Galery

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Victoria Mindova

If all Greeks looked like Yoanna Vulgaridou today, Greece was going to be Sweden on the Balkans. Yoanna is the girl behind the bar of the small Cappuccino café in downtown Athens. At first glance it's just another place where you can sit and drink a good coffee with a friend or eat a quick delicious sandwich. The truth is that once set foot in Cappuccino, you will certainly go back there again. The magic which this place is hiding is the personality of 35-years-old Yoanna. It is a single mother of two children - brave and strong woman, who irrespective of the vicissitudes of fortune, always has a smile and kind word for everyone who walks through the door of her kingdom. She worked for six years in Cappuccino and knows the name of each customer who has come more than twice in the club. The work never stops there.

While talking phone is constantly ringing. Orders are coming. “Two Freddo cappuccino for "Amerikis" 14 on the fourth floor”, “Sandwich with prosciutto for Vassilis”, “Eleni, at the fifth table wishes to pay”, “Hello, Mr. Niko! Espresso as always, right? How are the kids?”, “2.50. Thanks, greetings at home!” She takes orders, makes hot and cold coffees and jokes: “It was calmer until they came to interview me.” I know this is not true. I know Yoanna for almost three years and work never ends for her.

Behind bar:

                "I love my job and customers. After I gave birth to my first child, I accidentally came across an add in the newspaper and decided to call for the vacancy. I appeared there and the next day they took me to work. Six months later, the boss promoted me to be the manager. Since then I work here. Every day I wake up at six, I make breakfast for the children and go out. At six and a half I open the shop, prepare the bar and work begins. At seven the first waitress arrives. The first are regular customers and come every day. People take their coffee, we say a joke or two and then they hurry to their jobs. The other type of clients are those who sit at their desks at nine in the morning and call to order a coffee and breakfast. I take the orders and split them between the two waitresses. Girls run to reach all orders on time. In the morning I am responsible for all the customers in the café because the waitresses are bringing the orders to the offices. Around us it is full of office buildings of various firms and companies. One of my favorite clients is Mr. Vassilis from the sixth floor of the adjacent building. Every morning comes for green tea. He loves to fool around and always threatens me that if it was 50 years younger ... (laughs heartily). Indeed, here we are like one big family. I love them all, even when they make me angry (laughs again). People give you whatever they receive. Over the years we have built friendships with many of the "usual suspects" here. We organize parties and go out together. The last event we made was a masked ball at Shrovetide. The theme was Disco Fever. It was very fun! "

Pace is relentless. Yoanna tells me about her working day and moves behind the bar as the God with six hands Shiva. Constantly taking orders, making frappes, coffees and many other things, gives directions to the waitresses and somehow manages to greet all customers who enter and leave. At the same time she also casts an eye on the tables outside. While we are talking she acts quickly and sparingly, as if nothing costs her any effort. I just had to ask her how she copes with this crazy job when she has two children waiting for her at home and the responsibility of a parent.

Life outside the Cappuccino:

                "I finish work at about three in the afternoon. I get on the scooter (she really drives small scooter, which she uses to go to work), and I go straight at home. My children help me relax from the madness of the day. We have a schedule. When you get home, they are sleeping siesta. My mom helps me a lot with them. Then I have a little time to shake myself from work. When awake, I am already at their disposal. We play together and we talk. I am trying to spend as much time as possible with them when I'm home. My older son is six years old and is in the first grade. Turns out he is doing great in school. I did not expect (she laughs), then she takes out her mobile phone and shows me a digital photos of his notebook. I see small letters, carefully written in the footnote. The next picture is of a little boy with big olive eyes and curls. This is her younger son.

And then it comes to my mind. Secret of Yoanna is that she makes the same effort and maternal care to her clients as she would have made to her children when they grow up. With gentle humor and a lot of diligence the work behind the bar passes quickly for the ones present. But it costs effort. You do not need to be Einstein to understand that the energy she puts in her work every day is the reason for the magic of Cappuccino. Her presence replaces the caffeine and thus coffee is only a reason to spend some time in pleasant company.

Nobody promised you a life, as “honey and milk”:

                "The most difficult it was for me when I was pregnant with my second child. I worked until the seventh month. The work was very busy. I gave birth and six months later I was back on line. Then came the difficulties at home. My husband stopped paying me much attention. Nothing was as before. They appointed him as a manager of one of the Flo cafes facilities in Athens and he no longer had any time for anything. We both work a lot, but if you want you can always find time for the family. I know that this is true for all couples, but this is not enough for me. We went to family therapy, talk about us, but nothing changed things. I figured we must separate, but he did not believe me. However, the decision was taken.

Love does not ask:

"The life of a woman does not end after the birth of her children, and fate obviously had plans for me. Several months later appeared also my big love from my childhood. He is also divorced with two children. Currently I love to ear again. I have a relationship and am happy. We want to get married, but it will wait a little, even may be more (laughs again). I will not get engaged in long term relationships until the children grow up enough and I feel that they are ready. "

After ten years:

                "I gave myself time until I become 40 years old to work as a mercenary. I am saving money to open my own cafeteria. This is my dream and I know I can manage. I hope everything will be OK with my family and my children to be healthy and the rest is a matter of time. "