Greece teaches cultural differences
Campus Times
May 21, 1999
This monumental entrance to the Acropolis was constructed during the
Classical period (450-330 B.C.). Climbing up to the Acropolis one passes
through Propylaia which means elaborate entrance in Greek.
Within 30 minutes of arrival at Athens airport, I was given my first
taste of Greek culture as two men across the room, presumably a father and
brother, rushed to embrace and kiss each cheek of their relative. There
was no hesitation, nor were emotions held back. It was unlike American culture,
where a handshake or a one-arm hug are most commonly seen between men. And
so began the experience of studying abroad in Greece.
Priming myself for this trip, I went over a list of things to bring
at least 15 times. I had all the necessities: an electrical adapter, a passport,
traveller's checks and an AT&T calling card for those really homesick
days.
Weeks later, having settled in this foreign land, the nagging suspicion
that I had forgotten a major necessity continued, but I just could not pin
point what it was. Then I figured it out. It was not something I could fold
up and put in my suitcase. Nor could my mom Federal Express it to me. It
was not even a single item. It is an explanation, some sort of insight into
Greek culture. How does one prepare to be immersed into an entire different
attitude and customs?
Prior to leaving the United States, I had spent numerous hours in Borders.
I thought I had read my fair share about Greece. I knew that I needed to
become better acquainted with olives, be prepared for cold weather (maybe
even snow) and that I could not leave Greece without seeing the Acropolis.
I had even bought a handy dandy Greek phrase book. But no book could have
given the knowledge I have picked up in the little amount of time spent
here.
Kathy Taylor, from Fresno State University, and Sarah
Donovan, from Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania wait their turn to use
a pay phone to call their parents and tell them they made it to Greece OK.
Although they had some trouble using their calling cards, there were some
local residents who helped them with the language barriers to complete their
calls. They are standing next to a kiosk, booths that are on street corners
where customers can buy anything ranging from batteries to alcohol.
For one, the incident with the Greek men in the airport is no longer
unusual. On a frequent basis, Greeks (men with men, men with women, women
with women) are seen kissing as a form of greeting or walking hand in hand.
Close relationships are evident through physical contact.
A few days after our arrival in Athens, Lisa Anderson, another Brethren
Colleges Abroad (BCA) student from Messiah College in Pennsylvania, came
face to face with a cultural difference. While talking on a pay phone on
the corner of a busy street, a Greek woman, waiting to use the phone, stood
within inches of Anderson. In the United States, it would be described as
"breathing down someone's neck." Later, retelling the story, Anderson
ranted and raved about being "crowded" by this woman and was quite
irritated at the lack of personal space. At the time, it was not understood
that personal space to Greeks is minimal if existent at all.
As both a means of fulfilling a humanities requirement and providing
an open forum for discussion to better adjust to the culture shock some
may feel, BCA students are urged to take the Greek Culture course, which
is taught by Gordon Schofield, professor of English. During these class
periods, political, historical, religious and cultural differences are discussed
at great length. In one class session, Schofield attempted to shed light
on the subject of personal space.
"Americans value being alone to a great extent. Greeks are people
who function in interaction. In Greek there is no word for privacy. Lonely
and alone are the same word."
Wendy Colindres, a junior psychology major from Eastern Mennonite University
(EMU) in Harrisonburg, Va., tells of a similar experience.
"The first time I went downtown to Athens there was an issue of
personal space. I was on the corner about to cross the street and there
was this man who wanted to pass. He touched my back, but it was a polite
gesture. He wasn't pushing me; he just touched me, rather than saying, 'Excuse
me.'
"People seem to be straightforward. The buffer zone doesn't exist.
They come close to you. Men to men, women to women. They touch you or they
come close to your face and people don't see it as violating," added
Colindres.
The ULV Athens main building. This building is called the Kossis, and
contains the University's classrooms and the cafeteria. Tuition for studying
abroad is the equivalent to ULV tuition. Students are even given an allowance
of food money, so, the only extra expenses are travelling desire.
The daily schedule of Greeks differs tremendously. Shops open up around
8 or 9 in the morning. and close for a few hours around 2 or 3 in the afternoon.
There is no set time, it is left up to the shop owner's mood as to what
the hours of that day will be.
"Greeks are expressive. If you go to a job and you are in a bad
mood, it's OK to be in a bad mood. If you feel like helping, you'll help,
if you don't, you don't. There is a greater freedom of expressiveness,"
explained Schofield.
At 3 p.m. or so, most Greeks go home to have large "dinners"
with their families and afterwards, quite often, take an hour "siesta,"
or nap. This part of Greek culture was easily adapted to and enjoyed by
the BCA students.
After the siesta, businesses usually reopen from 5-8:30 in the evening
depending on the day of the week. Shop hours are worked around the social
and family life, where as in the States, it is not so. Sundays are a day
of relaxation in Greek life. Other than church and restaurants, no businesses,
including grocery stores, are open.
"Greeks are life and then work. Americans are work is life. Greeks
enjoy life, enjoy family, enjoy culture," said Alex Nuñez, junior
international business and economics major from EMU.
Colindres said, "They have a close knit with their family. It's
a collectiveness community indeed. They appreciate enjoyment in life more
than having power or money. They work less hours. Their evenings are to
socialize and spend time with their families. Americans work 8 to 5 and
in the evening are too tired. That's probably why Americans are so stressed.
I admire that about [Greek] culture."
Notice, businesses do not open at 9 a.m., rather around 9 a.m. This
is because punctuality is not a Greek characteristic. Greeks do not intend
to be on time. They give at least 15 minutes leeway. My first day of classes
proved this to be true. I showed up five minutes prior to the beginning
of class and saw not one other classmate or the teacher until a few minutes
after the set class time. Lack of concern for punctuality and less emphasis
on other American values were hard concepts for us to swallow.
Schofield tried explaining one of these concepts during a lecture. "Efficiency
is an American value. Greeks are not task oriented as much as we are."
Probably the most obvious difference between the two cultures is the
lack of regard for laws, regulations and "order." It is not Greek
to wait in line. If there is a sign that says no parking on a certain street,
it is not Greek to abide.
"They don't believe in systems. Greeks feel the systems are there
to get around, not to honor," said Schofield.
I remember being in line inside of a McDonald's restroom a few weeks
ago and when the stall opened up an woman behind me headed straight for
it. Luckily, another woman, who must have felt sorry for me and could tell
I was a foreigner with no concept of pushing and shoving my way to the front,
started yelling at the lady that had "cut" in front of me. I realize
now that the lady that stuck up for me is not always going to be around
and I must do it the Greek way or I will be waiting in my fantasy line forever.
This example also brings up the idea of fairness. Being fair is not
a virtue in Greece. Cleverness is a much more valued characteristic. Greeks
do not go by the books in regard to laws, job opportunities and equality.
For example, if a Greek becomes entangled with the law, but he has some
sort of a connection with that city's sheriff (i.e. a friend of the family),
he will most likely get off easy. The same goes for a Greek looking for
a job. It is all about relationships and connections.
"Money doesn't buy anything, but relationships can do it,"
said Schofield.
This is apparently true for other cultures as well. During our spring
break, a large group of BCA students, including myself spent six days in
Egypt. A few friends and I met some Egyptians who decided to drive us around
town and show us the night life. Little to our knowledge, it is illegal
in Egypt for Egyptians without tour guide licenses to be seen with tourists.
The men we were with were asked to step into a police car, where they discussed
the situation with officers for at least a half an hour. Because one of
the men had an uncle who knew the police, they were let go and the entire
matter was forgotten by the police. The same sort of situations would apply
in Greece, making it difficult for BCA students to ever talk their way out
of any situation. Maybe that is why staying out of legal trouble is emphasized
prior to leaving the United States. It is highly improbable any of the BCA
students have relatives or friends working for the system.
The train leading to downtown Athens. The trains are simple, there is
one line with two trains, one going and one coming. Kifissia, the home of
the ULV campus, is at one end of the line and the Port of Pireas is at the
other. It is about an hour ride from one end to the other. While on the
train people do not talk to each other, and eye contact is almost forbidden.
However, once in a while a beggar will come through the compartments of
the train singing or selling something.
With the recent problems in Kosovo, a whole new aspect of current Greek
life has been thrown into the picture.
A week into the semester, the entire University of La Verne, Athens,
student body was sent home on account of a bomb threat. We were later told
that all American institutions were being threatened by outraged Greeks
upset about NATO's involvement in Kosovo. Since the initial threat, the
school has been closed three more times, sometimes for only hours, due to
other threats, although it has not been determined who is making the threats
and why.
Along with most of the other BCA students, I was a little alarmed at
the situation, but I have come to realize that other students and professors
see it as a hassle, rather than a threat. Apparently, bomb threats happen
quite often, and luckily, have yet to have been followed through.
Some BCA students notice less significant cultural dissimilarities.
Nick Gray, a junior elementary education major from Juniata College in Pennsylvania
notes that many Greeks carry around and constantly knead worry beads.
"Everyone has one [string of worry beads]. If I listen when I'm
walking to class everyone is crushing them. It's awesome," said Gray.
Through engaging in the Greek culture, many students have noticed more
about their own culture.
"I'm noticing now that even though Hispanics live in America, many
still haven't learned the language, but people here know English and it
isn't even vital or the first language," said Colindres.
Kelly Cragle, a junior marketing major from Elizabethtown College in
Pennsylvania, said, "I'm afraid that I'll forget some of the things
I'm learning here like how to have a new perspective of the world. I'm afraid
I'll go back to an ethnocentric mentality."
Students studying abroad tend to take one of two viewpoints on the cultural
differences. First, is the notion that their cultural is the "right"
culture and that this new culture is absurd. The other type of students
feel that this new culture they are being exposed to is "better"
than their own culture. Neither is correct. Schofield continuously reminds
the students to understand that no culture is better than any other and
that each is relevant to the people living within that culture.
Aphrodite Vavouyios, director of BCA for the past nine years, also aids
in making the cultural adaptation more understandable for students.
"I feel students need someone like me because I have Greek mentality,
but I have lived in the States and I understand what students' needs are,
expectations are and what we can offer in Greece. Also I am a mother so
I understand more, also because I have lived in the States as a foreigner,
so I know the problems," said Vavouyios.
The adjustment process for the BCA students is going smoothly. Initial
reaction to cultural differences vary from shock to bafflement to awe depending
on the situations. Mostly, though, the culture is accepted wholeheartedly.
"I have adjusted fine. I think it has a lot to do with my background.
Latinos and Greeks have a lot in common. The closeness, they're loud and
they like to have a good time. I imagine people being in the country my
family is from and I know that it wouldn't make sense to others," said
Nuñez.
"I had no expectations. It's really rare when I get surprised.
You shouldn't put people in a box and then be let down. You can't put a
label on something you have no idea about."
Walking up an alley to the Greek Parliament building. The District of
Monastrion is known for its flea markets which occur everyday and one is
expected to bargain. In fact it is very uncommon to pay full price for merchandise.
Many businesses in Athens do not open exactly on time as they do in the
United States. Grecians are known to have a lack of concern for punctuality,
particularly in prioritizing business above family.
Becky Peifer leaning against a graffiti covered wall while eating cashew
nuts bought from a vendor. In Greece, graffiti is everywhere. Even in the
rich suburb areas of Athens no effort is made to clean it up; it's just
accepted as a part of the living environment.
The Brethren Colleges Abroad group takes time out of studying and traveling
in order to try and learn more about each other by playing typical games
such as Truth or Dare to break the ice.
Resting on rocks near the entrance of the citadel built and occupied
by the Mycenaeians.
Aphrodite Vavouyios, BCA director, talks to the group in front of a Greek
Christian Orthodox Church in downtown Monastirion, a shopping district in
Athens. Christian Orthodox is the dominant religion of Greece.
The BCA group travels through the Acropolis where Plato and Aristotle
once gathered to talk. Acropolis means high city, and inside the Acropolis
is the Parthenon which is the main structure and was used as a fortress.
A meat market in Pireas where patrons can find anything from fresh cut
lamb and chicken, to pig's head, feet, ears and tongue. Going to the meat
market is an everyday task, because most Greeks like to buy their meat and
poultry fresh for each day's food preparation.
BCA students take a break in front of the entranceway of a mass grave
yard while Aphrodite gives insight on how they were built.
BCA students looking out over a view of the Acropolis.
A guard stands in front of the parliament building. The guards stand
at attention, dressed in ceremonial garments, without moving for long periods
of time. Every once in a while they get to exercise their muscles by marching
around in a ceremonious manner, lifting their legs slowly and tapping their
heels on the ground.
Chris Kapiloff, Lisa Anderson, Tak Hayakama and Sarah Donovan view the
Citadel from a defensive wall.
