a bit of a greek overload in london

while in my first year here i was enjoying mainly the internationalism and being in touch with friends all over the world in london, i am now seeing the other side of things as well. hanging out with all my greek friends here, but also gaining access to so much i wouldn't have the chance to see in greece, in relation to greek politics, music, etc in a different context.

in october i attended the speech of costas simitis (former greek prime minister) at the LSE, which was not as interesting for the content, but for the questions that followed, in relation to current greek politics [podcast can be found here]. in november, again in crucial days for greek foreign politics, i got the chance to see dora bakoyiannis (greek foreign affairs minister), at her LSE speech, followed by a very thought provoking q&a [podcast can be found here]. randomly, a couple of nights before that, on a bus to notting hill i came across the president of a newly formed greek party [laos]. that's more exposure to greek politics in a matter of weeks than i could ever get back in athens.

to top this, i even got the chance to see a concert of greek music abroad, like a genuine immigrant :-). [though the classic concert of that sort would have been to see dalaras play live] i saw lavrentis mahairitsas, antonis mitzelos, vassilis kazoulis and eleonora zouganeli all play live, and it was indeed a great concert.

now getting ready for the real greek experience, upon landing in athens on friday night after 5 and a half months.

blame it on facebook

well, yes, it's been a while since i updated this blog. mostly because a lot of things are happening at the same time and i've been lazy - but i will just blame it on the impression facebook gives you that your friends really know what you are up to. will start posting again within the day, as there's been quite a lot going on lately :)