Brasov, 10 November 2011
Today my nose flows from the left nostril.
According to tradition, tomorrow the right one
will do the same. If I'm lucky, it will stop with
that. If not, the day after tomorrow I will cough.
The coughing may take longer; two days, maybe
three. So it usually happens every fall and spring.
I had left to Athens, just in order to avoid the
cold season from Brasov, but I had to go back
for few days. Just a few days were sufficient to
get sick. Now I need to sit quietly in the house
and heal. Next week I have to get back in Athens
with his wife.
As quiet as I am, a regret is crossing my mind: I
did not keep a diary during my trip in Athens.
Interesting events occurred there and it would
useful to print them. Unfortunately, I had no
time to put down impressions. I had a job. The
aim of the trip was to rent a studio or a small
apartment. Before to rent, it must be found. I
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have done it, but, with that, things were not
finished. In order to convince my wife that my
choice was good, I had to make it as attractive
as possible. The first thing was cleanliness. At
first view, everything seemed to be very clean. I
believed that a small finishing would bring it on
the verge of perfection. Here I was wrong.
Cleaning was superficial. Little by little, I had to
word harder and harder. Finally, I succeeded, I
think. Then, I had to do some shopping. I did not
know from where, as supermarkets like in
Romania there were not to be found, I do not
know Greek language, in short, a lot of small and
great problems. Of course I wanted to visit the
area - very beautiful and interesting, however. It
wasn’t about relaxed. I was busy all the time.
Not keeping a log, not noting impression, it seems
that I was the best in cleaning. I knew that this
was just the beginning and that I will have
enough time later, what was picking up somewhat
my morale, although first impression always are
more relevant. Later, they lose the glow, so to
say, become flat and – God forbid – priggishness.
Now, that I have a little fever, an idea came to
me: from Athens I wrote every day letters
54
toward my spouse; these letters may take place
the diary. I used to write them during the
morning to be sure that I would not give up later;
excuses are easy to find. I thought to copy them,
as they comprise just my impression of that time.
The fact that I have fever now is not important,
as I propose to copy them tale quale. Besides,
perhaps the fever is not very high.
55
My dear,
Despite of a little promising start, the trip to
Bucharest developed in better conditions than
I hope. The minibus came from Sibiu almost
ful , so that there were not places for al of
us. Consequently, they put at your disposal an
elegant mini-microbus of 9 seats, with which
we got at the destination more comfortable.
From Bucharest to Athens I went with the
coach in conditions known by you from the
previous trip in April, when we went together.
Even at the hotel, I found the same crabby
receptionist, except that, this time, I
renounced to receive the rest of few money
and this little tip was enough to turn him into
a very kind man. I had not to wait til twelve
o’clock, when of icial y the day starts in
hotels; he immediate gave me a room, and not
56
one single, but double. Actual y I don't know
if the hotel has single rooms and I do not see
why would have, since the size of the rooms
al ow a bed big enough for two persons. Only
twin rooms, i.e. those with two separate beds,
need a little more space. Final y, I am wel
instal ed in the hotel, ready to start looking
for renting an apartment, in which we wil
spend together the autumn-winter season, wet
and cold in Brasov, but much more gentle and
dry here. I do not begin the searching right
now, because I am tired and sleepless after
the travel, but tomorrow morning I wil do it
for sure.
A few observations on climate I can note just
now: though autumn begins, the leaf of trees
is far greener than in Romania and there are
stil flowers on some bushes. I identified only
57
roses; the others are unknown to me. Yes, I
know the reply: "anyway you do not get good
at flowers". It is true, I do not know much
about flowers, but I appreciate their beauty,
regardless of name.
Now I am going to do a smal strol to the
mail, for buying Greek stamps and send this
smal first letter.
Athens, 21 September 2011
- - - - -
I dreamed that I was a civil servant somewhere
and I have been advanced as great head
elsewhere – to the col eagues’ envy and
bewilderment. In my new function, it was that
I was accompanying Ceauchescu in a visit to
58
an international exhibition. Among other
things, on a panel, some symbols were
displayed for showing what place in the world
each country occupies. I remarked the 3rd
place occupied by the USSR for bicycles.
Ceaushescu wanted to take the symbol of
Romania and to place it instead of the USSR,
but an of icial had explained that he couldn’t
do that; someone else decides there. In the
next phase of the dream, I was proposed to
lead a delegation of Romania in a foreign
country. This time, Basescu was the chief.
The purpose of the delegation was to carry a
precious fish, which he had received as a gift.
You see, he was very fond of it. In that
country, there was another fish, of the same
species, with which he was to couple. At a
meeting with some Chinese, who made team
with us in the same delegation, the
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representative of China was unhappy that the
old Romanian delegate had been replaced with
me. In the meantime, I had realized that al
changes were only wider manoeuvres, aiming to
mask the change of some important persons. In
this situation, I took the opportunity and told
that, if the Chinese does not want me, I
withdraw. Being liberated from any obligation,
I was free to rumble on the streets, among
the participants in a scrol like those on 1 May
and 23 August, the political holidays during
the communist regime. I was again back in
Ceaushescu’s era. As nothing important could
happen, I got bored and woke up. It was
8:30 in the morning, so I hurried not to miss
the breakfast, the most important meal of the
day for me now.
Athens, 22 September 2011
60
- - - - -
I write in the morning and not during the
evening - as you maybe expect - for two
reasons. In the evening, particularly after a
hectic day, I could be tired and marked by
recent events. In the morning, instead, I am
rested, the night sat down the incidents in my
mind and I can make a better synthesis of
events. The second reason is a very pragmatic
one: the temperature during the day is much
dif erent face to that of the mornings; dressed
suitable for morning coolness, I should wear
the surplus of clothes in hand during the rest
of the day. If I stay a little more in the
house, I can leave dressed casual, with the
condition to get back home before coming the
night, when the temperature drops again.
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The first news of yesterday was a bad on one
for me: because of a strike, public transport
was out of work. It seemed to be a dead day
for investigation. The second news redressed
somewhat the first one. The owner of one of
the housing (identified by me on the
Internet) of ered himself to come at the hotel
and pick up me for seeing his apartment. Cut
from their part! He doesn’t speak any language
except the Greek, I do not speak Greek, but
his daughter, Amalia, knows English and was
our translator. She speaks much better than
me, as she works in England, being on vacation
now.
The house I have seen is on one of the hil s
from Athens. The owners have another
daughter, living here, who knows some English,
62
so that we wil be able to communicate in this
way, after Amalia wil be gone in London.
Also, there is another lodger, a teacher of
English, who could help me. The hil , on which
lies the house, is a big one and relatively far
away from the centre, but close enough in
comparison with other districts, Athens being a
city extremely stretched. Besides, there are
shops nearly with almost everything you need,
so moving into other areas of the city,
including the centre, is not required for usual
shopping. A particular and appealing element:
a few steps from the house there is a park.
During we drive toward to house, I said that it
seems to me there are fewer Africans on the
streets now, face during the spring. Do you
remember how many of them were in April. I
thought then they came recently and wil
63
disappear soon. She proudly answered me that
they are here to col ect garbage and that,
perhaps, there is no longer what to col ect.
She seems to be very arrogant. Meanwhile, I
found that Africans are stil present, even
more. My remark from yesterday that they
would be fewer was inaccurate, and Amalia’s
replica too. I think of them and I cannot
reject the idea that, however, they are some
individuals who have risked, maybe, their life to
arrive here, like the Romanians fleeing the
country before 1989. The majority of the
Africans come from countries that have been
helped and – as everywhere happens – the aid
produced only negative ef ects. At the
individual level, the Chinese proverb "If you
want to help someone, don't give him a fish;
you teach him how to fish" is known from
ancient times. At the macro level, we see what
64
happens now: a few people get rich and others
become unemployed Al of them become lazy
and do not think to work. That’s way I am
inclined to grant circumstances those who have
gone in search of something better in Europe.
Most of them seem peaceful; there are others
worse and these ones did not leave because of
the poverty.
In the evening I went out for a little walk and
“to take pulse" of Athens. It is said that the
al people know here English language, because
they learned it at school. In one my first
conversation with a guy, I started to tel that
his clothes are the colours of the Romanian
flag: red, yel ow and blue. I replied that his
name is Vasilis. Our discussion went on in the
same friendly understanding.
65
Athens, September 23, 2011
- - - - -
The owner of an apartment that I visited
yesterday gave me meeting in front of the
“Municipal Hospital”. I suppose it is not the
single. This one is located in the most pol uted
area I ever seen. It is on the ring road
coming from the southern of Attica peninsula,
crosses with avenues from the centre of
Athens and arrives in the port of Pireu. I just
got passed on there and felt that I no longer
can breathe. I assume that, for admission
inside, they check the health of the patients,
to see if this al ows them to resist there
during the time of hospitalisation, because only
healthy patients could be treated in that
hospital.
66
* * *
Through the window of the hotel, I see a
parking lot. In the morning it is empty.
People come, leave the car at the entry,
opened and with keys in contact. An employee
arranges them side-by-side, so that after a
couple of hours, the entire parking lot is ful .
Not a single square metre is free. In time,
some people come to take their cars and
others come to leave theirs. For extracting a
car, he pul s out in the street – a very
crowded one – al the cars in front of it.
Afterwards, he moves them in the same place.
The man is very busy the whole day. Sisif,
that from the Greek legend, is a pale example
in comparison with our man’s work.
67
* * *
The Greeks think they are the embodiment of
democracy. They have it in mind, not in life!
The worst is that they do not observe what
happens around them, that the society is not
at al concerned with the status of those with
modest incomes. Public transport, for example,
is despicable. Buses and trol ey buses are rare
and can be crowded more than during the
Romanian "golden age".
* * *
During the Middle Ages, people had a smartidea: the leadership of the city was provided
by a council of the guilds. Citizens used to
vote at the level of their understanding. They
chose some representatives of the guilds and
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these representatives were discussing and
solved the important problems of the city.
Athens, September 24, 2011
- - - - -
Generaly, Greek women are not just pretty,
but - once you get used with the general view
– you can see on some of them even nice
details, as sign that everything is relative. The
eyes have drawn my attention the most. I
never saw so far so black eyes. Not dark brown
but black. And more black are the eyes more
white are the sclera. Black and large eyes!
They are the most attractive when are
cheerless. Most commonly happens to young
women.
69
There are some fatty Greek women, some even
very fatty, but surprisingly few. Very fatty
man I do not remember to have seen so far.
Most women have a normal physical
constitution, almost enviable. As regards the
American women, if they ever visited Greece,
certainly wil not repeat the mistake; the
silhouette of Greed women would provoke them
a crisis by envy and, perhaps, profound mental
disorders.
There is however, a reverse of the medal: very
thin women. Some are so thin that seems a
miracle that they can move their bones with so
few muscles. And not only that they do it,
but make it with great vigour. Have a forcible
walk, energetic and determined. You may not
suspect them of inanition. The only
explanation is their nervous system. It
70
provides to them a great power consumption,
even for nothing. Almost al smoke and no
anyway, but continuously, in any position,
even on the motorcycle. Real y! I saw just
yesterday on a motorcycle a lady leading with
one hand, with the cigarette in the other and
a child at the chest. Not a little child, but
one at least two years.
Athens, September 25, 2011
(I am founding now, copying the letters from
Greece, that I was harsh with Greek women. There
are many normal women, maybe the majority. But,
as what I wrote was the first impression, that which
shocked me, I leave it as it is. As for the fatty ones,
they are enough in Athens. I suppose they were
staying at shadow during my visit. So it explains
why I did not remark them. Only the thin ones
ventures to walk on heat.
As for girls, the truth is that those from Greece are
as nice as all the girls in the world. Some are even
beautiful. Due to the mixture of races, some can
have special features, making them very interesting.
71
Up to 30 years! Later, they gain rough, almost
masculine features. The loveliness sweetness
disappears. The reasons are not hard to intuit: they
shall keep the household, caring for children, ...
Hard life ...
Many older people are short, some very short. The
youngest have "European" heights. It seems that, in
the meanwhile, they have mixed with people of
different ethnicities. An apart category forms the
persons extremely fat, particularly women. It is a
hormonal disturbance, but I do not know the cause.
Perhaps, their parents, who wanted tall children,
have given them an incentive, whose effect was
limited to the lower half of the body. Their number is
surprisingly great. Also, the number of old women
with failure to walk, due to illness is impressive.
I also have a good note for Greek women. The
fashion "waist low" has not caught on in Athens. I
must admit that I find it horrible and totally
disadvantageous for its adepts but…. Turkish
influence is stronger in Romania than in Greece.
And I give them a good note for their heels. Not of
those of Achilles; of the women: I have not seen
unkempt heels.) This is their merit. Nature was also
generous with their ankles; most women have
slender ankles and, I must recognise, the shanks
are also fine at most women, even of those easy
overweight. Further, as up you look, things begin to
be more or less full of light and shade. And if you
72
have arrived at the head, see that it should have
been changed anyway.)
- - - - -
In principle, everything is wel, less the fact
that I am alone. On the other hand, running
al day, we could not be together, so I'd be
alone too. Now, it is 3: 25 in the night. I
don't know if I have waked up by some thick-
skinned Danish making noise in the hotel, or I
woke up by myself, because I slept early, at
21 o’clock. (I was too tired to do anything
else.) It is a young drunk girl who fosters the
scandal of the Danes. Women become
embarrassing when are drunk.
* * *
At the end of each day, during which I cross
the boulevards of Athens searching a house for
73
us, I have the neck more irritated as it was
after a night-party, in the times when I was a
smoker. Surely, an apartment in such areas
should be a certain disease. In addition, the
noise is terrible, especial y due to the
motorcycles.
The ofer on the hil seems to be the best
from this point of view as wel . There, the air
is fresh, it is silence, and the district almost
select. Anyway, the neighbourhood is quiet
and – probably - away from thieves.
Unfortunately, the park, about which I wrote,
is in vicinity only in straight line. The streets
are more tortuous and the distance increases.
The hosts seem to be decent people, but I
may be subjective and influenced by the fact
they were the only ones who came to take me
by car from the hotel. Everyone else fixed the
74
place of meeting; I had to identify the place
on the map and learn the means of transport
up to there.
I can’t research the vilages in the vicinity of
Athens, because I do not know the Greek
language, and ordinary people there do not
know the other language, some not even Latin
characters, although the signs on every street
are written both in Greek and Latin. Yes, in
Greek schools, the pupils learn English
language but, unfortunately, not al adults
know English...
I hope that, in time, we can investigate the
area together.
* * *
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Trying to get information about Greece, I have
found something interesting. There is in the
mountains of Greece an ethnic group that is
named “Vlachs”. I found it in National