The Dining Debacle

So, it's possible that I could just be set in my American ways and find the unimaginably different Greek dining as a sort of annoyance simply because it's not like home. And this is probably the case, despite the fact that I'd like to think that even the Greeks could agree with some of my complaints about Greek dining.

First of all, what is up with all these bottled drinks? Every drink you order, whether it's water or a soda or tea, comes in a bottle. Let me tell you the problems I have with this: 1) No free refills. It gets expensive for someone like me who typically downs 3-4 glasses of water or soda per meal. 2) I MISS FOUNTAIN SODA! This bottled crap gets old fast. I honestly don't think I've had real caffeinated soda since I left the States. 3) It is never as cold as an iced drink would be. In the heat of Greece, coldness that borders on freezing is an absolute necessity.

Now let's get down to business. Enough with the minor annoyances.

One of the biggest frustrations for my American self is the amount of time between when you order and when you actually get your food. I mean, I know that the Greeks carry a more relaxed mindset when it comes to time and that dining time is family time, but damn it, I'm hungry! I want my food! And I can name more than one occasion within the past two weeks where I've had to wait 30 minutes to an hour if not more for my food (or even for the check). Back home, this would probably result in customers walking out or a waiter/waitress getting little to no tip, but here it's not even a thing. It's normal, it's not something the locals even notice. It's their time to socialize, to catch up.




Now, let's talk about the check. I have never, in my life, had a restaurant bring the check with the food. For convenience purposes, it's nice but if you're hoping to order dessert or another drink, you have to get another check. The complicated part is when you dine with a group of people and you're all paying separately because Greeks, for reasons still unbeknownst to me, don't do separate checks. This really complicates things when you're in a group of students who carry nothing but 20 and 50 euro bills because that's all the bank gives out. So not only do you have to figure out how much each persons meal and multiple bottles of drinks cost, but you also have to find some way to pay for a 8 euro meal in exact change with a 20 euro bill. And when everyone else at the table is in the same position, you have no way to make change. Occasionally, there is exchanging of smaller bills for larger, or friends buying meals for friends with the promise of a free lunch the following day but always, there is overpaying. Someone overpays, someone underpays, someone doesn't pay at all and in the end, everyone is frustrated. To be honest, it seems like I'm one of the people that always ends up overpaying and after a while, that adds up. The check issue is probably the biggest annoyance of all, simply because it makes what is typically a simple task very complicated.

To be honest, most of these frustrations are nothing but adjustments to be made in order to live in and understand the Greek culture. And coming into this trip, I was prepared to have situations like this. Still, it's things like this that make me miss the comforts of home.