INTERNSHIPS
Reports
The Light of Greece
2017-09-23
孫泳琳
SUEN Wing Lam
歐域資本
Euroterra Capital
希臘
Greece
The common impression towards Greece is white houses with blue round rooftops, but these houses only exist in the islands such as Santorini and Mykonos. Athens, where I worked, is a European city with great history and culture, as exemplified by the Acropolis and the Greek trilogies. Media reports of Greece’s financial crisis have swept the world, but you can hardly find a clue of depression in this nation. Everything is in its own order. There are even some new constructions, such as replacing the old airport with the biggest metropolitan park in Balkans with Chinese investment.
As a property consultant for the largest land developer in Greece, I have the opportunity to travel around Athens for property viewing from the city centre to the seaside. Moreover, as the company targets upper class, their properties are luxurious and upscale. Can you imagine the scenery with the Aegean Sea, cloudless sky and deluxe villas? This is my working environment. In Greece, you would discover the true meaning of “clean water”, which you could barely find anywhere else. Greece records the second highest number of “blue flag”, which is awarded by the Foundation for Environmental Education according to water cleanliness. At this point, you might think what amazed me the most is Greece’s natural beauty. However, the culture shock is what poured me over.
Immersing in a mix of European and Mediterranean culture, we can still find some similarities between Greek and Chinese cultures. First of all, family is of the same importance in both cultures. The Greeks and the Chinese contribute to and care about their family members. They strive to balance their work lives with their family lives. Secondly, they share their food when they dine. There are two rounds of sharing: waiters would first evenly distribute the food, then the remaining would be placed at the centre of the table for free pick-up. Lastly, of the Greeks and the Chinese gave rise to civilizations in the West and the East respectively. Both are proud of their ancestors and their contributions in history which led to the developments in arts, philosophy and sciences. Working with Chinese clients, these similarities are too blatant to be ignored. Not only did the clients agree with me on these observations, they pointed out more similarities among the two cultures.
If the similarities do not strike you, the differences would. Greek ladies like sun tanning, while Asian ladies all try as best as they can to whiten the skin. This may be attributable to differences in natural skin colour - the one who stands out in the crowd wins the heart. Another reason could be the Greeks’ love for sunshine. One unique and strong evidence which can probably be detected by a property consultant is: the balconies in Greece are huge. It is possible that the balcony is larger than the interior!
My internship experience overseas is enlightening not only because of it enhanced my soft skills to sell property. It also dispelled many rumors and improved my understanding of the Western and Eastern civilizations. There is no darkness in Greece as its light flourishes.
