Your experience of culture shock in Greece

hi,

I'll never forget one...In one bigger supermarket in Athens one men is carrying few bottles of vine and one of them felt down and broke...the sales person came and start screeming on that man in front of everybody for a verry long time. This for me is not normal, other countries. have better rules. If costumer break something, maybe you will pay for it in shop, maybe not but emloyes can not treat you like this because he can lose the job immediately....This men didn't want to break the botle, it just happen...I saw it myself.

christine,how about YOU tell us YOUR story in greece?!

and are you sure anybody would dare tell their REAL GREEK STORY OF A FOREIGNER WITH WESTERN CULTURE?

whatever.

ill try to tell as much as possible but not be eaten by my greeks for telling the truth about them.

my story is special cos i am semi greek.

my mother was taken away from greece when she was four by her mother and she came back to visit her mother when she was a married woman with three children,in her early forties. till then she had of course forgotten greek and never thought about herself as greek.
so she brought us children as non greeks,as citizens of the other country.
but when the crisis of communism broke up i remembered that i am semi greek and repatriated here with my son. husband did not want.

but in the meanwhile i idealized greece.

i thought i was going back to my ANCIENT greece,socrates,platon,aristotle and perikle.

and what a bitter disappointment.

instead i found THIS!

my personal profile,to say the truth,is very much different from a common greek woman in my age.
just imagine: i am an strong atheist very much intellectual an antismoker a feminist into healthy eating and living. you get the picture. and i say the truth in ones face no matter what. the truth is saint to me.

greeks are religious fanatics. only their ancient predecessors were intellectual and todays intellectuals have left the country, they smoke more than turks and they are very patriarchal. like muslims but without harems. at least not officially.

i could forgive them all the above but not that they are bloody arrogant racists. have a grand idea of themselves.
and of course this debthe,320 billion euros,its not at all their fault. everybody else is to blame but themselves.

liars cheaters hipocrites thieves.
the debth to germans and others is theirs to blame. germans and banks are what they are but greeks are the worst in the world. only here gemans and banks succeeded to make a mess of the country. greeks are to blame for all of it.

and there is their RACISTIC ARROGANCE. OH MY! UGLY.

so i still love the place as it is with its beautiful geography and climate but not its people.

of course not everybody is like that.
but the majority is.

but there is an amazing glorious side of greeks. their music.
mozart was a vulgar man but his music is divine.
so is greek.
these people have souls.
so maybe we should forgive them for being pigs and listen to their beautiful music.
rembetiko palio laiko and endehno
yorgos dalaras and his 'mana mu ellas'
try not cry

to andreo
this is pure cristal racism
you can only sooth yourself by thinking of an even stronger racism,of the white to the black.
and the strongest,of the males to the females. everywhere from ever to ever. will never be stopped cos its only natural.animal males are racists to their females. so why would human male be better...

i just now learned that two people liked my post. of course they did cos they are both in the victim group.
but what does not amaze me is that there are actually only two posts,my and of ANDREO about culture shock in greece,thou it is common knowledge what greeks are to moneyless foreigners and especially of color or/and other racial facial looks.
people are afraid to say to the greek what they know about the greeks. there is a price to pay for saying the truth in ones face. and there are many greeks here.
its quite another story when foreigners speak among themselves without greeks being present. then you will hear what foreigners really think of greeks. i know cos foreigners consider me as another foreigner and so they tell me. all of them think greeks are racist. ***

tsaphina, verry good written story about Greece. I can not judge them and write more about them, I been there short time...But is sad to hear that even you as a greece person tell us so sad story.

I can no write here all i saw and all i know about Greece. But I am sure the greek people could do alot for the country. Somebody should teach them respect, tolerance, how to be friendlier ect...must tell you that many Greeks remind me on the man with the mirror. Everywhere he goes, he see himself and his problem instead to see the world in that mirror and interract. You should maybe start a movement for friendlyer and better Greece;) They would listen to you. I dont have much time but i join too .... and thanks to all good Greeks and my good friends from Syria and Irak, living in Greece...

This is an interesting subject,I am married to a Greek man and have been here many years in the same road and only now after 20 years do some of the neighbors say hello to me,Im in Egaleo not in a remote village,they seem to be very suspicious people,perhaps cities are in fact less friendly.As a strong female I have noticed that men dont see women as particularly intelligent and certainly would not welcome a woman telling them what to do about anything.We recently built a house and none of the work men wanted to listen to my instructions or opinion, only wanting to speak with my husband who in fact is far less knowledgeable than me on house building.Women have a place in the UK and have respect,the respect that women get here is the mother,grandmother holding the children to emotional and financial ransom,blackmail and manipulation until the children end up hating them because they are unable to break free,often marrying who the mother says and when the mother says,living where the mother says,being unable to stand on their own feet because of brain-washing from a young age and of course the mother putting them on the guilt trip until she dies especially if she is a widow.This mainly applies to the male offspring.When you really get inside life here it resembles a lot of middle east stuff,perhaps left over from the Turkish occupation.Mothers here do not let go of their sons.The lack of concern for their environment is shocking and so sad,not all of course, but the Greek people have the gold in their hands,meaning one of the most beautiful places on earth, but lack of life education and awareness of its beauty and its protection needs are thrown to the wind and that sometimes makes me weep.

tsahpina,you sound an interesting lady,and just to tell you for a laugh,a cultural thing,my brother visited from Australia last November and on the third day here he said"these people dont smile,Im smiling at people and they just stay blank,whats going on here,miserable lot"Well I fell about laughing and realised that I have become so used to it that I now forget to notice it and he reminded me,he said "no facial expression"I saw that when I first moved here and I had to stop smiling,straight face all the time now,and I dont normally hear a good belly laugh,my husband hates it when I laugh loud but he laughs with his work blokes,I tell him to put a soovlaki in it.I would be pleased to meet you for coffee in Athens when you are here,I have grown children so we would be on the same wave-length,

concertina,i tried to find the place to send you a message and there was none.
but,i live in thessaloniki and i cannot see how we can meet,which i would like. i will be in athens,some time in january but i will have very little time. i will be with my son,emptying my place in athens and we will stay there as short as possible. i basically became a servant in my son's house here in thessaloniki. such is life...

They call the people complexico.  However here in Kalamata I am blessed with more modern viewpoints.  All the comments in this forum are indeed valid.  I don't need to be terribly social but I found a gym. All the ladies and gents there are NOT complexico.  Professionals not arrogant kind nice.  Lesson learned is once you break that straight faced barrier, most times, is a person happy to connect.  I always smile (still) and often get that angry look in return.  But it's changing.  I am Greek American and because of that I am excused typical expectations.  I am more often than not told "you are so different, you speak to everybody with passion and happiness".  On the flip side do be careful as people do gossp and are happy to turn your word around out of jealousy or sport.  I just keep on.  Why should you be miserable because they are?   

I was brought up a proud Greek in the USA with old school morals and values.  Time stood still for theimmigrants and they passed on to their children a solid,work ethic and fairness.  I didn't recognize myself in the people here.  The difference between USA and Greece for me is that Greece has a soul and however beautiful my home in their USA was that was missing.  I am more at home here and I'm not completely fluent in the language. 

I recently married after 7 years.  The mother thing is on point.  Frighteningly so.  Tip to younger women.  If a guy you've met for a coffe or out is wearing is t shirt and the sleeves are creased?  Be certain mom is still doing his laundry.  Don't agree to anything permanent with a guy unless he moves out of the house first.

Keep smiling, keep being you enjoy the beauty Greece has to offer and appreciate it even if the locals don't.   

for a cultural experience go to Mani ... Travel you will find beauty in the people as you go.

I liked your post and I had said only a few possible things I didnt like about cultural differences,how ever some of the major reasons for living here are as you said-soul,traditions,church and most importantly the Greek people do not want to engage in violence as many other cultures,Im from the UK and of course its not everyone,most people are fine citizens but too much violence,murders,rapes,just shocking,so for this reason alone I can take the things I dont like because as I said,Utopia is not to be found.Here you can find real food,people herding goats,I hear the bells at my cottage just one hour half from Athens,I buy fresh cow and sheep milk there for only two euro for one and half litre,the fresh food is gorgeous.There is a man galloping around my village on a beautiful horse sometimes,thrilling to watch and see and last weekend a young girl was riding about on her horse and smiling at us so sweetly,she was obviously very happy.We swim at a sea-fed lake near Loutraki and swim in November when nobody is there,quiet and calm, so Id say that one must work around the cultural shocks and see the many pluses of life in Greece.

Cultural Shock?  Cultural Surprise?

I would say you take yourself with you and much of what a person experiences is mirrored in their own attitude.  I have received nothing but kindness and helpfulness while living here, from the locals and officials.  I have nothing but admiration for the young people here. One of my favourite things about Greece and the Greeks is their family values, family time together and respect for parents.  I am shocked at the posts I have just read on here. As for not smiling, in which country do people not have  serious expressions, especially around strangers?  If I smile first most often the person returns a warm smile. I have been pleasantly surprised at the warm reception I have received in my apartment block and offers of help and welcome on arrival.  While out and about young people have helped me lift my shopping trolley onto buses, Greeks and others give up their seats in trains when crowded. I have lived in a few countries and am now retired. I came to Greece in September 2013.  I don't expect everyone to be the same. I'm from UK and there over the years expectations have become diverse. It is very much the same everywhere, give and take a few customs. Yes, parking on the pavement is not my favourite thing, driving is a bit more reckless, but not as bad as parts of Asia and now I am learning not to stand back while in a queue! When in Rome do as Rome does! When in Athens ditto. Nowhere have I experienced more lovely hospitality and friendliness. To the sufferers on here - if you want to make friends, show yourselves friendly, judge generously. It will come back to you with dividends. Be happy! It's contagious.

We are of course pleased that your experiences are good here in Greece and perhaps you misunderstood that I certainly was not giving my overall picture of cultural differences, merely some of the things or my personal experiences,I certainly did not say that I think every Greek is sullen and heavy and unfriendly or a horrendous driver,only in my opinion some general traits abound in every country possibly as a result of copied behavior when young and as one is growing up,nobodys fault,just learned behavior.I try to be objective and I could write many pages on cultural traits I hate and love about the UK and also pages on the things I love about Greeks and Greece,one of them being that most Greek surgeons dont have their nose in the air and talk to you as if you were their friend and often give you their mobile numbers for you to speak to them anytime,I am not talking of individuals,I speak of general traits as I said and having been here for at least twenty years and made the most extreme efforts then you must surely allow others their opinion on this subject otherwise what is the point of opening the subject and the mentality you suggest for us to follow at the closing of your post are very good and valid instructions that the majority of us already carry out to the very best of our ability every single day of our lives.

That's good, Concertina!  I was shocked at the negative impression I got from reading the posts.
It did appear to be a "Let's bash the Greeks" free for all.  It is easy to be critical and lose sight of what life is like elsewhere..
I'm sorry if you thought I was referring to your post alone. You made some fair and positive comments. I empathise with most of what you said, yet I disagree that Greek people smile less than several other nationalities including my own. I like a lot ofwhat you said, in particuar about non-violence here  and the kind attitude of surgeons.  I accompanied a friend in hospital and have great admiration for the way she was cared for, beyond the second mile.

You have been here a long time.  That in itself is a good recommendation.

One thing is to comment on some differences and things that shock and quite another is seen in some posts here,  deliberately extreme, insulting and untrue and could be libelous.

Thankyou Doreen Joan,just to tell you I think that when people have some negative experiences in a country it can sometimes spoil their outlook and it really depends on who we have the misfortune or good fortune to meet,but going into public admin offices on and off for twenty years as I have and only recalling about three times being treated properly can make one just say that the public sector is mostly full of rude lazy workers,however recently I had to get some papers from Loutraki council in order to have electricity to my new house and I nearly fainted at the helfulness of the woman there and she said she would call us,shock.Greek people admit themselves that the public sector admin system is hell and if you must go there for any reason you will certainly be there all day and still you may not be seen.There has been some improvement and many things can now be done on line such as our tax returns,there is a slight plus to waiting many hours,you are bound to sit next to some interesting characters who will start up a conversation with you or there will be a mighty shouting match going on somewhere because someone had enough of just about everything,screaming and shouting,I find it so funny because nobody bats an eye,they just carry on staring into the distant line of waiting tired people,they know of course no violence will ensue,its just hot air thats got to come out especially in temperatures of more than 30 degrees,  ha