Greekin' it up!

I've been in Greece (Έλλαδα) for a few weeks now and I'm beginning to realize all of the little perks of their culture that I've forgotten about since I left last spring. The first, and one that I still have trouble with, is how selfish Greek people are. It's not the same type of selfishness that Americans are used to, I think that the Greeks actually have a hard time considering the thoughts and feelings of people that aren't themselves. It's really confusing to someone who comes from a culture that emphasizes commitments and following through when a Greek will flake out on you and not even understand why it's annoying. I've been trying to see my friend George (Γιώργος) and for the past two weeks he's gone to the beach instead of meeting with me. Him not going through with things wouldn't be too annoying, but he's really adamant about how he wants to see me and how he'll stay in Athens on the weekend when I come into town, and he does this as late as the night before I arrive! Then when the day rolls around he's gone and I can't get a hold of him until that night when he informs me that he simply could not stay in the city that day, it was too hot to see a friend from a year ago apparently. This behavior also ties into another thing that Greeks like to do, lying.

I'd completely forgotten how much they lie to people, and not just foreigners, until I got back to the country. I was okay with it last year when it was just little things, like having internet in my apartment; what a joke that was. However, this time around it's been about big things, like getting job placement from my program for example, and I'm really getting tired of it. My friend Mel, who studied in Athens with me last year, can explain it rather well in my opinion. The Greeks have cultural thing about one upping everyone, especially your friends, which ties in with their need to be μάγας (a tough guy). Clearly a big Greek man, or woman for that matter, cannot tell the truth, because that would be too easy, and to be truly Greek they have to mislead people and leave out crucial information so that they can be on top. Again, I have problems with it because it is so different than the American way of doing things.

Despite these two complaints, and I really do think they are character flaws of the culture and probably reasons why this country will never leave the "developing" stage of things, I find that the Greeks are some of most amazing people I've ever met. Their love of life, I know I overuse it but I have no other way of expressing it, is inspirational and when you get caught up in it you forgive them of their faults. This is because they are not important in the scheme of things, "In my country, why we worry about the little things. So I not always tell the truth, it is not problem." They are too busy living to be on time, or there at all, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

holla

I've made it to Greece, and I'm going to attempt the bloggin' thing. I'm not entirely certain how the space will be used except that I do want some sort of written evidence of my escapades. It's great to be back in Europe, and the place is still much the same way I left it, the shower is hand held and you still can't flush toilet paper. Coming back has been really exciting and it was amazing to see the Greeks again, they still entertain me. The village is not exactly Athens, but it's nicely relaxing and I've inherited the Greek mother I never had.

In other news, I've been reading a book about the evolution of the English language, The Mother Tongue, and it's quite interesting. One of the things that it discusses, although only in passing, are shibboleths, which are words that can betray a persons origins. The way that people pronounce words is often indicative of their place of birth/where they grew up, and this can be used to determine the nationality etc. They have a rich history, particularly in military use, when people want to identify enemies easily, but seems prone to backfiring. It's said that the Irish used a shibboleth to determine between the Catholic and Protestants in order to determine the treatment of anyone taken into custody. The Catholics say "H" as aitch while the protestants say haitch, which would seem to make identification simple for either side. Of course one would presume that each side learned this and one would pronounce "H" in the way that suited them, but the idea is pretty.

Where it gets interesting is in the identification of regional dialects and accents, where the shibboleths of only a few words, as low as ten, can place people quite accurately as to where they grew up. It's funny to think how much baggage we carry from our upbringings, with pronunciation being the least of them. With the increased mobility of our societies people are dropping these accents and the mindsets that come along with them. We're moving closer and closer to true homogeneity, where whatever diversity that exists in America will be swallowed up into the media that allows us to spread ideas so quickly. The net can do that, despite its seemingly opposing ability to bring people with esoteric ideas together in order to cultivate and preserve them. It'll be nice to see which wins out, and whether the information age will finally unite us or splinter us.