I learned today that the stray dogs of Athens are considered to be an institution. They are all so nice and sweet that no one in Athens wants to get rid of them. We have seen this in our own group. Dogs will come along with us on tours, asking for belly rubs occasionally or snuggling up to people. Being an institution has many advantages. Institution strays have government collars and must be fed by individuals or the state (idk which). They all have their vaccines, and are mellow enough to be safe. Apparently there was a big debate about what should be done about the dogs for the Athens Olympics. What was decided was that all of the dogs were picked up, taken care of in basically a doggie daycare in the country, and then were returned to their relative neighborhoods after the olympics were over.
Along with being adorable, this fact also demonstrates the diversity of thought on seemingly simple issues. To be quite honest, I think that all of us thought that the stray dogs were some kind of problem that the government was falling to address. And while it is true that the Greek government has failed to address many problems, the dogs are not one of them. They are not seen as a problem, but rather as a boon to Greek society. How is that for your mind blowing fact of the day?
Yesterday I went for a morning run on the track of the Panathenatic Stadium. Originally a Greek stadium, it was renovated first by the Romans, then for the first modern olympics in 1896, and used again in the 2004 olympics. Honestly it was one of the coolest experiences. Just think who has been there.
We had our last Greek class today, in which prof Gandolfo took us around the city in a kind of hands on lecture about modern Greece. It was really interesting to see the different business centers and government buildings. We even got to see the fresh fish and meat market, something that would have been nice to know about at the beginning of our time here in Athens. But oh well. Now we know to ask about these things when we get to a country.
The woman at the local bakery gave Shana and Marty a box of cookies since it was our last day. I have learned that it is advantageous to befriend the locals. But actually, there is reason behind it. Since Greece has been run by foreign, and mostly ineffective governments for almost the entirety of its existence, people have learned that they must rely on family and neighborly ties almost exclusively. Loyal customers are neighbors. This also explains why Athens, up until the 1970s, had no homeless people on the streets. People who fell on bad times would always be taken in by family or friends. No one was ever on their own.
This is a lovely sentiment. And I wish there was more of this in the United States. But this sentiment also leads politicians to give away public jobs to friends and supporters. It also grew out of mass corruption and distrust. Which means that people are not willing to trust the anonymous government enough to pay taxes.
I guess there is good and bad to every mindset.
Most of the people in our group seem to be in and out of slumps lately. I hope we cheer up soon.
Tomorrow we head to Turkey. I am really going to attempt to learn some basic Turkish phrases early, and befriend locals when I can.
Until then,
Andrea
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