Salonika

Recently the NY Times published the Top 41 Places to Go in 2011.... and Thessalinike, (also known as Salonika) was ranked #38...
http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/travel/09where-to-go.html?pagewanted=4

This is why you should come see the beauty of what has become my Greek playground!

1. Located right next to the Aegean/Meditteranean Sea!


Coming from Florida and always being around water this gave me a sigh of relief when I first landed in Greece. Actually, if you fly into SKG (Thessaloniki) you will come in right over the sea and realize immediately that the water here sparkles a different shade of blue... this is absolutely beautiful!

2. History

Not only was Thessaloniki ancient stomping ground for the relatives of Alexander the Great (approx 315 BC) but through history the city has changed hands so many times its history is completely unique. The Rotunda (I think the first phsyical structure erected to worship Zeus... at least thats what scholars say) marks this checkered history. The Rotunda is a giant building which has been adapted to suit the main religion of whoever controlled Greece throughout the ages... From the Romans to the Turks everyone has pretty much left their mark of the city.

Everywhere you can see ancient or Byzantine churches smushed between modern streets, parks, sidewalks, apartments and stores.... this is something that absolutely blew my mind the first time I saw it. Although history is SO MUCH apart of the city progress is still being made.

Haha- for example the future subway in downtown Salonika... they had to destroy part of some ancient something so that they could actually build it.
Or... like my residence hall I live in... when they were digging initially they began finding Roman stuff from back in the day... so in the basement/1st floor their is like an exhibit where the builders just left stuff and built around it.
This gives a really nice feel to the building.

3. Location

Thessalonike is located in the northern part of Greece. This means that it does get cold (we had snow here!) but not too cold. Albania, FYROM (former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), and Bulgaria are within a few hours north and Turkey is only a bus ride away to the east. Not to mention one of the hottest places to vacation here is only 1.5 hours away... Halkidiki.


4. χαλαρώ = Thessalonike local word for relax!

Hanging and and being chill is so much apart of the culture in Greece... but in the north its kicked up to a whole new level... they have a local word for it!

5. Nap time

This is a standard part of Balkan culture that I believe Americans need to adopt. Everday from 3-5 pm is naptime. Stores close, people are quite and the world seemingly stops. The streets turn from busy to quite and the everyone slips into their apartments and homes to take their daily afternoon siesta. Now- in true fashion naptime is followed by coffee... so don't fret that all productivity is lost. But things typically take longer (much longer) to get accomplished in Greece.

The ancient art of phyllo :)

For me the past few weeks since I've returned back to Greece has been filled with so much fun. In the past couple weeks I have learned how to make phyllo dough- from scratch! From this I learned to make tiropita (cheese pie). A few days I learned how to make pastrami... never have I thought I would actually learn to cure meat with salt and make a paste that dries the meat out to perfection! Apparently you can make pastrami from any meat availalbe. I would post the pastrami recipe but I only have it in Greek. BUT if any of you are brave enough to try making phyllo it really isn't that difficult (at least not when I tryed with 2 lovely persistent Greek women standing over me perfecting my rolling technique).

For the most perfect phyllo dough ever:
-4 cups flour
-1 cup cold water
-4 teaspoons oil (vegetable i think- or olive)
-1/2 tsp salt

(Yes! This is really all it takes... and a heaping spoonful of gumption!)

Mix these together with your hands to create a large (consistent) ball of dough that isn't too elastic and is mixed well. Form into 10-13 small dough balls and wrap all of them together in seran wrap and stick in fridgerator for 30 min to 1 hour.
Now don't get over zealous and try to work with these dough balls before they've been in the fridge long enough.
Get some extra flour so that you can roll these balls out individually. Traditionally Greeks use a giant wooden cutting board looking area to roll these suckers out. Instead of a standard rolling pin they use long wooden dowels to beat the phyllo into long paper thin pastry perfection...

I'm thinking an American equivalent (if y'all don't happen to have these traditional wooden things in your kitchen) is a small rolling pin and large flat surface to work around. Now- get ready for some serious phyllo action.

Pull out your dough and work with 1 dough ball at a time. Put flour on your flat surface and place dough in middle placing more flour on top. Press the rolling pin into the dough horizontally and then vertically creating an imprinted cross. Put rolling pin in middle and roll out gently but with force. Remember- it's just dough... but its phyllo. The point is to roll it out thin enough so it can crisp up to taste amazing with many layers.

Do this with every dough ball... And from here you can make milopita (apple pita), tiropita (cheese pita), spanatiropita (spinach & cheese pie).... the oppurtunities are endless!
Have fun!

Warning: this can be really time consuming...

I was standing in the cafeteria when Mrs. Soula came up to me and said to me "you will learn phyllo today?" I responded "sure!"
This was around 2.30 pm. I entered her kitchen around 3 pm and around 6.30 my golden tiropita (cheese pita) came out of the oven. My phyllo was freaking perfect. I stood admiring this golden Greek art as 12 older Greek men and women stood around the pan munching on their own slices of my phyllo masterpiece they raved at how perfect my phyllo actually was.
Amist many foreign greek words I managed to translate a few of their vocab as they gushed... "who did this?!?," "American girl," and many different forms of "fantastic phyllo!"

I am pleased to say that when I return home I will be packing a giant long wooden phyllo rolling utensil. When I get back in the US I will most likely be building my own giant wooden cutting board... it's super functional and just plain looks so awesome.

Yolanda Be Cool Vrs DCup - We No Speak Americano [Official Video]

I love Eastern Europe

Continuing on with my great pumpkin fiasco....
A very sweet and reserved Romanian girl named Elena volunteered to help me bake 4 pumpkin bread/cake loaves, spiced chocolate cookies and spiced oatmeal cookies. Anxiously I handed over my mom's recipe for this pumpkiney goodness that I infused with some of Paula Deen's recipe over to Elena. I felt somewhat bothered by just relinquishing control of it so easily but I knew it would be a something unlike she's ever cooked before. As Elena and I gathered random cups to eye ball measurements I suddenly had the feeling that this endeavor could go horribly wrong.
Well, three hours later Elena and I pumped out all that yummy goodness and the "pumpkin bread" tasted about 15% like my moms. My mom is a beast when making pumpkin bread and here in Greece I have decided that this can't be recreated without American supplies to support the cause. (aka I'm bringing already baked pumpkin loaves back with me)

The Balkans who tried our version of pumpkin bread really enjoyed it though and after all of the baking and such all it was devoured. I had about 50 students come drink hot chocolate, eat yumminess and watch Home Alone. My supervisor Klearchos was really surprised I got so much participation but lets be real... I baked food. Normally about 5-10 people get involved in activities here. I was proud about that.

Friday night was the Christmas party that the Student Council organized. First, I have this great love for techno music that I never thought I would develop. Imagine 70ish international college students who speak probably 5 different languages hanging out casually drinking to techno Christmas music. I love how diverse everything is here at the college. I have learned so much by being able to hang out with people from the other side of the globe. I love how traditional Balkan music is easily interchanged between pop music like Kesha. At one point I found myself at the head of the conga line leading people over the stage and around the room. All of last night I was thinking how much I really love Eastern Europe. I never imagined somewhere could have so many different cultures so geographically close together.

The World Is Just Awesome

The great pumpkin search

Today was one of the most frustrating and (hopefully) rewarding days in Greece. First I want to express that at home, in the comfort of a country where anything I needed could be found at Publix, I am no culinary master. But here when improvision is vital when trying to recreate an traditional (or even standard) American food. Today was a quest for what was unknown to all of my new Greek friends. After lunch (it was lentil day!) Mrs Soula took me to her kitchen. Mrs. Soula is a sweet woman who is the school nurse and cooking teacher. This woman is amazing! Today I helped her zest mandarines for a marmalade she is making for a lady in the PR office at the school. Before I have walked into her kitchen smelling sweet, amazing Greek goodness and walked out with a jar freshly poured jar of pomegranate juice that she made herself that day! I have deemed this sweet and wonderful Greek woman as my Greek yia yia.
After this I met up with Klearchos, my supervisor and some members of student council to go to the store. After dropping of the students at a supermarket to get drinks for the Christmas party this Friday (because drinking alcoholic beverages is perfectly legal here and necessary for a good party) Klearchos and I went to Vasilopelos. The strange V word is the name of an international supermarket which is supposed to have everything from all over the world. I want to make it known to the world right now that this is a lie. Canned pumpkin does not exist in this country and if you try to ask anyone if it does and they are Greek they will look at you funny. So after searching for this beloved mushiness Klearchos called Mrs. Soula to ask how I could recreate this goo of pumpkin. Soula said that she would get some pumpkins and help me make it. After retrieving nutmeg, clove and brown sugar (which also isn't well known here either) we returned to scoop the students and their pile of selected beverages and returned to campus.
Walking back through the doors of Soula's kitchen I smiles at her until I looked down at the table and saw the ugliest, over sized grey pumpkin I have ever imagined someone cooking. Next to it two 3-4 foot long squash lay freshly plucked from a garden. It became clear to me that my mom's pumpkin bread recipe was going to be altered. Between my washing, slicing, scooping, chopping and boiling this giant squash I remembered a few important life lessons.... like the time I made key lime pie here where they have NO half and half. Believe me anything is possible with a little ingenuity and a lot of ambition.
I still have NO idea what this giant squash will taste like but right now it is in a mushed up, baby food state in Mrs. Soula's refrigerator.
 Let's be real- no one here (except for the Americans) knows what anything made of pumpkin should taste like. So whatever that pumpkin goo tastes like I'm sure it can be fixed with some spices and sugar :)

I was ambitious enough to seek this out to bake pumpkin bread along with sugar and chocolate cookies for tomorrows movie event I've planned for my college students. Tomorrow (if everything goes as planned) we will have hot chocolate, pumpkin/squash bread, cookies and watch Home Alone 1. Keep your fingers crossed!

Kalinixta! (Goodnight!)

Thanksgiving and Pre-Christmas happiness

Thanksgiving here at the school was surprisingly very festive. The American interns were invited to both the staff Thanksgiving lunch and the donor dinner. The two delicious meals consisted of the most unique stuffing with chestnuts I've ever tasted, yummy turkey and cranberry. Aside from being a world away from family and familiar faces it felt very much like home. It was nice to be able to speak to so many people in unbroken English but still Greek words could be heard.

This past weekend the Christmas festival took place in downtown Thessaloniki. An enormous Christmas tree was lit in Aristotle's square near the water. I never feel as foreign as I do when I stand surrounded by Greeks who speak primarily Greek but it was still really cool. Hearing Greek Christmas carols was a pretty cool feeling standing in the middle of so many native Greeks was really cool.

When we were (the American interns) weaved our way out of the crowd to leave for the night I saw three Greek guys trying to take a picture of themselves awkwardly using one arm outstretched. I asked if they needed help "do you want me to take a picture of you all?" After I watched these three Greek boys with their dark eyes look me up and down checking if I looked too sketch to hold their camera (I assume) one said "no thanks! we don't need help!" His tone completely explained the situation- they had no idea what I asked them. These little scenes happen pretty often when I am out and about exploring the city.

Right now I am sitting in my office (which is like a glass box) watching 6 greek girls wrap lights and beads around a Christmas tree. Between Mariah Carey echoing out of a laptop and the spurts of laughter some are directing where such tree decorations should be placed. It's sweet to see this event happen, even though it perfectly sums up what I think Greek culture is like. In this room next to my office (another giant glass room) there is a tv where 7 Greek boys are sprawled out on the couches intently watching the soccer game. While the girls actively work hard at making the building more Christmas-ey the boys are focused only on one thing- "futbol." While some of the girls get upset about the placement of ornaments the boys jump up and get upset about some call the referee made on tv. Understanding this about Greek (and I believe all of Balkan culture) is important. When walking by cafe's downtown the first time I didn't understand why on some nights all of life seemed to stop and on every tv anywhere I could see the same futbol game on. When I first applied for this internship my friend Gea who told me about it explained what Balkan culture is really like. "It is like the national sport is drinking coffee and watching soccer" she said. I thought this was just a joke but it is very true. I know this is foreign to hear coming from the United States but everything is just very very different. Some things about the culture are difficult to accept but I really believe this "xallarah" (chill or calm) attitude about life is really beneficial.

The tree outside my office now has blinking lights, is wrapped in green shiny garland and has garnet and gold ornaments hanging from its limbs... Merry Christmas y'all!