Don’t tell people your age. Don’t act old.
On the way down from the Acropolis I came upon Andreas, selling nuts and candied fruit from a push cart. Andreas likes to speak English, so when he heard my American accent he started right in with the tough questions – “What do you think of Trump?” and “Fake News! Fake News!” I told him what I liked about Greece was time away from all that. Andreas pressed on in a laughing and light-hearted way, and managed to change the subject to the many other things he knows about America – like the old American movies he loves to watch. Andreas was very happy to participate in the Five Wisdoms Project and was very generous with his time. At one point I paused and gestured to other customers who had approached the cart, but he went right on with the interview. “No, I’m talking to you! I want to talk to you and they can wait!” The customers actually didn’t wait, but Andreas didn’t care. He loves meeting people from around the world, and asks them to sign the little paper bags for his dried fruits. He keeps them and showed them to me – signatures from Japan, Australia, Iowa, Hawaii, and now California. Andreas crosses paths with so many people in the course of his work, and I was impressed with his desire to connect with me, rather than make an additional sale. I think it says a lot about him, as well as the culture of his country. And no, he never did tell me his age.
