Hannah in the Homeland

Geia sou, Family and Friends! Kalimera and good morning! I have been in Voula, Greece with my Aunt Christina for the last few days and it has been lovely. She has been spoiling me with yummy coffee, cookies for breakfast, cheeses of all heavenly kinds, fruit that will make you want to move out of the mass-produced States of America, salads and sandwiches unlike anything you’ve seen, cocktails for girls night fun, and the list goes on. Point is, I’ve been spoiled.

Greece. *Deep exhaled breath* I can relax here. I can breathe here. I can think here. Life is not going to pass you by in Greece. No one’s wearing their “Busy” badge of honor like we do in the States. Here, it’s all about relationships. I’ve ventured into the town with my Aunt and have seen where she goes to the pharmacy, nail salon; where she gets coffee, produce, dinner, etc. Each place we went to, she was greeted with a hug and a kiss from the store owner. (Yes, here, the owner works every day, all day long–except for siesta, of course) She told me of the times she was in need of medical assistance for her husband, who had trouble leaving the house, and the pharmacist himself could be reached on his personal phone where he made a phone call to his doctor friend who made a personal visit to her house!! These business owners have a personal relationship with her– and that’s just one example. Everywhere she goes, she is known by name. In Greece, it’s not all business, it’s not all about money. It’s about helping each other out.

Aunt Christina also has one Taxi service she calls for rides, so she knows almost all of the drivers and they know her. My plane landed close to midnight and the buses were out of commission, so she called her taxi man to pic me up. He was a Greek man with a perfect American accent from his 30 years living in New York. Beforehand, my Aunt told me it would be about 45 euros and when I went to pay him, he would only take 30. He wouldn’t even take my tip because I am family. Did I mention Greeks are not wealthy? If anyone can afford to undercharge customers, it’s not the Greeks.

Trust me: Do I think there should be a boundary between charging the appropriate amount for a well-done service and relationships? Yes.
—-It’s actually an area I struggle with in my job back home. My job is very relational and often times I want to withhold charging altogether because something serious came up for a client and I don’t have the heart to charge them. The longer I am in the working world in the United States, the more I have to “un-personalize” it and do my job because I know that if I withhold charging all my clients every time something doesn’t go according to plan, I won’t have an income at all. —-
Regardless of what I think, it’s just different here. It’s not “every man for himself”. It’s about people. Greeks work very hard for the money they take home and yes, maybe their economy could be better if they didn’t make business personal, but that’s what gives Greece it’s charm.

I don’t know anywhere else (although I haven’t been everywhere else) that people genuinely care about other people like they do here. Yes, many Greeks may look like they’re angry when they are “just talking”. However, it’s the actions, the energy spent on others, the generosity, the openness that means so much more than a fluffy, sweet-talker with no action to back it up. In the States, I personally feel a lot of pressure to be overly sensitive with people. Everyone seems to be on the verge of getting offended. I have watched myself spend so much energy trying to say the right thing and make people feel good that I am exhausted — and I still don’t feel like I’ve done enough! My problem is I want to save the day for EVERY SINGLE PERSON I MEET. Not to mention, my already established relationships with family and friends, which were starting to take the back burner not too long ago.

I think it goes back to being busy; being too busy to care for those that cross your path as they cross it. Of course, the mentality I had in combination with the busyness of my lifestyle was the perfect recipe for self-destruction. Something had to give.

I’m not here to bash America and glorify Greece. I am just in awe by the way life works around here and, in some areas, disappointed by how far America’s gotten away from what really matters.

Excuse me while I join my Aunt for coffee and cookies.
P.S. I begin my 4 weeks of volunteer work with Threads of Hope Hellas on Monday! 🙂

Xoxo,
Hannah in the Heavenly Homeland