Final Reflections on Greece

So, we have been home now almost 48 hours from Greece, and I have been thinking a lot about this trip. I have been lucky enough to have visited several different countries over the past 12 years -- Ireland, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Turkey, Austria, Canada and Greece, but Greece affected me differently than many of the other countries I have visited to date.

I was not sure what to expect with this trip. A week before we left, the public and private labor unions in Greece called for a nationwide strike on the third day of our visit, and we were warned that violence could occur. Some riots broke out, but the violence was not the problem for us. What affected us more was the impact of the strikes on our ability to see some of the sights. Our tour guide was incredibly candid in sharing with us the perception of many Greeks that unionized workers had unrealistic expectations for what benefits and working conditions should be provided them, especially in light of the incredibly unstable economic conditions in Greece. There seemed to be a widespread sense of disgust among non-unionized Greeks with the demands of striking union workers. Ironically, though, these same people who thought the striking union workers were being unreasonable and not helping the Greek economy were often the same people who closed their businesses for 1-2 hours each afternoon for siesta (afternoon rest). These siesta closures often occurred even in shops and restaurants in tourist areas around hotels. Many of us found it ironic that during hours when many tourists might seek to shop or buy something to eat or drink, it was often very difficult to do so because everything was closed for siesta. Many of our students (who are NOT business majors) noted that these closures seemed illogical for people living in an economy needing stimulation.
When many of these business were open, the shop keepers often were very surly if we failed to pay for things in exact change. We also found that they would double the price of items if we asked to pay with credit cards. What we learned was that many Greeks do not like to report income on their taxes (probably another reason their economy is in trouble!), so they prefer to get payments in cash so they don't have to report all of their income for tax purposes. Again, many of the the students seem to notice that while many merchants may have provided their customers with the incentive to pay cash, some merchants actually missed out on sales because when purchasers did not have cash on hand and were unwilling to pay with credit cards because of the jacked-up prices, no sale occurred.

We also noticed that because the tip was included in the price of items at restaurants, servers were generally not very interested in serving. When our drinks ran dry, it frequently took an act of God to attract a server's attention to get another drink. I learned a trick. Servers find it outrageously offensive when customers prop their feet up on another chair at the table. They will scamper over immediately to demand that you put your feet back on the ground. IMMEDIATELY! So, whenever we needed something at our table, I just propped my feet up on a chair, and when the server scrambled over to demand that I put my feet down, we would tell him what we needed. Worked like a charm.

The Athens Airport was most interesting. When we began our 28-hour trip home, we flew from Crete to Athens. That means we went through airport security in the Crete Airport. When we arrived in Athens, we had several hours before our flight to JFK, so we wandered around the main concourse of the Athens Airport. Like most airports, the Athens Airport has shopping and Duty-Free stores, but unlike many airports, you have to go through these mini-security checkpoints as you shop. You have to go through these gates and show your passport despite already having gone through security. You could buy food, drink, perfume, etc., but if you go to your gate after these purchases, you have to go through security AGAIN, and the security people will make you dispose of these food, drink, liquid, gels, or anything else you bought in the airport that is not allowed through security. Completely illogical. Moroever, even though we got all of our boarding passes in Crete, the lady at the gate in Athens made us get new boarding passes in Athens. I decided after all of this that if the Greek government is run like the Athens Airport then it is no wonder they have problems.

Now, lest you think that all of my observations of Greece were negative, let me share some of the really fantastic impressions I have about Greece. First, Greece legislates how much feta cheese must be included in every Greek salad, otherwise it cannot be called a Greek salad. You gotta love a country that legislates the quantity of cheese that must be included in a salad! The Greeks also make great cheese pie. I had never heard of nor tasted cheese pie before, but it is lovely, and it combines two of my favorite things -- cheese and pie!

The country's commitment to the preservation and restoration of its many historical landmarks is commendable. Moreover, it is impressive that Athens has been able to create any meaningful subway system when you consider all of the archaeological ruins that it probably had to navigate to develop such a sytem. Something several of us found intriguing about Greek culture is that people in Greece do NOT celebrate birthdays -- instead they celebrate their name day of the saint with the same name. Greece enjoys over 250 days of sunshine each year -- that is lots of sun! Greece is also the 3rd ranking producer of olives in the world -- gotta love a country that produces so many olives -- green, black, purple, etc.

Okay, that is enough. Not sure where I will be going next (except for a wedding in Wilmington, Delaware later this summer). Would LOVE to visit India, Egypt, Poland, Russia, England, Iceland, Finalnd, and Kenya, to name a few. Whether I will ever get to some of these places remains to be seen, but I would encourage anyone reading this who has yet to travel outside the U.S. to do it!