Today brought me so much happiness, it's ridiculous. For starters, I met the family that I was paired with after notifying my director I was interested in being matched with a Greek family. The original cause of the pairing was to get in touch for babysitting gigs. I know this is going to be so much more. After calling Valia in order to let her know I was interested in spending time with her son, Alex, she quickly gave me directions in order to get to her house. Now, I'm pretty comfortable doing things on my own, especially since my experience in India, but this was to be my first solo adventure since being in Greece that required leaving my immediate neighborhood. I actually had no clue that I would have to take a 40 minute commute in order to get to the family's home. However, it wasn't too bad. I caught the right metro (these ones aren't color coated like the ones in Boston or New York in order to differentiate between the green and blue line). I was worried I kept missing the one I needed to get on, but I soon found out that I was indeed waiting for the right one. Whew!
Alas I arrive 10 stops from my original starting station to meet the lovely Valia. She is beautiful and so lively. Her and I immediately clicked and began talking about where each was from, what I was studying and more about my experiences so far in Greece. I loved her the moment she started talking. I've had my fair share of babysitting and meeting new families. I don't always know what to expect and this was no exception. I was so grateful that I was put to ease when we began talking. After a little drive from the metro, we ended at her beautiful apartment flat. It's enormous without being too much. I walked into a goofy little baby named Paul and a super energetic 6 year old Alex. I'm always worried the kids will be super shy or totally against a new person coming into spend time with them, but Alex quickly put that worry to rest. He was fast to show me his school work, drawings and his room. Before Alex and I scampered off, his mom told him, "Alex, we're Macy's Greek family because she doesn't have her family here". My heart melted. It was in that moment that I knew this was going to be more than me just watching Alex or helping him with his English. I felt absolutely comfortable and so happy.
Alex and soon began to vibe one another and it was an instant connection as his mom said. She told me later that she had never seen him get to comfortable so quickly. I got even happier. Ha ha. After about an hour and a half of playing trucks, dinosaurs and reading, it was time for me to go. Alex was sad to see me leave and asked for me to stay or come back tomorrow. We decided on once a week, on Wednesdays. I am so excited. Soon Valia walked with me to show me the buses I will take the next time. I'm happy to be challenged to find my way to and from her house. It also gives me some time to be alone and get away from the same thing day in and day out. I am beyond ecstatic to spend more time with my new Greek family :D
Once I finally got off the metro and started walking home, I came across a game of volleyball. I have been looking so hard for games and people to play with, so I immediately become psyched to see it. I almost walked by, but I decided that I was going to ask to play. One side only had 5 people, so it was perfect. I gathered my courage and went for it. They said yes! I jumped in and got right to settling in. I guess they were pretty impressed because every time I made a move, they cheered and gave me a high five. I guess they underestimated me at the start. My side won :D I was mildly bummed that it had ended so quickly, but my new friend made it better by asking me to pepper. Gah, so much fun. In between our reps we exchanged names and where we were from. His name is Rahmat and he's from Afghanistan. He was super sweet and very good at volleyball. He was excited that I had the fundamentals and could actually maintain consistent peppering. He had no idea how happy I was and how much I had felt in my element. We set up another time to play and I'm seriously so excited.
To finish my awesome day, I made a quick stop at a little market across the street from my apartment to buy some milk. When the cashier told me the total in Greek, I understood! I was so proud of myself and completely content with my day. A shower and bowl of cereal to finish off the greatest day this week. Going on my own adventure today and putting myself out there to the strangers really pushed me to go for the things I wanted. This new family is going to offer me a nice change to my daily life and playing volleyball with the guys allowed me to enjoy something I love to much. I'm grateful that I can take these risks, but also grateful that I have the opportunity to test my gully :D
