I cannot take the credit for this posting - but I felt it was worthwhile sharing to the rest of you out there.
It accurately explains the problem in Greece, I feel - much better than I can as an expat.
A reference for where I found it can be found at the bottom.

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nikolaos1960

I know, yesterday was depicted as a pretty awful day for Greece, Athens in particular.  And today is supposed to be 'worse', if you listen to the international media - because they are voting through a crucial wave of measures to secure more money from the IMF & EU.  Hence it is believed the people will be worse today.

Well, I don't know about anyone else in Athens yesterday, but my day was lovely and peaceful - up on Mount Parnitha anyway.  Parnitha is about a 45 minute drive from Athens and at its peak is a casino.  It can be reached by cable car OR (and this is lovely), avoid the casino altogether and go further up to the top and go walking...stumble across little old churches with deer...

...and little old Greek priests that seem to reside up there:

I think he was coming to catch the deer personally!

Further walking revealed another old church...


...but quite who they were calling to attend services with the bell, I do not know.

Meanwhile, the views down to Athens were incredible.  We looked out to try to see smoke rising, but could see none.  One thing I will say though: a friend of mine told me she was in the centre yesterday and yes, it was chaos 5 mins down the street, but where she was, people were quite happily supping on their espressos and frappes.  So don't be sucked in by the media hype, people - it's frustrating to see it blown out of proportion.  My little part of Greece (Parnitha) was gorgeous.  I recommend it to anyone.


The ONLY sad thing about Parnitha was the amount of burnt scrub land, affected by the massive 2007 fires.  As I'm sure you know, many conspiracy theories abound in Greece in general - the one circulating about Parnitha was that the fire was started so that the Casino owners could expand. 
To be fair, this has some credibility as there is a weird law in Greece:  protected forest land cannot be chopped down to be built upon, unless it is destroyed by fire - no re-planting is necessary.

These theories abound for just about any forest fire in Greece in the summer: people wanting to build homes, developers, etc.  And I have to admit, this is one theory I am inclined to believe.

Well, I wanted to write this because I am so sillily ecstatic about getting this:

It's my 'little blue IKA book'.  IKA, for the uninformed, is the sort of equiv. to the NHS in the UK, except a lot, LOT worse (sorry Greece, but it is).
For example, this book is where all my medical details get written into if I have to visit a Dr, hospital or get a prescription.

Yes, so if I am merrily walking around and unfortunately get my bag stolen, someone will know not only my name and Insurance number, but also my medical history (help in taking on an identity?).
And I have to carry it around with me, because what if I fall over and become unconscious and cannot tell them I'm allergic to something - they get this info from my 'blue book' - cos nothing's put on the computer!

Ahhhh, I moan, but believe me - after the success of opening the state bank account on Tuesday, then today the success of the 'blue book', I am a happy girl :0)

And I didn't leave a public servant building wishing to slit my wrists once...isn't THAT a result!

So, as most of you know, Greece is probably one of the most bureaucratic countries in Europe - and I bet that's going to get worse in the coming months with all that's going on.  And if you've been following my blog, you'll know of my experiences with the tax office and whatnot...enough to make a gal want to slit her wrists and wonder about the marvals of HOW DIFFICULT it appears to be to do the right thing.

But today was an altogether more pleasant experience.  I had to open a new bank account with the state bank as soon I will be unemployed :0( ...but not for long, don't worry.  Anyway, I am entitled to claim Unemployment benefits as I've been paying into the system for long enough (if there's any money to give me by the time I come to 'sign on'!!! But that's a story for another day - watch this space).

So, back to my experience:  I go into the bank, fully armed and loaded with my papers and passport - hell, I've even taken photocopies in triplicate for them!  I get told to sit down in front of the 'copela' (girl) and she starts the process.  I am expecting to be fired a load of complicated questions, but no! I merely tell her what it's for, she nods, asks to see my passport and tax number and proceeds to undertake a miriade of typing, etc whilst I sit patiently, gazing around me:  a sea of people patiently sitting with their little numbers, waiting their turn.
In comes a lady with a tiny baby - now, I'm not a great fan of babies (sorry, but they all look like mini Yoda's to me from Star Wars) but this one was fast asleep over its mother's shoulders, arms splayed in abandon and actually was really quite cute, despite its wrinkledness. 
My 'copela' stops her work long enough to tell the lady to not bother taking a number and to cut the queue, which people allow her to do quite happily (this is a big deal in Greece - read my post about shopping in Lidl)...maybe it's the sight of said baby dozing quite peacefully - in these times of harship we all need a little reminder of the sweetness in life.

Eventually I am issued with a book and I am all set!  I have my state bank account! The copela tells me to come back next week for my bank card and even offers to photocopy the front page of my booklet with my account number on it to give to the unemployment office
!!!!!!!!!!!
I am amazed because this type of helpfulness is, sadly quite rare these days...so Thank You to my local National Bank of Greece branch, you were helpful, friendly and kind to a lady with a tiny baby.

Maybe they know something I don't: by the time I come to apply for unemployment, there'll be no money in the pot to allocate!!! 
Next 'experience' will be IKA - watch this space people.

Stay safe.

Re: the title of this blog, I was thinking the other day: people who lived in the late 20th C/early 21st C who could still skin rabbits, kill chickens and who still kept money under their mattresses used to be looked down upon almost...I mean I am sure there was the thought process of:
"look at them with their backward ways!" (correct me if I'm wrong & you never thought this, please).
And yet, it is these people we'll be looking to to help feed us if things get any worse...those people that know how to go out 'into the field' (quite literally) and kill animals for food, who never trusted the banking system so kept their money tucked under the mattress.

They're not so quaint now are they!  Funny how life goes around full circle.

I've been in Greece 3 years now and I've realised that, as an English person I used to have a rather patronizing view of the Greeks - "Oh those Southern Mediterranean people!  LOOK at them ranting at each other and living in a bubble of conspiracies!"
Well, it took me to actually live here in order to understand why they think the way they do:  Britian has never been under occupation or, more recently survived under a dictatorship.

So, is it any wonder that the Greeks are paranoid about what they consider a 'new wave/style of occupation'?   Theories I have heard:

1) Washington Consensus institutions (IMF, World Bank) move in under the guise of 'helping' an economy when actually, they want to destabilize it in order to create a cheap investment deal/cheap workforce for MNC's (multi national corporations).  Especially if there's oil in the Aegean?

Hmm, I'm not sure about that - but to be fair, this thought process was taught to me at University in England. 

2) An economics student of mine (who I teach English to) told me that they are taught in Greek universities that the German bailout is merely a different form of occupation.

Pah! was my initial reaction - until I checked myself and reminded myself that I come from a nation who's never been occupied...so can we blame them, really, for being paranoid?

In the meantime, life continues as 'normal.'  I enjoy the spontaneity of my friend texting me at 10:30pm telling me she's coming to pick me up and we'll go for a coffee (yes, here in Greece we go out late for COFFEE and maybe one drink, we don't plan ahead to go out and get outrageously drunk).
I enjoy getting home at 3am, having spent the evening sipping a frappe in the gardens of an old colonial home converted into a cafe/bar, having at least 3 other people we know join us.

I love the spontanaity of living here.  One of my Greek/Canadian friends commented that she wouldn't live anywhere else.
"But Canada is rated as one of the highest places to live in terms of standards of living!" I exclaimed, finding it odd that she wants to stay in current times.
"Yes, but I nearly died of bordom there" she lamented.

You see?  It's swings and roundabouts.  At least you can't say life's boring here.

In the meantime, maybe I should seriously consider befriending someone who can skin rabbits (here, in Athens??)

Unless you've been holed up in a cave for the last 6 months, you'll be aware that HUGE things are happening here in Greece at the moment.  Everybody who lives here (including me) have (metaphorically) been walking around for the last year with our breaths held, knowing somthing huge is about to happen, but unsure of exactly when.  It seems this week we can let our breaths go, not in relief (well, partly as the anticipation is always worse than the actual event).

I wish I was more experienced at writing and could write a groundbreaking and jaw dropping account, but really:
1) I'm not so experienced and
2) life is surprisingly 'normal' at present.
Well, apart from Wednesday 15th when a work colleague lent me one of her paint masks get home safely from work (for the tear gas, in case you hadn't guessed).

So, I have tried to take a few pics to help you see instead (with my iPhone, so don't expect a piece of art!).  Tuesday 14th was very peaceful and there are some good pics of the people outside Parliament.  It made a nice day to come back to work after a lovely long weekend in Aegina island (see previous post).  It was Wednesday that it all kicked off.

Enjoy and keep reading.

Pretty obvious what this indicates

And again

And again

If anyone can translate, feel free

Again, feel free to translate

The 'Anti Pay' movement in Syntagma Station (they'd put bin bags over the tkt machines so you couldn't buy a tkt!)

Wobbly picture showing how impossible it was to get home last night

Following on from my "Debtocracy" shared link and observations about crimes against humanity, I received an interesting comment and alternative view from a Greek/Australian (refer to the "Crimes against Humanity?" blog posting to view comment).
In short: the question needs to be asked - are the people not SLIGHTLY to blame?!
It's like turning a blind eye (is it not?) - only complaining/whistle blowing when it starts to affect you directly.

But then again, can we blame people for not wanting to consider further down the line the consequences, and merely live for the here and now?  They went through an awful time with the dictatorship and fought to end this.  Maybe, in order to instill confidence in the people again (and to gain votes, let's face it) the government of that time "apologised" to its people through providing for them through tax cuts, jobs, etc.

OBVIOUSLY some future generation is going to have to pay for all this - what my Greek/Australian observer is astutely 'observing' is that why couldn't the people have foresight enough to realise the "honeymoon period" would have to come to an end?

It's like the swing of the pendulum:  this country's pendulum is never settled in the middle - it is either extremely to the right, or too far to the left.  Any extreme is dangerous...we need to get it back into safer territory: the middle.

Take a look at this Youtube/Al Jazeera link for an alternative take on "Debitocracy"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnKTy97db-o

Be safe, people.

I'd recommend Aegina to anyone who wants to escape Athens for one night/2 days.  It's beautiful and luckily only located about 1hr 15 mins from Athens by ferry (less time if go you choose the Speedcat). 
As you know my past experience with Speedcats has been, somewhat, dodgy. 

Gorgeous old buildings

So I prefer the slow boat option:  can walk around on deck and have the HILARIOUS task of trying to board the thing and learn how to be 'Greek' about it:  keep your bulky shoulder back on said shoulder and BARGE your way through the crowds, knocking people into the water as you (well, not literally, but nearly).

Fishing boats

It WAS funny though.  The port policeman was yelling at an old lady to stand behind the yellow line as she may get hit by the 'flying ball'.  This is when someone from the ship throws down the huge rope to the man on the ground, the man then attaches it to a 'post' on the ground to keep it stable.  But the rope is attached to a smaller rope and all balled up at the end, so it's THIS that is thrown, then the huge rope follows.

Back to Aegina:  it's part of the Saronic Isle (not sardonic as in sarcastic).  Not many sandy beaches, but lovely rocky ones and I had my first swim of the year (yippee!!)  Also caught out in a massive thunderstorm and what can only be describes as monsoon!  (See pics).

Small flood at our table!

So, after all the stress and tension these days, it's nice to escape - and after my first swim and lots of fresh air, I feel sleep too - off I go to bed then.

Nice places to have coffee

Just a quick one - it might brighten some one's day (it did mine, and the security guard who witnessed it).
So, I am leaving work last night - I work in quite a rich part of Athens (alas people, I cannot tell you where - *sigh* - there are some very weird people on the internet who think it is OK, after several years of no contact with you, to suddenly try to re-surface in your life - so naturally it is unwise to divulge one's location too much on our blessed (and cursed at the same time) WWW).
Anyway, back to my point:  I am leaving work - our lovely security guard nudges me and is clearly tickled pink by something:

"Eh" he starts (that's very Greek that, BTW).  Where was I?  Oh yes:
"Eh - so I am standing here, looking at a man who is an asshole in a Porshe Carrera - it is one of the last Porshe's ever to be made, I could tell by the number plate!" security guard man is grinning/regaling excitedly.
"Up comes a homeless man and leans into the drivers side open window and says to him"

""Eh malaka - this is Athens, a country going down the sh*thole - where do you think you are, Beverly Hills?  Why do you look like a pr*ck driving round like this?  You're not in Los Angeles you know.""

The security guard was in fits telling me this - in fact, so impressed was he by this that he went out and bought the homeless guy a coffee and gave him a cigarette.  Said pr*ck in the porshe apparently had no idea how to handle this and was staring open mouthed at homeless man.

I think it sounded funnier in Greek actually - some things we can translate and we can imagine them to be funny in our own language, but in Greek/the native language, they are even funnier.

And yes, lesson for all those of you with Porche's - remember, other men aren't jealous of you that you have one (it's sooooooooo 1980's) - and women just think you have a small pen*s.

Today I was very lucky to be invited to a photography exhibition.  It was a friend of a friend (one of those set ups, as is normally the case in this country) and I had a really good time (thanks Thanos :0)  )
It was in Exharchia, Athens.  I've been to Exharcia before but never really paid too much attention to it.  Since it was a photography exhibition I was viewing, therefore photography was on my mind and I started to notice a lot of interesting 'things' to take snaps of (sorry, I can't think of a better word).
So here is a collection of the random snaps I took - all with my iPhone as I am certainly no professional and therefore not touched up.
Some are of old buildings/streets, others are the random graffiti that I see every now and then (and you have to admit, they are pretty good). 
If anyone can translate the Greek into English on the graffiti, feel free to.

Enjoy.