Sometimes our habits are a mystery to the others. I always get questions such as: “why do Greek parents let their adult children stay in their house for free?” or “why do people who invite me to dinner give me food to take home?” Although cultural differences are hard to explain, they are always nice to explore.

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The famous ταπεράκι

Ταπεράκι or τάπερ is used to mean food container, from the brand name “Tupperware“. When adults visit their parents, they get a food container with the left overs when leaving. It’s not something that all parents do and it certainly doesn’t happen every time we visit our parents, but it is a very common Greek habit. Sometimes, we do the same to our friends: when we invite them for dinner, we give them a ταπεράκι if they like the food or if the food is something really special. If your Greek friends do the same, don’t take them wrong and don’t refuse to take the food container. They offer you food because they like sharing. Food is important to our culture and giving it to the people we love is one of the best things we can do for them.

Money

Transactions and deals are not a common thing between parents and their adult children. If someone lives at their parents’ house, they don’t pay a rent and if the parents live there too, it’s them who pay the bills if their children are students or unemployed. Moreover, parents pay the tuition fees if their children go to a private college and they don’t ask for the money back. When children move to another city to study, their parents pay the rent and the utilities because in Greece it is practically impossible to find a part-time job that allows people to cover their basic needs.

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