get the picture across.

My day continued with me deciding to come here to the internet cafe. I stepped out into my little alley way, now smelling of fresh Garlic bread and cheese, and was almost knocked off my feet by the wind that came whistling down the corridor. It was another Mykonos wind storm. Mykonos is often referred to as “the island of the wind,” because of it’s location and catching wind from all directions on a compass rose. When I emerged from the tangle of narrow alleyways that border my apartment, the town opened up to the harbor, which is often lined with yachts and cafes. The sky was the most magnificent blue, the birds were singing, tourists were laughing and eating ice cream. The sound of plates clanging and the waves crashing from the wind storm mixed with the soft babble of passersby created an ambiance of brilliant color and life.

Then a wave hit me. No really…a wave hit me. Instead of getting angry because I was soaking wet on half of my body, I started laughing and stood there for a second, hoping it would happen again. I had been walking down a narrow street by the water, and the ocean decided to say hello up close and personal. In order to get to this internet cafe, which my parents might remember called Blu Blu, I have to walk down some steps that are half buried in the sand along the beach. Since it is so windy today, I played a little game of Red Light/Green Light with the sea. When the waves rolled in, I had to time my steps right so I wouldn’t get my feet wet in the process of jumping off the cement onto the beach and running up to the road. I was successful.

So here I am, enjoying the view of the Aegean Sea, 2 hours since I woke up, and 3 more hours until I work at the bar. I hope everyone else is enjoying their summers at home and laughing at the little things their day brings them!