So, I played soccer for about...13(ish) years of my life. I would have considered myself decently good at it back in the day and then I played with some Greeks. 3 americans versus 2 Greek kids and Hannah, someone who hasn't played soccer, and the 3 Americans kept up pretty well. We scored a few times, but I felt I was holding my own and than I actually stopped and took in the 2 Greeks we were playing against. The youngest had to have been no more than 9 and the eldest was around the elder age of 13. I was giving my all to keep up with kids 6 years younger than me. Talk about an ego bruiser, I was running myself ragged and these kids were completely fine. I don't even want to think what would have happened if we had actually played against kids our age, we would have been demolished.
However, even with the fun of just running out on the soccer field I saw something that I rarely ever see in America. There were people of all ages out at almost midnight, little children, teenagers, older people, you name it. This would never happen in the United States where children are taught that bad things happen at night and you shouldn't be out very late. There doesn't seem to be a negative stigma placed on being out late with friends in this culture. As long as you are having a good time with friends there are no questioning looks of "why are you out so late?" This is the complete opposite of the looks you would get in the United States if you were walking around at midnight. Greece has this emphasis on friendships that the United States lacks. It is safe for children to be out at night in Greece because there are places for them to go and do things with friends. In the United States we do not have free soccer fields in every neighborhood and they are definitely not within walking distance. I think there is something to be said for the Greeks ability to acknowledge the social needs of the youth.
However, even with the fun of just running out on the soccer field I saw something that I rarely ever see in America. There were people of all ages out at almost midnight, little children, teenagers, older people, you name it. This would never happen in the United States where children are taught that bad things happen at night and you shouldn't be out very late. There doesn't seem to be a negative stigma placed on being out late with friends in this culture. As long as you are having a good time with friends there are no questioning looks of "why are you out so late?" This is the complete opposite of the looks you would get in the United States if you were walking around at midnight. Greece has this emphasis on friendships that the United States lacks. It is safe for children to be out at night in Greece because there are places for them to go and do things with friends. In the United States we do not have free soccer fields in every neighborhood and they are definitely not within walking distance. I think there is something to be said for the Greeks ability to acknowledge the social needs of the youth.
No comments:
Post a Comment