Trying times
There has been a lot of coverage lately, both at home and abroad, about the state of Greece’s finances. A lot of the commentary has mentioned the black economy and also the general attitude amongst the Greek people that means they are only interested in what they can get and not at all interested in what they can give. I know that the ‘me’ society is pervasive in all parts of the world but I have never seen it so blatant as it is over here. This is not only evident in relation to money but also in the way they drive and the way they treat their surroundings. You will see rubbish strewn by the side of the road even though there are bins situated around the island where you can dispose of any household rubbish for collection by the refuse truck, you will see all ages, from children to old people, casually discarding food wrappings and other assorted rubbish on the street once they have finished with them.
I know every country believes they are hard done by and that their services and goods are more expensive than elsewhere in the world but that is generally due to government taxes and the costs from big business, things that can seldom be changed. Over here you feel you are being ripped off by the people and for no good reason apart from the fact that they want money and they perceive you as being an easy target. There are far too many people who want to generate money without having to do any work themselves and I have to say I mightily resent people trying to extract money from me when I don’t owe them any. Obviously I’m referring to something specific here but after talking to lots of other people it appears this problem is endemic and it really is a shame when you can’t carry on your day to day life without being harangued for money by people with no morals.
The problem of living on a small island (one of the problems), is that people will talk and they will generally talk rubbish. Unfortunately, when there isn’t much in the way of entertainment, people like to gossip and it suddenly becomes like chinese whispers and by the time you catch wind of what is being talked about it bears no resemblance to anything approaching the truth. I suppose I find this interest difficult to understand because I’m not interested in people – at all. I like to know what friends are doing but as to total strangers or passing acquaintances, I don’t care.
After talking to others lately, I’ve come to the conclusion that you don’t have to be ’strange’ to live on Skopelos but if you stay long enough you do change and it probably becomes difficult to manage anywhere else where the society is not so enclosed.
Rant over 
It’s carnival time here at the moment and Junior had a party at school on Thursday when she dressed up as a fairy princess and danced herself senseless for over 2 hours’. It really is a joy to watch her and I’m not just saying that because she’s my daughter but because she walks into a room and immediately involves herself in what is happening. She never clings to me or sits on the sidelines, she’s so full of confidence and life that she brightens mine every day.
Hopefully the weather will cheer up before the weekend as it’s the carnival procession on Saturday and last year Junior was full of a cold so didn’t get to see anything. Sean is on his way to England for a job (and some essential food shopping of course) so Junior and I have girlie times planned for the next week!
Hey there, sorry to hear you have been having a bit of a trying time of late. Ups and downs everywhere me thinks
Although reading your post did remind me of the lower times that we spent on the island… times when we too felt people were just making money out of us because they could 
It’s such a shame but I’m sure that all the great things far outweigh! And if it makes you feel any better, yesterday I was walking down the high street of my beautiful quaint market town and saw a young boy (with his mother) casually open his milkyway wrapper and discard it in the otherwise clean street. GRRRRRRRRRRRR.
Tell me about it Helen and we don’t even live there most of the time. Our “lovely” neighbour is busy suing us for alegedly chopping down 10 of his olive trees, building a cement road and stealing one of his old walls – needless to say none of which we have actually done! He just wants us to buy land from him at an inflated price and since we have said no he is trying to cause trouble in the hopes that we will pay up. But still we have to come over to go to court in April to answer the charges. Just bizarre. Sally
The endemic you refer to is a good way to describe how little truth and how prevalent rumors can be in everyday life, especially when a majority surrounds you and is trying to beat you over the head to agree. Some days, I feel as if I’m going insane and it’s only by speaking to someone with the same mind set, someone fighting equally hard to keep their wits, that one can feel ‘normal’ again.
It’s tiring to hear people blame tourists for garbage, how nothing is their responsibility, and I’m a liar for telling the truth about prices, racism, egoism and the like. This is the reason I don’t share details from my everyday life any longer; it became too burdensome to keep an optimistic attitude and then answer commentators who would tell me my life isn’t really the way it is and I had no right to be ‘disrespectful’ toward a country that is not and will never be my own.
I keep going knowing that one day it will be over, or there will be a moment such as you describe when your children put a smile on your face and it all melts away.
Alice, it does seem to happen to everyone and I really do resent being a cash cow especially when I don’t have much cash and I’m not a cow
– others may disagree!!
Sally, sorry to hear about the impending court case. When we finally buy a house I think our nearest neighbours will have to be about 5 miles away!
Kat, I know what you mean about being thought of as ‘disrespectful’ to a country that isn’t my own but when the rose tinted glasses come off you just have to tell it like it is don’t you?
Yes, I’m not really great at denial. The funny thing is, we’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t.
If I gush all day about the glory of Greece, I’m called a clueless tourist who doesn’t know how things work here.
If I tell the truth, they admit I’m right and even speak more harshly than I ever would, but somehow I’m not entitled as a non-Greek and therefore disrespectful. My friend Panos calls it chauvinism.
P.S. I’ve never met you, but I’m sure you’re not a cow!
I always feel if I whinge too much then people will just say “why do you live there then?” like I’m not allowed to have off days when everything just feels like it’s getting on top of you. Maybe I’m just over sensitive or too pernickety (love that word!).
Thanks for the vote of confidence – not that I’ve got anything against cows:-)