Submitted by Kaitlyn McConeghy on the 2018 spring semester program in Rome, Italy…
No matter where you go in Greece—even in an airport or the middle of a crowded tourist area—one thing is constant: a bottle of water will cost 0.50 euro. Growing up outside of New York, where a bottle of water can cost you absurd amounts in places like that, I was floored. But the principle behind it is simple and beautiful. In Greece, they believe that as long as everyone has access to water and bread, everyone will be basically okay in the short-term. Yes, there are so many other things you need in life—housing, medicine, education—but in terms of immediate survival, bread and water are pretty key. While in Italy, you get charged for bread in most places, and in America, the price of bottled water fluctuates like crazy depending on where you are, in Greece, you can find free bread and 0.50 euro water almost everywhere you go.
I thought there was something so simple and important about that philosophy. While there are the same big-picture, future worries that we have everywhere, no one has to worry about going hungry or thirsty that day because they can’t afford bread or water. Bread and water will in no way solve any one person’s or one country’s problems, but they’re a start, and a signal that you care about their well-being, and a really powerful symbol.
