Alliances

This is a running hypothesis. I know that in Greece, people function through their networks. The old Byzantine or Ottoman  era patronage system. You find a powerful godfather for your child, business goes to the people you trust (family, people from your home, etc.). I know that when you meet someone new, you play 6 degrees of separation to find conections. Or you find some other kind of common ground. Just today, my taxi driver chatted with the toll taker. As we pulled away, he told me that the toll taker is worried about the crisis. His wife is pregnant.  The taxi driver, who has two kids told him not to worry, as the moment the baby is born, he owes 38000 euros. Somehow paying the toll turned into a brief but  real conversation. I have seen and commented on the importance of human connections, but not see it before as a running series of alliances. It is not so mercenary as "alliances" might sound, I don't think, at least not for many. It is more like in an insecure world, we vulnerable mortals need to stick together. This seems to me to tie into a worldview born out of capricious ancient gods who were always watching and causing problems for people. Or a worldview where drawing attention  to good fortune brings on the evil eye, so we spit when we slip up and praise a pretty child to confuse  the waiting disaster.

Last night, my friend was talking to our waitress at a cafe about the impending  rain, and that we wanted to sit outside,  but would move inside if it rained. My friend was joking about the 10 euro umbrella she bought because of today's rain. The weather theatened, and our wiatress rushed over to get us under cover before it began. A half hour later, the waitress, who needed to go out in the rain for some ice, borrowed my friend's umbrella. A few jokes, the sharing of a concern, and suddenly there was an alliance made that benefitted everyone, though that was not the intent at the beginning. What began as a simple connection later was able to easily transform into an alliance.

I see it very casually, too. The person on the Metro with time left on her ticket who passes it along to a total stranger just coming in. The bus driver who pulls up to a periptero to get directions rather than use a map.

Even for me, without being fluent in Greek, the alliances happen over and over. Of course I am partners with my partners at Deree, but it goes well beyond the obvious. A bus driver who quietly gives me information to make the day flow better. A shopkeeper who discovers that his sister is taught by some of my friends and now wants to help guide my trip more than sell me something. So many opportunities are seized when we recognize a common goal.

The idea of alliances reminds me of what the Deree students taught mine. They said that if you want to borrow a pen from a friend , you just take it, maybe even from your friend's purse, and don't ask. The asking suggests distance and formality,  and can be insulting. There is an alliance between friends: what is mine is yours. We share resources. Umbrellas, information,  sympathy,  connections, pens. Intimacy is necessary. Alliances quickly  develop in a world where so much is stacked against you. Other people are you best resource against luck.