After the first 9 hour flight of my life, I get out of the airport and the whiff of pure sewage hits my nose. I look around and I see the beautiful mountains in the distance and hop into a cab. The drive to the apartment was insanity. It was as though the guy was the only driver on the road so other cars didn't matter and screw street signs. I was holding on for dear life. But miraculously, somehow, he never crashed or hit anything. After the 15 minute roller coaster ride, we finally arrived and I paid the guy and walked into my new home. The owners of the model hotel were super nice and friendly. We took the tiny, ancient elevator up to my room and they showed me to my closet. This "room" was literally a closet with two beds, a sink, desk, and tv mounted on the wall. The absolute smallest "room" I have ever been in, but it did have a cute little balcony where you could watch the people rummage through the garbage for plastic bottles and leftover food. Yes, that is a custom in Greece to go through trash to see if you can find anything useful.
So once in my nice, COZY room, I found out that my luggage wouldn't fit anywhere but on top of my bed. NO JOKE. I had to sleep with my luggage on the end of my bed. After that, I learned that I left my brand new camera in the cab and there was no way of getting that back. So from the get-go my trip was dreadful. It also took me days to figure out how to get a hold of my family back home and once I did, I broke down. I was a young kid with no one in a crammed room without a clue of what to do. To top it off, the agency that signed me thought that I had long hair which I clearly had super short hair and they did not like me once I got there. So that basically led them to not push me for anything and just give me the basic work that everyone would do.
Now overall my Athens experience was awful, but the sights and the culture (beside the garbage rummaging and smell) were really pretty awesome. The one job that saved Athens for me was a yogurt commercial that I did the day before I left. The people were amazing and the other cast members showed me how to do a traditional Greek dance which was so much fun.
And I saw Helena Christensen. SHE IS GORGEOUS!!! For her age, she looks 20. Absolutely flawless! The eating Greek yogurt, their fashion week, and seeing a legend and the historical sights were the only pluses to that trip. Once I got a hold of my agents in Chicago, I told them to get me out of there and after three weeks I was out of Athens and in Milan, Italy.
After that experience, I have been set on never stepping on Greek soil again. But I have to take what I can get and this experience could be way better and redeem the entire country for me. So I will be optimistic about going back the stinky country and hopefully this time I won't just sit in my room and mope. And I'm praying that I actually get to a photo shoot in Athens because all I did was castings, two fashion shows, and a commercial. So I would love, love, love to do some real work and show them what I got.
I am so happy with my agent who found agencies that I know wants me there and knows exactly what I look like. And I know if I ever have a problem I won't be left in the dust like I was the first time. It seems as though everything is actually falling into place this time around and I can't wait for the day that I turn back the clock and begin my modeling career over again. Who get a second chance at this?! I'm so stoked that I have this opportunity, I want to go now! :)
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