I met a friend for coffee yesterday in one of my neighborhood's trendy cafe/coffee shops around 6pm. When she left an hour and a half later, I moved over and joined a group of friends from the neighborhood a few tables away. As more people came we added chairs and crammed around our tiny table full of glasses and chips. At 10:30 (in the midst of a downpour - glorious!) we made our way to the neighborhood lamb taverna and shared the traditional Greek spread. I got home around 2am. That is Greece! :)
Tonight I met some different friends around 7 or 8pm. We weren't in our own neighborhood, but one where you can walk for blocks without hearing Greek, a neighborhood full of refugees and people shooting up and women in prostitution. I went into six brothels tonight, met a girl from Romania who looked 15 and has been here just one month, a Nigerian girl who claims that she's been here two years but has never met us before, a Bulgarian girl who lounged her stiletto-heeled feet on the arms of her chair and nervously answered our greetings. Men come and go and she does her business and that's just how it works. This is also Greece.
What can I say, I get the full experience.
3 comments:
I think what hit me most about this post is that the same could be said for Chicago...or many places in the states. Only blocks from where we socialize, is poverty, prostitution, and so many other things that you walk into with grace as you work.
The difference is, you visit both areas. Most people here just visit the coffee shop.
yes, same here...
Sans internet, it's been a while since i read your blog. And now that i'm catching up, it's as refreshing and challenging as ever. :)
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