Time is Relative

There are so many applicable clichés about time that really fit our time here in Greece. Time flies when you’re having fun. For some of us, this trip came in the nick of time. At this point in the semester we all feel like time is running out. We have time on our hands to explore the beautiful and complicated country around us. An expression that I think encapsulates them all and best suits both our time here and the Greek concept of time is time is relative. Some days it seems like we could have arrived only yesterday and that the semester has flown by, while others seem like we’ve been here forever, and we’re ready to go back to our family and friends. The Greek way of life has its own set of rules and concepts of time that I as an American may never fully grasp. They live a slower life than we do and do things on their own schedule, no one else’s. In some ways this may be a better system than our constantly going society, but in others I believe it is a determent to theirs.
It seems that every Greek has a balcony or patio. In the big cities, the apartment buildings all have shaded balconies with comfortable furniture and some sort if laundry flapping in the wind. In the more rural areas, they are more like what my Southern mind thinks of as porches or decks, complete with patio furniture and again the ever-present laundry. These balconies always strike me as a great way to characterize Greek time. Life moves at a much slower pace in Greece. The people have time to sit out on their balcony and drink their Greek coffee, which takes time to make properly and has to be watched unlike our percolate and forget it coffee, maybe read the paper, and just watch the world go by. Vicki has taught us coffee is a ritual in Greece. They must take their time, do everything slowly, and savor their coffee, which seems to be a theme in life for them. This was the first thing to show me how important taking time to one’s self is to Greeks. I imagine they share this time with their families, maybe their neighbors if they’re close. This morning ritual inspires me to take time for myself in the morning, to slow down and rush less. Instead of making my coffee as fast as possible, throwing it into a mug and running out the door, maybe I should get up a little earlier, sit and sip my coffee slowly, enjoy a little breakfast and conversation with my roommate. This time could also used as devotional time with God. Making myself slow down and be grateful for the day and all the blessings to come would be a wonderful, Greek inspired way to start my day.
Their concept of time is not always so peaceful or inspiring. Occasionally it makes me want to rip my hair out. It has become a joke here that any time anything is late, slow, or overcomplicated we just shrug and say, ‘It’s Greek.’ People seem to run on their own schedule and some come across as very inconsiderate of others’ time. This happens in every culture because it’s simply human nature. Occasionally, this attitude gets out of hand and becomes a great source of frustration. I have already discussed my extreme dislike for the public transportation system, but it is the worst culprit for running on ‘Greek time.’ Theoretically, the buses run on schedule, coming every hour, half hour, or quarter of the hour. Logically, one should be able to catch a bus from Porto Rafti to Markouplo, then from that stop to the metro in Koropi with minimal waiting in between. One would be wrong. The buses never run on a tight schedule. They may have to stop to help someone find their way or argue with a passenger. Maybe the driver got off late because of his coffee break, putting the whole day behind schedule. Maybe there was traffic. All of these factors can come together to cause huge delays and very long wait times for the buses. If one bus is late, the connection will be lost, and the traveler will be stuck in between the two uncertain of what to do next. I have sat at the Markopoulo bus stop for over two hours before finally giving up and finding another way into town. My American respect for a schedule and rigorously following it dies a little every time I think about trying to catch the bus. Greeks seem not to mind and have just accepted it. You can always tell when the bus is really going to come when, after sitting at the stop for thirty minutes, ten to be sure not to miss it and twenty waiting after its scheduled arrival, the locals start to join you at the stop. They always seem to know how to catch it at just the right time. I wish I could gain that skill!
Time is also relative when it comes to shops and restaurants. Hours are as follows: 9am-1:30 or 2pm, then a lunch break or nap time, only to reopen around 5:30 or 6pm. This totally confounds me. The morning hours are logical enough, but the break seems counter productive. I understand wanting the break; of course it would be lovely to be able to rest in the middle of the day, but that it prime shopping time in my mind. All businesses close during these hours, making getting anything done almost impossible. As a student, that’s really the only time I can go out to the store or into town, so I miss things I would like to see far too often. The reopening is also a matter of choice for the shop owners. If they don’t feel like coming back in, the shop will stay closed. Again, my American mind says that this is a waste of precious business hours. If you promise to be open, you should be open. It explains the economic distress in the nation. On the other hand I realize it is a cultural thing, and if everyone else is at home napping or visiting with family, no one will come to your shop anyway. Different cultures have different customs, and learning to meld to the two together is an interesting and sometimes complicated process.
Last night at the concert, we hit an excellent example of the idea of Greek time. They asked us to be there at eight, but the show actually started around ten. While that was not all the fault of the Greek choir, it was a little frustrating. They expected us to be there early as a safeguard, and yet Greeks seems to always run late. Maybe it is just a coping mechanism for Greek time. Time is a difficult thing to understand, organize, and plan for. I have learned that I am much more scheduled and less spontaneous than I thought. Maybe it is because I am at the mercy of others’ plans and schedules, or because I am in a very foreign place to my mind and a schedule is something simple and manageable. I have loved my time here and would not trade my experiences for anything. I hope that I have learned to be patient with others and more accommodating to their needs. I know that I will still get frustrated and want things to go smoothly, but maybe I’ll think back to waiting on the bus or not being able to find an open place to eat and be thankful for my time here and the lessons learned.