Greek Festival

Today Russ and I went to a small Greek Festival. I really love Greek food and thought this would be interesting. The festival is sponsored by a Greek Orthodox Church that is trying to raise funds to build a church building. They are currently meeting in a slightly modified large steel building which they purchased from a Baptist Church. We paid our $2 each to enter the grounds then walked around looking at the various items displayed in booths: jewelry, some clothing, beautiful art (Greece with its stark white buildings layered on hillsides next to deep blue water is so strikingly beautiful!), as well as food. I wished for additional stomachs as well as a bottomless purse so I could try everything available! We ended up getting just one gyro and one Greek salad to share along with a large bottle of water. (It was 99 degrees and the sun was very intense.) I know I always get gyros- but that's because I so like them and really don't have them very often. (Maybe twice a year..??) However, I have vowed that the next time I go to a Greek restaurant, I will try something else. We were grateful for the awnings set up over many tables lined with chairs so we could sit in the shade to eat. It was not disappointing! Then, for dessert we each got a "baklava sundae". Who knew ice cream could be Greek?! It was vanilla ice cream drizzled with honey and sprinkled with bits of baklava (phlyllo dough with walnuts). It tasted wonderful and the cool ice cream felt so good in our mouths.
Shortly after eating, there was a "tour" of the church. It wasn't so much a walk around to see the inside of the church as it was a chance to get into air conditioning, sit in comfortable seats and learn a little about exactly what and "orthodox" church is. I found it very interesting. I have to admire the church members who are diligently seeking to remain "orthodox" according to the written and traditional history of the original church as established by Jesus Christ 2 millenia ago. They believe, as I do, that Jesus Christ atoned for the sins of all who accept Him as their Savior. They believe, as I do, that Jesus was resurrected and that we will be, too. They believe, as I do, that Jesus Christ will again come to the earth and there will be a time when all we be judged and assigned a "mansion" accordingly. Their belief in "Saints" is to use them as role models, not worship them or pray to them. I think that's cool. They have "icons" all over their walls which are elaborate paintings of saints as well as Jesus. The priest emphasized that they do not pray to any of these depictions. They are just there as reminders of what kinds of people they should follow, especially Jesus.
We stood outside after the "tour" and baked in the heat for a little while waiting for the Greek folk dancers. I don't know if there were any adult dancers that performed later, but the children we watched were really cute. Their costumes were fairly elaborate, especially considering the heat! Because all of the shady seats were taken by this time, we sat in the broiling sun. I don't do well in intense sun. After 30 minutes, I was starting to feel nauseous. The children were done but we didn't stay to see if there was going to be anything else. Oh, and the whole time outside of the dancers with their accompanying music, there was a 2-man band playing Greek music. It's amazing how one keyboardist and one stringed instrumentalist (it's like a guitar but shaped like a balalaika), both of whom can also sing, can be sufficient to produce music non-stop hour after hour. And it sounded pretty good to me! I kept my toes tapping the whole time when I stood still or sat.
I had a thought as I was enjoying the food there. Last night we were generously treated to dinner by neighbors for whom we watered plants and stuff while they were gone a few weeks. We went to a Texas Roadhouse, basically a steak house. We were grateful to be taken to a place that was definitely a little more than just eating at Taco Bell or Subway. However, (you guessed this was coming, didn't you?) we were pretty turned off at the volume level and the seasoning on the food. Whereas the food we ate at the Greek festival today, like the food we ate over the summer in Italy, was delicately seasoned with herbs, lemon juice, and other pleasant but subtle flavorings, the food in the steak house was like the atmosphere: in-your-face loud and obnoxious. The music was pretty loud hence the conversation at each table was loud, everybody trying to be heard. The meat and vegetables in my shish kebab were an assault on my tongue. Russ had steak fries that were way too heavily seasoned with some kind of seasoned salt. (The rolls were really good, though.) It's no wonder that Americans have gotten a reputation all over the world for being loud and showy. It's good that we have confidence. It's good that we are not afraid to step in and help, which we do a LOT!! But I think it would be nice for us to be a little simpler, a little more humble, a little better at listening and pondering, maybe going at a little slower pace, too.