By Stamatina Notaras
I believe that at least once a year, right on cue, the corporate structure that society leans so heavily on is at risk of a mass collapse. And this, my friends, is due to the inescapable Euro-summer blues, which have your 9-to-5 desk jockeys contemplating life by the crystal-clear beaches of Greece.
After spending five weeks sipping on spritzers, soaking up the sun, and indulging in the spoils of Greece – from horiatiki salad to lemon-drenched octopus straight from the sea – they’re left counting down the months, days and minutes until their return, all the while toying with the idea that a one-way ticket back might solve all of their problems. But here’s the catch: it’s called a holiday for a reason.
Just as how you wouldn’t have six back-to-back piña coladas at 8.30am on a Monday morning at home, life in Greece is a little different in the off-season too. When it’s time for the scorching sun, tourist-filled tavernas, and beachside cabanas to pack up shop, the realities of life in Greece set in.
No one is more fit to speak on such a topic than born-and-bred Athenian, Zara Pirate, who now lives in Brisbane, Australia, with her husband and two beautiful children. The better part of her life in Greece was spent on the quaint and charming island of Hydra, where Zara’s life couldn’t have been more different from the norm.
Working at her family-owned bar, The Pirate Bar, her reality was less 9-to-5 and more 24/7. Where eight months of the year was spent slinging shots, planning white-themed parties, and running the family business with no days off, the remainder was spent retreating to Athens or another tropical destination.
“No one understands the feeling,” Zara tells The Greek Herald. “Everyone comes to the island to party, have a holiday, and celebrate, but we have to actually live there.
“We’d go through the winter when there’s no one, and it becomes like a ghost town. It’s so extreme – you go from the summer, where it’s partying and people everywhere, to nothing. There’s nowhere to go out to eat. It’s very dark, miserable, and cold.”
Before Hydra became her home base, Zara grew up in Athens, where she attended university. She recalls walking to class, bypassing streets to avoid tear gas from ongoing riots.
“Athens is a crazy city. There are people always fighting on the streets… it’s wild,” she says.
In addition to the day-to-day tear-gas dodging, the healthcare system in Greece is a bit laxer than what we’re used to Down Under.
“You have no idea how bad the healthcare system is in Greece. There’s no structure. I think it’s getting a bit better, but you always need to know people to get things done. To get a job, to get into a hospital, if you need a lawyer… you need to have contacts otherwise you cannot survive,” she explains.
Her life behind the bar saw her rub shoulders with people from many walks of life. While many of her patrons became friends, one in particular was set to change the trajectory of her life as she knew it. One day, during a conversation with a much-loved Australian regular, he mentioned that he had a son who would soon be visiting Hydra. Zara thought nothing of it at the time, as she was already in a relationship and her days consisted purely of work, work, and – guess what? – more work.
But one day, while scrolling through Facebook, she saw a picture of Blake – the aforementioned son of her regular – and asked her mother who he was.
“That’s the son that they’ve been telling you about,” her mother replied, to which Zara responded, “I’m going to marry that guy.”
When the couple first laid eyes on each other at The Pirate Bar white party, fireworks seemed like mere candles compared to the sparks that flew between them. After spending the remainder of Blake’s time in Greece together, they knew what they shared was more than a holiday romance and began a long-distance relationship. After two years of loving each other from afar, Zara moved to Melbourne, Australia.
While nostalgia tugs on her heartstrings with every visit back home, she speaks of Greece as you would of a high school sweetheart.
“When I think about it, of course I miss it. When I go back for holidays, we have such a good time, and then I think to myself: could we actually live here? Definitely not. I don’t know if I could go back. I miss the chaos, but living in that chaos… it drives me nuts,” she says.
As for whether Australia now feels more like home, Zara answers, “No, definitely not. I miss home, I still miss home so much and struggle here a lot.”
If there is any takeaway from this story, it’s that the adaptability of human beings should not be underestimated and that change is a constant, so we may as well ride the wave. You never know where (or who) it will lead you to.
