Reflections

I've been home a week and images of Greece remain in my head, flitting in and out as I return to my daily routine.

One of these is riding the bus on our travels across Greece. As the days went by, the students became more confident in their Greek counting... ena, duo, tria... as we counted off after every stop. Though to see more of Greece was what I wanted most of all, I was continually surprised at the changes of topography as we crossed various mountains, stopped atop some, then descended to the valley or seashore. It is hard to keep the places separated out in my mind. Where was the man building his wall? Was that in Delphi?

There was the laundry woman with whom I exchanged a few words in Greek and it is fortunate that I did, for she remembered me and seeing me pass by her shop later, followed me to give me a pair of shorts I had not missed when my laundry was returned. That was in Ancient Olympia. The same place the jeweler wanted to sell me a ring, the price coming down and down, nearly 40%. It is obvious that many, many Greeks depend in one way or another on tourism. And when the economy is bad for tourists, it is doubly bad of Greeks.

It is hard to ignore the amount of marble that exists in Greece. On one of our cross-country trips we passed a quarry from which were being cut huge blocks of grayish white marble. Marble retains its looks for a long time, witness the many Greek statues that remain. Used in house construction, it does not vary in temperature easily so can be a natural air conditioner in summer and retains heat in winter.

On a sad note were the many empty shops that had large signs in their windows: ΕΝΟΙΚΙΑΖΕΤΑΙ  (for Rent). These signs were everywhere, in all the places we stayed. Once I stepped outside the hotel for a breath of air while we waited to start the day's trip. Standing outside on the doorstep, facing in, but making no move to enter stood a woman holding a baby and next to her a boy about six or seven. He simply looked at me when I smiled at him. Half a minute later, a hotel staffperson came to the door and handed the woman a can of milk and they walked away. I had the feeling this was not uncommon, but it was the only time I saw this kind of wordless exchange.

A street market in Athens, held weekly not far from our hotel, did a thriving business in fruits, vegetables and dress goods. I dearly miss all the wonderful fresh fruit so available there and so inexpensive. To buy peaches ripe enough to eat (that smelled like peaches), and apples, cherries, apricots, plums, figs - such a treat. I bought a whole kilo of peaches and had one on my cereal every morning for a week.

Near Pella, we stopped at a village restaurant that had been recommended. We were 16 in number and it was obvious that the restaurant was family run and not set up to handle so many all at one time so what to do? Send your son to the neighbor to come help and that is exactly what the woman did. The meal was slow in coming but it was very good and luckily we were not on a tight schedule that day, As usual I ordered Greek salad. That and the good Greek bread was all I needed mid-day. Our evening meals were at the hotels where we stayed.

Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece, and Athens, account for nearly 40% of the country's total population of 11 million. The two cities differ in layout due to the fact that after Thessaloniki's fire in 1917, (very similar to Chicago's great fire), the whole city was rased and then laid out in more modern grid form with wider streets. Thessaloniki has a wonderful large harbor. One night we took a tour boat trip around the harbor for a terrific view of the lights; all of the city was laid out before us. We could even see parts of the old wall that once surrounded the whole city and some of the fortification towers that survive.

As a casual tourist one might not realize that 60% of young people in Greece, even though well educated, can not get jobs. The Greeks are well aware that their youth are leaving Greece, especially the men, for jobs elsewhere. They get their education here, they say, but other countries benefit while we lose our brightest and best young people.

I can not imagine that Greece will not survive but certainly she has gone through many trials and is now suffering once more. Her history and the romance of mythology remains one of the greatest drawing cards for the rest of the world. That is not to demean her beautiful islands and beaches. Her people are struggling but not without spirit. I pray for good administration and vision for her leaders.