Lu Shien Lee -- Athens et al

“Some things are so unforgivable that they make other things easily forgivable.” – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’.

Greek society really seems to have adopted this ethos, with Athens absolutely layered with graffiti, rampant with stray dogs, and saturated with a pervading stench that is potent enough to incapacitate small children – yet all of this is overshadowed by the unfortunate state of the whole country in general, with an extremely charismatic man whom Kevin and I met on the ferry concisely describing the Greek government and financial situation as “…f*****g s**t.” This cleanly juxtaposes the colossal greatness of the ancient civilisations that we have been learning about during our day trips, where the glory of the city has been put above all else. I suppose this can be surmised in one of the Joker’s monologues in the 2010 film ‘The Dark Knight’: “Then we’ll see where a hungry dog’s loyalty really lies. Everything burns!” (Whereupon he lights the pile of cash with a cigar).

On a completely different topic, the large amount of time we have spent in transit has been a lot better than I had expected – sure, we have a lot more to come, but so far it really has been quite enjoyable. All the time in buses, walking the streets, on cattle class seats in Emirates, and soldiering on up endless spiral staircases is actually a pleasant change from life in New Zealand. What has happened during these times between destinations? Well, Finn has abruptly burst into song, Warren has been training Henry to become the next ‘500’ champion, and Kevin and I developed a classification system for the numerous types of street art in Athens. Blogs have been written, photos have been taken, sleep has been found. So while the sightseeing has been magnificent, (Thanks to masters Boyce, Buckingham and Wilson), our travels during our travel will be something I look back on and look forward to.

You may be wondering what kind of sustenance has provided us with the energy to continue with this cycle of labours – and I politely suggest that if you want to maintain the idea that your son as a healthy, self conscious, nutrient consuming individual, you stop reading here. Our multiple visits to food shops have resulted in a diet that has stabilised to a daily packet of chips/Pringles, some sort of chocolate pastry, sour snakes, and a 2 litre bottle of Coca-Cola or Pepsi to wash it all down. I sincerely hope, for all our sakes, that the availability of foods with less than 50% sugar and fat increases in Beaucaire.

On a slightly brighter note; no Frisbee nor Discraft 175g disc has been thrown yet. So I suppose that means the only way is up!

/end_blog