A Noisy Show

Do I like being here in this noisy, nervous place, with all the people shouting and rushing? Most definitely. In a user group meeting there is always some personal discussion that gets a deep impression in my mind. Many times it's not about technical stuff, and quite often the best thoughts to the point only come up much later. This sunday at HelMUG/Ambelokipi/Bamboo I talked to Nikos. He is soon going to someplace in northern Greece, to work as a country doctor. He has been living in Sweden and was impressed with me coming to Greece.

For the Greeks, the local, nervous lifestyle is often a nuisance. As Nikos said, in the morning you come out of your door and someone shouts at you. You go on your Motorbike to drive to your work, you get honked at like wild instantly, and then you almost get run over. For the foreigners coming here, all the action is exotic and lifely. But the Greeks are sometimes tired of it. His friends from Sweden loved it, while he liked the easygoing way of life up north.

Then, on the way home, in the Metro, there were two guys who badmouthed each other. One was an elderly gentleman, the other one a young guy with a leather jacket. They might have been drunk, they did not know each other, and they went to their business of calling each other names calmly but loud enough for all the car to hear. There was no need to hurry, as they had time at least till the next stop. And people watched, smiling. It's like being in the theatre, the scene has a ritual quality. Many of the gestures, rethoric tricks and phrases are very common and repeated a lot all over Greece. Hey, it's life theatre and all you need is a stamped Metro ticket and some luck for a good show. Sure I like being here.