Giannis, The Bus Driver

Road trips in Greece are always interesting. They are quite different from college road trips. Instead of a max four hour trip at ISU, we now go to nearly Bulgaria so its about eight hours plus, assuming the bus driver doesn’t get lost. Instead of everyone on the bus listening to their music, reading, talking quietly amongst themselves, its loud Greek music blaring and horrible American movies playing like Jeepers Creepers 1 AND 2, or School of Rock. Instead of food to go to save time, we stop to eat and instead of a bathroom on board we have to stop when nature calls as well. And then you get to play in small towns where there is nothing better to do than go to a game and scream in Greek, watch refs that cheat, and blow loud horns on a Sunday afternoon. It’s a fun atmosphere!

The small towns are cute and cold and small and I thank God I never unknowingly signed with a team in the middle of nowhere Greece. They are quaint and fine to visit but I really feel for the Americans that play there because, unlike the hustle and bustle of Athens, there is nothing to do in these towns but be Greek. I like playing in hostile territory, its fun but the refs usually suck really bad. Yesterday they weren’t any worse than normal, but they did give the other team the ball out of bounds after a time out as we were walking out of our hustle without warning. We were at half court when the team scored a layup. A nice shoulder shrug from the ref as if to say, “sorry, its out of my hands.”

Except for the whole losing part, the trip was entertaining. Greece really is a beautiful country and its is so diverse in its landscape. We drove along the eastern coast for hours with nothing but a railing separating the bus from the sea. Mountainous islands spotted the water and the sun shone brightly Saturday afternoon on our way up north. I felt like I was on a fast ferry. Then we cut away from the water and hit the mountains. We wound our way through high rolling hills with huge valleys below and once again nothing but railing between us and the rocky bottom. Mount Olympus had fresh snow on Sunday afternoon and looked close enough to touch as the sun shone purple setting behind the hills. I didn't see Zeus but we got Greek mythology lessons from our coach as we looked at the impressive mountain. When we got to our small town it looked like Colorado with snow capped mountains on every side. There weren’t many people out and about but a man on a donkey riding on a hill with the sun setting behind him. It really was a beautiful trip.

And much like college road trips, there is a lot of bonding that goes on. On the way there I studied my Greek with my teammate. I actually understand some things which is amazing. Every time I understand something I feel like throwing myself a party. On the way back I had girl talk with my Greek teammates, French braided hair, and played “telephone” with everyone. With two people that don’t speak Greek, one person that doesn’t speak English, and language barriers between everyone, it was interesting how words got completely butchered by the end of the line.

But the trip was more than beautiful because we had Giannis as our bus driver. Giannis. How does one describe Giannis? An old fat Greek man that drives a bus. He was out washing the bus the morning of the game as we are piling our bags on board and anxious to get to the gym. But we had to be patient because Giannis is busy cleaning the bus’ exterior. He sprayed cheap old man’s cologne behind him as he was driving into the seat behind him and my coach’s face. The smell permeated the whole area until you could taste it on your tongue and it burned your nostrils. He gets lost and despite a map book, doesn’t really know where he is going. We backed up on a freeway off ramp because we were supposed to go straight. We get lost on the way into the town, we get lost on the way out of town. Instead of most men he likes to ask for directions but not before we leave the hotel and are out in the middle of nowhere. He asks people on the street, kiosk owners, gas stations attendants. On the way home we are driving on an arterial when he tries to flag down an on coming vehicle with his hand out the window to ask for directions. The car stops at the end of the bus and the next car rear ends the first one. All we hear is a loud screech and crash. We all look out the window at the two cars as we drive off, Giannis at the wheel completely undisturbed. The bus driver literally waved the driver down, the one who got rear ended, and then kept driving. Oh Giannis, to be in your own little world! My trainer and coach (this is after a loss mind you) are laughing so hard they are crying and can’t breathe. I had commented to Erin prior to the car crash that this whole trip was like a Saturday night live skit and this little episode just sealed the deal. Later Giannis comments, “poor guy who got hit.” And still later he admitted that he might have had a “little” to do with it. Who tries to flag down oncoming vehicles anyway?