GAZETTE

Published by My Big Fat Funny Life

Volume I, Number 015 August 23, 2026

A weekly-ish dispatch from Greece, with questionable authority and excellent coffee.

Showcase Story

I Speak Greek. Mostly.

This week’s showcase

I Speak Greek. Mostly.

Until someone from another part of Greece opens their mouth.

There’s a moment every Greek has. You’re somewhere in Greece. Conversation is flowing. You’re confident. You are Greek, after all. And then someone says a word… …and your brain just quietly logs…

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Trending This Week

The Other Greek Revolution

Reader favorite

The Other Greek Revolution

Not against the Ottoman Empire. Against seat belts, helmets, and the tyranny of the beep.

There are many ways to understand a country. You can study its history. You can learn its language. You can examine its…

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Πού Να Στα Λέω? (pou na sta leo)

Reader favorite

Πού Να Στα Λέω? (pou na sta leo)

In Greece, one small hand gesture can explain what language wisely refuses to touch.

There are phrases in Greek that cannot be translated. Not because the words are difficult. The words are easy. The problem is…

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Small Cultural Collisions

Reader favorite

Small Cultural Collisions

The tiny Greek habits that quietly confuse anyone who has lived somewhere else.

In Greece your last name comes first, yes can sound like “eh,” goodbye takes six attempts, and even cheek-kissing follows different traffic…

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Cash(€€€…) for Clunkers

Reader favorite

Cash(€€€…) for Clunkers

How Greece turned old cars into an accidental national collection

In Greece, even cars don’t die. They retire to a field, wait for a miracle bumper, and hope the next government program…

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Coming next

On Substack and the website. No need to wait for the next Gazette.

Να Κεράσω; (Na Keraso;)

Tuesday · August 25

Να Κεράσω; (Na Keraso;)

You go to the bank. Not because you particularly want to go to the bank. Nobody wakes up, stretches, looks outside at the beautiful Greek sunshine, and thinks: “What a wonderful morning. I should spend it discussing banking regulations.”

We Came for Maestro in Blue. Paxoi Gave Us Something Else.

Thursday · August 27

We Came for Maestro in Blue. Paxoi Gave Us Something Else.

When I announced to Karen that I had found us a place to stay in Paxoi for a few days and asked whether she wanted to go, guess what happened? I became her hero. Paxoi was not just another Greek island to…

You made it this far. You may as well do the right thing.

Free, of course. No forms, no stamps, no appointment at KEP.
(If Substack flashes the paid menu first, choose None and carry on.)

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The Kafeneio Spoke

A collection from this week’s table.

“Nick, this made my day! Thank you for another great episode of this season :-)))”

— Bridget For: Why Do Greeks Complain So Much?

“I love smyrneika! The best here in Nafplion from Kostopoulos bakery - original is in Adami❗️”

— Letty Papantonis For: Hands off the Smyrneika koulourakia!

“We have spent a lot of time in Koroni over the past 6 years and we still have a lot to discover even though we have visited all the regions of the Peloponnese. Each one has such different experiences that are worth exploring.👍🇬🇷”

— Peter Pålsson For: You Do Not Plan the Peloponnese. You Surrender to It.

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