such is life

All those books.. a year in Provence.. under the Tuscan sun.. driving over lemons.. Italian neighbors.. which regal of life as living la dolce vita.. buying that old home on a Greek island.. or a villa in Tuscany… maybe it’s a vineyard in France.. or even Spain. Yet the reality of life in these places is a very different story. Watching fuzzy images on the tv depicting Athens this morning, in total dishevel. Another strike. Is this the 4th one this week? I’ve lost count. No metros are running. No buses. No taxis. Trash hasn't been picked up in over a week. The atms are out of money (the bank has closed). Oh and the power is off. Not due to a power outage but because they’ve pulled the plug. Just like that.

No life here is not easy. As was said to me yesterday in a conversation, ‘this is not the good life’. Until the wee hours of the morning, I stayed up speaking with my new Greek mamma ☺ Felja, the local guide who I’ve worked with on several of my past trips has invited me to stay with her. See gleamed quite an insight into life here in Greece.

Back in America, we’re scared of the ‘r’ word.. recession. But really. We have such a good life. Yes this means we must cut back on spending.. oh how i can go on and on about all that we have!

This will certainly affect my job. To travel is a luxury and this will be cut back considerably. I don’t know what my job situation will be into the new year but who really knows anyways?

We complain and worry.. not to say that some is not without validity. So we have to do without a new car this year or more square footage.. or the latest styles.. or going to the movies weekly.. or eating out each nightly… we still have SO MUCH. Do we go each day wondering if today they will cut off our electricity because a people aren’t getting the pensions they want? No. The biggest strike I’ve even seen in my lifetime had to do with Hollywood. So your favorite TV shows went off the air.

I’m sitting here in the sun looking out the backyard of my friend’s home. Modest apartments surround me and in the distance the rocks of Meteora rise high above like the old monks themselves. Laundry hang from clotheslines, chickens cluck and a warm breeze brings to life the trees and weeds that grow between the homes. Dogs bark, children laugh and birds chirping. Life seems good here. You’d think. But look closer. Trash has piled high on the streets (no trash pick up due to the strike). Junk lay in piles in the yards. Mold grows in masses on the buildings and water stains the enterity of most these buildings. These modest homes aren’t due to a minimalist mentality. It’s a result of just trying to get by. And these are the majority of the people, not a minority. The average income being 900- 1200 dollars a month. Therefore MOST people work 2 jobs.

As I stayed up speaking with my friends, the stories recounted to me were of a life of hardships.. yet it seems to be that most people shrug their shoulders as if to say ‘such is this life’. Such is life. My thoughts on this could go on and on, therefore will continue for another day.