Driving downtown is currently far beyond my skill level, so D dropped me off at the Metro on his way into work this morning so I could head to the center of Athens for some official Greek immigration business. While waiting for my attorney in Syntagma Square, I passed the time with some killer people watching. I have had to explain this term to my Greeks each time I use it…people watching is not a phrase that they use here in Hellas. Honestly, when I attempt explanation it does sound a little creepy, but my act of people watching is certainly not a creepy as others…like the guy sitting across the fountain from me on the bench, for example.
One of the busiest places in Athens, Syntagma is the government headquarters of Greece, the Washington DC of Hellas, if you will. Everyone wants to hop off the Metro here at this time in the day, but with trains running every two minutes, the ride is certainly less intimate then rush hour subway trips in other cities. Also, Athens built their Metro for the 2006 Olympics, so the stations are essentially brand new…AKA ‘clean,’ and for a single Euro you can go just about anywhere.
After shelling out 200 Euros to translate my birth certificate and a few other pages of documents, part of the process to make myself a legal resident of Greece, I headed to a place near the square that my attorney tells me sells books in English…here I truly find the Greek Barnes and Noble! After bathing in sexy American design books, I head upstairs for coffee. In fact, as I write this I am sitting in a fifth floor café, sipping a cappuccino frappe, and staring across the square, the site of all the Greek strikes and protest that you hear about on Fox News.
On the other side of Syntagma Square is the Parliament Building. The structure itself is a modern interpretation of the classic Greek orders. Upon inspection I believe that our own American capitol building makes this center of Greek politics look like it was constructed by blindfolded government workers, and that perhaps Thomas Jefferson understood classic architecture better than the modern Greeks. I should not be so quick to judge a book by its cover however, because despite the building’s austere exterior, I can just imagine what frantic behavior is occurring inside, considering the state of Greece’s political climate.
Whatever they are scheming, it seems that the average Greek doesn’t really care. They are not concerned with bailouts, austerity measures, or the value of the Euro; they just want someone they can blame. While the Greek people seek an economic crisis poster child, what is completely being ignored here is that the bailout for Greece is not an attempt by the EU to help the people of Hellas, but to help the people that Hellas owes…largely other Europeans. With the plan of action to improve Greece’s economy essentially non-existent, I can sit here sipping my frappe, close my eyes, and only fear how the future protests in Syntagma Square will unfold.
Love Rach
