Mpest phrents phoreber

You may have noticed that up to this point, most of my Greek adventures 2.0 have been solitary affairs. Well, all that changed a couple of weeks ago during Be-Nice-To-Your-Local-Anthropologist Day. Normally, like most people, when I see an anthropologist, I do one of two things: I either enact every stereotype I can imagine to "confirm" their theories, or I fill the void where their soul used to be with Nickolodeon Gak (I always keep some in my fridge). Anyways, because of the holiday, I found myself conversing with two such students, and they actually turned out to be tolerable. Even better, they never talked about archaeology or the classical world!

So I resolved to fulfill my community service obligation for the rest of the year and be their friends. Sure it can be tough sometimes. Toby speaks fluent Greek and never misses an opportunity to show it off. She's like a Latino reporter who says everthing but her name in American English, and then flourishes a peppery "accent" to remind you that she's bi-cultural. Tracey, on the other hand, likes to "water the plants" on her balcony just when you are down below waiting to be let in. So I always have to bring an umbrella even when it's sunny.

But being friends with an anthropologist has its upsides. For instance, they're always excited about doing something if you can convince them that its open-minded or hip. So I was able to celebrate Diwali Tuesday at probably the best Indian restaurant in Greece (it was so good I might even eat there if it was in the States, but only if it cost half as much). Unfortunately, Toby refused to knit me a sari, and Tracey kept quoting Bollywood movies to the waiter as a way of ordering (So, "Would you like something to drink, ma'am?" "Kuch kuch hota hai" (Something has happened) "Ummmm..."), but all in all it was a good time. I think the facial features in this picture encapsulate their personalities:
Naan Tracey Food Toby Empty Plate

But I think our adventures the next day best encapsulate the vibe of our three-man team. We were searching for halloween costumes for tonight, and decided to try "Chinatown" in Athens. Now, when you say Chinatown here, you have to specify, because the word refers to just one building to Greeks, but if you mean a neighborhood concentration of Chinese people, then it refers to a district in the city. We saw both. Anyways, when we would go into a shop owned by a Greek, Toby would take over and communicate with the owners (even tho both Tracey and I can get by). One time I tried to say something and she slapped me across the mouth. It was rough.
But when we went into a Chinese-owned shop, it was Tracey's turn to show her mettle, since she knows Mandarin (her project is on Chinese immigrants in Greece-I know, not quite as sexy as political mergers between obscure city-states during an obscure period, but give her a break).

The best was when Tracey turned to tell Toby (who the Chinese assume is also Chinese, though she's Korean) what they had said. They started laughing at the "irony," at which point I started laughing at why they were laughing. Then Tracey called me a monkey in Mandarin.

Anyways, the point is, our Halloween costumes and party are going to be awesome and you can't do anything about it, Dr. Claw!