Our Athens host is the epitome of a Berkeley student living inside a motorcycle riding, fisherman braid-wearing Greek woman. "Cool" doesn't begin to describe how cool she is. Her apartment looks and feels exactly like a Berkeley apartment. She has a room mate, doesn't like washing dishes until the morning, has brightly colored walls and fills them with exotic African decorations and cool posters of protests and photographs. Of course, she is also so extremely intelligent and interesting. Listening to her talk with us on her couch/bed feels like listening to bedtime stories only we're listening to her describe the economic crises, all the political unrest that is happening, the health care system, all the flaws and corruption within the rich and government groups...it is a dreamy Berkeley heaven. Even as I feel my eyelids droop with sleep, I know I could sit in that living room and listen to her talk forever. Something about that insight and genuine interest in current events feels like a flicker of light that is drawing me and Julie in. As if she can't get more "Berkeley" enough, she has these adorable two black cats that she is kind of obsessed with, and has spent 2 weeks travelling in Iran. Honestly, Julie and I just want to bring Eleni back with us to Berkeley to either be a professor or a fellow classmate. She kind of falls into both categories.
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