Greece is known for more than just gyros, ouzo, and Zorba the Greek. Ancient Greece was a great civilization from which came major contributions to present-day society. Greece is the birthplace of the first Olympic games, great minds like Aristotle and Plato, and is home to the breathtaking, ancient architecture of the Acropolis in Athens. So much history set against the backdrop of ancient ruins and the glistening Mediterranean Sea, what teen wouldn’t love growing up in Greece?
Nicholas Petalas takes teenwire.com down teenage memory lane to give us the inside scoop on teen life in Greece. Petalas was born and raised in Athens — named after Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. It’s now the capital and largest city in Greece. Petalas spent much of his teen years in the beautiful town of Kifissia, a suburb north of Athens. Kifissia is picturesque, with quaint villas, churches, and streets; lots of restaurants and luxury stores give a cosmopolitan feel to it.
“I love Kifissia and I always remember with nostalgia the years when as a teen I used to roam in its streets with my friends,” he says.
While growing up in Kifissia, Petalas got his first taste of freedom at the age of 15. It was at this age that he took his first vacation… minus the parents.
“This is a big event in the life of every Greek teen,” says Petalas. “Taking some friends and going alone to a Greek island for a few days.”
It was also the first time he started dating. He went with his sweetheart on holiday but serious dating didn’t really start until he was 16.
“A common complaint of the male population at my high school was that usually the nicest girls of our class had relationships with guys older than us,” explains Petalas.
But that didn’t stop him. He spent his days roaming around with friends and going to clubs and bars. They relied on public transportation because in Greece you have to be 18 to drive a car and 17 to drive a scooter.
Today, many Americans and Greek-Americans live in Kifissia. Not surprisingly, fashion and trends tend to be in sync with American teens.
“I would say that alcohol consumption in Greece is common,” notes Petalas, “but people drink small quantities and often.”
American music, mainly mainstream, commercial pop, and house are very popular among Greeks. So is traditionally Greek music, like Anna Vissi. Greece is well known for its many dance clubs, which draw a lot of tourists.
In the winter, most famous clubs are housed in downtown Athens, whereas in summer they move to the offshore highway of Athens, in Glyfada. These clubs are open-air and people can see the sea and stars while dancing.
When Greek teens are not in the clubs, they head in droves to malls, Internet cafes, fast food places, or arcades.
“Such is the love of Greeks for nice, well-decorated cafes,” Petalas notes, “that there is a popular saying, ‘Greece is the country of coffee, not Brazil!'”
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