Zambolis apartments

Zambolis apartments
For your holidays in Chania

Monday 15 December 2008

Whatever takes your fancy ('Οτι σου γουστάρει)

The recent events in the past week in Greece have destroyed any sense of Christmas spirit that might have been flickering before the moment that tarnished my country's laid-back image once and forever. The waves of outcry after the events surrounding Alexis' death reached out into Europe and even as far as South America; for once in the modern history of the country, Greece became a leader and not a follower. Despite the death of a 15-year-old boy by a police officer that had earned the nickname 'Rambo', and the destruction of the city centre of Athens through vandalism, arson and looting, Greeks have to carry on with their lives. The burnt Christmas tree in Athens will be replaced and Christmas will still 'take place'.

For most Greek people this year, Christmas will be a time of reflection. They're going to have to think about what went wrong and why things got out of control. As to who or what is to blame, if Greek people could just start by pointing the finger at themselves, maybe we'll find an answer. It's not an easy thing to do, because people don't like to blame themselves for anything bad that happens. It's always the government's fault, they say to you, no matter which party is in power. When teenagers are rioting on the streets, surely it's not just the government's fault - maybe it's the parents' fault too. For Greece to find some peace, we're going to have to re-think our priorities in life.

There's definitely something wrong with our society. Our youth has been messed up. But I insist: EVERYTHING starts in the home. Here's what happened, exactly as my husband related the events to me, just two nights ago (Saturday) at about 8pm, in the beautiful old Venetian port of Hania, where he was taking a walk to clear his mind:

fountain lighthouse hania chania

Five college kids (all boys) are hanging around in the main square of the old port, near the fountain area, close to the chains that separate the square from the road. A car pulls up alongside the chains, and the driver looks out of the window.
"Ay," scowls the tallest of the boys, "whatcha looking at me for?"
The driver hesitated for a moment.
"I'm not looking at you," he replied. "I think you're looking at me."
The boy's friends showed support for him and aversion towards the driver, someone who they did not know, and had possibly never met before. The tall boy spoke again.
"So, what are you going to do, aim a gun at me and shoot me?" His friends cheered and jeered appropriately, as in a well-rehearsed act. At this point, the driver took off.

If I were there, I would have too, because there was no way out of this fracas, apart from an showdown of some sort, the situation having reached an impasse, as Polivolon writes.

If you are providing your children with pocket money to go out with their friends on a cold wintery Saturday night, do you not have the right to demand to know where they are going, who they are going out with, what they are doing, and whether they are safe? If you can't answer all these questions, then you need to reset your priorities; otherwise, you are allowing anarchy to rule. Half the high schools in the country are being locked up by students, who do not allow the teachers to enter. We worry about being attacked by terrorists, but are we the ones raising the terrorists? I do not want to be terrorised by anyone, let alone my own children. In five years time, my son will be a teenager. I, the parent, have a major role to play in my children's upbringing. I know the Greek education system sucks, but Greece was never an easy country to live in, and it's not getting any easier to live here, but it still all starts in the home.

Here's a piece of writing from one of my students (Serbian). This week's topic was “Who are the better teachers: parents or professors?” and here is her answer (as she typed it online; hand-written compositions are almost a thing of the past...):

By the age of the six every child has already had the first contact with the education school system. For the most of them this is the very stressful period and without the support of their parents, they usually have difficult time of adaptation. Every parent expects from the school teachers to give their children the best education and to help them with learning process next fifteen years. Some of them expect from teachers much more, sometimes to do their job of being parent. Can parents be teachers, also? If they can, are they better than trained professionals?

My opinion is that the parents are the best teachers and they have natural obligation to be the first tutor in child’s life. The law of nature organizes the learning process between parents and children. For example, young bird in the nest learns how to flight from parent bird, not from flight instructor. Baby penguin learns how to swim and how to catch the fish from the parents, again. The little monkey watches its society group and then imitates the parent’s behavior.

The human baby is listening mother’s voice during the nine month period in the stomach and reacts on every change, especially of voice intensities. Laugh, cry, music, noise and all other sounds from external surrounding, effect on baby’s development. The baby creates the picture and gathers knowledge about the whole world on this way. So, the first teacher is baby’s mother.

Coming to the world is not so difficult for the child, as it is for parents. They must consciously learn to live with that new creature and follow the demands of new member of their family. But on the other hand, they are teaching unknowingly this young, pure soul every single moment how to live. The child imitates mimicry of parents, sounds and body moves. Everything what baby does is simple copy of behavior of parents.

Forasmuch as the years passing by, the lessons are more complicated. To be a good parent means to be a good teacher. The school is only one of the necessary paths of education. Parents don’t need to do teachers job, but they have to prepare the children for capability of learning and personal evolution. They should create new stabile person, with good ability to adjust in the whole social background. The best teacher for this is a parent, naturally.

The main goal of a good parent is to become the best teacher of its own child. If the parent is able to hand over all its knowledge and wisdom, than it is the biggest success in human’s life. Every good parent is trying to triumph in this challenge. If parent manages in this, then that will be the best lesson in the whole world.

So, in conclusion I agree that no one can be better teacher than parent for its own child.

My job was not to comment on her opinion - I simply corrected her grammar errors...

*** *** ***
It's not an easy time to write about food, but in my house, we are still cooking and eating (we have to if we want to survive), and trying to find some pleasure in it. My trips to the supermarket are not so frequent; the garrish colours and superficial decorations for the festive season do not cover my deep regret with the way the events of the past week unfolded. The supermarket, for all its positive features as purveyor of the human right to variety and desire, also plays a role in the spread of the instant gratification malaise, prevalent among the Greek youth; armed with worthless degrees, lowly jobs and the minimum wage, they realise how powerless they are in a consumer society where they can't afford what they want, while an elite and wealthy group have a lion's share of the market (the same people own most of the flashy shopping centres that go by wide-ranging names such as The Mall, Golden Hall and Attica Centre), but they, the common people, can only gaze in awe at the material world from a shop window.

The supermarket is a form of escapism. When you enter the store, there are no windows, no natural light (apart from the glass doors at the entrance), no clock to remind you that you've spent too long inside its consumer society surroundings: soft music, vibrant colours, plastic wrapping, special offers, free gifts when you buy something, something you probably don't need but thought you did when you entered the store, all mask the purpose of entering the supermarket. My first stop is usually the bread counter...

bread notice
Greeks still need to be told: "PLEASE - Choose bread with the eye, and not with the hand, for your health's sake!!! THANKS" Obviously, some people are taking the loaves out of the bags...

We'd also run out of Greek coffee...

coffee varieties
All the Greek coffee your heart could possibly desire. The trend of scenting coffee with various flavours, as practised in the West, has caught on in Greece: now you can have ouzo, cinammon, rose, mastich or cardamon scented Greek coffee, whatever takes your fancy...

This sight reminded me of another homeland...

cheddar
Thanks to our tourist residents, cheddar cheese - virtually unheard of and only available in the special (and expensive) cheese section of the deli counter - has now become so commonplace that the Irish Kerrygold brand is being sold as a 2-for-the-price-of-1 special.

... while this one reminded me of the madness that exists in the Western world when it comes to feeding oneself. Some people want to eat what they want, when they want, no questions asked.

imported products in hania chania supermarket
Asparagus (from Peru) at nearly 8 euro a kilo? Radicchio (from Holland) for 3.5 euro a kilo? You must be pretty desperate if you feel the need to buy these in a Cretan supermarket...

I decided to treat myself after all, to some of that cheddar cheese, and a newfangled version of the classic Greek frigania, a baked oven-dried toast-like crisp cracker used like a bread slice, mainly eaten for breakfast or as a snack, added to yoghurt and milk or spread with butter, cheese or marmalade:

linseed friganies
One for the ladies: linseed is believed to relieve menopausal symptoms, as well as being of benefit in the health of the aged. Recommendations from health studies are often being incorporated in the processed food industry in Greece. Friganies are now available with the addition of linseed.

I bought these crackers on the pretext that I am doing something positive towards my health. But I cannot escape the truth: I was trying to forget the crisis my country is now facing without any solution in near sight.

©All Rights Reserved/Organically cooked. No part of this blog may be reproduced and/or copied by any means without prior consent from Maria Verivaki.

12 comments:

  1. Greece has alot of deep problems which will be impossible to fix without radical changes to both government and the economy. Too much corruption & nepotism.

    It is very difficult to get anywhere in Greece unless you know someone - and there is so much red tape to perform even the simplest of financial transactions, that it is a wonder that anything gets done at all.

    Unfortunately all political parties are as corrupt as the other. Sad to say, even the church itself is corrupt.

    How does this get resolved? Who knows - but you are seeing the consequences of all this on the streets now.

    I don't believe this frustration we are seeing by the youth is due to the greed or the belief that society owes them a comfortable living. The fact is that very few graduates - even ones with many years of experience - are paid a salary which allows them to live independently or even (gasp) afford to buy their own house and have a family.

    Like I said, Greece needs to re-visit how it does business - but so many years of so many hands in so many pockets passing fakelakia (envelopes with cash), it will be a difficult change to make.

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  2. Hi Maria, When I first heard about the riots in Greece, you and your family were the first thing that came to my mind. I was so glad that you weren't traveling in Athens. It's amazing how the blogging world has made my world a whole lot smaller (or would that be bigger?). Actually, my opinion of Greece is greatly colored by how very fond I am of you, and know that you and your fellow countrymen are in my prayers. My own country is trying to get its act together, and I suspect it's going to be a long, long road for us, Greece, and other countries, too. Still, I hope that 2009 brings good things to our worlds. I'll be thinking of you as Christmas week approaches, and will be wondering what traditions, both food and family wise, you hold dear.

    Oh, regarding the supermarket,Ick!I can't believe some folks take the bread out of the bag! Some supermarkets over here are notorious for "fanning" out the yummy bakery scents throughout the store. I remember reading about how that supposedly increases sales! Hmph!

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  3. Maria, I was born in Australia. I call myself an "Aussie of Greek descent" and am very proud of my heritage. I've visited Greece and enjoyed myself as a tourist on numerous occasions BUT I could never live there (no offence...I'm looking at it from my perspective and circumstances). The previous person (Ari) has summed it up well.
    I think the "bubble has burst"...and had been waiting to for a long time. I suppose there is no "cut and dried" answer here. Personally I believe children are a product of their parents. Sorry there is a lot to discuss here and I'm enjoying your perspective on the issue.

    As for the coffee, I love the cardamom flavoured one!

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  4. I'm grateful to hear that you and your family are well and that the looting and violence that is befalling other parts of your wonderful country are not plaguing your area. I still look at Greece as a place I would love to visit someday, in spite of recent troubles, and in the meantime, I enjoy the photos and posts that you offer as an "armchair visit". As Paula noted above, our own country, the US, has its share of long-term problems and issues to deal with and so we can all take time to reflect at the close of the year and think of ways to fix things in 2009. I hope you and your family have a peaceful and happy holiday season.

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  5. Wow - i'm glad that you and your family are holding on really well. Trust me, we have our share of issues too here in the US. You're definitely in my thoughts and prayers.

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  6. It's a good sign that you find all of this distressing, it means you have your priorities in order and understand that with freedom comes a heavy responsibility. Anarchy is freedom from responsibility, not personal freedom. Not knowing your politicl situation firsthand I can't comment on what led up to this crisis but in our country we're in serious trouble because of greed. Pure greed. I'm surprised we haven't had riots here, but I can see it happening. There's nothing wrong with turning your attention to food. I've turned my attention to blogging and I'm a lot happier and healthier for having a positive and creative outlet.

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  7. Thanks for the link, Maria. The point you make about parents and children is key to many calamities -- way before this young man died, who knows how many others have met unkind fortunes because of loose parental control. I'm sure though you've noticed the defensive, if not openly hostile, reaction of Greek parents to this question. In effect, I think we're really talking about a lost cause here. But your posts on food and cooking take us to other, much happier lands. Congrats! (I am myself an avid super market customer and LIKE my food).

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  8. Maria, Greece has been "broken" for awhile and the politicians, parents and society have to wake up, think about the changes needed and make them.

    The "laissez-faire" mentality will not not anymore. The next generation needs change, demands change. Listen to the children.

    On a food note...that's some expensive asparagus, especially considering Greece has it's own crop.

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  9. I'm glad the rioting doesn't seem to have affected Hania (or at least that it hasn't spilled over into Hania - of course everybody is affected). It made the news here too. What a world we live in :(

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  10. I agree Maria that things start in the home first and foremost (and that goes for people of any origin, in any country). I am also of the belief though that the children of Greece have not been brought up properly as of late.
    That is not to say that the government (present and past) and the economy are not to blame to some extent, but I believe the people of Greece need to make a change in attitude in order for their country to advance.
    When you are waiting on a line of nearly 300 hundred people in the airport and only three of the ten individuals sitting behind the check in counter are working while the other seven are blatantly sitting in chairs with their feet up on the desks sipping a Frappe and smoking a cigarette, there's something wrong. Travellers, Greek citizens and tourists alike, are pleading with them that they are going to lose their flights, but a Frappe is a Frappe. Same goes for when I tried to make a bank transaction on a weekday morning, etc., etc. It's a touchy subject!
    I do pray, however, that Greece makes a change for the better. I am a Greek American (born and riased in New York) but I have always been proud to say I am simply Greek whenever asked here where I am from.

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  11. A very sensible and impressive composition,couldn't agree more,parents are indeed first and best teachers for a child.A parent's character does reflect in the child's nature.
    Interesting sights of the super store,kinda reminds me about how some Super stores(back in India)are imitating the ambiance as the western supermarkets and stocking up on pricey American goods affordable only by the elite.

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  12. Maria,
    Just wanted you to know: I have just put a "call out" to you on my own blog, linking to your post here. I've been in a bit of a fog with a work deadline that's had me totally ignorant of media and news in the past week or more. So, only now catching up on what's happened in Greece this month. I am thinking of you. Don't have the time or energy to go into the detail of thought and emotion I'd like to share, but hope to, sometime. Sincerely, your friend from "Melting Pot Family" blog.

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