When the Party Gets Too Lit

If going to Greece two summers ago taught me anything, it's that Greeks take their partying very seriously. Every night, until the wee hours of the morning, people were out socializing and hitting up the clubs like they didn't even have to think about going to work the next morning. Partying is practically an aspect of the culture over there. So I decided to make this week's blog about this second stereotype and give a family example of how it is so true.

Stereotype #2: We Love to Party
My Uncle Mike (my mom's younger brother) has always been a very shy, "keep things to yourself" kind of person. He's one of the funniest people I know- that is, of course, when he does actually speak. So when my grandmother announced she had a funny story for me regarding my uncle, I was not too hesitant to take a seat and listen up. The story goes as follows:

One night, while my grandparents were visiting my then-in-college mother on her study abroad trip (which was- not so coincidentally- in Greece), my uncle decided to have a "little" get-together with his closest friends in the empty house my grandparents so graciously left for him. He talked to some people at school, thinking the word would stop there. After class, my uncle made a quick trip to the mall, where he saw one of his many many cousins and invited him to the mini-party. Little did he know, this would be a HUGE mistake.

By the time my Uncle Mike's get-together began, my whole hometown was not only aware of, but somehow invited to the now so-called "party." People my uncle had never seen before started appearing at his doorstep- and its not like they were going to ask permission to come in and make themselves at home. After breaking out the alcohol my uncle hid inside the house walls, empty cups trashed the entire house, and drunk teenagers were passed out in every corner; I get the feeling the house looked something like a scene from a bad high school romance movie.

Then the fight broke out.

We're not completely sure why it happened, but right there on my grandmother's front lawn was a full out flurry of fists and testosterone. People tried to break it up, only to make the matter worse. Neighbors must have started calling the police to complain about the noise and suspected underage drinking, all while this fight continued to heat up in the yard. Right as the police arrived, fighting kid #1 threw a huge punch at fighting kid #2, knocking out some of his adult teeth.

what I expect my grandparents' house looked like before the cops came

*photo courtesy of simon leloup*

My uncle was left with a busted party and a lawsuit on his hands, but never dreamed of letting his vacationing parents find out. In my hometown, however, gossip spreads faster than the plague.

Upon returning home from Greece, my grandparents went about their daily lives completely unaware of the chaotic party that had been thrown in their own bedroom. For a whole month, they heard gossip about some party in the area that spun wildly out of control and an accompanying possible lawsuit for the parents, who were not home at the time. Eventually my grandparents themselves started spreading the talk, never guessing that they were the house that hosted the party.

And my uncle said nothing to suggest it remotely involved them.

Long story short, my grandmother eventually asked my uncle if it was possible that the gossip was about their house. The slow nodding of his head was enough to convey to my grandmother that even the introverted Greeks love to have fun.

Moral of the story is all Greeks really do love to party- especially the shy ones.