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Well, I can finally say that I'm ready to leave this country. I have been really wanting to go to the Central Meat Market for the past while and my roommate went a couple weeks ago (she happened upon it somehow), so this reminded me of my desire. So, I made it there and it was a terrible experience and in about 5 minutes I had already decided I'm glad to be moving on, for sure. Although the carcasses and chopping and all of the blood was difficult to handle, it was really the smell that made me so terrified. I could get past the visual experience of it all, and just see it all as "meat," not "formerly living creature," but the smell, man, it was too terrible to put into words. It was this putrid smell of death. A stench that seemed to permeate all of my being and I just wanted to get out. We walked through the fish section which smelled terribly of fish and the floor was littered with blood, water and fish heads. This really all made me not want to eat for a really long time. I'm sure that food in the states is not as clean as we think it is, but I must say, I do enjoy my little USDA bubble and I'm not ready for it to be bursted like it was today. No more meat or fish for me in Athens, that's for sure. I am still not wanting to limit myself, but I wouldn't be surprised if that this rendezvous ruined me for meat and fish for a long, long time. The sick thing was, even the produce was disgusting. It was just all so dirty and unsanitary. I know that I am sounding quite a lot like an American snob, but I think, at this point (and on this subject) in my life, I'm really okay with that.