Ive been here a day and I like it already. It is familiar, interesting, the people are all different, crazy but somehow all Greek too. Also comfortable. The extent to which the Greeks have influenced Australia has started to dawn on me. As I digested as much comedy as I could as a kid, I was taken in my wog humor: Acropolis Now, Wogs Outta Work, The D-Generation (which while not all Greek, their sketches are probably taught me the most about Greeks in Australia. You can take the boy out of Brunswick but you can’t take Brunswick out of the boy, but I digress).
my upbringing was champagne sketch comedy
Riga was a dump as usual, they seemed to like Kadri’s bag so much it got an extra night in Riga and we will be reunited with it today hopefully.
We went downtown to get some food and the waiter was a Greek Australian (hereby referred to as “wog”, look it up, its not racist for a black person, stop stealing our innocence England). He has lived here for 13 years and was as mad as a cut snake, it was fabulous, here is a highlight of his views on the world
- I didn’t look like a skip Aussie and clearly I am some kind of wog (astute observation)
- Young Greek people speak more than 1 language and this is the only country in Europe where that happens.
- How will Greece solve its debt crisis? According to John, the US will default on its own debts on August 2nd (write it down people) and will take the step of wiping out THE WORLD‘s debt. Yup, no one owes anyone anything then and Greece will be clean again. Apparently the Americans can do this. Maybe because they have the guns. I’m not sure but maybe im looking too deeply into this.
- IN FACT, did you know Germany still owes Greece 3 times the debt in war reparations? Neither did I but that given that, Greece will be rich again. No work required, see the Greeks have had it right all along.
Athens is the only city Ive been to where the major old thing is right in the center. Usually its off in the bumfuck and you need to make a day trip there. Not here, the Acropolis is shining down from the street right out front of the hostel and we will go check it out now. I never thought Id be seeing the Acropolis.
the only acrolpolis I thought I’d ever see
Later today we are off to the island of Ios, 3 hours via ferry or 8 hours via swimming / slow ferry. Not sure how thats all going to work out.