Westchester, NY vs Agia Paraskevi, Athens

There are many similarities and differences between the neighborhood Agia Paraskevi in Greece and my hometown in New York. Besides the obvious of one place being in Europe and the other in America, there are numerous differences about my temporary home and real home.

            In Agia Paraskevi, everyone lives in apartment buildings. Also, there are next to no front or backyards. This is extremely different from my town at home because everyone lives in a one family house with full yards. Also in Agia Parasekvi, there are many stray cats. There are no stray cats back home. Most families have cats and dogs as pets. If I saw a a cat was seen walking around outside, I would assume that it is an outdoor cat that belonged to someone. The people in Greece put out food and water for the stray cats, but they do not have a home.

            The traffic is different here. My neighborhood is not super busy, but there is definitely some action happening. School buses constantly pass my house as well as people cutting through my neighborhood. However, here in Greece, cars and motorcycles are constantly zooming down the streets. They will not hesitate if a pedestrian walks into the street and will assume the pedestrian will stop. In New York, the car knows they have to stop and the pedestrian has the right of way even when jaywalking.

            Another interesting difference is that there are so many more bars, restaurants, and shops in the neighborhood in Greece. We have to walk down a street and instantly we reach the social hub of the town. So, the apartments are all placed right in the town where all the action is happening. In New York, I have many restaurants and shops in my town, but I have to either drive or walk ten minutes to reach this area. My neighborhood itself is all just homes and a preschool.

            There are kiosks all over the streets in Agia Paraskaevi. These kiosks sell snacks, magazines, alcohol, gum, and many other things. They are very convenient, but I would never find one in my town and especially not in my neighborhood. When I go into Manhattan, I see similar kiosks. The kiosks, and other factors, make the area feel more like a city than a neighborhood.

            Another huge difference is the weather. It is the middle of October and I still walk around in flip flops and tank tops. The Greeks have told us it is warmer than it usually is at this time. However, I would not be able to dress like this back home in New York, or even Baltimore. In New York I would be dressed in jeans, boots, and a sweater. This is a nice difference but, I do miss the leaves changing, the crisp feel of the air, and the smell of fall as well as the general festivities like pumpkin and apple picking.

            Graffiti is covers the entire neighborhood and town in Greece. It’s mostly all words in Greek and I’ve been told that most of it is sports related. This is interesting because this also makes it feel like a city. My hometown does not have graffiti and if someone was caught trying to vandalize something, they would get in a lot of trouble.

            Walking down the street in Agia Paraskevi, I can go up to anyone and ask them a question in English. This is because everyone in Athens learns English in class while they are growing up. So, almost everyone here is fluent in both Greek and English. Some people are fluent in even more languages. This is different from my town back home because most people only speak English. Some people speak languages that their parents and grandparents speak at home, but what we learn in school doesn’t make most people close to fluent.

            One final difference that I have noticed but find very interesting is that most of the coffee shops turn into bars at night. It is funny because you can sit there for hours doing homework, and later that night it will be filled with people dancing and drinking. Ultimately, this neighborhood and town is very different from mine at home, but it still feels very comfortable and welcoming. Even though it feels like a city, it feels more like a neighborhood than if we were in downtown Athens.