Random Musings about Greece

Just anecdotal, but nearly 3 weeks of experience!

Greek positives: mountain scenery, cheese, fish, squid, octopus, olives, yogurt and honey, fruits/vegetables, white wine, beaches, islands, coastlines, swimming in the sea, sunsets, conversations, music, weather, art, architecture, history
Greek negatives: grime and crime in Athens, hassles with transportation almost everywhere; higher per capita grumpy people than I usually experience

Would I come back? Islands–yes–with preparations made to drive in some places. Athens–probably not–if I could avoid it. Now that I have seen the must see sights, the place is less alluring to me.

The economic and political situation is very complex. Based on what I have seen and heard from a variety of people, my impressions are:

*There is lots of corruption in government and police.
*Cheating is an accepted part of the culture and is talked about openly. Lest you think I am talking about unions and government workers, some of the worst offenders are the entrepreneurs. These are the people who could be innovating them out of some of this mess.
*They truly do have an immigration issue with the porous nature of the northern border and the people streaming through Turkey. Lots of these people are poor and desperate.
*I sense an invasion/victim mentality. When you see their recent and not-so-recent history, they have been overrun frequently and this makes them extra crazy about the current German/French dependency.
*On a related note, I heard quite a few conspiracy theory explanations about politics and the current morass. They make the “birthers” look like amateurs.
*Culturally, they express strong pessimism in most conversations. These by the way are paraphrased but represent things I heard in conversation with tourism workers and owners, a civil servant, and random people I met in cafes, etc. “This is the way it is. This is Greece. We will never change. This who we are. People work to get a comfortable place and then they quit working and do their best to keep others from joining them in their comfortable place or taking away their comfortable. Those other people are to blame. It’s politics.” I even had a business owner say that Greece can’t handle democracy.
*Much of the news on the US outlets is about the economics of it all. I thought the cultural elements were more worrisome. Overall, I think it’s bigger situation than they spend to much or pay too little tax.
*I found a Greek website that was helpful when tracking strikes. http://livingingreece.gr/2011/06/26/strikes-in-greece/
It’s from an American who has lived in Greece a long time. This Q and A seems to fit what I experienced, but it puts it into a larger context.

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