Athens and Research by Jacob Walls

Since coming to Athens I've realized that Greece is not a place that you can equate to other places that easily. I have tried explaining it as a cross between Italy and Israel but that just seams like a painful analogy to try and comprehend. Maybe, a better one is: an overgrown Malta, but other than that I think its best to say Greece is its own thing altogether. I've been struck by the family atmosphere here and how community oriented everyone seems to be. Athens really is as if a sea of small communities that just happened to grow into each other. Lacking a metropolitan downtown and skyline it’s obvious that the tallest structures are still the oldest ones dominating the top of the Acropolis. I think because of the neighborhood feel that permeates throughout the city, Athens is a place that becomes casually and pleasantly underwhelming and if you're one for quaint esthetics it can become simultaneously affixating yet anxiously enchanting. Athens can also be a place of literally endless pubs, coffee shops and conversation, enigmatic windy streets, mesmerizing traffic flows and Greek style piazzas. So, the past few weeks for me have been an adjustment to a new country and an experiment in figuring out how to approach this city and ultimately my project.

My project has been going extremely well, I recently went to the Cyprus Embassy and asked if there were any Consular Officers available to speak with as I am going to Cyprus soon. After a long conversation front desk personnel I finally was able to convince them that first: I was not there for a Visa and second: I didn't need a visa to visit Cyprus. So they sent me to the Trade Office for Cyprus, like a commercial office, which has nothing to do with politics but I think the front desk thought that I'd give up after that.

Located in what looked like a converted apartment I found a few Commercial Officers hanging out and we got to talking, they said, "you know, I think you probably want to be talking with a Consular Officer at the Embassy." He goes over to the phone and starts chatting with someone and tells me to grab the phone, he says it’s the DCM, the Deputy Chief of Mission, which is the second highest diplomat in the country representing Cyprus. Needless to say, no one gets to have an interview with the DCM unless you jump through a lot of hoops and red tape, this guy practically just handed me my top interview in a matter of minutes. A couple days later I was at the Embassy again, being asked if I needed a visa. This time however, after saying whom I was there for, I was quickly ushered inside with smiles and escorted to an elevator. The DCM was waiting for me and was more than warm in receiving me. Over two and a half hours later he had answered every one of my questions both on and off the record, brought in one of his Press Officers and gave me an entire bag full of books and literature concerning my project. More than a diplomat, he was a genuine people person. Shaking hands at the end he handed me his card and said, "call me if you ever need anything or have a question." Now, sure I've heard that before but to have an open invitation to simply call the DCM is a pretty validating experience, especially when you got that interview through pure people skills and zero name recognition. One down, I don't even want to think of how many to go, but it will include a flight, a passport and a lot of unknowns.

Wrapping up, I'm hanging out in Pangratti having a coffee and sandwich on a couch outside surrounded by palm trees, chatting Greek-Cypriot politics with the shop owner's son, reading and virtual journaling, aka blogging. Ups and downs for sure, but overall, not a bad gig.