Cafe Life (Sociability II)

The students and I had an interesting discussion building on the sociability post.  We'd noticed "Greek time," the 15-20 minute grace period before someone is late, we'd noticed that people seem to spend inordinate amounts of time in cafes and we'd noticed that shopkeepers seem to really like to talk, violating the shopping anonymity that Americans need.  As we were discussing our observations and experiences in light of some of our readings, we had an insight:  Time is not money here.

That means that punctuality is not valued here.  People are a lot more tolerant of lateness, probably in part because there is less control over time, really throughout history.  I didn't think of this at the time, but Greece was still using the Julian calendar until relatively recently... certainly as late as the 19th century when it was confusing when the Greek revolution actually happened.  Even now, with various strikes, it isn't always clear that you can arrive when you say you will. 

Furthermore, people are more understanding that sociability matters.  I've seen someone in a car block traffic while having a conversation with someone on the sidewalk, and no one honks. 

The idea that time isn't money is clear in cafe life, too.  People spend a lot of time in cafes.  Below is a picture of the modern style of cafe (as opposed to the traditional ones, that have upright individual chairs, often made of metal and vinyl or wood and rushes).  Couches.  "Stay awhile!  Make yourself comfortable!  This is your livingroom!" they scream.

Couch cafe.

 It is interesting, they are couches, but they are basically outside, so maybe more your balcony.  There is a roof overhead, but no walls.  People sit there for hours.  I assigned the students a project where they sat in a cafe of their choice at a time of their choice, but for at least one hour.  Nearly everyone observed that no one left in the hour they where sitting there.  What do they do there?  It depends on the cafe and the time of day. In the morning, they may be working or sitting by themselves, or reading.  In the afternoon they are probably with someone.  In the late afternoon, as in the picture below, they are probably drinking coffee and playing a game with a group.  Backgammon is the most common, but you see card games, too.  In the evening it is mostly young people in groups, and the music is louder. 

 In all cases, people sit for long periods of time, often with just one drink.  Sometimes people come and go talking to people without even buying something.   The staff seems to know a lot of regulars.  The students observed that it can take a lot of time to get served and even longer to pay.  No one is trying to turn over the tables, as they seem often to be doing in the US.  Time is not money.

This is how the check comes.

And finally, with shopkeepers:  Americans feel obligated to buy something if they take any of the shopkeeper's time with talk.  We had a lot of discussion about not wanting to make any real contact so as not to feel obligated to buy.  But that is really NOT what is going on in Greece. Sure they want to sell you something, but not because you talked to them.  It is the not talking that is offensive, rather than talking and not buying.  I've been testing this.  It isn't just about sociability as I was arguing in my last post, it is also that TIME is understood differently.  That concept filters through several of the observations we've been making.