I have never ever understood the Greek left, and I still don't understand them now. This 'left' concept sounds democratic - in that obsolete communist way - but it can only work when restrictions are placed on people and institutions, when funds are available to make everything free or cheap, and last but not least, when people are prepared to work together to make this ideal work. Since Greece doesn't have these funds, and no restrictions have been placed on any aspect of our daily life, and - more importantly - people cannot find the common ground to cooperate and compromise and make things work out for the greater good (instead of looking after their own interests), who is the government kidding, except itself, when they promise to raise wages and pensions, provide free medical treatment and hire more public servants? If it's not working, it's not working. (On this note, congratulations to Paul Krugman who came to Athens last week and spoke in support of this impossible scenario - like his charismatic counterpart, Greece's body-builder motorbike-loving Varoufakis, he has great ideas but he has got the context completely screwed up.)
When SYRIZA was voted into government, I was prepared to give them a chance to succeed. I supported them when they stood up against the big guns. I liked the way they carried on defiantly. A change in the establishment is always a good thing. But it has now become obvious to most Greeks that a new establishment has now come into play. Same game, different faces, that's all.
Even though our income has been drastically reduced since the crisis broke out, my family's lifestyle hasn't changed much at all, something I am very proud of. Why should my life change just because I don't have as much money as in the past? We still prepare fresh frugal meals on an almost daily basis in our house, we still pay all our bills, we still manage to clothe our kids and we still manage to get a week away from the island, and all this is done on a well worked out budget. I've always known how to cut corners; I've been doing it all my life. I am fully confident that I will always be able to enjoy this kind of lifestyle. I will not have everything I want, but I will never be in need. I am sure of this. I also know that some people simply cannot do that. Not everyone is like me, of course. Apparently, that's a good thing: by having all sorts of people in the world, it makes us less boring.. But it would be nice if they behaved more responsibly, even if they weren't like me.
I am reminded of my neighbour who complained to me recently about the high cost of her electric bill the other day. She asked me what we pay on average for a two-month period. We rarely exceed 100€ (150€ if I add my mother-in-law's bill - she lives on the ground floor in a granny flat.). My neighbour's bill came to 367€ for the same two-month period. Instead of having the audacity to ask me why I am not paying as much as her, in my opinion, she should have wondered what she does that makes her own bill so high.
For a start, she lives in a two-storey villa-style house. It's huge - much larger than our own two-storey house. My 3-bedroom house and my mother-in-law's granny flat are not tiny - they are both very compact. The neighbour is one of those types who like to keep their home really clean and tidy. But this has got less to do with cleanliness and much more to do with a lack of a hobby - since she doesn't work and her kids are older teens, she has a problem of keeping busy. So she does a load of full-cycle laundry on an almost daily basis, always separating her whites from her coloureds, which inevitably means that she will have lots of ironing to do - and she irons everything, right down to socks. If you have nothing to do all day, you'll do that too, I guess, as well as vacuum the house every day. She also uses her dishwasher on a daily basis - nothing is washed by hand. She cooks just as much (and better) than me, but she doesn't use gas. What's more, she is more of an oven cook, not a stovetop cook. When she's at home on her own and she feels cold while she's watching the morning chat shows on TV, she won't turn on the central heating which will heat up the whole villa (which is of course pointless when you are the only person at home) - she turns on the air-conditioner (I can hear it cranking away). No bloody wonder she's paying so much on electricity supply.
Compare all this to me: I only use the washing machine when I have a full load. I don't separate ALL the whites from the coloureds - isn't it all colour-fast these days?! Out of respect for my husband, I iron his shirts and trousers - anything else just gets folded. If I suspect anyone of wearing something only one day before putting it into the laundry basket, I take it out and return it to them. (Who do you think you are, if you believe your skinny jeans need tightening by being washed in the machine? Soak them in a bucket, for all I care!) The kids iron their own clothes if they really want them ironed. We have a dishwasher, but I allow it to be used only when the need arises, ie we have guests for dinner, or I cooked fish (which is a smelly business). We take the turns to do the dishes - wasn't THAT the way everyone in the past (a very recent one, as far as I'm concerned) learnt to do their fair share of the housework? And you really don't need to vacuum your house every day if you have mainly stone tile floors - they just need to be swept with an ordinary broom. My oven works with electricity, but our daily meals are mainly stovetop dishes cooked on gas elements. (We pay about 20 euro per 2 months for our gas supply. It's really cheap.) When we feel cold and we are on our own, we wrap ourselves up with a blanket - the air-con is simply off limits. It's only used about 10 days a year on average to keep us cool during a warm southerly wind. 'Nuff said.
I have been cutting corners all my life here and there in order to ensure the privilege of a debt-free lifestyle, but I've never absconded from my responsibilities. I know I'm going to hear a heap of shite from leftists who will say 'you can do that, Maria because you are wealthy'. Of course I'm wealthy - I am so frugal that I don't ever spend everything I earn, even when I don't earn much! I'm also prepared to 'go without' when I know I cant afford to 'go with'. I'm prepared to wear 3€ items of clothing bought from the street market, I buy food on sale and prepare it for cooking even when the expiry date has passed, I book the cheapest flights to ensure we can all get a holiday once a year, I sleep on the floor or the sofa instead of a hotel bed, and if I can't afford to buy presents, then so be it - we don't buy any! (We make a lot ourselves. In this have-everything world, it's the thought that counts.) I never mumbled when payback time came during the crisis. I was still prepared to give back more than the fair share of the 'blame' allotted to me when taxes skyrocketed, but right this minute, I really do NOT understand why I have to be put through the ensuing chaos of a disorganised polarised disconnected and not even unified government.
While talking with a friend at the weekend who is a retired public servant (therefore many of her friends are also public servants), she told me that her colleagues are now mumbling out loud about the choice they made when they voted in January. Now they are wondering why they have nothing, and 'what went wrong'. Just 10 years ago, Greeks really did have it all, but they did not respect it, and they did not even protect it. That's not the worst part of it all for me. Most mid-50s Greeks do not know how to live like their parents did. Washing machines, dishwashers, electric cookers - all these became common when people started living off higher salaries, which came some time after Greece's entry into the EU (1981). Greeks have lost their continuity with the past, despite the fact that the parents of many of those 50-ers are still alive. How easily they have forgotten their origins. That's what's killing them.
©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.
When SYRIZA was voted into government, I was prepared to give them a chance to succeed. I supported them when they stood up against the big guns. I liked the way they carried on defiantly. A change in the establishment is always a good thing. But it has now become obvious to most Greeks that a new establishment has now come into play. Same game, different faces, that's all.
Even though our income has been drastically reduced since the crisis broke out, my family's lifestyle hasn't changed much at all, something I am very proud of. Why should my life change just because I don't have as much money as in the past? We still prepare fresh frugal meals on an almost daily basis in our house, we still pay all our bills, we still manage to clothe our kids and we still manage to get a week away from the island, and all this is done on a well worked out budget. I've always known how to cut corners; I've been doing it all my life. I am fully confident that I will always be able to enjoy this kind of lifestyle. I will not have everything I want, but I will never be in need. I am sure of this. I also know that some people simply cannot do that. Not everyone is like me, of course. Apparently, that's a good thing: by having all sorts of people in the world, it makes us less boring.. But it would be nice if they behaved more responsibly, even if they weren't like me.
I am reminded of my neighbour who complained to me recently about the high cost of her electric bill the other day. She asked me what we pay on average for a two-month period. We rarely exceed 100€ (150€ if I add my mother-in-law's bill - she lives on the ground floor in a granny flat.). My neighbour's bill came to 367€ for the same two-month period. Instead of having the audacity to ask me why I am not paying as much as her, in my opinion, she should have wondered what she does that makes her own bill so high.
For a start, she lives in a two-storey villa-style house. It's huge - much larger than our own two-storey house. My 3-bedroom house and my mother-in-law's granny flat are not tiny - they are both very compact. The neighbour is one of those types who like to keep their home really clean and tidy. But this has got less to do with cleanliness and much more to do with a lack of a hobby - since she doesn't work and her kids are older teens, she has a problem of keeping busy. So she does a load of full-cycle laundry on an almost daily basis, always separating her whites from her coloureds, which inevitably means that she will have lots of ironing to do - and she irons everything, right down to socks. If you have nothing to do all day, you'll do that too, I guess, as well as vacuum the house every day. She also uses her dishwasher on a daily basis - nothing is washed by hand. She cooks just as much (and better) than me, but she doesn't use gas. What's more, she is more of an oven cook, not a stovetop cook. When she's at home on her own and she feels cold while she's watching the morning chat shows on TV, she won't turn on the central heating which will heat up the whole villa (which is of course pointless when you are the only person at home) - she turns on the air-conditioner (I can hear it cranking away). No bloody wonder she's paying so much on electricity supply.
Compare all this to me: I only use the washing machine when I have a full load. I don't separate ALL the whites from the coloureds - isn't it all colour-fast these days?! Out of respect for my husband, I iron his shirts and trousers - anything else just gets folded. If I suspect anyone of wearing something only one day before putting it into the laundry basket, I take it out and return it to them. (Who do you think you are, if you believe your skinny jeans need tightening by being washed in the machine? Soak them in a bucket, for all I care!) The kids iron their own clothes if they really want them ironed. We have a dishwasher, but I allow it to be used only when the need arises, ie we have guests for dinner, or I cooked fish (which is a smelly business). We take the turns to do the dishes - wasn't THAT the way everyone in the past (a very recent one, as far as I'm concerned) learnt to do their fair share of the housework? And you really don't need to vacuum your house every day if you have mainly stone tile floors - they just need to be swept with an ordinary broom. My oven works with electricity, but our daily meals are mainly stovetop dishes cooked on gas elements. (We pay about 20 euro per 2 months for our gas supply. It's really cheap.) When we feel cold and we are on our own, we wrap ourselves up with a blanket - the air-con is simply off limits. It's only used about 10 days a year on average to keep us cool during a warm southerly wind. 'Nuff said.
I have been cutting corners all my life here and there in order to ensure the privilege of a debt-free lifestyle, but I've never absconded from my responsibilities. I know I'm going to hear a heap of shite from leftists who will say 'you can do that, Maria because you are wealthy'. Of course I'm wealthy - I am so frugal that I don't ever spend everything I earn, even when I don't earn much! I'm also prepared to 'go without' when I know I cant afford to 'go with'. I'm prepared to wear 3€ items of clothing bought from the street market, I buy food on sale and prepare it for cooking even when the expiry date has passed, I book the cheapest flights to ensure we can all get a holiday once a year, I sleep on the floor or the sofa instead of a hotel bed, and if I can't afford to buy presents, then so be it - we don't buy any! (We make a lot ourselves. In this have-everything world, it's the thought that counts.) I never mumbled when payback time came during the crisis. I was still prepared to give back more than the fair share of the 'blame' allotted to me when taxes skyrocketed, but right this minute, I really do NOT understand why I have to be put through the ensuing chaos of a disorganised polarised disconnected and not even unified government.
While talking with a friend at the weekend who is a retired public servant (therefore many of her friends are also public servants), she told me that her colleagues are now mumbling out loud about the choice they made when they voted in January. Now they are wondering why they have nothing, and 'what went wrong'. Just 10 years ago, Greeks really did have it all, but they did not respect it, and they did not even protect it. That's not the worst part of it all for me. Most mid-50s Greeks do not know how to live like their parents did. Washing machines, dishwashers, electric cookers - all these became common when people started living off higher salaries, which came some time after Greece's entry into the EU (1981). Greeks have lost their continuity with the past, despite the fact that the parents of many of those 50-ers are still alive. How easily they have forgotten their origins. That's what's killing them.
©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.
Dear Ms Verivaki,
ReplyDeletethank you for this very stimulating post. I have been a follower of your blog for more than a year now. As a Cretan living abroad, a passionate foody and a woman working in education, I always found your posts to be particularly soothing for my feeling of nostalgia on the one hand, and to act as 'food for thought' for what constitutes local, regional and (inter)national identity on the other.
I have never posted a comment although there have been many cases in which I disagreed with your views on 'Greekness' or 'Cretaness'. However today, I felt that I might have some things to reflect upon and hopefully I can phrase them clearly.
I am by no means in a position to give any lessons on history or economical theory, however I believe you start your post with a very strong statement which, allow me to say, is misleading: "This 'left' concept sounds democratic - in that obsolete communist way ... " Surely the concept of 'left' is too nebulous and especially in times like these, however communism is a well-defined (theoretically speaking) economic theory. Left doesn't necessarily involve communism. And please, correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think SYRIZA ever claimed to want to implement this "obsolete communist way" in their governance.
There are many other points on which I strongly disagree with your perspective but I will restrict myself to commend on your final statement: "Greeks have lost their continuity with the past, despite the fact that the parents of many of those 50-ers are still alive. How easily they have forgotten their origins. That's what's killing them."
A twofold point: firstly, you seem to separate yourself from the Greeks and refer to them as a 'unity'. In doing so, it seems to me you are placing yourself on a pedestal from which you have the authority to view the 'Greeks' as an outsider and characterize them based on your micro-cosm of experiences. For example, how sure are you that your neighbors or your co-villagers mirror all Greeks and this enables you to make this concluding statement? I further find this to be somewhat ironic, considering the name and subtitle(s) of your blog. By saying 'Greeks do X' do you consider yourself doing it as well (I think you are Greek or of Greek heritage)?
secondly, I would think that you are in a better position to know that actually, it is this sense of continuity with the past which characterizes Greeks and indeed Cretans. A sense of continuity which has in many occasions acted as a straightjacket. I would be happy to provide examples on this but I think that you have a clear idea of what I am talking about, especially as I imagine you have lived as a Greek expat (or as half-Greek?) in other places of the world.
I hope I managed to summarize my points clearly -I would be interested in your thoughts. Just to conclude, I think that we (as individuals, as women, as mothers, as Greeks etc) should be cautious when we make over-simplified assumptions concerning the Others.
Thanks so much for this very constructive comment. I think there are many points in it that I would like to take up, things that I have always wanted to write about but did not. Were it not for readers, then this blog would be simply a contemplative one, where I try to analyse my feelings. So thank you, reader, because I know I will write an even better and more insightful post that I hope you will enjoy. It's awful having to tell people that I wear street market clothes, but so many many truths have come out Greece just lately, so why not this one too? And there are so many more truths that I have been hiding, because - according to some people - you shouldn't be too revealing about your life because people will abuse the information you give. Oh well, I am prepared to take that risk right now.
DeleteBear with me, that post may take a bit of time. But it will be the next post, I promise!
Maria, I am sorry that you had to "tuck your tail in" because of that comment. I have always enjoyed what you write and sensed that you were not "saying it all" for various reasons, certainly including wanting to protect yourself from unnecessary criticism. We now live in an age when we can and do criticize immediately and it's gotten very tiring.
ReplyDeleteYou probably have realized that I don't know much about Greek life although it is endlessly fascinating to me. I think about the fact that Greece is the seat of democracy and all the wonderful and important history and want to know more and more. It seems that you are the perfect person to tell me about it.
I think your observations about certain neighbors or friends are truthful and sometimes funny and probably "spot on," to use a British term. Keep it coming, please. I think we are a lot alike in that respect. I can be a little bit intolerant, too, according to my hubby.
Now...about your clothes from the market. What in hell is wrong with that? We all need to not worry about unimportant stuff like clothes, cars, fads, TV, and above all "entertainment." We have gotten so far from the most important things in life, or rather, realities of life and certainly if we want to be respectful of life on earth, we should NOT waste anything. Your children will grow up learning these things from you and will be better adults for it.
Someday I would like to know more about your work. The idea of an institute that teaches agronomy to young people seems just what
we all need for the future of the earth.
I love the title of this post. I know I am "lost in modernity" and fervently hope I am not "mired in ignorance."
Thanks for the thumbs up. Not being able to tell it all is very frustrating. It's like telling a half-story So it's like telling a half-truth, or a half-lie, depending on whether you see the glass half empty or half full. BUt just like you say, Caterina, i DO try to be funny about what I see. And the truth is: our neighbours and friends do NOT see the same things that I see from the same vantage point. My generalisations about 'the Greeks' are just as bad as the generalsiations other people make about 'the Americans', so there is some truth to the comment that I see 'the Greeks'; doing different things from what I, who also calls herself a Greek, does. Before I write the post I have in mind (which I promise to make as funny as possible), I will just give you one example of why my kind of writing style about what I see really needs to be available to all - where else would you hear about this kind of thing if I didnt share these kinds of stories with people (I hope you roll around in laughter when you read this):'
DeleteAbout 8 years ago when my kids were at pre-school, some mothers were discussing how difficult it was to get their kids to drink their morning milk. I asked them if they gave their children somethign to eat together with the milk. I asked this simply because, as a mother who strove very hard to get her kids to understand the importance of a good breakfast, I could perhaps give them some advice, or maybe just describe what I did, so they could hear a success story and make what they want of it. I told them that my kids also didnt like drinking milk on its own, but after I introduced them to cornflakes, they always enjoyed their breakfast. The ensuing conversation just about bowled me over:
"You give your children CORNFLAKES for BREAKFAST?" a mother - a decade younger than me - looked at me incredulously. "That's an afternoon snack food, not a morning food!"
I didnt refute the mother's (mistaken, in my opinion) statement. But it does show how faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar apart that mother was from me, and how divergent our thoughts were. We were definitely not on the same track. I am still not on the same track as those mothers. (more in that next post!)
"I really do NOT understand why I have to be put through the ensuing chaos of a disorganised polarised disconnected and not even unified government."
ReplyDeleteCause the others were only unified under the context of their personal interests and public money embezzlement. We really didn't have much of a choice. And if the new govnt fails we are in for a lot lot of trouble. We will beg the EU for many many yrs to come and they will know we have no other option. We will become a true Balkan country utterly impoverished. I hope they will have some time in power just to send the thieves to jail. Otherwise we will be openly run by the Mafia just like in Bulgaria. Don't despair until the final act.
For many years? The EU will be showing immense patience, which I thought was running out up until this time!
DeleteIf I may add two more comments which only aim in illustrating my point of view in a more concise way:
ReplyDeletefirstly, no one from the Heraklio I was born in, and the Rethymno/Hania where I studied and lived respectively, is anymore frustrated or shy to admit that they would buy clothes from the laiki. Yes, I agree that it might have been a taboo before the crisis but I would not say the same for post-crisis Crete which I frequently visit. Unemployment or poverty are not a taboo anymore. Even more indicative of this new trend are the many branches of new forms of markets, namely those that call themselves 'collectivas'. Regardless of whether I agree with this form of market or not, I cannot but notice that not only are people not shy anymore, but rather, they encourage new practices which challenge the old-fashioned perceptions of material world. This is why I am skeptical about how your experiences can be used to describe an island or even, a nation.
Secondly, let me say that it almost feels like I am there in this anecdotal example you give of your interaction with a young Cretan mother. As a 'Mylopotamitisa' I think I can completely understand the context of your discussion. However, even if I appreciate and am entertained by the authenticity of your writings, I hope that you bear in mind that you are describing only two opinions: yours and that of another woman. There is always a third opinion, mine, that comes also from a Cretan 30 y.o. woman (and, probably a fourth, a fifth and so on) which will say that Cornflakes and milk are not the solution to a healthy breakfast. In my view, yes, breakfast is important but it does not have to be milk (I am referring to recent studies which doubt the importance of milk after the first year of a child's life) and also, the amount of unnecessary sugar one adds to their breakfast or dinner by including cornflakes instead of oatflakes for example, or yoghurt with honey and almonds, almost defeats the purpose of a healthy meal. So what you describe as a 'success story' , for others, it may as well be not.
I guess what I am trying to say is that yes, you are far apart from another (in this case Cretan) mother. But that doesn't necessarily mean that there is a right and wrong version. Or that there cannot be more than one right version.
Again, I say this in the most friendly way. Like I have stated above, I am a follower of your blog and many times I have thought that it would be nice to have a conversation in person with you. Especially since I am involved with a kiwi myself and I live in a north-western european country. Therefore I am many times confronted with 'conflicting' identities and am always interested in how others view modern Cretans or Greeks. and of course, in how I view myself or my family through the eyes of others.
I am not criticising your comments or trying to prove your opinion to be 'wrong'. I'm sorry I make generalisations. It's just not easy to write in a less prejudiced way when you are writing the thoughts that came to your mind one afternoon during a period of frustration.
DeleteDistancing oneself from the masses - we do it all the time, as does this writer, who is most likely Greek him/herself: "How can it be that the average Greek does not realize the dangers facing the country? It’s a good question, and the answers to it are pretty obvious." http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite3_1_22/04/2015_549298
ReplyDeleteIn truth, and this is something I know very well from my Master's degree, you can only talk about an "average Greek" by measuring Greeks quantitatively, but most writers dont do this, they just go by their intuitions and experiences
wow, it must be my day today: "We all suffer from subconscious biases. What are yours?" asks the BBC in an article published today on their website! http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150422-how-not-to-be-stupid
DeleteAs I was starting to write my follow-up post to this one, I realised that I have already written - in previous posts - about the same topics I was going to cover, so there is no real need to write about them all over again. At any rate, the stimulus to write the post came from a commentator, not from my own contemplations, and it's not in my interests to treat my blog posts as comment replies. Looking back on my blog posts, i find that my opinions on the topics i have written about have not really changed much over the years. I have written about 1500 blog posts - those who have been following me for a long time will have already read them, but if you are relatively new here (following me for just over a year is relatively new - i have been blogging for nearly 8 years now), you will need to sift through a lot of stuff...
ReplyDeleteJust to clarify a few points about the 'neighbour' i was talking about in this post: she doesnt exist. Long-time followers know that I fictionalise facts, so my characters are based on a number of charcateristics of people i have come across. So even though i have neighbours, and i visit people who live in villas, and i discuss the cost of electricity with various people, i dont actually have a neighbour who lives in a villa and pays 367 euro per two months on the electric bill. I simply picked these features to build up my character, possibly to make her sound very very blissfully ignorant. Concerning political terms like communist etc, i simply made an off the cuff remark, which can be interpreted very broadly. Whether or not it shows my knowledge about political terms is up to the level of ignorance that a reader wants to rate me with. Concerning the example of cornflakes for breakfast, i used it to show how differently another Greek mother viewed the concept of packaged cereals for breakfast, I did not use cornflakes for breakfast as an example of a healthy breakfast.
One of the points that makes me really stand out as a ''different' kind of Greek is my mothering skills. I was born abroad to Cretan parents. I'm not separating Cretanness from Greekness by writing 'Cretan' parents - I am simply saying that my parents were Cretan kind of Greeks. Greeks all over the country are not homogeneous. But when we call people Greeks, we usually have a particular stereotype in mind: speaks Greeks, has Greek heritage, is Christian Orthodox, knows what tzatziki is, etc. To understand what it is that makes me a different kind of Greek, I think you need to meet me - it's difficult to describe everything in a 1000 word blog post. These kinds of points can only really be clarified in a one-to-one discussion. Pity Iraklio and Hania are not really that close. In Westernised countries, a 2 hour drive on a flat straight well built road does not seem a chore. In Crete, a 2 hour drive means being on narrow bendy roads and driving up and down mountains. But the offer is still there!