What The Flux

Considering life in another country carries a complex emotional weight. On one hand, there’s the thrill of adventure—which is very real. On the other, it’s a strange experience to find yourself in one of the most beautiful places you’ve ever seen, immersed in a culture rich with authenticity, warmth, and safety, and still feel… isolated. This feeling stems largely from the language barrier. Even mapping reveals the complications. We’re in Greece, and we don’t speak—or read—Greek. I expected this would pose some limitations, but now that I’m here, I can more clearly articulate the nuances of those limitations. We often don’t realize how much we absorb from our surroundings just by reading signs and posters. Because Greek uses a different alphabet and has no linguistic overlap with English to use as a guide, we’re often in the dark. We can’t tell if we’re standing in front of a law office or a dental practice. Bakeries and supermarkets are more obvious, and in truth, I rather enjoy sh...

After the global financial crash of 2008, Greece was hit hard. What followed became known throughout the country simply as The Crisis (Η Κρίση). It wasn’t just an economic collapse—it was a wave of sudden reforms and deep austerity that touched nearly every household. People lost jobs, income, homes. A humanitarian crisis unfolded quietly alongside the financial one. The recession that followed turned out to be the longest ever recorded for any developed, mixed economy. By 2013, Greece’s stock market had fallen so far that the country was reclassified as an emerging market—a symbolic blow to a modern European nation. The fallout ran deep. Politics fractured. Social safety nets frayed. Many of the country’s brightest minds—young, educated Greeks—packed up and left in search of stability elsewhere. Most have returned now.  Scars remain, woven into the landscape and the culture but strength from what has been endured does too.  Today what can be seen when traveling Greece is evid...