Surprisingly, I’ve already developed some kind of appreciation for this village of five million people, where everyone knows everyone else, taxi drivers are experts in politics, complaining is a way of life, and the summer seems to stretch indefinitely.

Yes, I’m talking about dirty, overcrowded, dysfunctional Athens. Not simply the setting of my childhood or the holiday destination it’s been for the past few years. This is a city I’m exploring from point zero, as if all my knowledge of it was nothing but a dream. Though I’m not yet ready to settle down, life here no longer frightens me. Even if I do come back in the end, it won’t be as tragic as I assumed it would be (me and my eternal dramas).

For now, I’m enjoying the luxury of not having to leave until I’m ready to, the possibility of making long-term plans, and above all the freedom of being a...tourist: Totally useless when it comes to dealing with bureaucracy, approaching employers or just finding which bus to take (no chance of relying on the internet for guidance), but curious, uninhibited, keen on smiling at strangers, opening my eyes and ears and nostrils to take it all in.