An odd encounter

Today is a positive day. I think yesterday had more to do with the way I'm feeling today. You see as I was out and about doing my day's jobs, I encountered an acquaintance. I have known her for a while, but I didn't really know her. As I sat down with her - to talk about a job I wanted her to take on, we began talking and as bits of information began to spring up here and there, I began to really like this person in front of me. Before yesterday, all we had said to each other was a polite hello, but all of a sudden I got the feeling of connecting. It was a wonderful feeling, one that I think I live for, and yes, as I sat in her office, I got that feeling.

As I drove back to my humble abode, small bits of the conversation started coming back, and the only thing I can say is that it made my day. It's funny what or who life throws at you, and that meeting made me realise that life is not a series of coincidences. This is what I have realised about life. The way we think of it, is the way it is. I think of my life as an adventure, an adventure with a goal (what I call my vision or my dream). The people we meet along the way are not coincidental. If we take the time to learn a little about them, most of them are just small parts of us - the parts we all too often forget about. I always have the feeling that I am a very lucky person, because the people I meet along my life's journey spur me on to become me. I know that this may seem ideological, and maybe you're all thinking " yeh - you don't know people ! " and maybe I don't. What I do know though are two things. Being me is a very important part of my life - not me the mother, or me the career woman, or me the teacher, or me the wife but ME - my dreams, my thoughts, my soul. The second thing I know is that I love to learn. I love to learn about the little things - the things that make us tick, that make us go on when going on seems possible, that make us shine.

So, a very big thank you to Stella, although I did not tell her- one day I will. She has made me realise that there is always someone out there who, with a little of his or her time, is just helping us realise who we are.

Hit me hard ... I will not fall...

Ok, a hard week is slowly coming to an end, and looking back on it I must say that it was one of those times when you just have to say, "c'est la vie". I started my fitness regime again, hoping that I can get rid of some of this everyday stress. It is becoming more and more difficult to keep my patience, and I have found myself trying to find solutions to problems that were not even caused by me. This week's dilemma began with a harder look into myself, trying to find the imperfections and smooth them out, even make them disappear if I could. As I started my power walking, I found myself contemplating the accusations which have been slung at me all week. Too nice, too helpful, too patient ...too me... apparently. As work starts to pick up, everyone seems to have an opinion about everything, and their opinions seem to be the right ones. As I walked, I suddenly realised that becoming me ... this too nice, too helpful, too patient person... was not at all easy. All the people around me are so difficult to live with, that I have to be the one with all the answers, all the positive energy, all the right things to say, and this has become a way of life. Irony, sarcasm and negative energy fill the air so much that sometimes I feel that every breath I take will suffocate me. Yesterday, though, for about three hours, I took a break from them all. It was so simple to just forget everyone and everything for a small time. It was such a good feeling, that I realised that even small escapes are worth the effort. I must admit that I have to thank two friends for just helping me forget everything for a little while. Just talking - about nothing and everything - cleared my mind enough to be able to return to work with a smile, although it did not last very long.

So today I start with a different thought. Yes, there are problems. Yes, negative thoughts are always around, but I just say Yes to life. It has become too short to waste. It is too good to miss. So I say yes to too nice, too helpful and too patient. I say yes to good people. I say yes to the world. My story will be one with a happy end. As for the rest of you - hit as hard as you can ...

Sometimes losing means winning.

"Imagine all those people coming home."

A while back I wrote an article about the Hellines who live abroad. Today' s post is a little about me, about them, about you.

With the current economic situation ruling our lives, I took a step back from the news, and the aftermath of the world's worst nightmare, and decided to think. Again, I am a dreamer, so I will ask you to dream with me - imagine once more. This time, my imagination took me to a different world, maybe a world far from yours, called "My home, my choice". In my experience, the choices that we make, are the ones we have to live with. Now, I have made a decision to change this. the choices that we make are just choices. Nothing in the world can stop us from making different ones. What will happen if we do? Will the world suddenly come to an end. Will we all suffer in despair for changing things. No. Choices are choices, and once they are made they can't be unmade. But they can certainly be changed.

Many Greeks have made their homes elsewhere. Financial security, better living standards, more opportunities are a few of the reasons decisions were made. In my previous post I discussed the possibility of returning to a homeland, which seems unimaginable, but today, with the unbalanced global view, it may not be impossible.

My heading "Sometimes losing means winning" is also the motto of this post. Think about it. What would you lose if you gave up a life elsewhere to return to what most people call "patrida" - home. Let me tell you what I "lost" when I came here. Firstly, I lost my nationality. I was born in the UK. Secondly, I lost my prospects, I had been headhunted for a position in a multinational company. Thirdly, I lost my worth. The list is actually endless, and can go on for pages, but that's not what I want to dwell on. Losing can mean winning. The amount of things I have lost in my life will probably remain lost. When I lost these, though, there was always something to be won. Today, I looked at myself in the mirror, and realised that life is not about losing. It's not even about being afraid to lose. It's about winning. We only get one chance at this, so we should start getting good at it. I'm not talking materially, I'm talking fulfillment. Winning means looking at life in the way we are supposed to look at life. I came here with dreams and I am not going to give them up. Looking around me, the blue skies, the green mountains, the fertile land, the deep blue seas were once something worth fighting for. People have lived and died for this piece of the world. We have been respected for preserving our heritage and our history, so why do we not respect ourselves for it.

Greeks are winners. They are proud, and they are winners. All of you out there, living all around the world, remember who you are. This country does not have the leaders it should have. They are not responsible enough, and don't care enough to do any of us any good. They have also lost something - they have lost their way. Maybe we all have. There are so many traps out there, who wouldn't. It's time to find our way back, though. You may all have something that is needed here. You may have everything that is needed. Doctors who love saving lives. Teachers who love teaching. Builders who love building. Leaders who love their country enough to lead. Life is not about losing. It is about loving and respecting who you are, where you are and why you are there. This is what this and any country needs.

We need to protect what makes us different, and that is our heritage. Cultivating our crops in a healthy manner. Giving back what we have been given - a country which we should be proud of, not robbing it of everything it has.

What we lose - maybe a bigger wage, a better house, the best TV, the fastest car. What we win - life. Maybe it's not just a dream.

Lessons learnt ... lessons to be learnt

Now that autumn has set in, and the summer season has come to an end, I have found the time to set about writing up some posts. Today I would like to look back on the previous season, and tell you about what has been going on... do some catching up.

Well, to begin with the summer was a great learning experience. I had a wonderful, but tiring, time getting to know the hotelier business, and believe me I now know only about one tenth of what I should. I think the best things that came out of this summer were the people I met, and the relationships which started. I know that, whatever else, I am a better person from all this. Firstly, I met a wonderful lady, manager of a hotel in a nearby area. She was able to help me in things I did not know about, and also in a way I could not have imagined. The hotel guests though were the main positive aspect of the summer. I felt a surge of energy whenever I could be of help, and whenever I could spend time just talking to everyone. It seemed that everything was meant to be... you know, when everything just clicks into place. I must admit there were times when I thought that I was about to collapse from all the pressure, and believe me, every day had a new problem, a new "something to be done", but it jsut felt right.

I think that I mostly enjoyed sending people in the right direction. I loved that people felt relexed and were able to enjoy their holidays in peaceful surroundings. I loved being able to solve problems and finding solutions to every day issues. I loved looking at the potential of this area, and knowing that I was helping it become recognized as a great holiday destination.

The learning curve, though, did not end there. The negative aspects also have to be considered, and they were probably the most beneficial parts of my summer. Mu guest book is full of wonderful comments, bu there are also the parts where the guests, confident enough to be able to express themselves, left any negative feelings. One thing that they definitely could not accept was that the area lacked sign posts, lighting, good roads, public transport and generally public services which are lacking in the area.

Unfortunately, the season here is still quite short, and government funds are not adequately invested ( although it can be said that nobody is sure what actually happens to government funds which come into the community).

One thing I have definitely learnt is that I do love anything to do with the travel industry, and I am looking forward to spending more of my time looking inot what I can do to get this area recognised for its natural beauty.

Anyway, as I strive to learn, I would just like to say that the experience was one of the best I've had.

Missing out ...

A few days ago I celebrated my 37th birthday. I have no qualms about my age, in actual fact I rarely even think about it. What I did discover though, this year, was that my overall attitude to life has changed a lot over the past year. The only thing I could think about on this birthday was that I feel that I have let myself down. Things I wanted to do, but never did...people I wanted to spend time with, but never got around to... time I needed to spend with my children, but had to work instead. Philosophising was the name of the game this year, and believe me, it was no fun.

I wondered, as everyone around me was drinking to my health, how I managed to get myself into such a rut. Where had the free spirit gone? Where was the dreamer, the ideologist, the perfectionist - those parts of me that made me ... me? The answer was nowhere, and the only thing that I wanted to do was to look back on this year. A year of sheer hard work, even getting up in the morning had become arduous. What had I achieved ... to my mind ... nothing. A quick run through of the year went something like this:

1. Working hard for peanuts
2. No holiday (for the sixth year in a row)
3. Less free time
4. More stress
5. Bigger bags under my eyes
6. No pick me ups
7. Aches and pains in unusual places
8. Still working on an unfinished book
9. Battling to save natural areas like the one I chose to live in

On the plus side:

1. My kids are well
2. I walk a lot
3. I'm still singing
4. I'm still writing poetry and songs
5. I have met a lot of new people through my blogs
6. My mind is still in one piece

I've never really had a birthday like this one. It was different. I somehow feel more lost now than I have ever felt, although it shouldn't be like this. I'm at a point in my life where I should feel more secure and I don't. The reasons are many. I have even felt that I must have managed to attract sadness and misery at some point throughout my life, and now I just can't seem to get rid of it. Somehow I seem to have lost my way, and now it's like wading through a muddy river, always getting stuck, watching life pass by and knowing at the back of my mind that I am missing out on something ...

Anyway, I blew out the candles on my cake, making a wish, and believe me this years wish was from deep within me. I let a teardrop fall, and thanked the lord that it was dark, and no one noticed.

I hope your birthdays are a lot better than mine ...

How to be Greek....

In my last post I asked for feedback on why people live in other countries ... what makes them stay there ... and their thoughts on the homeland. I have received various replies, and am still waiting for more so that I can get my article together... so please please mail me with your thoughts.

Today, sitting at home, various thoughts passed through my mind, and I decided to write an article on how to be Greek, for those of you out there who haven't had the good fortune of being part of this misconstrued race.

Here goes... happy reading...

How to be Greek

1. Always be the king of whatever castle you happen to be in.
2. Always be politically somewhere, to the point of making your party your family.
3. Always do tomorrow what has to be done today.
4. Listen to no other opinion, yours is the only correct one.
5. Always wish you had that job in the civil service.
6. Always disobey rules ... weren't they made to be broken.
7. Always look for the easy road, even if it means stepping over every person en route.
8. Believe you know everything about the world even if you haven't traveled 20km further than your doorstep.
9. Bribe anyone and anything in order to get your job done.
10. Remember that Greeks founded democracy.
11. Forget what democracy actually means.
12. Be happy when others are at their lowest.
13. Blame everything on the system.
14. Use your job to exercise power over everybody... even if you are only a clerk.
15. Be proud of your history and archeology.
16. Build on archaeological sites and land of historic significance.
17. Name the law when it obstructs you.
18. Forget the law when it suits you.

Of course, this is all in humor ... or is it??? Maybe you have some thoughts on this....

Greeks around the world

So, let's get personal. Having had a difficult day up to now, and it's only 11 am, I have to get my thoughts into perspective and try to make a new beginning. New beginnings are always difficult, but today I feel like I have to. I won't go into the bad points of the day, suffice to say that a sleepless night due to one of my kids illnesses, and two phone calls from the bank calling in their dues were only the two of the five things that made this a bad day. When I got to my computer I actually wanted to write about last weeks elections, maybe give you some insight into politics in Greece, but even that didn't make me feel better. Anyway, I thought, politics are the same wherever you live. It's a question of too few being in control of so many. So, on opening my e-mails, my mind wandered to what I was going to write about. An e-mail caught my eye, and as I read it my day was suddenly better. It was as if someone had started to take away the burden.

I don't know if you know about the Greeks and the evil eye. From a young age, whenever I was feeling under the weather or had a headache, my grandmother would say "ehis mati...tha se xematiaso"or in Greek"έχεις μάτι...θα σε ξεματιάσω". This meant that someone had seen me, and cast his or her evil eye on me and grandma, having been taught some words, had the power to send the evil eye away. If you have gone through this process, it actually does work. You actually do feel better. Please don't ask me if there is any truth in this. I have no idea, but when grandma said those magic words, boy did I feel better.

Anyway, back to the e-mail. It seems that my post is being read!!! Yes, although I did not believe it myself, I received an e-mail from a wonderful lady in Chicago (Thank you so much for you kind words). It is not the first e-mail I have received, but at that moment I had a great feeling of happiness, surprise, pride and satisfaction. It also gave me an idea. I would love to know more about all of you. I would love to hear your stories. Which parts of Greece and Cyprus are you from? What do you do in the country you are currently living in? Do you need any information from Greece, that maybe I could find out for you? Are you from other countries living in Greece? What would you like to see on this post...Anything...

The "let's get personal" part of this is my story. You see I was born a giver. I'm not sure if it is due to my star sign, Pisces, my upbringing, or just my nature. I just love the look on people's faces when something I have said or done fulfills them. Unfortunately, and this can be verified by the banks and my pocket, this will never make me rich, but I still enjoy giving. I am still lost on my life path, not knowing where I am actually going annoys me. I have a job in which people, and this happens a lot in Greece, continually owe me money (sometimes I think that they will start paying me in kind as they did back in the good old years). I have a degree that I worked so hard for, but is not even respected here. I have loved and lost. I have two children who have to be brought up properly, with a mother who was raised so differently. I have debts (who doesn't...??). I have to find a second job soon. The one thing that I do have is optimism. I believe that solutions and opportunities are out there. We just need to open our eyes and look for them, and unfortunately, here in Greece, it helps if you have binoculars!!!! But this post is not about me... it is about you.

Please send me your stories. Let me know about you and your lives. Maybe I can help you with something. Maybe you can help me on my life's journey. Again I would like to thank the lady (the reason I am not mentioning names is that I do not know if she would want me to) who gave me a smile on a very difficult Wednesday morning.

E-mail : allgreek1@gmail.com

Is it just me ????

Sorry I haven't written in a while, but problems arise, and have to be dealt with.





Something I heard a few days ago has been at the back of my mind, and I feel like sharing it with you. Living in a tourist region can be very hectic, especially during the summer season. People come and go, friends and relatives visit, although I rarely have time to see them. Here in Greece this week is probably the busiest week in all of Greece's tourist resorts, and everywhere seems to be fully booked. Now what I heard may not seem unusual, but I will tell you about it anyway.





Due to the time of year, and the demand for rooms, some people have thought it wise to move out of their homes, renting them to passers-by, who have been searching high and low for places to stay. It seems that anywhere you go, you can find people willing to give up their own homes in order for the weary travellers to have a place to stay. Seems fine. A good deed. Some may even be astounded that there are actually people who care enough to do this. That is what I thought, until I found out the prices they were charging!!!



You see I am a positive person. I always try to look on the bright side, but this really did take my breath away. Newly married couples with month old babies are moving out and tourists are moving in.



A sign of the times you may say. The European Monetary System seems to have affected our lives in ways that we would never have imagined a decade ago. The situation is drastic and as every country has its fair share of problems, although the weaker links, including countries like Greece are now going through a very difficult stage in the globalisation process. With no industrial foundations, no incentives, no real investments outside the areas of the two main cities, Athens and Salonika, foreseeable improvements in quality of life are not on the horizon. So what do we do? What future do our children have?



Greece seems to be turning into a country with two main classes, which I have classified in my own way- the "haves" and the "have nots". Those who have money and those who don't. Those who have connections and those who don't. Those who have education and those who don't. Those who bribe and those who don't. Those who pull strings and those who don't. The list is endless, but the worrying factor is that there is no middle ground. Banks, loan sharks, money launderers prosper, while people run from job to job, trying to make ends meet and live a comfortable life.

The bottom line is that the Euro did much more than unite European countries with one currency. It changed everything, even personalities. The Greek State, as most states, did not prepare their people for drastic consequences - consequences which are now coming to light, as bank lending reaches its peak, and poverty begins to rear its ugly head. I am no expert, but all I see are full pockets , that are being lined with even more, and empty pockets, that now have holes in them.

Is it just me letting myself become pessimistic or are there others out there who feel let down?This is our Europe. This is our Greece. This is our home. A home we are willing to sell to the highest bidder. What will be on the market next??

A dog's life....

Having made the decision to leave Wales and live in Greece, I have never looked back, but I seem to have lost the ability to look forward. Greece is a country which may seem, at first glance, "developed" is actually "developing", and, I might add, at a very slow rate. 12 years of living here I have been able to achieve nothing of what I had hoped, apart from my 2 children. I live in a village on the Northwest coast, opposite Corfu. A university graduate, with 3 languages under my belt, I moved here with hopes of aspiring in a career which I actually never began. I never liked the thought of working with children, but once settled here, I decided to teach English, as there seemed no real teaching going on. Foreign Languages, as I discovered, were not and are not taught well enough in schools, and since we live in a country which thrives from tourism, it is a necessity...(although someone should tell the Inland Revenue, who seem to think of it as a luxury)...Luxury...a word I have forgotten the meaning of...anyway. Where was I, oh yes, I did love teaching at some point, but owning a language school in Greece, is not the perfect answer to any one's dreams, especially when nobody seems to feel obliged to pay fees when they are supposed to and so I sleep each day quoting sayings ...as you made your bed, so you must lie in it, being the most common. But I feel the need to change, as bankruptcy rears its weary head, and my children become more demanding. I am open to all ideas, as long as they are legal and moral, so that I can at least do more than lead a dog's life....