One of my favourite conversations I’ve ever had with a native Greek person was the days when I was working in sales at MYER. One of my co-workers, who had just moved to Sydney from Greece, was constantly getting in trouble by our manager for her lax attitude. “You know what the problem is here?” she said to me. “No one has enough sex in this country!”
I doubt the core parallel of customer service standards between Australia and Greece centre entirely on sex patterns. Though, her comment got me thinking, most people who move from Greece to Australia nowadays, rarely last here. Back in the peak migration period of the 50s, the attitude of this generation was to come here and work, living was more of a benefit. This attitude has certainly not translated over to the next generation, whether they’re born in Greece, Australia or anywhere else. But there has to be a reason a lot of young Greeks who move to Australia nowadays run for the hills, or the horio, after only spending a short time here. What if sex has something to do with it?
That’s definitely a bold statement, but the lifestyle in Australia is very different to Greece. I’m not suggesting people don’t work hard in Greece. I think that specific stereotype has really been overused and is, frankly, outdated. But, there is no denying Greeks have a greater grasp on work-life balance. Whether they are working full-time or going through an economic crisis, they still manage to make time for their social and personal lives. And I think this intertwines with the argument that personal time, whether that be through a kafe with friends or through sex, is more of a priority in Greece.
It’s no secret that Greek mythology featured a plethora of sex, love, nudity and romance, so whether it’s inbuilt in the race or not, one thing for sure is that Greeks know romance.
