Vanilla Winter

“Hey, are you from Huntington Beach?” Turning around to see who was asking such an odd question for our surroundings, I saw a gorgeous Greek girl hustling up the street behind me. My friends and I all stopped walking and waited for her to catch up.

“Are you from Huntington Beach?” she repeated.

“No, uh, why do you ask?”

“Oh, it’s just your sweatshirt and all…” she said pointing out the fact that my sweatshirt was from Jack’s Surf Shop in Huntington Beach.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I totally forgot I was wearing this. No, I don’t live there, but my grand parents do and I spend a bit of time there. I just picked this up when I was visiting them one time.”

“Ah, that makes sense. I used to play beach volleyball down there a lot. What are you guys doing in Athens in February? It’s not exactly tourist season.” Noticing my friends for the first time, she did a double take, “Don’t tell me you guys are from UP.”

“Well, uh, yeah, we are. We’re studying in Salzburg, how’d you know?” Trevor, asked. After a moment’s consideration I realized that this Greek goddess wasn’t psychic, she had noticed that Trevor was wearing a University of Portland sweatshirt.

“Wow, it’s a small world,” she answered, “I just graduated from UP last year. I’m living with some family and working over here.”

“Weird, what are the odds that we run into a UP graduate who lives in Greece all because of a sweatshirt?” I asked. After a moment, I added, “Hey, we were just going to get some food, do you want to come with us?”

“Well actually, I know this great little café just a few blocks away, if you guys are interested in a good local place.”

Following her to the café, I got that bizarre feeling that usually accompanies these “It’s a small world after all” moments. As we walked into the café she led us to a corner table and rattled off an order to the waitress in Greek. A moment later, we had a round of ouzo in front of us, and she told us she has ordered a couple of her favorite dishes for us to try. With our conversational gears lubricated by the first round of ouzo we switch from pleasantries to discussing more interesting issues.

“So how do you like living here in Greece?” Trevor asked as the waitress brought our seafood salad appetizers.

“I do. It’s very relaxed and laid back. It took me awhile to get past the feeling that I was cheating them by working so much less, but once I did I got used to it. I realized that it’s a much nicer way to live.”

Around a mouthful of xiphidae I managed to ask, “What do you mean? Do you just do less work, or is it easier or what?”

“Well, I work in a bank handling loan applications and all sorts of other paperwork. My day actually consists of doing about three hours of work a day. For a couple hours a day I just socialize with my coworkers, finish crossword puzzles, and write emails.”

“Yeah, we noticed that attitude around here. None of the Olympic venues are finished, and they start in like three months. We were at the main stadium today and they’re saying the roof might not be finished in time.”

“Well, that’s the price you pay. We all laugh about it at work, but it will be done on time, or close enough. I mean, really, would you rather that some people get paid overtime or that you only work 35 hours a week and still get full benefits? Whether people are lazy or not doesn’t really affect you personally. It might be a burden on the economy, but as selfish as it sounds, I don’t feel like I lose anything this way. Sure, I pay higher taxes than I would in the US, but benefits are also much better, health care is almost totally socialized and you get a ton of vacation time.”

“How much vacation time do you get?” Trevor asked, his interest shifting from spearing his squid to dreams of vacationing on the island of Lesvos.

“Well, government employees are guaranteed like four weeks of vacation time per year. The government strongly ‘encourages’ all private companies to offer the same benefits to private workers. I know at the bank I get three weeks vacation, and I just started last year.

Really, I think the vacation time issue is simply a microcosm of the greater issue. To be honest I worked twice as hard at UP as I do now at the bank. Having family here in Greece, I’ve spent many summers here and always heard about ‘Mediterranean time,’ but until this last year when I started living it, I never understood it. More than it being permissible to be late without an excuse, it’s the fact that people value things other than the almighty dollar.

I don’t mean to preach. I mean, I have as much ambition and greed as the next person, but that mindset totally doesn’t work here. Hell, I totally get why America is the richest nation. We dominate the world economy for a good reason; we work harder than everyone else. It’s a cultural thing for sure, if I had the position I hold at the bank here, I’d work at least fifty hours per week, get paid less – although I’d pay less in taxes – and my benefits wouldn’t be as good. My opportunity for advancement here is pretty slim though.”

“So wait, there’s a downside to all this?” Nate asked.

“For sure. I mean, I’m in a pretty unique position since I have dual citizenship and can work here without any hassle. If you don’t have Greek citizenship it’s nearly impossible to get a work visa with the unemployment rate. The unemployment rate is super high just because the welfare system provides so many handouts that people can live comfortably for quite awhile without trying to get a job. It’s like American welfare, but ten times worse. Obviously we pay for it in taxes, but I think it’s worth it because of the lifestyle.”

As the waitress brought another round of ouzo and a plate full of baklava we all considered these praises of the Greek lifestyle. Finally Nate asked the most off the wall question of the night, “Have you ever seen the movie Wall Street?”

Ten seconds and a furrowed brow later, she replied, “Hmm, no I don’t think so.”

“Have you ever heard the saying ‘Money doesn’t sleep’?”

As we began to laugh she answered, “No, I’ve never heard that, but I think you’d be fired if you told your boss that. I mean, that’s the attitude of the US in general, you need to be earning a dollar every minute of every day, or else spending all the money you’ve been earning, there’s no in between there. There’s no time to slow down and enjoy the moment. How many people can’t go on vacation without their cell phones and laptops? Really, how long can your average American go without checking his email?”

After a moment’s consideration I answered, “Shoot, I just paid €3 for an hour of internet to check my email today. I don’t even have a job, and I’ve only got emails from friends.”

“You guys have it amazing. You have nothing to worry about except where you’re going to travel each weekend. I know how easy your classes are, I had friends study in Salzburg. You’re living European for one year, it’s a contagious lifestyle, you’ll see.”

As the waitress brought our final round of ouzo and another plate of baklava our Greek hostess offered the most genuine commentary on Greek life yet, “Guys, I was actually supposed to meet someone an hour or two ago. That’s the amazing thing. I ran into you guys, remembered I was supposed to meet someone, and felt absolutely no remorse at blowing it off. It’s not a lack of respect for another person, it’s just that Europeans, and Greeks especially, realize that life is fluid, and the best laid plans rarely work out. I’ll take care of the dinner tab, but I ought to meet up with my friends, even a few hours late.”

A moment later, our Greek hostess having departed, the three of us sat for a few moments before getting up to return to our hotel. On the way we discussed whether or not the European lifestyle was for us. I can’t wait to go back.