Yesterday my Greek instructor gave me the lyrics to the song "Kalimera, ti kanis". It's a beautiful, optimistic song which she thinks is appropriate for these hard times. You can listen to it here:
Iannis Parios - Kalimera, ti kanis
The final verse says, roughly:
Good morning, how are you, I hope all is well [this is the refrain --Jason]
when you think everything is going wrong
always something will happen, don't ask why
good morning, how are you, I love you a lot.
Upbeat, optimistic. This is Greek culture. All of the music here, from traditional Cretan dances, to pop like this, to the latest House being played at the clubs is at its root cheerful, optimistic. The Greeks are currently justifiably very upset with their leaders--especially Prime Minister Papandreou--but still they meet with their friends for coffee, some really good food, and conversation. Phone conversations tend to be brief, used to set up meetings in person ("from close" or από κοντά in Greek).
Meanwhile, if you found the above song a little too sweet, here is something slightly bitter from the Sonic Youth:
Sonic Youth - Washing Machine
Iannis Parios - Kalimera, ti kanis
The final verse says, roughly:
Good morning, how are you, I hope all is well [this is the refrain --Jason]
when you think everything is going wrong
always something will happen, don't ask why
good morning, how are you, I love you a lot.
Upbeat, optimistic. This is Greek culture. All of the music here, from traditional Cretan dances, to pop like this, to the latest House being played at the clubs is at its root cheerful, optimistic. The Greeks are currently justifiably very upset with their leaders--especially Prime Minister Papandreou--but still they meet with their friends for coffee, some really good food, and conversation. Phone conversations tend to be brief, used to set up meetings in person ("from close" or από κοντά in Greek).
Meanwhile, if you found the above song a little too sweet, here is something slightly bitter from the Sonic Youth:
Sonic Youth - Washing Machine
Glad to see you are back to blogifying. Yeah, the contrast between what the protests are shown to be on TV and what you say is interesting. You've got to learn some recipes to bring back of whatever!
ReplyDeleteOf course the news media like to show the most exciting protests in order to sell ads; however, from what I understand there have been some clashes between the hard-liner (=violent) protesters and the moderate (=peaceful) protesters, which comprise the majority.
ReplyDeleteWill definitely try to learn some recipes to bring back! I just learned that the traditional Cretan diet is supposedly one of the healthiest on the planet, due to low red meat consumption, lots of legumes, fresh fruit & veggies, and olive oil.