I don't know if the vacation house is a kind of family ancestral home, that would be interesting to find out, but I do know that there are many more people here that have vacation homes than in the States. I understand it is that way all over Europe, or at least Southern Europe, and I guess it falls in line with the relaxed atmosphere around here. I fit right in. Rarely does anyone show up on time for an informal meeting. I wonder if it is the same in business circles.
Most young people have a very negative attitude for the government.
The economy is probably much worse than it appears on the surface. After talking with a few people who said it was really bad, we've begun to notice signs of how rough things really are. The most obvious sign is that there are a few older buses that were bought from cities in Germany. The ads on them have not been painted over, so there is one bus in town that actually has an advertisement for Kentucky Fried Chicken in German. It will be interesting to see what will happen over the next year.