The fine Greco people

I have nothing but nice things to say about the people of Greece. I truly do.

June 9, 2010
18:15
Athens, Greece

I know because of my injury I’ve been held up here in Greece a great deal longer than expected and haven’t gotten to see half as many countries and cultures as I had hoped/expected, but I truly have to say, the people here in Greece are probably the nicest and most trustworthy of any I’ve met.

I wanted to see the Parthenon today. I knew I just couldn’t leave Athens without seeing it. So despite the nerve and pain issues I’m still dealing with, I dedicated today to seeing the Acropolis—the Parthenon in particular. To get there it’s a relatively short walk from the hostel to the metro, then four stops down the metro and you arrive at the Acropolis. From there it’s a bit of a walk to the Parthenon, uphill, many steps, and over slick traffic-worn marble. I brought my cane with me, and walked slowly. The cane doesn’t help so terribly much with the walking, but when I need to stop and take the pressure off my sciatic nerve, it gives me something to lean on. Crutches probably would work better, they’d take all the pressure off my back and put it on my shoulders, but all I have is a cane. So this morning I got up early, ate a free breakfast (this hostel just recently started giving a free continental breakfast—I was here a month ago and it wasn’t free), and then slowly walked down to the metro station.

As it happens, this hostel is supposedly located in a really shitty part of town. To be honest, I don’t see it. It seems to me no worse than the better parts of Newark, New Jersey. Sure, there are maybe some unseemly people about, but old ladies walk the streets at night by themselves, folk carrying groceries and whatnot, and I’ve witnessed only one situation where a guy was running on foot from two cops (who were also on foot). Nobody has tried to molest me, pick my pocket, or has said a single bad word to me. But the reviews for this hostel on hostelworld.com as well as all the cab drivers that have picked me up or dropped me off here have said this is a bad neighborhood. Let me say, if this is the worst of the Greeks, I wish the USA’s ghettos were half as nice. But I digress.

So I walk to the metro station, slowly, stopping every now and then when needed. This particular (and I think probably all) metro station has an elevator for the disabled so you don’t have to walk down the stairs. I figured that would be good for me, so my semi-largish, bearded, limping, cane-using self got on the elevator to go down into the metro with three old ladies who were all probably in their seventies (remember, this is a bad neighborhood). Now, maybe because I’ve lost a significant amount of my bulk—add that to the limp and the cane—this may have taken away from any imposing presence I used to (or imagined I used to) conjure to others because as I slowly hobbled off the elevator, two of the ladies who got off first stopped, turned to me, and said something in Greek. I apologized for not speaking Greek and asked them if they spoke English. One of them did, and she said they were asking if I needed any help.

These two, sweet, seventyish old ladies saw me hobbling my way onto the subway in the ‘ghettos’ of Athens and asked me if I needed assistance. I was blown away with how kind that was. I thanked them profusely for their kindness and generosity, but told them I was okay as long as I took it slow.

That sort of kindness has been indicative of everyone I’ve met while here in Greece. Everyone here, even in the bad neighborhood, is willing to lend a hand, give a direction, or generally help, with no desire or expectation for quid pro quo. If they don’t speak English, they still try to help. It blows my mind. Their country is economically falling apart, there are strikes every other day, there was a riot and an arson, the government is corrupt (of course, show me a government without any corruption and I’ll show you a liar), everyone here is having a hard time making ends meet, and still, they’re kind, wonderful people. Unlike in Spain, nobody has tried to pick my pocket. Unlike in France, nobody has been smug and rude to me. Unlike in Mexico nobody has even once tried to steal anything from me—and while on Crete I left my laptop overnight multiple times in the common area where anybody could’ve just taken it and I’d never have known. Unlike in America, nobody’s tried to take advantage of me (except for that guy that sold me the six euro water, but I maintain that could’ve been a simple mistake)—even the cab drivers have been amazingly nice and kind, get you where you’re going in a hurry, and are shocked and try to tell you it’s too much when you give them a five euro tip.

The food is delicious, the people are kind, the history goes back millennia, the olive-skinned, dark haired, stunningly beautiful women wander about—I swear, if I was literate in the language, it’d be a tempting place to never leave. I’ve been to quite a few countries, seen and enjoyed the wonders of many different cultures. Many were great, none were terrible. Mexico, Canada, The Cayman Islands, The Bahamas, Costa Rica, England, Spain, France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Greece. There might be more I’m forgetting at the moment. Many of these places I stayed a while, some of which I was only there briefly. But I can say without a shadow of a doubt, Greece is a fantastic place to see. I’ve been injured the entire time I’ve been here, and still I’ve loved it. Maybe it’s partly because of the injury and that I’ve not gotten to see and do as much as I would like (despite the unanticipated, extended duration of my stay) that’s part of the reason I want to come back so badly, but I truly do hope I get to come back to this lovely country. There are so many more countries to see and cultures to experience, but nonetheless I hope I get to come back some day.

By the way, I did make it all the way to the Parthenon. It wore me out, but it was well worth the endeavor. I’ll post on that later. This post I just wanted to mention how much I like Greece and her people.

A very boring entry

June 3, 2010
11:22
Plakias, Crete, Greece

Indeed, this is probably going to be a very boring entry because since my adventure to Preveli I haven't done a darn thing. I definitely felt like I set back my recovery during the days after Preveli, but in about two or three days I was back to where I was before Preveli, so I don't think I did any additional lasting damage. At least, I'm hoping.

So all I've done since that adventure is stick around the hostel and try to continue my recovery. I think I'm improving, but it's just really hard to say. Some days are better than others, and it's hard for me to figure out why.

I spoke to my childhood best friend's dad (and my former pediatrician) about my back, because I was having difficulty finding any doctors around here that spoke good enough English for me to feel comfortable getting the answers I wanted. I also trust Dr. Rees completely, and it was a real relief to get his opinion. I feel just awful using a friendship like that to ask for medical advice--I imagine doctors get it all the time and I really do feel bad. But I'll send him some Greek olive oil as a thank you. Anyway, he said I should really take the pressure off my back as much as possible--despite the fact that I'm in Greece and want to go do and see stuff, I should spend as much time in a supine position as possible. So that's what I've done, literally, for the last two days. I laid in bed. I've spent a lot of that time sleeping. Some watching tv. But it's been probably the least interesting thing to do in Greece. It's also what I'm going to go back to doing after I get done eating breakfast and writing this blog entry. Well, I may take a shower first. It's been a couple of days now, and a shower sounds lovely.

Oh, also, Dr. Rees recommended I try to make a reverse-incline (wouldn't that just be a 'decline'?) bed-type-thingy that I could lay on upside down and strap my ankles to the top so I don't slide down. He said I should lay on this for 20 minutes three times a day and it will help relieve the pressure off my hernia. So I managed to get a couple of four foot boards, a couple of chairs, a mat, and a strap, and made myself this contraption:



Below are self portraits of me on the contraption: