[age Twelve SCARLET AND BLACK Gruenewald Genera/ins on Greeks finds Them Proud, Contradictory Ruth Gruenewald is cur- rently a Fifth Year Student teaching and studying abroad In Greece as.part of the fl'ravel ~ Service scholarship program. i'l'o the Editorl It’s) awfully hard, you know, not to generalize about a cul- ture of which you know little, Harder still when you know a little more. Many times this year I felt somewhat resentful when people would exclaim, ~"Why, you’re not a typical 'American at all." Not that I Would like to be typical you understand; to my way of thinking there is no Such thin The Greeks here in Saloniki seem to feel differently though; there is nothing they like bet- ter than generalizing about themselves. “I am a Greek," says the man at the corner kiosk, and he pounds his chest with pride. ”I fought against the Communists; my father fought against the Turks; we are a brave and strong people, _we Greeks.” “We are a passionate peo- ple," says the lady who sells flowers at the’market. “We sing and we weep, we quarrel and we love. It is our nature, our heritage.” ”I am a Greek," says the university student seriously, “because I love two things above all else, my country and my freedom. For these I would gladly face death. We are a proud, liberty-loving people, we Greeks." Now I am no man on the street collecting samples of opinions about national charac- ter. These are just bits of con- yersations volunteered freely by people I have met. They all take the qualities dearest to themselves and enlarge them so as to encompass the whole na< tion, They can do this because they employ a kind of logic that admits all sorts of contra- dictions. So whatever they say is right. In H e o d contradictoriness seems to be the essence here. Let me give a few examples, all of which occurred Within a space of one hour. At the Saloniki railroad sta— tion, a crowd gathered at the ticket window (queues are un- known), and as I stood patient- ly waiting (because I am neither brave nor strong). I was literally knocked down by an impulsive young man who obviously'knew how to use his elbows and knees, It’s a little disturbing to be standing in front of a railroad ticket win- dow one minute and sitting on the floor the. next. But I didn't, say anything because. . r . well . . . the young man must have had his reasons, and be- sides I'm not a passionate and, quarrelsome Greek. So I picked myself up’ with quiet dignity; but at that point to my utter amazement, the gentleman in question turned around and with an absolutely sincere dis play of gallantry offered me his place, his hard-won place, right .In front of the little window. Having procured my ticket I proceeded to the post office where a package from America was waiting for me. There is a great deal of red tape involved in picking up a package. One must first find the correct room (different sized parcels go to different places), then one must produce one's passport, sign on several dotted lines, etc. On this particular day (the pro- cedure was especially trying. You see, the little box addressed to me contained a packet of bath salts, something highly suspect in the eyes of the postal clerk. He informed me that I would have to pay duty, and that the duty would amount to exactly three times as much as the original product had cost. I pleaded innocence, poverty, illness, all to no avail. So, hav- ing reasoned with myself that, after all, I had no bath tub any- way, and other related argu— ments, I informed the clerk that I did not wish to accept the package and asked him if he would send it back to America or keep it for his girlfriend This last remark must have wounded the pride of my brave young clerk; for he tore open the wrapping and dumped the contents—thousands of shining pink crystals—on the floor. Then with a polite bow and a brief Salutation which translates approximately as ”Go with joy" he stalked out of the room. I left the post office quickly and embarked upon the last ad- venture of the hour. On my way home I passed a little grocery store and decided to stop and buy a few things. The grocer was weighing some vegetables for another customer, and as I waited, I noticed that his thumb was on the scale, adding to the actual weight. But this time I was ready for a good fight, and when my turn came and the man charged me twenty dracl-u mas, I told him I would pay no more than ten. We proceeded to barter, and finally the price was fixed at fourteen. But when I took out my purse, the grocer suddenly smiled and said, ”For you the price is seven drachmas.” Well, I tried to look nonchalant as I paid him and scooped up lny pack- ages, but curiosity won out, so I turned back to ask why the sudden low price. “Oh,” he re- piled, “I am a Greek, and we Greeks are generous people, you know." It is difficult not to general- ize about a culture of which ones know little. . . . very diffi- cult. Ruth Gruenewald ) Bowen Continued from Page 3 great development. It seems to me to offer an unusual chal- lenge and an opportunity for public service. I have a special interest in it also because Mrs. Bowen and I both attended it as graduate students and I started my teaching career there, having served seven years on the I30 ulty. I might add that I am interested in it because it is lo- cated in Iowa, a state that I have grown to consider my home and where I feel very much at home. Parenthetically, I am glad that Iowa. City is close to Grinnell because I shall always retain a deep in- terest in Grinnell,‘ and I hope to maintain my friendships here. Please forgive me for being so personal in these remarks this morning, but I thought you might be interested 'in my com- ments on leaving Grinnell and that you had a right to know the facts. Mr. Rigoberlo Areces who For want of American Freedoms has fled the Cuban regime will be featured at a FUND RAISING DINNER Sponsored by Grinnelliuns for Goldwater Tuesday —-PllR — 6:00 —- March 24th Reservations in Lunch Line or P.O, Box 40 '— ,Cost § I .00 ) Shorts Continued from Page 9 the real winner in New Hamp- shire was William Scranton as the man best capable of uniting the party against the Democratic administration. In other news, the commit— tee announced that it will open a campaign booth in room 15 of Burling library. The booth will be open from 8-9 p.m., Sunday through Wednes- day. All students interested in more information on Scranton or in working on his campaign are urged to visit the campaign booth, I “Grinnellians for Goldwat< er," a group organized to win the Republican presidential nomination at the upcoming Mock Political Convention for Senator Barry Goldwater, has announced that Rigoberto Are. ces will address a fund-rais- ing dinner on Tuesday, at 6 pm. in the Private Dining Room. The dinner will be open to all interested Students, faculty, and residents of Grinnell. Res- ervations can be made in lunch line Monday or Tuesday, through college post office box or through college post office box 40. A nominal charge of $1.00 for students and $2.50 for all others will be collected at the door. Recent polls taken among members of the Grinnell Young Democrats club indicate that support for the Vice - Presi< dential nomination of the Grin- nell Mock Convention is well split. Of the 50 per cent response, Hubert Humphrey led all Vice- Presidential candidates with 28 per cent. U. N. Ambassador Friday. March 20, NM Adlai Stevenson was second. chosen by 21 per cent of the respondents. Also getting strong support were Attorney General Robert Kennedy and Peace Corps Di- rector R. Sargent Shriver, both selected by 14 per cent of those responding. Support was also indicated for Eugene McCarthy, Abra< ham Ribicoif, Gale McGee and Stuart Symington. How to spend a weekend in Chicago for $l5 so: JORNsuI Lntharcnuege Decors". Iowa Says. ' Any student. man nrwnmsncau $15.oo.Heva Is how I did it." man" a! VMCA Holst sus chiwgo Symphony 2.50 Room ulVHoIeI 2.55 .53 run. Ms Brecklml a! 1 Hotel an Insmuts Your lunch at Bamboo im- Nul. Hist. Museum TN" Dinner at v Hotel 5:" ' dantt. v hotel Coke den. Room at v list-I rm I.l5 .l o .45 2495 Breakfast at v Hotel 59 chhlp at Central Church lunrh utY Hotel mo Sim. AM. 5w. PM. Back to mmpvl Yetnl $14.96 MEN - WOMEN - mamas Stay at Chicago‘r YMCIA HOTEL 826 South Wabash ‘at the edge of the LOOP mmuuflm h: mo - "M ms and up Wvllc M mamtlen- or call 91min “SO WE DECIDED T0 . . . ' WOW! A BIKINI CLEANED BY SWEDE'S . . . . . . SETTLE OUT OF COUR .”