The conventional wisdom is that in most cases the choice of a link function is largely a matter of taste. This blog is a link function.

bottom line: 4 days left.

and a couple of pages.

it should be something massive, instead:

Z.

And now I’m really pissed. I’d like to promote the undisputed socialism and the lowest standards possible, where reading and understanding is not a must – moreover, a sin. But not even now do I deserve the right to be rightfully pissed, because it is my fault as well. Yeah, in this case maybe yes. But overall, fuck differentiation. Pushing the limits, I tell you, pushing the limits!

Breaking News: CNSAS on the road

CNSAS thaaai thaaai…THE CAT, THE FLY, like N-trance: set you free! To fuck ourselves became a legally binding social category! SIC!

UPDATE: 45 days for the parliamentary changes – if not – ALL the decisions (past and present) will be nullity [Lidia Barbulescu, CSM].

UPDATE 2: Decisions of The Constitutional Court of Romania do not have retroactive effects.

UPDATE 3: We have just a press release, no proper decision (published). 

Zee.

Day 11 and 12 (and a bit from 13): 6 and 7 August 2007 (and a bit from 8 )

“Lupta cu valuri niciodata nu se castiga. Fara chiloti.”

The last two days always go by like one. I’ve eaten struthio camelus. This would be the camel bird. The Greek calls it strutocamilo, so it is really close to the Latin terminology (I wonder why?). It tastes like beef or wheal. There was a cooked version with lot of red wine and a fried version. The fried version had an interesting smell and taste, which means it is a powerful meat. I do not recommend it as a restaurant try-out.

I’ve watched working a 303 Mercedes bus engine. It is the heart of the olive irrigation system. More than 80 ha of olive trees. They are like several people who do not know what they want, do not want what everybody else wants, but they are expensive and rare. Olive trees do not like when water is stocked in the ground. It takes more than 10 men and 2 month of work to harvest the olives. It brings something around 25000 Euros income for each family, a shared 5 tons/capita. The olive oil from this region is that consistent that the Italian importers make it 100 to 1 and sell it afterwards. This is why they hate Italians. It is a wonderful property with much perspective and it has it’s own irrigation lake (this is where they use the Mercedes engine).

Most of the children talk to themselves or with themselves. I guess the friend selection procedure at this age is more like finding those fellow children who act and say that you would say to yourself. If you take on more roles, you need more friends. But a two-character role-play all day long could be easily substituted with one friend. I’ve watched several episodes of Grey’s Anatomy and the first part of Lars von Trier’s The Kingdom. So I was into this hospital shit with different insights. So the experiment was the following: you sit in a chair on the terrace in front of the house; sometimes you let your head to just lean to the left/right; the child enters the role of a doctor and does everything to keep your head straight up; in 3 minutes you find yourself in a make-up and hairstylist seat and the only word you seem to understand is Kate Moss. And that reminds me of Butters: Whell, hey Eric! Should we play or just chit-chat for a while?

Last day waves made it clear that you do not need any jogging. It is a full time job to stay in the water against 2-2,5 m waves.

Getting back to Athens is really nice. Highway rules. And the further family is very kind, although the girls do not want to talk in English, because they are shy. So the boyfriend gets invited and drops by, he speaks and translates. The girls understand my English and I can figure it out what is that they are talking about (in Greek). So, theoretically his presence is useless, but it brings safety and he is a really nice guy.

No new words for this post.

Zee.

Day 14 and 15: 9-10 August 2007

“Jumatate sunt pasivi. Iar cealalta jumatate: active.”

Nothing beats shopping in a Metropolis. You can find everything and the sales make you even happier. We went to a Mall that wasn’t huge, but contained everything that was needed. And I had my first visit at Starbucks. I am a genuine shopper. My morale during a shopping day is strongly determined by the things that I do not find or can not afford. But this didn’t happen today.

We started the day with a 40 minutes travel in air-conditioned busses and some kind of an U-Bahn that stopped for a while, reporting technical problems. A strategic move was essential for the day considering the presence of a little girl that might get bored in 30 minutes of shop-seeing-tour. So as a common effort, we bought her the Nintendo DS that she dreamed of. A pink one of course. But the game cards were extremely expensive. Luckily I found a cheaper one, the Sims 2 Pets. It is in English, but she seems to understand and like it. This act made impossible for anybody to interrupt my unconditioned shopping. And I was really successful. Unfortunately, as always, the shoe was a problem, because I did not find the right one. Shoes are interesting consumer goods: you have to fall in love with them right after you see them. It happened to me once, but after that I saw the price (it’s like when you meet a nice girl and turns out that she is a communist).

So we went to other shops in the down-town. And we changed the broken battery charger in an official Nikon shop. For professionals! Some parts of the down-town are scary, spooky or even more Scooby-Doo-ish. Full of immigrants (Romanians, Albanians, Pollacks and Pakistanis), junkies and whores (and pimps). No cover-up, just sitting and standing there. Special ambulance and police units for the junkies, everything that you want. But the interesting fact is: Pakistanis are considered to be peaceful, they do not do any harm – but in an illegal business such as prostitution, discrimination still exists – no Pakistani or Albanian is allowed into the bordello; the only the men Pakistanis emigrate, so they say that half of them is active and half of them is passive; they have no other choice. This half thing is funny: which half?

But otherwise it is a big city with a nice down-town. 4.50 for 1 hour of parking, but it is 17 near the Acropolis. So it has the prices of a big city. Back home I’ve observed that the negligence of a sales person left me with a beeper on my new jacket. So, this remains tomorrow’s task. Get it off!

It got off! In the afternoon with help of two friends who own a little (not that little) premium brand shop. And I found the shoe. And I found the kobolos. Kobolo is the traditional stuff that Greeks play with. On/with their hands. Everybody owns one, and you can see how important it is (or not that important) if you watch the last episode from the 2^nd Wire Season. And I’ve got addicted, because it works. Keeps you thinking, focused and some say it helps the anti-smoking process. Bollocks! The factory outlet in Oradea sells Nike, Converse, some Calvin Klein. Here, D&G, Valentino, RL, Armani. I had a hard time there, but I was strong.

Two men are trying to put/set up the special trunk the Toyota Corolla Verso. It is funny to watch that it is a hard operation, but the results are good. A third man arrives with the necessary screws and everything is completed. Cut the grass and go to sleep!

No more today’s words, not learning Greek. Basic stuff I know, so it will be ok.

Zee.

Day 16 and 17: 11-12 August 2007

“No ticket. No problem.”

I’ve decided not to write much about the route, it was beautiful. Full of highways. This means that from Timisoara to Oradea was the worst road, traffic and weather. You have to know that Greeks hate and do not recognize the Macedonian State. It’s history and genetics. Everybody hates them. The Macedonian State (Fyrom, Skopje as the Greeks call it) does not have the right to put stamps in a Greek passport. So they complete a little sheet of paper and that is your pass through Macedonia. We’ve got a ticket, but a bit of bribe made it 5 minutes. Otherwise it is impossible to pay on Sundays your ticket. So, all the sanctions are constructed in order to facilitate bribe. I saw 2 AMG SLKs, we ate again at Goodies (Greek fast food chain that kills McDonalds, because it’s better) and listened to the GPS (and of course, a 12 car Turk convoy was heading back to Germany). This is why we had to drive 13 km in a forest, but it was a 30 min minus. Always check the route on a real map as well.

So everything went well, the food was great in Evzoni and the air-condition still rules the 3^rd millennium.

Last post. No more travel experiences. A short conclusion and summary comes tomorrow and unfortunately this sequence of my vacation is finished.

Zee.

Day 8: 3 August 2007

“Nu-si dau seama ca statul sunt ei.”

It was Friday but nobody realizes this. It could be Monday as well. I am on vacation. But no mercy: early jogging, long swim and rationalized sun bathing. By the way: how stupid is to call a latino band No Mercy… Latino band with twins. Now, this is freaky.

I’ve stepped in gum. Melon (cantaloupe) flavored gum. The children stuff hunts me, but I am powerful and I will fight it. Near our afternoon sunbathing there is German couple (seemingly nice people, much more beautiful than the people here; they think I am Greek – Ehh, sihktir). They travel with an old Land Rover Freelander (and on the side is written: Sonst fahre ich Vespa!), a huge one. But it is that upgraded one for some associations. They play a lot with different stuff on the beach, but more interesting is the fact that they fly a kite. And they are learning it and it works well. And a Greek athlete (ok, he is a physiotherapist) living in the UK is assuring the companion for them. Here everybody has little dogs. No, no. They are rats that attack. I was very close to kill this little cockroach when it attacked. One little move on the arrogant son of worm and a cat and everything is done.

You should never use the Orange roaming. Or I have special problems or this Orange sucks. Sucks big time. No SMS, no Wap for a few days, extremely expensive roaming tariffs. What can you do? Just curse the Orange. The future is bright, the future is Orange – and I’d like to live in the past where everything is blue.

Today’s word: aetos – kite. But interesting word. In Hungarian, “sarkany” is for kite and dragon as well. Dragon is drakontas.

Zee.

Day 9: 4 August 2007

“Se duc prostii, se duc dupa cancer.”

Jesus Christ. Today just food. Family meeting at the tavern that was full. Full of hungry and grateful malakas like myself. The guy is God on earth or Satan (Addison Montgomery-Shepard). I can’t write. I can’t think. I am happy that I’ve jogged today. I am afraid of my dreams. I will publish more posts together.

Today’s word: kamno ekrixi means to explode.

ZZZZZZEEEEEEEEE.

Day 10: 5 August 2007

“Nu muta nicaieri. Astia sunt prosti.”

It is really hard to write right now, because of the sand in my eyes after a great cappuccino on the hill at a nice Café (see it on the picture, for cat lovers). Today was the day of contemplation and wind.

First, the contemplation part: I have to change a lot of things. I am considering my options. The first option would be to rob a bank and buy a house here. If I get caught I should negotiate. Lifetime jail, but with 3 month vacation in my new house here. That would be OK. The other part of the reflection was linked to children. More correctly: I was considering undertaking the effort of trying to understand the children. I was working on a perfectly irrational system of thought and thinking in order to understand children. I must admit, I do not see any chance to manage this (not even a slight chance). It is a contradiction between system and irrational child thinking, but something has to be done. Some arguments: 1. today again: the same cantaloupe taste on my flip-flops (the other pair of “pantoflis”). 2. I’ve worked more than 10 minutes on a perfect sand beetle (the car, really “herbiesh”), but the children weren’t able to recognize it (different guesses like: is it a castle?, is it a castle?, it is a castle!).

After a bit of Miami Vice again, where the first part was really gentle, the waves became bigger (and the new Vodafone spot with Alonso came into my mind when I felt my face on my neck, but still couldn’t see behind). And that was the fun part today. Definitely.

The Greek society is a masculine one. Wives cook, stay in the kitchen and prepare everything and the men chit-chat outside. The women stay with the kids. Today was wavy-day. Everybody out, only the boys in. It is a free Jacuzzi for those who can swim. So, four grownup men (I consider myself a grownup) were “olllleeeeeeing” in the water waiting for the waves, jumping, swimming, spitting and laughing (one has a PhD, the other one is a teacher, the other one is a dentist and I haven’t seen the sea for 6 years). Olllleeeeeeeeeeeeee!

And the Swiss ass (or arse, to be British English): there is a Swiss guy who owns here a house and two boats. But he is not willing to pay the 20 EUR yearly fee for the harbor. And he does not tie his boat correctly. And the people here are really sensible when it goes to boats or fishing. These are real sanctuaries for them. They say about the people living here that they are very kind and friendly, ‘till you 1. Steal 2. Harm their boats or 3. You are an Italian. And they own guns.

Today’s word: the female detective from The Wire stands for wave – “kyma”.

Zee.

Day 6: 1 August 2007

“Daca prostii astia nu au caine, sigur ca e plin de vulpe.”

A relaxing day. Nothing else, but a relaxing day. Sunbathing, swimming and dining out. Nothing else. Really. Of course: jogging. Strange jogging because of the 90% humidity. I was drinking air, not breathing. I was sweating air, not water. It was awful, painful and short. Fuck emigrating to Malaysia. But I’ve learnt some things. A little girl pissed of by a young man will cause the III World War. In the water you shouldn’t ask for a reconciling “philaki” (kiss) and then splash once again. That means war.

And the allies like moms, should be against you. Little (and very lovely) girls do not understand the jokes and turn against you in a jiff. And their ammo is infinite (I will always remember one of the reviews on Terminator 3, where a huge minus was presented: if the Terminatrix changes her hands in weapons and uses her body as ammo, she should disappear in a few minutes). So you have to do penance.

But the coffee is good everywhere. For the first few days I thought I was just lucky. But now I know: cappuccinos, fredos and espressos are well prepared no matter where you are and what you ask. But there is a significant difference in coffee (for example a cappuccino is not hot chocolate like here, but fredos do not wake you up). The chicken is delicious with tzatziki (you should say zaziki).

The sun fucks you even when it isn’t on the sky anymore. Here, there is a little bit of sun in everything, even in your sun cream, sun glasses. So I strongly recommend Flamigel. It’s like mineral water when you have a serious hangover.

Today’s word: pusti – 1994 Korn Disc, track 6 aka. Faget.

Zee.

Day 7: 2 August 2007

“El e cel mai bun. E artist in faiante. Nu iti preda nimic fara sa nu fie perfect. Isi iubeste munca.”

Everybody is loud here. And I think those who know me can tell that I hate loud people. Loud children are a nish-nish as well. But if you have your mp3 player on you and a decent volume control, everything will be fine. The children always shout (in a very annoying way): mamaaaaaaaa. And then nothing else matters. And they shout again. I should grow breasts, pretend to be mamaaaaaaaaaa and turn their power off. A little boy shouted 17 times with 10 seconds break. I was close to a Michael Douglas. Breakdown.

It was a windy day. Windy means over 60-70 km/h. But there is no more humidity. So the swimming was the toughie today, not the jogging. And at 5 o’clock happened something new: a cloud vs. the sun. And the cloud won. So sun bathing turned into reading on the beach in a bearable way. This procedure strengthened my wish to buy a house here and live here for at least 3 month.

The little girl likes The Doors. It’s like the global warming stuff going on in the world: we eat peaches in May instead of July. 8-year-old girls like The Doors, not the 14-year-old ones. Sad. I don’t like The Doors.

Noon catches us in Neapoli. And bad news has to come: the battery charger of the Nikon D70 that we are using broke down. Ehh shiktir and agamishu malaka. It is the integrated chip (or what the gamoto). So there is no chance to have it repaired and of course no chance to find one here. Maybe fellow travelers will help. Still bad news (not as bad as the first one): wedding invitation when we get back to Romania. Yipppie! I hate weddings, but this second cousin of mine is a nice guy with nice people around, so it will be ok, I guess. But it’s a traditional wedding. Ehhh shiktir. Vivat unconditioned drinking and eating.

Today’s word: caraghiosi – please don’t be this. He was a successful master of puppets, but he was ugly and clumsy. So when you mess up something or play with food or just do stupid and undesirable thing, you are caraghiosi. And it is strong enough to get you beaten up.

Zee.

Day 4: 30 July 2007

“Minden, ami itteni bogyobol keszul: f*ngat!”

8 o’clock makes a healthy man. But right after the jogging you instantly need a coffee and some cigarettes. And a classical sequence of action follows: shopping, packing and going to the beach. This time calculated swimming and sun bathing. We don’t joke, because there are less than 9 days left. Two F-16 jets passed at a 30 m level during my health swim. Funny to see that everybody needs some practice.

Siesta! Above 40 degrees and 12 o’clock you die. So we eat and sleep. Some specialty made of something resembling the beans. It is very delicious. But the highlight was the dinner. After a nice swim and sunbathing, we had the necessary showers and went to the cousin’s tavern. It is a small place that has bakery, butchery and fruit shop as well. And this is where the magic happened. Excellent food for almost nothing. Excellent food in huge portions. Suflaki, pork, sausages, potatoes, salads, pastas filled with spinach and feta. The best supper I’ve ever had (so far). We were very close to explode, so the coffee came right along. Two episodes of Grey’s Anatomy and a terrible sleep. Digesting during sleep is a tricky procedure.

Today’s word: malaka or malakia – the fourth most frequently used Greek word. There is a specific Romanian translation for it that is too harsh to write it down here. But this word melts and changes as you pronounce it. Right away. It refers to almost everything in a long and consistent cursing history. This is why is hard to translate, it is what you need in the sentence when you curse. Everything. Magic.

Zee.

Day 5: 31 July 2007

“Sunt smochine care cresc pe cactus. Trebuie sa stii sa le cureti. Daca mananci prea mult iti astupa curul.”

“Aici si mormantul se face cu compresorul.”

“Daca tu gasesti acolo parcare fara amenda poti sa vii sa ne futi.”

This day began a bit earlier. No jogging just a brief coffee, GPS and 30 km of driving. We visited Monemvasia. The roads are very good (the quality), but extremely narrow and curvy. I was scared, I must admit. Although I have a considerable Colin McRae experience, this was something new. We traveled early in the morning, because Monemvasia is all about stones and rocks that implies that at 11 o’clock the heat is unbearable.

But it was worth each step and drop of sweat. We sweated out all the dinner and everything else. The castle is one of the two European castles that still have citizens who live there. Almost 7000 in the city and 200 in the Castle. Here, to buy land and build a house is practically impossible. 100 times the land prices and 3 times the construction costs, because of serious regulations: no car and no equipment should enter the castle, only the workingmen and donkeys.

Restaurants have to pay somewhere around 20000 EUR rent for a month and one of Greece’s most expensive properties is here: 20 million EUR, a small hotel with a special terrace on the sea. Wandering (wandering my ass, struggling) around (up and down) and taking pictures at 8 30 is healthy.

Oh, yes: this castle was impossible to take. But tze Germans bombed it and a German scientist stole a part of a special church chair that is made of egg white and some sticky glue. But he apologized. Tze Germans didn’t.

In an hour, I was in the sea again. Washing down the sweat. The evening was a family evening. Very nice people invited us to dinner. The food was delicious, but the Monte Cristo Habana cigar was the best. It took almost 30 minutes to finish is, but it was worth every piece of destroyed lung tissue.

Today’s word: castro – for today, double meaning – castle and Fidel.

Zee.

Day 2: 28 July 2007

“- Aici sunt masline. – Unde? – Aici sunt numai masline!”

Highways rule again. Chip card beeps and at 6 30 you are on your way. There is no traffic, but those who ride the roads in the morning deserve a “malaka”, because they are stupid and don’t know how to drive. After a one-day fight with the GPS, it works: “In 800 de metri virati la stanga.” “Viram pe mata.” “Prostule, nu viram noi la stanga”. Considering these sentences, the fight was just partially finished; still have to work on the stuff. But it deserves an average 8.

The arrival was a smooth one, after 6 years I saw the sea again. Tiny and curvy roads can kill you easily if you stare too much. On the way down to the sea I’ve listened to interesting family trees and stories about the Greeks from the States. What did they do and what do they do now. They have unions, lobby groups and I’ve couldn’t stop thinking about The Wire and the pollacks. Story about a grand grandfather: he went to the States, built up a restaurant chain, maximized profits, did everything well. He came back for a visit in Greece and he never left. Why? It was in 1914. This is unpleasant timing.

We went to a mountain village, where the youngest citizen that lives constantly there is 70 years old and the last wedding was 40 years ago. So they face extinction. The village is beautiful and everybody has air conditioner. We ate “beefstiky”, which is beefsteak. And original feta, produced by the interlocutor from the backyard.

The hotel is tidy, nice and well equipped. Oh, yeah: and it’s 10 m to the sea. So I took a bath; salty one with glasses. I was thirsty. I did not honor Imi’s habit to piss in the sea when you arrive. But neither did I become an environmentalist. And I had the chance to become Sunny Crocket. A little motorboat (35 miles/hour, 3 man [or 2 and ½], standing) made an adrenalin kick. Woooow! Going against the trend is fun in clothing, but riding against the wind was rough. At a particular speed, you start to cry. It’s inevitable and it’s physics. I was between two elements: fire and water. Début: first time in my life that the distance between a decent forest fire in Greece and myself was reduced to 2 km. And 800 m the distance between us in the sea and the airplanes getting the water needed to stop the fire. 3 km of smoke and an impossibly strong wind.

We had a nice fish dinner in a “taverna” (don’t forget, everybody knows here everybody and they are relatives as well) and I’ve repaired my wap connection. So Robert thanks for the answer regarding the GPS!

Today’s word: gamoto. It is something between bitch and fuck, closer to fucker.

Zee.

Day 3: 29 July 2007

“Nu-i place sa se fute cu viata.”

The high standard set by you (to yourself), what could be beautiful and what could be cliché stops you to say that a full moon above a bay is splendid. But you fight it and you write it down: it is beautiful. These standards tell you that the 2 km terraces, taverns, and 3.5 million EUR yachts are bad! Tourism is bad! Taking pictures is bad! You don’t want to become a stupid 42-year-old German with an Opel Zafira 1.9 TDI. Fuck them standards! It is great, although the sunset is cliché, and I still hate it.

Today I’ve met a guy: he is 32; he is a cousin of my uncle. He was among the first five biochemists in Europe, has a PhD from some Belgian Institute (I do not recall the name). He knows everything about drinks and mostly the chemical techniques how to avoid getting drunk. But he is not on vacation here. At 28, when he finished his PhD in Belgium he had a job opportunity there. The answer was as follows: call me in 5 days. They called him in five days, and the answer was negative, because in 5 days there was no sun at all; he considered that he would get mad working there. Now, he is a biology teacher in a village school. And he drinks. So he uses his talent and knowledge in a very personal way. Everybody says he fucked up his life. But he is happy and drives insane (real malaka).

Of course, the evening walk was productive: nice pictures, harbor, yacht and a very good ice cream (stracciatella and caramel for me). And what laughs at me from the top shelf of the paper shop? Evenimentul zilei. It beats Stern oder Der Spiegel ;).

Passing by the olive oil factory: the innocent traveler enters a new realm of odour. That is what stinks, not the Avicola near Oradea.

Today’s word: pagoto (basically, it’s ice cream and it is the most used word in my room, because of the 8-year-old cousin of mine) – but just think about yesterday’s word. Put it together! Curse words tomorrow!

Zee.

Day (-2), (-1): 24 – 25 July 2007

“The walking Meatball or Meatball walking.”

Preparation for the visit equals gifts. I had a hard time choosing the suitable, not too heavy, but most of all enjoyable and loveable gifts. But my mind contaminated this act as well: digital drawing tablet for an 8-year-old girl. Nice! It was just for the show-off (every 8- -year old likes drawing, but I have 2 weeks to teach my cousin a bit of Corel Draw), because we sustain and encourage any form of show-off in the family. I really mean ANYTHING (double-check on The Cat in the Hat). Last minute low-cost GPS, wine, T-shirts and a beautiful china ink drawing (Oradea, The back corner of them’ hoes – as the rappers would call it). Here, a little tribute to the Ferenczys’. Crowded train on the way home. Passengers: smiling and seemingly happy, kind and friendly under average teenagers with young (or wanting to stay young) teacher. I think I really hate this category. They use glasses to drink mineral water on the train, even though that they have their own bottles of mineral water: CREAPY. Packing, using and keeping plastic glasses for journeys demands special characteristics. I don’t have them and with a few exceptions I hate the people who have them. Too much hatred, so a good and healthy sleep follows.

Zee.

Day 0: 26 July 2007

“Shalom! – said the Romanian customs officer to the Iranian passenger.”

“Frankreich mit einem Schuss Deutchland. Das ist Elsas!”

First features of the day: easy packing, gentle weather, and blue Mercedes Sprinter bus to the airport. We had two stops and the customs, where everything happens. The collision, the humor and irony; or a stone-cold hick manifests himself. I had a bit of spare time on Ferihegy (around 5 hours), so I’ve enjoyed what rarely triggers my mucingeneration: Cherry Coke. And I’ve killed a book in the lobby (Goddard, Angela (2002), Limbajul Publicitatii. Editura Polirom, Iasi. Achtung! She is not French!), reading parallel with a Dutch (just a wild guess, he could have been Belgian as well) tourist waiting for the same flight. The stereotypes work: huge and loud Greek families gathered around the alpha male are waiting for check-in. 40kg luggage, shouting, laughing, Douglas. The ultra enthusiastic SkyEurope workers did their job, but they were tired. We forgive them for that!

Take-off: too slow, too low cost. No kick, just rumble, but not royal one. Dear captain Bartfai and the crew: That was an “E” minus!

Airplane: Three Hungarian (igen igen: kemeny pesti zsiroscsaladbolvalo vicces bunkeszek, akik arra a kerdesre, hogy 24es vagy 25os sor van itt most vegul – mivel a ket oldalon el vannak tolodva 1el a szamozasok, es ahol ulsz termeszetesen azt latod ami a masik oldalon van, azt valaszolja nagy viccesen a csavo, hogy: jah, hallod tudod a betuk azok valtakoznak (vigyori arc)?! Reakcio: jah, azok igen, pont mint As korodban az egykettoharmas konyvben a szamok. Onelegulten leulok [es pontosan tudom, hogy kesobb onelegulten le is fogom irn], mert magam is elemzesre meltonak tartom valaszom) teenagers are playing the funny, drinking whisky and enjoying probably their first totally free vacation where they will spend around 2000 Euros, each (just the plane swallowed up around 100 – not bad for 1h and 35 minutes of net flight time).

Landing: smooth.

SkyEurope feeling: what did you expect?

Athens: the airport is great (both meaning of this word). The Olympic Games have their fingerprints on everything, but the single fully walled private highway in Europe is the most impressive. At an unobservable 130-km/h speed I’ve found out that this highway faces traffic problems as well. I’ve dedicated no special attention to this information because, as I remember, even in 2000 when my last visit took place, nobody respected any traffic rules. Nothing, nichts, semmi, nimic. This did not change, but more about traffic later on.

No packing, just sleeping.

Zee.

Day 1: 27 July 2007

“Asta e “group therapy” vinerea.”

After a decent but short sleep, an ice-coffee with cigarettes was welcomed. Low communication because of the lack of English known and spoken here; but it works with presenting on phone in Romanian your detailed schedule, somebody translates it and everybody is happy. I am wandering in the neighborhood with my uncle as a third wheel and I am introduced to everybody, answering only the magic word: iasas. Extremely hot weather, extreme traffic. So, just for the record, here everybody knows everybody. We went to a barbershop, air conditioner, inside smoking and short discussion about everything between clients and barber (friend). Of course, I am just sitting there and smoking. Other visit: everybody smokes in the shops. I mean the owner/manager. I’ve asked: What about regulations and the EU? The answer was short, and confessional: It is my property; my shop; I do whatever I want. After 10 seconds: but of course, if a control passed by, I would have to pay 80 Euros. And they don’t even know that they are liberals.

Packing again. Late night in the park; just around 11 o’clock the neighborhood starts to move and live. Youngsters and elderly go out to grab a coffee (yes, a coffee – maybe they do not work in the mornings), play with their special toy (check out what The Greek leaves behind him in The Wire, Season 2). The place is really “confy” and elegant. Only real orange juice is served. Two nights in a week hosts dancing schools, which present what they learnt and teach others to dance. The old boys are staring (saliva, saliva!), younger men are gaining confidence, but no skills. It has a very bitchy feeling…Maybe other services are involved as well. But it was nice.

Today’s word: sikhtiir (Turkish word), a joker word independent from the context (a slight transition between shit and fuck it).

Zee.

Information: Posts will be grouped. Daily. Romanian, Hungarian and English are the languages used. If do not understand, Ask! Photos from tomorrow on. It sucks to get back to work!