Tao’s Center-Paros, Greece

I must admit, when I decided to spend a month on Paros, an island in Greece, participating in the work study program at Tao’s Center, a Buddhist center, I really had no idea what I was doing, or why I was doing it.

I made the decision in the comfort of the Winter family home while working Portugal. If you’ve read my blogs from my time there, you already know what an awakening experience it was for me. If you haven’t checked up on those entries, in a nutshell, I had the good fortune to spend two weeks n the comfort of a home and a family that pushed me to look at my own life and the world around me in new ways.

So it was there, on their front porch, that, after reading and evaluating the Tao’s website and tentatively emailing a few questions to the coordinator there, I gave into my intuition and accepted what I already knew was the right decision. Of course I should go.

A Couple Days in Athens

After 10 days of packed with activity in Italy I must admit, I needed a bit of a rest. So, with two and a half days in Athens, I decided to take it relatively easy, and just aim for the highlights.

First of all, I actually liked Athens quite a bit. It wasn’t at all what I expected. I think I had pictured something along the lines of Rome, but maybe a bit dingier. Instead, I discovered that Athens is a pretty little white and light city with modern conveniences, orange trees, a lot of history…. and quite a few demonstrators.

Yesterday, I decided to take it easy and just visit the Olympic stadium, home of the very first modern games, leaving the Acropolis – arguably Europe’s busiest and most important historical site – for today, when I’m a bit more rested.

The demonstrators had other plans.