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Some Excitement!
Life in our village is very quiet, but we do get some excitement: last winter a lorry went up the road. It also snowed for the first time in fourteen years. Unfortunately, by the time I got up, the snow was gone, leaving only a solitary snowman basking in the sunshine.
Of course, it's much busier in the summer when the tourists arrive. A couple of months ago, there was a car crash outside our house. Unfortunately, some tourists had hired a car and were victims of the popular misconception that Greeks drive on the right side of the road. They don't: they drive in the middle. The accident was a great social event (no-one was injured). The whole village turned out to wait for the police to arrive, and we all stood around discussing the weather, the state of the olive crop, etc. I don't recall anyone mentioning the accident.
Courteous Driving
Because the locals drive in the middle of the road, tourists are expected to drive with 2 wheels on the verge. How do they tell you're a tourist? Easy: you wear a seat belt, don't have one arm permanently stuck out of the window, and you stop at pedestrian crossings and junctions. Whenever two Greek cars meet in the middle of the road, the drivers know instinctively which one has to give way. How is it determined? I have no idea.
Amenities
We have 3 churches, 2 cemeteries and a shop. In the evenings the old men sit in the shop and drink whisky. Whisky is the most popular drink on the island. If you are invited to a man's name day, take a bottle of whisky.
Name Days
A name day is the day of the saint for whom you were named. If you weren't named for a saint, don't worry: there is a special name day for people who don't have a name day. Theoretically, a Greek's name day is similar to an Englishman's birthday, but as between them our villagers only have about four names, certain name days are more like public holidays.
It’s a Struggle
In winter, life can be very hard. You have to be up by the crack of eleven to get down into town for a coffee. After that it's rush, rush, rush to be back to the house by two, in time for lunch and siesta. You barely have time to doze and then it's up at six to start planning the evening. We like to get to a restaurant early to avoid the one a.m. rush, so we're usually on our way by ten thirty to eleven. Of course the down side of starting so early is that, by about three or four you're exhausted, so it's stop dancing, climb down off the table, and back to bed by five at the latest. As I drift off to sleep, I can't help thinking that we've got to do it all again tomorrow. Some days are even more frantic, what with walking in the mountains, sitting on the beach, olive picking and such.
Greek Friendliness
Greeks in general are wonderful, friendly people, but like Americans they tend to assume that the word "foreigner" is synonymous with the phrase "mentally retarded". To be fair though, this can be quite useful: as the Greeks are inherently a very caring race, they tend to adopt us and treat us like stray children.
Mind you, I always find it a bit embarrassing when a little old lady sits me down and ties my shoelaces for me.
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