For the countries I spend a couple days in, I am going to summarize some things I noticed about the country and culture. You may or may not find these posts interesting, or grossly stereotypical, but whatever; perhaps when you visit these countries you will know what I am talking about.
1. The Greek people are so incredibly hospitable and friendly.
I spoke with SO many random Greek people, both men and women, that were genuinely interested in me/where I was from/going/what I thought of Greece/ was I going to the Greek island. Even when the had no idea what I was talking about when asking for directions or information, they would make something up just to TRY to help! I was really amazed, I was not treated poorly once nor was I ever harassed.
2. A surprisingly LARGE majority of people speak and/or understand English.
It makes sense though: Greece is a huge destination for tourists and have so much to offer. I was still rather amazed that everyone I asked for help at least understood what I was saying!
3. The two big cities I was in, Athens and Thessaloniki, are dirty.
There is really graffiti everywhere! Which is a shame because although it is an older city, it doesn’t have to look that rundown. Road signs, signs for the archeological sites, even buses are just covered! And most of it is literally just like squiggles with spray paint.. I did not find this to be the case in the smaller cities I visited, like Delphi and Trikala.
4. The crisis really is affecting the country in a hugely negative way.
I spoke with Ioanna about this because as a tourist, the economical mess in the country really goes unnoticed unless you are very observant. I think it is very important if you are visiting a country in turmoil, even if it may not directly affect you, you should still try to figure out what is going on so you can appreciate their struggle instead of just jumping to conclusions based on biased news stories.
Many many many people lost their jobs, especially if you were younger and less experienced. For example, Ioanna’s mother is a teacher at a public school. They had to let go almost half of their teachers. The ones that had been working for several years (20+) kept their jobs [tenure basically] but several of the newer teachers lost their jobs and because public funds have greatly decreased, public schools (and other public institutions) have shut down so they literally can’t find jobs! Also, EVERYTHING is on sale and many stores are closed indefinitely.. And, as far as the banks, they appear to be open. However, Greeks are only able to take out 60 euros a day in order to avoid the banks to collapse…. So every morning at the banks and ATMs there are long lines of people trying to take out money. As a foreigner, it doesn’t affect you at all- I was able to take out as many euros as I wanted without any issues.
One more thing on this before I move on, from what I understood from someone that is obviously very sided on the whole issue, the reason that the new Greek government did not want to pay what they owe to the European Union is because the EU is trying to implement government plans and policy that do not take into consideration the culture and history of Greece. FOR EXAMPLE (and this is a very bad example but I am trying to make sense of it) Greece spends a lot of money on restorations of archeological sites because obviously Ancient Greece is hugely important to the culture of the world. Germany does not have many popular sites of the BC era (they probably do, but I have never heard of any). So it would be like if one of the policies that they implement would greatly reduce the money Greece could spend on these restorations because Germany does not spend that much on this in their own policies.. This would then have a snowball effect because tourism makes up 25% of the country’s gross income so if the sites that people want to see are falling apart, not as many people would go, and the country would be even worse off. Again that is a very wrong example because UNESCO and the EU obviously appreciate the cultural value of these sites, but it’s just to show how one size does not fit all. SO the new government did not want to pay all the money because they were hoping to come up with a different agreement that would be easier to adapt to Greece’s specific needs. They don’t have much to bargain with, so I guess we will see what happens. Please don't quote me on these things this just what I understood from the people I spoke with.
5. They are really trying to maintain and cultivate their tourism restoring many monuments and ruins.
Great for them :)
6. Something happens when a man turns 50.
I am convinced that on this birthday, a group of older men pay a visit, give them a pack of cigarettes, a pass for unlimited coffees, and a button down shirt. In every square and road, wherever there is a café, you will see a group of older men just sitting and watching the world go by, chain smoking, and drinking coffee. Of the places I visited in Greece, this phenomena was consistent. I don’t know WHERE the women of this age group are, but I suspect they are at home cooking and cleaning and watching grandchildren if I use Ioanna’s family as a reference.
7. Greeks LOVE their café fredo.
Their ice coffee is amazing and like 1.5 euros if you take it to go. I had a couple because iced coffee in 40 C/100 F weather it is perfect to fight the snoozes.
8. A large percentage of the population smoke.
Subsequently, many are missing teeth, so that guy I met when I arrived in Athens that told me he was a professor but I doubted him because of the missing teeth was most likely a professor who has been smoking since he was 13.
9. Deodorant may be optional.
Or perhaps Greek brands aren’t as strong as American deodorants. Again, with the hot weather though, it wouldn’t surprise me if it is just sweated off.
10. People drive like maniacs
I was holding on to my seat even in the buses around the city! It’s like a constant game of chicken! I didn’t even see one car accident though- so I guess since everyone drives crazy, they know how to avoid collisions. Also, as a pedestrian you have to be confident and just cross the road whenever there is a small gap between cars…. They don’t even LOOK to see if they cars are stopping (they always do). I had mini heart attacks everyday.
I LOVED Greece and the culture and the people. I will definitely be back soon to spend more time in this lovely country with so much history [now as ever]!
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