Are you allowed to eat or drink what you want, or is it commented on?

Hi sritrinity, yes my addiction to Greek coffee is out, and that's only two in the cafenion of course, I make large mugs of the stuff at home, if they knew that they'd be round confiscating my coffee supply. So do I gather you aren't around a very small village where everyone knows all your business and comments on your every move. Even if I go for a walk, a pretty normal thing to do to most people, this lot here tell one another all about it and next time they see me ask what is wrong with my car, as no normal person would walk anywhere except from the car to the cafenion doorstep

LOL...thats sound like a tiny village. Well where I live it is tiny but its become a huge pilgrimage site in the last 25 years and it attracts 1000's of people from all over the world. They pop in for a week or two and leave. Most local people do know me here as I've been a permanent fixture here for now 11 years and my every move does pretty much get watched, and I still get stared at and accosted by beggars as they see me for a nice loaded westerner. It make me laugh coz I have been here pretty long, but newer local people arrive everyday from the surrounding villages because of the boom here. Are you Greek Thea? Does it bug you that your watched?

Well if you are watched too i think it's just the way things are in small villages and we have to accept it as a way of life. But you are actually Romanian I take it, you threw me off a bit there with your comment about rich westerner, is it just because you dress well or something. Now I'm not actually Greek but English, but am an honourary member of a Greek family, which can be a bit overwhelming at times. My son is ten and there is no question in his mind that he is Greek and very proud of it. Sometimes it annoys me when I can't do one thing without it being talked about and of course embellished, but other times it just amuses me. It's all done with a good heart and they all look after me well and tell me I'm one of them.

Good evening Sandra, will you please stop referring to our adv.yrs. All the locals think I'm about 38 so don't want you plussing me up thanks very much. You are quite right, the villages here are in a total time warp, there must be other places in Greece which actually let you eat and drink what you want without all this hu ha. I do know it's done out of concern in most cases, outrage in a few but they can butt out. I would really have expected you to face the same sort of thing in Spain. Know what you mean about the platefuls though and I used to really get the rough end of that being so slim, they felt obliged to feed me up to local standards. They now realise I simply can't eat that much food in one go, probably because my digestive system has been ruined by coffee

Hi bigplay, now that's the sort of comment that shows your family has your best interests at heart and care about you filling your body with junk instead of healthy food. If you know your own diet was bad then they are just giving you an encouraging word and put you on the road to better long term health. I hope you are able to turn your back on junk food as that is exactly what it is.

I have heard of wrong headed waitresses deciding that someone is overweight, and bringing an overweight customer diet drinks, instead of as ordered. It is kind of rude, and in this case could be a health problem if a person is allergic to diet sweeteners.

Hi sreekal, well I'm perfectly happy and find the local rules more of an amusement most of the time. It particlarly amuses me about the position it puts the owner of this particular cafenion in, as though Greek, he is not local, so has to work hard to be accepted in a tight knit community, and it is to his credit he has attracted local customers. Now he would see nothing wrong in bringing me as many coffees as I wanted, and knowing him would bring my third one on the house anyway, but then he would be seen as approving my bad habit, so poor guy is stuck in the middle. If he kept me happy his other customers would be annoyed. And it all has nothing to do whatsover as the people who complain about my coffee habit will still pay for the coffee as that's sort of another rule that they follow, it wouldn't look manly if they let me pay for my own coffee.

Hi thea, thank you for the nice explanation now I got the point and really laughed on me (on my wrong conclusion ) Take care, have a nice day.

Hi hsofyan, sounds like you're on medical advice to avoid certain things, so you'd have your doctors commenting if you ate a big plate of cheese. A good tip actually to help with your cholesteral level is to replace whatever you currently use with extra virgin olive oil as it's the healthy oil and we all live on it out here.

Yes, my wife occasionally uses olive oil, because they're expensive. Thanks for useful information.

You're very welcome. Try to persuade your wife to buy the Greek one, it's the best.

He does appreciate my police-ing. And yes, he does his share of commenting too. Still crazy after all these years. :)

Hi starbright, that's certainly a long time to be married so I'd imagine that hubby is certainly used to your commenting by now, and wager he doesn't even hear it half the time Does he get to comment back on what you and drink too? I hope he apprecites you policing him.

Nice to hear you're appreciated StarBright

now,my mom-she drinks at least 6 pots per day,no exaggeration. that's more of the possible way too much. she must like peeing a whole lot,cause that's what it does to her.

Hi scarlet_woman, you're lucky to be able to drink it in peace without the comments. Even my son has started telling me I drink too much coffee but that's probably because I keep asking him to make me one since he taught himself the other week, now the novelties completely worn off and whilst I don't normally resort to bribes I have been doing to get my coffees made, it just tastes so much better when someone else wields the brick.

But she's not one of the slobs, right

Hi Hatley I'm glad to hear that you have more chance to do what you like away from the coffee police. It must have been much easier though putting your son in his place than a village full of loonies who are obsessed with every move. I have never once thought that the comments are passed because they are paying for the coffees, they are really just obsessed with me breaking the coffee laws around here.

I always thought of it as being non-judgmental and minding our own business. But I guess it could be seen as uncaring too. It can be pretty impersonal here, people are not as connected as they were when I was a child...

Depends how far they take it really dawmald, but they certainly make it their business round here to know everyone else's business. Sometimes I get away from it for a couple of days, or other times I just give the village a miss for a few days, but then of course that gets commented on too. I can't believe it when it's reported back that I've been swimming in town, an hour away, when I'm absolutely sure no one local spotted me. That's definitely just nosiness and I really can't understand why everyone in the village needs to be made aware of it.

Hi dawnald, I'm beginning to get the idea that things are slightly different here and now I'm concerned about the rest of you. No one bothers when you order a second coffee, no one comments, what an uncaring place you must live in. Husbands comments don't really count I think as they are by nature annoying creatures.

tHANKS SO MUCH FOR THE BEST RESPONSE.

Most welcome Aunty, been missing you around, hope you've been having a good weekend with Ryan.

Hi akuler, you make it sound so civilised drinking coffee with your friends whilst watching football, long may it last. I bet you don't get football hooligans in MalaysiaSpeaking of Malaysia I was asking you about the pirate thing there the other day, I forget the name as the discussion was for some unknown reason deleted before I got to finish asking you. Creamed coffee, I couldn't go near it, strictly black and strong for me at all times. Speaking of the cafenion owner although he's Greek he's not actually local so he'd be quite happy to make me a third coffee if I drank it discreetly in the kitchen, he wouldn't actually be allowed to bring it out to me in case the locals shouted at him and took their business elsewhere in protest at pandering to my revolting habits

Hi akuler, that's a nice thing to say about my discussions, thanks. I think because the local population was quite isolated in the past, and few have left the area, they do sort of abide by these traditional rules. They wouldn't object to a tourist coming in and drinking as many coffees as they wanted as aren't concerned about them, but they choose to concern themselves in my business. We have quite a few rules that must not be broken, never blow your horn in siesta hours, never telephone someone in siesta hours, never eat out before 9 in winter or 10 in summer, never eat foreign foods, eat what you are given as it's the best food in the world, maintain the family fued over the right of way, all sorts really.

You should started a new pirate discussion. You are good at starting any kind of discussion. I only can start about football lol. I just notification about your discussion but can't look at it because it's deleted just after that. Maybe the shop owner should provide you one table in the kitchen. Or you may have to go out for a while before you come in again. But it is really strange rules (or whatever it is) you got there. I think I can't find it anywhere else.

Hi sunny, the point is really they won't let you decide for yourself round here but expect the rules to be followed, and as far as they are concerned one coffee in the evening is acceptable, two are very suspect and must be commented on. Obviously they no best as have followed these rules for many years and find my behaviour unacceptable. I'm more of a good friend of the cafenion owner rather than a valued customer as I rarely spend any money as another rule is that the men drinking coffee will of course pay for the womans coffee. The rules go far beyond how much coffee it is acceptable to drink.

Hi sunny, who pays varies over the world though the old fashioned ways are that a man would generally pay. This remains a pretty old fashioned kind of place and they have their own rules about it. If I was meeting a girlfriend for a quiet coffee and a chat in the cafenion then generally we wouldn't be interupted and would pay for ourselves. If I wander in and sit down by myself I will be invariably joined or have my coffee sent over by someone who will pay as it is their way. However if a woman came in blatantly expecting someone to pay for her drink then she would be thought badly of and would pay for her own. If I had coffee and it was getting late when we eat here then invariably someone will invite me to eat, if I do go along they expect to pay and would be insulted if I offered. So as you see there are specific rules which govern everything here.

i agree with you. rules and courtesy should be followed. but there should also be some consideration for exceptions (occasionally). i do pay the bill when being out but sometimes also let her pay when insisted(she is working) it does good for her dignity and makes her feel we are more on equal terms. maybe i am wrong but its working fine for me.

Hi Kitty, no our local brew is stronger than expresso and don't imagine it would feature on a New York menu. I think it would probably be too strong for you, most foreigners don't touch the stuff. I prefer the version I make at home as it's at least four times larger than the ones you get out, but it's a good thing to order as the price never changes and you get a nice glass of water with it. But having a coffee in the cafenion is how you catch up on the local news, all of it embellished of course. You do realise that you started this topic Kitty when we were chatting earlier, bravo

Even on such short acquaintance kitty I rather guessed you wouln't be able to take the strong stuff. The locals concerns would be perfectly directed at you and you'd end up worried about your nervous system

Hello my wonderful friend Always glad to help lol so you say stronger than expresso wow, no I would not want that, would make me really lightheaded I am sure

Hi snuggle bunnies, indeed our coffee is uniquely strong and has lots of sludge in it which is rather nasty if taken by accident, hence the large glass of water always served with it. It's good to know that those who are drinking to excess are foisted off home in a taxi, here it's not an unusual sight to see a policeman calling in the cafenion for a brandy with his coffee.

Hi syankee, of course it is stupid but it is traditional and they have their reasons. On the other hand I could argue that if no one cares what you do in America then one is more likely to eat oneself into obesity, drink oneself into oblivion, and ruin ones disposition with too much coffee. You have the freedom to do whatever you like and so do we all behind closed doors which easily gets around the local coffee rules, I simply drink as many as I like at home.

Hi vandana, I love your response. You didn't mention coffee. I had no idea that pickles were harmful to health but I'm certainly glad you've found a way of eating them in front of your father. I see by your response that you realise about this kind of culture where the father knows best, or the substitute fathers of the village in my case. I love pickles too and the Greeks must have missed the health thing with them as a fisherman recently gave me a massive jar of his home prepared pickled olives, and they were divine.

Hi mistywood, perchance you missed the question here, it wasn't another what coffee do you drink but rather are you free to do so without comment. Don't take offence there, your views are welcomed, even digressions. Actually I'd love to hear what silly new rules have been introduced into UK schools in the last few years, is carrying a coffee around a new one? Now the last I heard you weren't allowed to comfort an injured child or take photographs in the schools. Any new ones to add?

No worries... yes I did digress... but no I am not allowed to drink coffee at work without being frowned on.... hence the adult sippy cup so I can hide it... As for silly rules... we have LOADS! But I don't want to digress your thread further....

Hello smuzzi, I might only be allowed two in the cafenion but there's no one to stop me having as many as I like at home.

Hi forfuture, I was asking more if people in your community would comment on what you ate or drank rather than what you do actually eat or drink. We're opposites here, I'd never tasted coffee until I was eighteen as people always used to make it with milk in and the smell made me gag, but once I discovered black coffee there's been no turning back. Hope you continue to enjoy your cheese and milk.