After five years, we decide to travel to new places. And we discover that we haven’t just ended up in another country, but in another era. If you’re not familiar with technology, there’s not much you can do. The initial hours come with a bit of a shock. When did the world change so much?
Money, in coins and banknotes, is accepted almost nowhere. Cashiers in stores are a rare breed. You scan everything, from groceries to clothes and items, on machines, pay with your card, and leave. At first, it feels strange. You resist. And then, whether you like it or not, you try it. And you find that it’s not that difficult. Whether you like it or not is a question that doesn’t concern anyone. You simply comply.
Do you want to visit a museum? At least at the two we wanted to visit, you must select the day and exact time (with a margin of plus or minus 15 minutes), pay, download the ticket to your mobile, and scan it when you enter. Inside the museum, you also need to scan the barcodes next to each exhibit to find the relevant information.
To get around, you have to download an app on your mobile and scan as you enter and exit trains, trams, subways, and buses. However, before you start, you can find all the information with such detail and simplicity that you are bound to succeed. After all, other nations are not necessarily smarter than us. They are just well-organised.
Despite all this, the contactless and impersonal nature of things does not lead to isolation and disconnection. People talk to each other, laugh out loud, socialise, go out, walk, meet, find reasons to start conversations even with strangers, willingly provide information, and even go to the trouble of searching on their own phones to guide you, the one who has come from another era.
Even in places where everything operates electronically, there is always a way to find an answer or someone who appears like a deus ex machina to guide you. The panic of COVID-19 has passed. Workers are no longer fortified behind Plexiglas walls with “don’t talk to me, don’t approach me” attitudes.
And after ten days, you return. And you try to find an answer to the question, “What do I do if my suitcase hasn’t arrived?” For this simple question, there isn’t a straightforward explanation, a friendly and explanatory conversation.
And while you managed in a country where almost everything operates electronically, in Cyprus, you feel the ultimate alienation. There’s no deus ex machina to help. You have to figure it out yourself. Is it the heat, perhaps?