GREECE

One common essay on the English class used to be “a friend of yours is coming to Greece. In your opinion, what he needs to know about your country?”
Well below, are all the rubbish things no one should necessarily know about but are part of contemporary Greece

You (don’t) need to know that:

There’s a show on tv which really thrives lately. Everyone talks about it. I guess the concept is the more trash the better. We’re talking about a huge success. People with “peculiarities” go there and though all of them have such awful voices, they sing songs -which become tremendous trash hits on the radio and popular ringtones afterwards- solely written for them and have to do with their weird element. Though I’d love to give an example, it’s hard cause the titles of the songs lose their meaning on translation.

The movie 300 a while ago, enthused my compatriots. In the small city I study very few are regular movie-goers but during the display of 300 there were lines of the impatient audience begging for the golden ticket on the street outside the cinema. No one hated it and some journalists wrote on the papers that this film represents the Greeks and their history in contrast with many other Hollywood mega pictures which paraphrased our importance and contribution to the world.

The basic salary of a worker is around 600 Euros while renting a two bedroom flat costs around 300 and a cd 20

The residents of a city –any city- always have conflicts and antagonism with the residents of a specific other. Usually the two cities are neighboring. Though the greatest conflict is the one between Athenians and the rest of the Greeks about which product should be called cheese, which one feta-cheese. Complicated?

A way –the Greek way- of having fun is throwing flowers to singers. Troubled again? Imagine your favorite artist. Then imagine him giving a concert each night for about a couple of months in the same place. You go there and the place is full. You sit in tables and buy a bottle of scotch for 180 euros. Optionally when you are at the peek of your high spirit you throw him flowers. It’s a good way to show that you have money to spend and singers relish it.

Drivers yell and swear a lot. Fully accepted. They also use the horn very frequently. That’s fine also. And mostly they have absolutely no respect about the pedestrians. Pedestrians are sympathetic.

If you are in a bank and wait in queue don’t give your to place to the guy who is behind you and seem to be in such a great hurry. He will thank you but will think that you are imbecile.

If you are in a congested bus during a hot summer day, make sure to go and stand beside an open window, otherwise close your nose and breathe form the mouth.

If you are a guest in a Greek house during lunch or dinner you have to eat what they offer you. If you’re not hungry they will just tell you to eat until you beg for no more.

Nightclubs are open ‘till 3:30 a.m during the week and on weekend ‘till the last drunk person leaves the place.

Families don’t usually sit around on a table to have their dinner. Dinners are pretty rare and extraordinary to happen. At night everyone eats anytime he wants.

The most common Greek hobby is drinking coffee. For hours and hours on the cafeterias.

The Sunday papers offer dvds and their sellings have been probably increased. You pay for the whole package 3 Euros.

We pay more to book rooms on our holidays at the Greek islands than the tourists who come from abroad through their home’s travel agencies.

We don’t cook turkeys on Christmas.

Statistics say we have lots of sex as a nation.

We were proud when Paris Hilton used to date two Greek heirs.

When a journalist happens to interview a world famous celebrity, he always asks “have you ever been in Greece?”

The half of the total population lives in Athens

Just because all the unnecessary information about Greece seem endless, that’s all for now.

That's a pic from my last wekend's trip and it seems to me like it is a road from Ireland for a reason but it really is from Greece