we are moving to athens this summer, and we went to larissa, about four hours north of the city, for a one-week language immersion course. greece, as anyone who is paying attention knows, is in the midst of a deep economic crisis. the numbers suggest that the country is finally pulling out of it, having recorded a primary surplus and re-entered the international bond market; nonetheless, for the average person, the economic contraction and high unemployment of the past 6-7 years remains a constant. i was curious to see first-hand how the crisis “looked” on the streets, and while every block has at least one storefront that is vacant, to me the graffiti was more interesting. it is everywhere: in alleys, on storefronts, on private houses, even on churches. with that in mind, ας μάθουμε λίγα ελληνικά! (let’s learn a little greek!)
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| this first one translates roughly to “f— the state.” | here we have some boys kicking their fallen friend in front of “stand against state terrorism” | last, “s— to fascists” next to posters of alex tsipras, head of the leading leftist anti-establishment party, syriza. |
culture awaits!