So anyway, there I was, taking the not-so-midnight – it was more like the ten fifty-five – not as much a train rather than a bus, and not as much as taking me anywhere rather than taking me to Athens. Did I just fashion that build-up to misleadingly quote Journey’s Don’t stop believing? Yes, yes I did. Was it worth it? Well, no, but at least it provided a beginning for my story. The only thing that I’m lacking right now is a freeze-frame on my face and my off-screen voice saying ‘You might be wondering how I got myself into this predicament?’ – like a conspicuous amount of movies used to begin some years ago. Thank God they stopped making those – for real – that technique was just so damned annoying.
Anyhow, I was in Thessaloniki and that is where our medias-res story begins…well, not actually begins, but rather continues. I attended a three day conference called (E)Motion in Changing Worlds, an academic gathering dedicated to discussing empathy, emotions and many other interconnected topics; it was a stimulating experience to say the least. I ended up giving a presentation on how the character of Roy Batty in Blade Runner drastically levelled the field between self and otherness – I based my interpretation on the fact that him, as an android, understands his own mortality and delivers a touching monologue which unexpectedly elevates him to the same level of empathy of a human being. I would not call my intervention brilliant in the slightest, but based on the interest it received and some of the conversations I was able to establish with students and professors after the panel, I can assume it went well.
I am realizing that I don’t actually have much more to add; I was a tourist for a couple of days and even managed to visit Athens, but I’m not inclined on sharing my impressions as a sightseer. I think that they would just end up sounding like banal considerations that one might find in a cheap travel guide – you know, the classic ‘go visit this’, ‘can’t miss that’, ‘the food is exquisite’ and so forth. There is so much more to a similar experience that words would not do justice to and maybe that is the reason I started writing. This is not meant to be a travel journal after all, but rather just some brief paragraphs to share some personal considerations. Suffice to say that I had a pleasant journey and one that, as always, I started with my particular brand of attitude towards life; simply put, I was going on an adventure.
Curious…one of my uncles worked in Greece for at least a decade and I never managed to visit him and now I went there for work (well, actually more for pleasure, but you get the gist of what I’m saying). One thing that my uncle had told me however was how if a Greek sees you as a friend and decides to pay for food or drinks, then culturally you cannot refuse or try to be the one that’s offering instead. I had exactly one of those episodes: I met a fantastic person who I am sure will have a lot to give to the world. A hard worker, with an eclectic personality given how many things she does – a lovely person to be around with. As we talked about her students I could just see how much her eyes lit up – we need more people in this life that see the potential and the bright future of those they teach. I am sure that as a student you feel elevated and encouraged to do more. She offered to pay for drinks and there was little I could do about it – except of course to offer to pay for the next rounds whenever and wherever we would meet around the world.
Greece was nice, my trip was worth it.
Oh yeah, final point to make: why did I wrote this down with such a title? Did I actually sat down in Athens, under the leafy branches of an olive tree and scribbled the paragraphs of my story? No, of course not. I’m not enough of a hipster to carry around a typewriter with me and pompously write my thoughts – this remark was a bit gratuitous, I admit. Did I however passed under multiple olive trees? For sure – it’s Greece after all. Did I do so because it’s a catchy title? Obviously so, it sounds good and it is meant to be evocative.