Skip to Main Navigation

The Buffalo News

Web Search
by YAHOO! SEARCH

A taste of Greece soothes the soul

Published:July 19, 2009, 7:09 AM

Font Size:
  • E-mail
  • Share
  • Print

Updated: August 21, 2010, 12:43 AM

Imay be a pasty-faced white woman with working-class German and American roots, but I think my soul is Greek.

I love this country. I’m writing from Greece, where I have discovered an entire country of people who share my values: eating and talking.

I have hit the mother lode. The food is soaked in olive oil, everything is topped with crumbling feta and the people are the most enthusiastic, exuberant talkers I’ve ever met in my life.

Forget the land of milk and honey, I’m in the land of goat cheese and gossip. And I love it.

OK, technically I don’t know if they’re gossiping or not, and I have no idea what the heck is in the cheese. But the enthusiasm with which the Greeks talk and eat tells me they are kindred spirits.

I’ve spent my whole life being told to calm down and much of my adult life struggling with my weight. Who knew that the answer to my problems was just an ocean away?

I don’t talk and eat too much; I was just mistakenly placed on the wrong continent. Nobody in Greece thinks it’s weird if you need to stand up and gesture wildly while you’re telling a story.

Nor do they think it’s strange for a grown woman to sop up oil with bread, throw plates or dance around with strangers.

The hosts in restaurants actually kiss you and hug you when you walk in, and nobody says, “Gawd mom, get a grip on yourself; you don’t even know those people.”

Did I mention that the Greek women have hips, thighs and tummies? No anorexics here; this is a country where real women jiggle. Most of the Greek women I’ve seen not only have a little extra padding around the middle, but get this, they flaunt it.

For the most part, it’s tan flab, so it looks a lot better than my white flab. But if you’ve ever had the horror of having to stand next to a woman from Paris or New York, you’ll be delighted to know that the Greek women are about 40 percent bigger and 50 percent less self conscious than waifs from other parts of the world.

They don’t care if their hips spill out over the top of their pants; they just order another round of olives and ouzo and keep talking. Jiggly women, tons of food and nonstop talking, these are my people all right.

I may not speak the language or be bronze enough to pass as a local, but in my mind, I am already one of them.

Arguing over mussels, philosophizing over moussaka and jumping up and down when discussing the price of sandals, these people really know how to live. Is it any wonder Greece was the birthplace of democracy, philosophy and theater?

It’s amazing how much you can accomplish when you’re not trying to diet or stifle your emotions. Did I mention that the women here have voluptuous hips and thighs?

It’s unlikely that I’m going to become an actual Greek citizen any time soon, so I’ll just have to settle for a few more days of eating and talking. But be forewarned America, I’m coming home a changed woman. I am a Greek Goddess. I talk loud and I eat a lot, and if you don’t like it, too bad.

I hear Aphrodite was a chubby, chatty chick.

Comments

There are no comments on this story.

The Feed / What’s Happening Now

Latest Updates
Concert reviews | 25 mins ago

Ying Quartet ends the cycle admirably

Niagara County | 25 mins ago

Two men arrested in home burglaries

Denise Jewell Gee | 25 mins ago

State laws on SPCAs fall short

Lockport | 25 mins ago

Spearheading B-24 raids on Ploesti

Discount Diva | 25 mins ago

Some prices actually are dropping

Most Commented
Most Viewed
Sabres & NHL

Vanek falls with Sabres

Inside the NHL

Everyone deserves blame for Sabres' poor season

Courts

Sedita ordered to answer questions

Niagara Falls

Varied accounts paint fuzzy picture of casino scuffle

Sabres & NHL

Sabres trounce Pens to snap skid

Police Blotter

DWI charged after car is left in middle of road

Schools

School districts stretched thin

Police Blotter

Gun tossed from car; four people arrested

Donn Esmonde

Stunts alone won’t save Niagara Falls

Police Blotter

Two accused of sex at fishing access site

Newsroom Tips

Have a news tip you think The Buffalo News should investigate?

Call The News tip line at 849-4475 or email us at investigations@buffnews.com.

All calls and emails will be kept confidential.

Buffalo Marketplace

Marketplace videos

Watch the latest offers, products and services from our advertisers.

Browse our print ads

It's the ultimate advantage for Buffalo consumers. Never miss another ad again!

Buffalo Savers: coupons

Buffalo coupons at your fingertips.
Just click and print. It's Easy!

close

Browse our print adsclose

Special Sections

Buffalo Saversclose

Local coupons

Featured coupon

Latest Blogs

Sports, Ink

This Day in Buffalo Sports History: Playing short-handed

Inside Pitch

See the Habs' Gary Carter tribute

Sabres Edge

Sabres' Leopold loses young friend to cancer

SulliView

Just in time for Presidents Day and Oscars week, the top presidential movies

Politics Now

Five Questions with Thomas J. Mazur