Do not be mistaken, it is not merely a stereotype that the Greeks posses ardor. They have an abundance of passion, so much so that they have difficult containing it, or even channeling it. I perhaps should rephrase the word passion, and substitute it with extreme and heated emotion, as their ‘passion’ is not always positive. If emotions were paints, the Greeks would look like a colorful Picasso painting: hard to interpret but full of life. This sounds crazy I know and a complete overgeneralization, but honestly, I have been the target of more emotional daggers and the recipient of undeserved praise simply for existing. Gossip is rampant, and not just in the female circles. Life here is not only lived, but expressed. Personal space must be demanded if desired, and even then, you might only see a few inches difference in proximity.
One of my favorite quotes I came across in high school was “You know the Greeks didn't write obituaries. They only asked one question after a man died: "Did he have passion?" So on that note, I am off to find a canvas to hold my Renaissance emotions for the time being while I go explore in the modern art realm of expressions.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Smoking
I thought that I was lucky to have the smoking ban go into effect July 1, so that the Greeks would have at least two months to cooperate before I arrived. No such luck, noting like the lights out that happened the day after the ban went into effect in Turkey. 2 points for Turkey on this one. Though I don't have any concrete examples, I have been told that Greeks aren't surprised that the smoking ban is not enforced. Greeks don't do well with authority (perhaps becoming Grecian will be easier than I thought!). The birthplace of democracy is now home to one of the most anarchic nations in the western world. This will be elaborated on when I have more details for you.
So here is nitty gritty on the ban. The smoking ban went into effect in Greece July 1, 2009. This ban prohibits bans smoking in indoor public spaces and work areas, public transportation, and smoking in areas without proper ventilation. Small restaurants and bars (between 70-300sq. meters) are permitted to have smoking, so long as they have a non-smoking section as well.
Currently, over 50% of the Greek population lights up on a regular basis. Minors are not discluded from this statistic either. I have 14-year-old chain-smokers in the dorm. The ban, unfortunately, does not seem to prevent the Greeks smoking. Rather, it promotes exercise in order to smoke (smoking isn't allowed on campus, so the teachers here all have to sprint off campus for a few puffs during their 7 minute class change).
So here is nitty gritty on the ban. The smoking ban went into effect in Greece July 1, 2009. This ban prohibits bans smoking in indoor public spaces and work areas, public transportation, and smoking in areas without proper ventilation. Small restaurants and bars (between 70-300sq. meters) are permitted to have smoking, so long as they have a non-smoking section as well.
Currently, over 50% of the Greek population lights up on a regular basis. Minors are not discluded from this statistic either. I have 14-year-old chain-smokers in the dorm. The ban, unfortunately, does not seem to prevent the Greeks smoking. Rather, it promotes exercise in order to smoke (smoking isn't allowed on campus, so the teachers here all have to sprint off campus for a few puffs during their 7 minute class change).
Elections
Though Greece is the birthplace of democracy, it has not always been able to uphold the dreams that Aristotle, Socrates and Plato envisioned. It has undergone countless changes in leadership and government type, returning to a democracy—more specifically a parliamentary republic—in 1974 after holding successful fair and free elections. Greece presently has both a chief of state and a prime minister. National elections determine not who the president will be, but rather who will become the next Prime Minister. Presently, Greece’s Parliament does not have a majority in favor of any party, which makes it incredibly difficult to pass new laws and legislation. Therefore, in hopes to achieve a more effective balance in Parliament sooner rather than later, snap elections have been called and were held today.
Currently, Kostas Karamanlis, leader of the New Democracy (Nea Demokratia) party, holds the position of Prime Minister. Despite him being the one who pushed for this year’s early elections, he will be in close contention with George Papandreou, head of the PASOK (Panhellenic Socialist Movement) Party (it is still too early to call who won the election, I’ll let you know the results). Karamanlis’s popularity has declined through-out his term. This is due to an array of factors including the downward spiral of the Greek economy and the lack of control over the recent forest fires in Athens. Additionally a recent real-estate scandal involving the sale of land from the Church to the State has diminished the public’s faith in church-state relations.
As in the majority of democracies, the voting age here is 18. Unlike in America, voting here is compulsory. People must vote in their hometowns which attributes to the reason why elections call for political holidays, and the reason I had a four day weekend! Also unlike America, citizens do not vote for their president. The president is elected through a secret ballot system in parliament. Karolos Papoulias has been reigning over Greece as President since 2005. As the presidency is only a five year term, the next Presidential changeover will occur in March of 2010. The President has limited power. His main responsibilities lie in foreign affairs, while the Prime Minister controls domestic dealings. This will be one of the few times in contemporary Greek history where the presidential and prime ministerial elections are held so close together. This could potentially lead to an entire upheaval of current political positions, so it will be interesting to see how the public will handle this delicate but crucial time in Greek history.
Fun Facts and Upcoming Events:
•Greece has had a Papandreou or a Karamanlis as prime minister for 30 of the 45 years of democratic governance since 1955, excluding the 1967-74 military dictatorship.
•This election is coming two years earlier than scheduled.
Currently, Kostas Karamanlis, leader of the New Democracy (Nea Demokratia) party, holds the position of Prime Minister. Despite him being the one who pushed for this year’s early elections, he will be in close contention with George Papandreou, head of the PASOK (Panhellenic Socialist Movement) Party (it is still too early to call who won the election, I’ll let you know the results). Karamanlis’s popularity has declined through-out his term. This is due to an array of factors including the downward spiral of the Greek economy and the lack of control over the recent forest fires in Athens. Additionally a recent real-estate scandal involving the sale of land from the Church to the State has diminished the public’s faith in church-state relations.
As in the majority of democracies, the voting age here is 18. Unlike in America, voting here is compulsory. People must vote in their hometowns which attributes to the reason why elections call for political holidays, and the reason I had a four day weekend! Also unlike America, citizens do not vote for their president. The president is elected through a secret ballot system in parliament. Karolos Papoulias has been reigning over Greece as President since 2005. As the presidency is only a five year term, the next Presidential changeover will occur in March of 2010. The President has limited power. His main responsibilities lie in foreign affairs, while the Prime Minister controls domestic dealings. This will be one of the few times in contemporary Greek history where the presidential and prime ministerial elections are held so close together. This could potentially lead to an entire upheaval of current political positions, so it will be interesting to see how the public will handle this delicate but crucial time in Greek history.
Fun Facts and Upcoming Events:
•Greece has had a Papandreou or a Karamanlis as prime minister for 30 of the 45 years of democratic governance since 1955, excluding the 1967-74 military dictatorship.
•This election is coming two years earlier than scheduled.
Education
Being at a private school, I do not have to adhere to many of the public requirements set forth by the ministry of education. However, my students cannot all escape them. Any senior who is planning on going to college in Greece must take national exams called Panhellenic national examinations. They are similar to the exams that my host sister took in Turkey in the sense that all seniors feel the need to take private lessons to enhance their scores. In Greece though, these exams seem to have greater importance than in Turkey. I say this because Public Universities in Greece are free. Yes, I repeat free, for Greek citizens anyways. Therefore what University you are eligible to attend, FOR FREE, depends on your Panhellenic score.
Food
I'll break my month down into sections so that I don't overwhelm you all at once. The first topic I will address is food, mainly because I am hungry after refusing tonight's dinner of a french-fry omelet. French fries should be their own food group here with the amount they are served--in the salads, on the gyros, with the pork--however, since they are only lightly fried in olive oil, they are supposedly better than America's "trans-fatty fries" direct quote, I couldn't make that up. I noted that french fries are in salads, gyros, and pork, because those are the other staples in the Greek diet.
The traditional Greek salad is a bed of lettuce, mixed with rocket, tomatoes, olives, and feta cheese. Oh, and we best not forget the olive oil that it is swimming in. If you ask for salad dressing, you will receive olive oil, and if you are really lucky, they slosh some vinegar on there as well. This however, has made me truly appreciate the taste of the actual vegetables, as I have a "naked greek salad".
Perhaps I fill overwhelmed with pork because I didn't have it for my time in Turkey. Then I realized, no, it was months before Turkey that I had my last piece of pork. I do find it very interesting that Turkish is 99% Muslim on a few hours away, and pigs are nowhere to be seen (and no, not because they killed them in fear of Swine Flu like Egypt) and you jump the boarder to the hog house. Fortunately, they over cook their pork, which means it not only tastes like chicken, but I love it.
These little piggies are also the main ingredient in Greek gyros. I somehow managed to go through 22 years without even taking a nibble of a gyro, which is a sad story. They are delicious packed with nutrients, protein, and your daily calorie count. They are cocooned in a warm pita, filled with pork (not lamb or beef like in the States), vegetables, McDonald's secret sauce, and heavily flavored with tzatiki. There is no good phonetic way to spell that word, I apologize, but what tzatiki is is a yogurt based salsa mixed with cucumbers, garlic, and mint. I would equate its use to ranch dressing in America, some like it for vegetables, others for pizza. It seems fairly multi-purpose.
Lunch is hands down the biggest meal of the day here, and eaten around 3:00pm. No snacking between breakfast and lunch either. Though ironically enough, they will snack before dinner which is often as early as 8:00. Somehow, I have managed to acclimate to this schedule, so long as I am busy in the mornings. However, if I have any downtime, my American 10:30 snack time calls me. Overall, I’ll rate the Greek food system better than expected.
The traditional Greek salad is a bed of lettuce, mixed with rocket, tomatoes, olives, and feta cheese. Oh, and we best not forget the olive oil that it is swimming in. If you ask for salad dressing, you will receive olive oil, and if you are really lucky, they slosh some vinegar on there as well. This however, has made me truly appreciate the taste of the actual vegetables, as I have a "naked greek salad".
Perhaps I fill overwhelmed with pork because I didn't have it for my time in Turkey. Then I realized, no, it was months before Turkey that I had my last piece of pork. I do find it very interesting that Turkish is 99% Muslim on a few hours away, and pigs are nowhere to be seen (and no, not because they killed them in fear of Swine Flu like Egypt) and you jump the boarder to the hog house. Fortunately, they over cook their pork, which means it not only tastes like chicken, but I love it.
These little piggies are also the main ingredient in Greek gyros. I somehow managed to go through 22 years without even taking a nibble of a gyro, which is a sad story. They are delicious packed with nutrients, protein, and your daily calorie count. They are cocooned in a warm pita, filled with pork (not lamb or beef like in the States), vegetables, McDonald's secret sauce, and heavily flavored with tzatiki. There is no good phonetic way to spell that word, I apologize, but what tzatiki is is a yogurt based salsa mixed with cucumbers, garlic, and mint. I would equate its use to ranch dressing in America, some like it for vegetables, others for pizza. It seems fairly multi-purpose.
Lunch is hands down the biggest meal of the day here, and eaten around 3:00pm. No snacking between breakfast and lunch either. Though ironically enough, they will snack before dinner which is often as early as 8:00. Somehow, I have managed to acclimate to this schedule, so long as I am busy in the mornings. However, if I have any downtime, my American 10:30 snack time calls me. Overall, I’ll rate the Greek food system better than expected.
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