Tuesday was "Oxi Day" in Greece (pronounced Ohee). It is typically a commemoration of the day the Greeks told Mousollini and the Nazi's, "No" after being told to surrender their plot of land. The Greeks then fought hard in Northern Greece before being overtaken by the Nazi forces. As a commemoration of the day, the Greeks have a parade; however, it is a military parade. At first, the parade begins with tons of groups dressed in all sorts of traditional outfits, fancy hats, elaborate chest coverings, fancy skirts, balls on their shoes, etc. representative of the different cultures that came together to form Greece. Following them were all sorts of rescue teams and flag carriers. The flag carriers for Thessaloniki were the top students in each school who have the honor of representing their respective schools by carrying their countries flag in the parade. After this, came the biggest display of military power I think I have seen. To be honest, it was a bit overwhelming to see 10-20 full fledge tanks blowing down the street, revving their engines, and blowing fumes of black smoke out the back with black hawk choppers and jets soaring above. The first tank I saw had its barrel turned slightly to the right and conveniently postitioned exactly where I was standing. It's only a parade, but one of those things that makes you question whats happening for a minute.

     Some differences about the parade was the seriousness of it. In the US, our parades are celebrations, but in a different way. Candy is thrown, people are waving, their are shows, music, etc. but for Oxi Day, it was an almost somber experience. The military officers all stand stout, arms firm at their sides, gaze straight ahead, as a display of their military force. The flag barrers and students before them all marched in step, right and left arms flailing together - this seemed very out of place until the tanks came barreling down the street. It also still seemed all very strange until I was speaking with one of our professors about my impressions of the parade and she simply pointed out, "Imagine living in Greece in the 1930s and 40s and watching Nazi tanks and troops march down your hometown street and into your capital building with more tanks and troops than what you just saw. Imagine what it was like for virtually every European country to be overtaken and conquered." That hit home with me. Amidst what seemed like madness, there was actually a very legit underlying principle, and it was neat to be a part of it.

     The rest of the day was pretty low key, I caught a quick run in the afternoon, saw some artifacts and some sea food pasta for dinner. We did not make it out to dinner until around 10 which is when the restaurants are busiest. However, we found a place that had live music and it was pretty cool to see the Greeks get up and dance some of their traditional dances. Thessaloniki is a much more traditional city and has been very entertaining so far. Tomorrow, myself and two others have decided to cut class (I know, scold me later - we got permission) to take an hour train from here to Mount Olympus National Park and hike around the mountain that the gods dwelt according to ancient mythology. I'm really looking forward to it and as always a good break from city life =)