On my return to Poland, I'm in quite a reflective mood, which usually is a good sign as far as my creativity is concerned. One of the minor themes of my novel is the old one of what it is to belong to an island rather than a landmass, and whether there is such a thing as island mentality.

But maybe that's simplifying things far too much, and I had a very interesting discussion with one of the Ukranian waitresses working in Gavrion on Andros about this thing. She, of course, comes from a large country which is geographically if not politically part of an even vaster landmass that stretches from The Black Sea, past the Urals and out to Eastern Siberia. Andros must seem rather small to her, but, as far as she is concerned, it's small and perfectly-formed, and - well, a little weird. This is of course a cultural thing, also - Greece and the Ukraine couldn't be further apart in many ways even if they tried not to be. Not surprisingly, she wouldn't tell me what she found weird, she just mentioned 'island mentality'.
I met some Italians too, who were discussing this - they understand regionalism, as Italy is one of the most regional countries in the world, but their only big islands are Sicily and Sardinia, admittedly two very large ones by Mediterranean standards. Having lived in Sicily, and in my own way having liked the place very much in spite of its enormous problems, we were able to discuss the similarities and differences between the mighty Italian twosome and Crete, Greece's largest island, where until recently vendettas and banditry were not unknown, and you didn't want to cross a Cretan with a gun any more than a Sicilian or a Sardinian.
One of the refreshing things about much of Greece is that people on the whole don't steal things. I remember in Thessaloniki I once stupidly left my wallet on the counter of the ticket office for the Kastoria bus - which doubles as a cafe. When I came back half an hour later in mild panic, the wallet was still there, and nothing had been touched. I can remember a time when it was still okay to leave your car unlocked in Athens, though those days are now past, and it is not something I recommend people doing even on the more popular Greek islands.
Sicily is the only place in the world where I've had the dubious honour of being shamelessly pickpocketed, as I got onto a bus. In Prague they tried a few times, but I knew the score. In Paris, in the Gare Du Nord, I left my wallet on top of a carrier bag which I put down on the ground, but the wallet was completely empty, (otherwise I wouldn't have put it down there) and when a "Japanese Tourist" came up to me and asked me in impeccable French how to get to Port Dauphin and showed me his map of Paris, I had the pleasure of watching his European accomplice walk by, whip the wallet from the top of the bag, stride on, open the wallet, look inside, realise that there was nothing in it, and throw it away onto the platform, all in the space of a few seconds, by which time the 'Japanese tourist had mysteriously disappeared, and the thief was by now out into the sunshine of the forecourt and past chasing after anyway, even if I had dared.