Page 19 – Life Beyond Borders

Across the Atlantic by container ship

Europe to the Caribbean

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May 10, 2012

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I wrote this post before I went to Hong Kong on my container ship trip. Yes, I went across the Atlantic in 2005!

You’re going WHERE?

enquired well-meaning friends. It was not so much my destination(s) that fascinated them: Guadeloupe, Martinique, Colombia and Costa Rica – rather the fact I had chosen to get there by ship, no – not a cruise ship but a passenger on a Del Monte ‘banana boat’…a container ship if you will.

But why?

asked my father.

“The journey’s all part of the fun…besides, you should understand, being an ex man of the sea.”

Having been nurtured since birth on stories of the great high seas and countries afar, my wanderlust for all things original had certainly been, in part, from his gene pool.

Re-boarding my 'home' after a day out — Re-boarding my container ship home

I boarded the Hornlinie German Del Monte ship in Le Havre. Registered in Liberia, she was an impressive sight – the bridge aft with the containers forward of that and as I was lead up the gangplank by Stewerd Slava, I felt a growing excitement well up inside: 5 weeks round trip – 11 days at sea until our first port of call: Guadeloupe.

My private cabin

rivaled that of any cruise ship – champagne and flowers greeting me. Unpacking I opened my cabin door at the knock and found a German couple standing there: Bernd and Christina from Breman. They helpfully advised that there were 5 other passengers, the rest would be crew. Bliss – only 8 of us!

My days were spent writing, reading,

being shown around and educated about the hold: cargo included electronics’ and cars to the Caribbean, swimming in the small outdoor exercise pool and chatting to the Latvian Captain on the Bridge. I inadvertently found myself thrown into the unofficial role of EFL teacher to the crew – a new career opening, perhaps?

Watching the fire drill - I DO feel safe now! — Watching the fire drill on the continer ship – I DO feel safe now!

Eating with the senior crew three times a day:

salads for lunch, delicious meat and fish dishes for dinner and experiencing sunrise and sunset at sea is an experience beyond explanation. The captain explained in his 25 years of sailing, he had never missed a sunset – always hoping to catch a glimpse of refraction…that green light that bounces off the horizon when the sun hits – he’s only ever seen it twice, and no such luck for me either that trip – proving just how rare this phenomenon was.

24 hr stops at our destinations allowed just enough time to tour the main sights:

bustling local markets of the French Antilles, colonial architecture and the Walled city of Cartagena as well as armed guards with Alsatians tending our ship at Turbo, Colombia (pretty scary, but we were well looked after).

Colours of Cartagena – Colombia

For me, the biggest impact of this trip was the sense of peace being at sea affords you:

how life is put into perspective out here. Seamen are quite spiritual people deep down, despite this crew’s Eastern European dour demeanor. These 5 weeks spent at sea with them – I am starting to see the appeal.

Yes, we even had a pool! — Yes, we even had a pool on our container ship

Thank you, Kevin Griffiths at the Cruise People for organising.

And of course, there were the sunrises and sunsets to admire

TEFL advice

My Expat Experiences

Bex Hall

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May 5, 2012

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Whilst writing my blog, I have found many people asking about how to get involved in TEFL work, so this post will hopefully enlighten you all a little more.

You’ll have seen from my profile that, after a varied career in my native country, I decided to take off and do some travelling. Hence my first foray into teaching English: 4 months in Sri Lanka pre-tsunami.
After a decade of flitting here, there and everywhere, it seemed that I had finally found my ‘calling’ – teaching suited me…I loved the kids and loved nurturing their enthusiasm and passion. However, I didn’t want to teach back in my own country, I wanted to combine teaching with learning about and living in different cultures, hence I knew I would be better suited to EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teaching.

Upon my return to the UK, I earnestly researched to find the right course. Here’s some invaluable advise to all who’re thinking of undertaking EFL work abroad as a career:

There are many organisations that offer TEFL courses (Teaching English as a Foreign Language), but in order to be accepted anywhere and have no restrictions, you need to undertake either the Cambridge CELTA or Trinity TEFL. Look at the British Council’s site for more information on both these qualifications.
Once you’re armed with one of these, you’re ready to throw your dart at a world map and take yourself off (within reason, obviously!). The CELTA and Trinity course usually require you to have a university degree as well.

The next thing to be aware of is the visa restrictions of countries. For example, many North Americans will find it easy to get work in South America, but harder to find work in European countries. This is not due to qualifications, but the visa requirements of that particular country. So do your research.

As mentioned previously, there are numerous organisations that offer their own TEFL qualifications…off the top of my head, Cactus TEFL and i-to-i TEFL offer such courses. They are usually on line courses and don’t offer face to face instruction whereas a one month CELTA or Trinity TEFL includes a certain amount of face-to-face observed teaching contact time, with ‘real’ students.
These other qualifications are not without their merit, but just be aware you will be restricted to where you can work and probably only apply for jobs through these organisations. They will offer a job finder service, placing you in ‘their’ schools.

www.tefl.com is another website offering invaluable information to any perspective teacher.

Now based in Athens, Greece I have to say, I love the work I do. Greece is a country that is very much exam focused and driven, but my training has allowed me to include flexibility within my teaching timetable and allow creative thinking, to develop young minds.

To those of you thinking about this as a ‘serious’ career, do please make sure you choose to take either a CELTA or Trinity TEFL qualification…and whether you end up in Europe, the Far East or South America, good luck to you!

Header image: http://lifeinthetropics.org/tefl-bad-career-choice/

Crete & Andros

Andros
Crete

Bex Hall

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April 29, 2012

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April 2012 saw me participating in the A-Z Blogging Challenge.

The Challenge kept me tied up, therefore not posting about other things. So I took the opportunity for a catch up:

Easter 2012 I was lucky enough to visit two Greek islands: Crete & Andros.

Crete

Caught the overnight ferry (MUCH better way to travel, so civilised) and arrived early morning into Iraklion. Was met by the gentle natured guesthouse owner, Giorgos and driven to the nearby fishing village of Agia Pelagia.

Here I spent a pleasant 4 days doing, well, nothing really! I mean in the sense that I would wake up, walk along the beach to the headland, walk the opposite direction to the church in the countryside and on my last night, had a lovely fish meal cooked for me and another German guest by Giorgos’s mother.

Walks to the headland in Ag. Pelagia – Crete

I had to fly back due to a ferry strike, but read about that altogether rather pleasant experience here.

I stayed at Guesthouse Dioskouroi—they have a Facebook page.

Guesthouse I stayed in in fishing village of Agia Pelagia, Crete.

Andros

The 2nd largest island in the Cycladic chain, I was kindly invited to spend Orthodox Easter there with a friend and her extended family. Taking a short ferry ride from Rafina (another smaller port on the outskirts of Athens), we arrived on this windy island on Orthodox Good Friday. We stayed in a beautiful stone cottage in the middle of NOWHERE! The views were incredible…the whole stay was peaceful, enough lamb and food was consumed to sate everybody on Easter Sunday and all in all, despite Andros’s reputation for being a destination for rich ship owners, I can confirm there are parts that enable you to get away and maybe not see anyone for days (except a goat and sheep or two).

How lucky, to have great weather and gorgeous islands so close.

W is for no W in the Greek alphabet

Lifestyle and culture

Bex Hall

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April 26, 2012

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The Greek alphabet, consisting of 24 letters and is thought to have come about into existence in the 8th or 9th Century BC.

Greek symbols are also used in computer programming. You see? We have a lot to ‘thank’ the Greeks for.

I could write a whole long post about the Greek Alphabet, but as there is no ‘W’, I’ll let you look at the alphabet table below and research yourself. Suffice to say, I’ve been in Greece 3.5 years and you’ll often find me at the back of the trolley or bus, muttering away to myself out loud when I see signs on shops, etc., trying to pronounce the words. I’m getting there, albeit slowly, and with a lot of odd looks from people.

Featured image courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_alphabet

U is for Ulysses

Lifestyle and culture

Bex Hall

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April 24, 2012

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Not the book by James Joyce, but Ulysses is the Latin name for Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, a small Ionian island near Kefalonia.

His claim to fame is the length of time (10 years) it took him to return home to Ithaca after the 10 year Trojan War. Hence the poem “Odyssey.”

Because Odysseus is taking such a long time to return home, his wife Penelope is having trouble fending off potential suitors.

Why is it taking her husband so long to return?

Well, seven years were spent in captivity on the island of Ogygia, where Calypso keeps making advances on him, which he gallantly refuses (wow – a man spurning advances from a woman???). Eventually Calypso lets him go, after the God Hermes instructs here that “Enough is enough.” She helps him build a raft, gives him food, water and clothing and off he goes. But the God Poseidon doesn’t like this, thus wrecks the raft. Odysseus swims to shore and finds himself on the island of Scherie, home of the Phaeacians.

Here he recounts his story of the Trojan War to them.

The Phaeacians are skilled mariners and return Odysseus safely to Ithaca in the dead of night. Instead of returning straight to Penelope, he disguises himself as a beggar (remember she’s got all these suitors bothering her?). He arrives at the palace where a servant cleans him up, but this servant recognises Odysseus because of a huge hunting scar on him. He swears the servant to secrecy.

The next day, there is an archery competition (arranged by the Goddess Athena) for the Suitors to partake in for Penelope’s hand. Odysseus also takes part. The bow used is Odysseus’s original bow and therefore obviously he performs the best (stringing it and shooting the arrow through a dozen axe heads). Once he’s won this, he turns the bow on the Suitors and kills them all, plus hangs 12 household maids who had betrayed Penelope, had sex with the Suitors or both. Other people in Ithaca who dared to betray Odysseus are also slain and Ithacais returned to its rightful rulers once more.

Lesson? If your other half goes missing for 10 years or more, there’s probably a damn good explanation for it, so give him/her a chance.

T is for Tavli

Lifestyle and culture

Bex Hall

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April 23, 2012

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I think you’ll understand that I love this country, feel very passionate about it and get defensive on Greece’s behalf, despite the fact I’m English.

One of the ongoing threads running through my posts has been about the love of culture and how much I love the Greek way of life. One of these loves is the tradition of playing Tavli.

What’s Tavli? I hear you ask.

It’s Greek Backgammon and contrary to popular belief, it’s not just played by old men sitting in the kafenio’s twiddling their worry beads. Young people play it too whilst sipping a cold frappe or hot cappuccino, or an ouzo.

I love watching young people do this: it for SURE beats the hell out of watching someone drink themselves into a stupor. WHAT a nice, sociable way to pass the time. Seems we can learn a lot from the Greeks.

S is for Skopelos

Skopelos

Bex Hall

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April 21, 2012

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I wrote a post here about this “Mamma Mia” Greek island in the Western Aegean sea. Do check it out, it has a lot of lovely, pretty pictures with information about how to get there as well as where to stay. It’s a beautiful place, quieter than neighbouring Skiathos and on a par with Alonissos, another beautiful island.

So, here are a selection of photos from this beautiful island, where “Mamma Mia” was filmed. Enjoy!

It's a very green island, is Skopelos — It’s a very green island, is Skopelos

The "Mamma-Mia" wedding church in the distance — The “Mamma-Mia” wedding church in the distance – Skopelos

The beauty & colours literally took my breath away in Skopelos

There are no words... — There are no words…peacefulness of Skopelos

And then, as I left on an early morning ferry, the sunrise made my heart break. I cried when I saw this

I was weeping at the beauty. Leaving Skopelos

THIS is what makes me love Greece.

This week I’m connecting with some other travel blogs through #SundayTraveler. Visit Frank About Croatia for some other great travel stories.

O is for Oedipus

Lifestyle and culture

Bex Hall

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April 17, 2012

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In a previous post I talked about Eros and all the problems he had with looking so beautiful.

It also addressed issues surrounding his mother with his girlfriend, later wife, Psyche. As I mentioned in that post; there are issues surrounding Greek mothers and their sons. The feedback I received indicates to me that people might be interested to know more (who hasn’t had problems with their mother-in-laws?) So I decided to briefly explore Oedipus with you, in order to hopefully shed some light onto this phenomenon.

Laius & Jocasta were King & Queen of Thebes (a region in Greece, not far from where I spent my first year actually – see this post). Jocasta took a long time to bear children, so Laius went to consult the Oracle of Delphi. He was told that if the Queen bore a son, the son would kill him.

Guess what? Jocasta eventually gave birth to a son, so Laius bound his ankles (nice!) so he couldn’t learn to crawl, gave him to a servant & instructed him to leave the boy in the mountains to die.

Taking pity on the boy, the servant passed him onto a shepherd to be looked after and to cut a long story short, the boy was eventually brought up by Polybus & Merope –King & Queen of Corinth. They named him “Oedipus” because of the swelling due to the injuries on his ankles: “oedema” means “swelling”

Eventually learning that these people weren’t his real parents, Oedipus goes in search of them – encounters his real father on the road (neither knows who one another are), get into some silly fight about who has right of way and Oedipus kills Laius (in self defense), non the wiser that he’s killed his father – just some silly old man who insisted it was his right of way on the mountain path.

Now the people of Thebes have no King, when Oedipus arrives they offer the Queen Jocasta as a gift to Oedipus – they marry and bear 4 children together (I don’t know if the incest affected the kids).

Well, the town of Thebes suddenly begins to suffer from lack of crops, infertility in women and all manner of problems…the Oracle at Delphi informs them that the murderer of Laius all those years ago must be found, killed or exiled as this is the source of their problems.

Yet more revelations come about and in the end, Jocasta comes to understand that Oedipus DIDN’T die in the wilderness, in fact he lived and in fact, she’s MARRIED TO HER SON!

Well, in her disgust off she goes and hangs herself. Oedipus, meanwhile, also finds out about his past through the grapevine of servants and off he trots to find his wife/mother – sees she’s hanged herself and in one version of the story, takes a brooch from her gown and stabs his eyes out. Other versions say that Laius’s servant blinded him…either way, he went blind.

Oedipus, in his disgust, scratches his eyes out

How does this relate to mothers and their sons?

Freud coined the term “Oedipus Complex” to explain the unconscious desire all boys have for their mothers and the unconscious thought to kill their fathers for exclusivity to their mothers. He also says that Oedipus KNEW Laius was his father when he killed him.

Freud? Sex obsessed?

I’m sorry, but personally I think Freud’s a bit sex obsessed and maybe needed therapy himself – and was actually a DANGEROUS PERSON to be a psychologist. It would also suggest that it’s the BOYS who’re the problem, not the mothers (because in the story, as soon as Jocasta found out, she killed herself). I still maintain, however, that the relationships between Greek mothers and their sons borders in some cases on the unhealthy.

Comments?

Header picture courtesy of : http://www.lifebeyondbordersblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/T10-14-ENT-Oedipus-the-Tyrant-1.jpg

Plane Psychology

My Expat Experiences

Bex Hall

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April 12, 2012

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I had the unfortunate experience of being stuck in the ferry strike whilst on Crete over the 2012 Easter holidays (Western Easter), so I had to return to Athens by plane.

Actually, it wasn’t sooooo unfortunate as I always manage to find something to write about, this time being no exception.

The first thing that struck me about Heraklion Airport in Crete was that it must have the friendliest security staff – ever.

Example: upon scanning my trolley bag I was hoping to take as hand luggage, the security lady took one look at my liquids and “Uh huh’d” me. Instead of demanding I give up these nice shower gels, toothpaste and body lotion (like other airports I won’t mention – probably for them to take home at the end of the day), she places a hand on my arm and says:

You have too many nice smelly things here over 100g. Why don’t you just pop back and check the bag in? Then come back to me here to go through again.

Off I trot – luckily, despite Crete being a large island the airport is still a small one and therefore it doesn’t take me long to get to the check in desk. Being a small airport, you then have to go to have the bag scanned by a separate security lady. This one’s a bit rough looking: smoker’s sin, hard eyes…but don’t be fooled, even she’s nice. She’s beaming at the little blonde boy who’s hiding behind his dad’s leg from her.

Now for the psychology bit.

Even in a small airport with less hustle and bustle,

why, when the flight is announced, do people still scramble to be first on?

I can understand if it’s an easyjet or similar flight as they have no seat allocation, hence this reduces people to animalistic forays of:

“This seat’s MINE” – but as other airlines allocate seats, why not just wait? Most of the time you can’t reach your seat immediately due to the person blocking the aisle by taking their time settling down, anyway.

And the same applies vis a vis: when disembarking.

The ‘first on first off’ philosophy rules. Have you noticed the clicks of unleashed seat belts almost as soon as the plane’s hit the tarmac? These people are oblivious to the screaming flight attendant: “Ladies and Gentlemen, will you PLEASE remain in your seats until the aircraft has come to a COMPLETE STANDSTILL.”

Ahhh – the psychology of flying.

Note: Featured image is not necessarily of Heraklion airport.

“H” is for Honey

Bex Hall

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April 9, 2012

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Welcome back A-Zers! Did you have a good Sunday’s rest? (It also happened to be Christian Easter Sunday, I hope you enjoyed yourself, whatever you were doing).

Today’s post is about Honey.

Greek honey, or ‘meli’ is delicious! You think you’ve tasted honey, and then you come to Greece and realise you’ve never tasted honey before. It’s sweet (obviously) but it’s more than that: it’s transparent, it’s completely pure and is used in a variety of dishes, sweet and savoury alike. Apparently the best honey comes from lime and orange trees. Because Greece has such a rich flora and perfect temperatures, this is reflected in the quality of the honey produced.

If you read my ‘B’ post earlier this week (2^nd April), you’ll see I wrote about Baklava. Honey is drizzled over this. And you simply MUST try fried Graviera cheese with sesame seeds and honey – it’s simply out of this world. This dish can be found at this restaurant I blogged about earlier in the year.

Not only is honey good to taste but in Ancient Greece, Hippocrates, father of medicine emphasised the pharmaceutical affects of honey.

And we all know the importance of bees – as Einstein once quoted:

If bees were to disappear from the surface of the Earth, man would have no more than 4 years to live.

Bees are in decline – and just look around us: global warming, economic crisis (OK, not directly attributed to bees, but can you see where I’m heading with this?). Hmmm, maybe there’s some truth to what he said.

Is this what will happen to the Earth if bees disappear? Source: http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it-the-rise-of-the-post-carbon-era/ — Is this what will happen to the Earth if bees disappear?
Source: http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it-the-rise-of-the-post-carbon-era/

“F” is for Farmer’s Market

Bex Hall

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April 6, 2012

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Moving away from mythology for a while now and looking at local happenings in Athens:

Referred to as ‘laiki,’ these weekly Farmer’s Markets come to a neighbourhood near you on a set day of the week. Mine comes on a Monday & sets up ready for about 8am, running to about 2 or 3pm (but I have seen them still taking down stalls at 5).

The first part of the market sells the fruit and vegetables, with the odd cheese and fish stall thrown in – wander further down and you’ll see on display clothes, shoes, textiles, perfumes and kitchen ware, plus any seasonal paraphernalia (plastic Christmas tree anyone?)

Many people prefer to buy their fruit and veg here as it offers more selection than the local supermarket – plus can be cheaper. For example, I needed just one onion and went to buy one from the ‘laiki,’ only to be given a withering look from the stall holder as if I had insulted him trying to offer him money! He bagged it up for me and waved me away.

You’ll often see people – young and old weaving through the stalls with their shopping trolleys, then all laden up, struggling onto the trolley to return home. As previously mentioned, markets are held in different neighbourhoods in Athens and bigger Greek cities throughout the week, so many people frequent these places every day of the week, some travelling quite far to do so.

So when you come here, do make sure you find out when your local Farmer’s Market is being held and pay it a visit, even just for a wander through to take in the sites, smells and trader’s shouts that will enthral you.

P.S. I’m off to Crete for 4 days tonight so will be blogging from there – have a great Easter everyone! Our Orthodox Easter isn’t until next week.

“E” is for Eros (pronounced “E”, not ‘Iros’) – Greek God of Love & Passion

Lifestyle and culture

Bex Hall

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April 5, 2012

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Now for a bit more Greek Mythology:

Contrary to popular belief, the statue in Piccadilly Circus in London is not that of Eros, but that of Anteros, the God of Unrequited Love – and Eros’s brother.

Eros & Psyche
Source: http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Pr-Sa/Psyche.html

Their mother was Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, Beauty, Passion and Procreation.

Eros is depicted in statues and paintings as a full grown, beautiful man. His relationship with Psyche, the Goddess of the Soul was a somewhat troubled one. Eros’s beauty and radiance was said to be almost dangerous, therefore Psyche was never allowed to look at his face, to have visits from him in the dead of the night (this is all for her own safety, you understand).

Eventually Psyche, goaded by her sisters and family that Eros must, in fact, be ugly, gets fed up with this ‘bollocks’ thus one night, strikes a match and lights an oil lamp in order to see her beloved.

What happens? Well, she seems him and trembles so hard at his beauty that the oil lamp is spilt onto Eros, causing him burns. He flies away from her shaking, physical desire and is understandably pretty p*ssed off, 1) that he’s burnt and 2) that his beloved doubted him enough to not follow his rules.

Aphrodite, Eros’s mother is also p*ssed at Psyche and tries all manner of things to get rid of her, mostly by trying to kill her by asking her to collect water from the River of the Dead.

Eros, meanwhile, is recovering from his injuries and eventually does so, defies his mother and marries Psyche.

You see girls? Desire can be a dangerous thing and mothers-in-law can be even worse. Greeks sure know how to explain modern day phenomenon’s well, and trust me, Greek mothers and their sons are the WORST. Not all Greek men are as strong as Eros and stand up to their mothers.

“B” is for Baklava

Restaurants, bars & desserts

Bex Hall

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April 2, 2012

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A dear, dear friend of mine who is a regular follower of my blog and my other writing ventures (ie: my book attempt) is delighted with this A-Z Challenge and was desperate to know what ‘B’ would be about, suggesting:

“B is for Bex—a Brilliant British Babe Blogging Basic Bits and Bytes aBout her Beautiful Balkan aBode to Beings Benighted By Bias and Benumbed By Bad Beliefs Blazed aBroad By Bum Broadcasters”

Ahhhh – thanks but alas no. Read on for today’s Byte:

So, as you all know by now, I’m located in Athens, Greece. One of the lovely things about living in Greece is the ‘fageto’ (food) or, especially in my case, Greek desserts.

Baklava at my local bakery – yum!

One of my favourites is ‘baklava’ – a dessert of chopped nuts, filo pastry and sweetened with honey. It is actually quite typical food of the former Ottoman Empire, therefore can also be found in South Western Asian countries such as Turkey and also popular around the Balkan region (Greece’s geographical location lends it exposure to a rich cultural diversity: the edge of Europe, the ‘bridge’ to the Central and Middle East).

Some date baklava as far back as ancient Mesopotamia, claiming it was mentioned in ancient cookbooks. Whatever its age or origin, Baklava can be enjoyed today throughout Greece – eaten whilst spending 3 or 4 enjoyable hours over a frappe, chatting with friends.

Featured Photo by Ronaldc5

It’s the little things…

Bex Hall

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March 29, 2012

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…that make me love this country.
For example: I went to the Post Office today to pay an electricity bill. They have one of those special machine thingys that you can put the bill in and pay your cash through the machine, saves you waiting for a Teller.

So, I am happily feeding in my cash, when I realise that they charge 70c extra to do this. And I am short by 50c. But no worries! The manager of this particular post office always seems to be on hand around this machine (maybe because a lot of the old people get confused by it)…and he sees I’m short, and digs his hand into his pocket to pay the rest for me!!!!

This actually happened a while back too – at the same post office from the same man, when I was sending a letter to the UK. I weighed the letter, only to find that time I was 1 Euro short.

“Den Pirazi!” exclaims previously mentioned manager as I start to tell him I’ll come back tomorrow and buy the stamp instead. He fixes me with a ” Oh Purleeeeeese” look and yes, you’ve guessed it, comes up with the 1 Euro.

I’d better not make a habit of it though – but it’s just another small example of the humanity offered here – don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty to be frustrated with too, but it’s nice to share the good examples.

BTW: make sure you check out my blog throughout April. I will be entering the Blogging from A-Z 2012 Challenge and each day (except Sunday’s) will have a different theme, from A-Z.

Socrates

My Expat Experiences

Bex Hall

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February 29, 2012

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He sits there, staring at me. I narrow my eyes at him, he narrows them back. Oh good! We’re off to a good footing then.

Contrary to popular belief, the narrowing of eyes is not a sign of hostility – I’ve shown him he can trust me, clearly he is reciprocating.

I slowly crawl up to him, he watches me warily. I sit on the floor at his feet. After about 5 minutes, Socrates jumps up off the couch – he’s decided he really likes me as he’s decided he wants to move our relationship forward – by trying to sit on my lap. No wait! Not my lap, what’s this? Ah ha! He’s trying to stretch himself up the entire length of my body.
NOW what? Oh, he’s inviting himself into my bedroom now. He jumps on the bed – looks like he belongs there.

Do I allow this? After all, we haven’t even been together 24 hours! But then I take it as a huge compliment – from a former street cat.

Yes, Socrates is another NineLives rescuee and is staying with me for Feb & March. Socrates was found wandering the streets of Omonia, a rough district of Athens. He’d been a house cat as he wasn’t streetwise at all and was nearly run over several times in his discombobulated state. Along comes NineLives: they rescue him, take him to a vet to be cleaned up, de-worm and inject him and then he needs a temporary home…this is where I come in.

He likes to have a LOT of affection, food, sleep, food, oh! and to sleep in the bathroom sink sometimes (this scared the living daylights out of me at 3am, when I had to go to the loo).

Keep up the good work NineLives – we love you, and I know Socrates does, for rescuing him.

Have you enjoyed this post? Then why not share it on your Twitter, Facebook and / or Google+ account? It’d mean so much to me! You can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter

Fine dining in Athens

Bex Hall

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February 7, 2012

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I don’t know why I haven’t written about this place sooner. In the Spring of 2010, an old work colleague took me to a local taverna/restaurant in my neighbourhood. Located about 10 minutes walk from a busy thorough fare, yet in a lovely quiet platia (square), Tzitzikas ki o Mermikas is a delightful find…

The name is Greek for those animals that make the high pitch screeching in the trees in the summer. Most people think these animals are Cicadas’ – they are in some countries. It’s hard to find an English translation for the Greek name of these animals (any Greek person reading this care to provide one?)
And did you know they make this noise to cool themselves down? Anyway, I digress:

Tzitzikas ki o Mermikas has 4 restaurants in Athens in total: Halandri, Syntagma (in the centre and popular with tourists), Kifissia (in the Northern suburbs) and Ano Patissia. The one in my neighbourhood is less touristy, therefore I love to treat myself and frequent it whenever I’ve had a bad day in the month and want to cheer myself up. I’m lucky: the staff have got to know me now and we often chat, and if I’m lucky, I get a free dessert too!

Decorated with food stuffs from the 1950’s, the place has a homely feel.

The menu is varied, offering Appetisers, fish, meat, salads and a variety of wines. My favourite is the spinach, pomegranate and bacon salad with balsamic dressing, croutons and fresh Parmesan cheese. Of the meat, I invariably go for “Chicken Mastihato” – a sweetish chicken dish cooked in fresh cream, Chios mastic alcohol and set atop a nest of kantaifi pastry (the stringy pastry you see with Baklava Greek desserts sometimes). Oh it’s DELICIOUS!

Food can be a little pricy – but offers are frequent, eg: 2 dishes for 15 Euros.

Menu in Greek and English

My favourite spinach salad – mouthwatering, literally!

Not only is the food delicious at Tzitzikas ki o Mermikas, you are paid attention to, receive good service and most importantly – friendly too. It feels like I’m going to a friend’s house for a meal.

So, enjoy the pictures and make sure when you come to Athens, you visit this highly recommended place.

Why we love/hate Greece in equal measures

My Expat Experiences

Bex Hall

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January 17, 2012

2

I had written a post back in November 2011, looking at the juxtaposition/bipolarness of Greece. We all love and hate her in equal measures. My friend today had a frustrating example of why we hate not GREECE, but the GREEKS sometimes:

She has had to move back to the States (she’d MUCH rather be living in Greece though). To send her children to school in the States, she needs the ORIGINAL record of their school marks from their school (a private English school, I might add) in Athens. They had sent a copy in the summer, but with no name of the school, no school stamp and not even with her child’s name on the piece of paper (i.e. this could be ANYONE!). In frustration, my friend says the following (I quote from her).

” I said to her angrily that they would laugh at me if I do this, especially coming from Greece! She goes on saying that she takes offence to this and that I better not talk SHIT about Greece. Yes, she actually said SHIT!!”

My friend has a point: if you sent any office in Greece just a blank piece of paper with a list of grades on it with no headed paper, no stamp of the school and above all, no name of the actual student – they WOULD laugh at you.

This lady got defensive about my friend seemingly talking SHIT about Greece.

Herein lies the problem: GREECE is not the problem, it’s (some – I hasten to add before I am lynched) Greeks.

Peter Economides gave a very insightful talk on Sunday 15th Jan about ‘Rebranding Greece’ – here is the version he gave in Thessaloniki in November 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Chhn5oEmITs&feature=related
The crux of it is – Greece already HAS everything…the sunsets, the view of the Acropolis (I never tire of walking to catch my bus on the way to work, lifting my eyes just fractionally and seeing the Parthenon at the bottom of the main road), the warmth and hospitality of her people – but it is people AS A WHOLE, the SYSTEM that needs to change.

HOW though? Let’s see if we can bring Greece out of her slumber and her people to the forefront of Europe – not talked about for the wrong reasons.

The Grass is always greener…not in my case!

My Expat Experiences

Bex Hall

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January 14, 2012

6

A couple of posts ago, I was claiming how I couldn’t wait to return ‘home.’ I cited bad grey weather in the UK over Christmas – not only that, but rain too.

Well, sometimes there’s a “grass is always greener” syndrome…ie: I would get back to Greece/Athens and then think “Wait! I wish I was back in the UK!” Invariably this would be prompted because of a:
1) strike
2) people shouting at each other in the trolley
or really, let’s face it in these times – just about anything!

No, I can honestly say I am on the greener side of the grass (for the moment, let’s not jinx myself). The above IS happening, and with increasing frequency, especially number 2 – but within 24 hrs of my arrival back ‘home’ I had had a LUSH home cooked meal with my 2 friends, coffee with another and borne witness to a HUGE row on the trolley bus – more menacing than usual and nearly ending in fisticuffs.

I feel for what’s happening here – I really do. I just wonder how long we’re all supposed to cope like this. But at the same time, there’s that weird juxtaposition in me that loves the people here, how ready individuals are to open themselves up, open their homes up. Remember, I always did say it was Greece as a WHOLE that was an issue, not Greeks individually.

Love you Greece – may you never loose you spirit, no matter HOW hard ‘they’re’ trying to break it.

What is it about the sea?

My Expat Experiences

Bex Hall

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January 9, 2012

2

I’ve been debating which of my blogs to write this – and decided here is best. Yes, it does involve Greece, but is a general topic so I thought I’d share it with my avid followers here :0)

Yesterday was a sunny day in Athens, but COLD. Ohhhhhh so cold. Many might think that Greece is hot and sunny all year round, but in the winter it can be cold – mainly because it’s humid, hence the air gets wet and into your bones.

Being as it was so sunny, I had the choice: go for a walk in the Park and have a hot chocolate, or do the same by the sea. I decided on the latter – and was so glad I did.

Hopping on the tram, I meandered my way down to the coast and watched the mixture of classical and grey buildings whizz by. After about 30 minutes, these buildings start thinning out, we turn a corner and there – I am confronted with the sea finally. I IMMEDIATELY felt my spirits lift. There’s something so peaceful about the sea that I can understand one wanting to make their livelihood from it or on it.

There’s something beautiful about the Mediterranean sea, even in winter

Sunday blues banished – the mixture of setting sun on the horizon is beautiful.

It’s the simple things in life

UK

Bex Hall

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December 30, 2011

0

In a piece I wrote for my “Leaving Cairo…” blog recently, I spent quite a long time moaning about being back in the UK, even though I’m just visiting for the holiday season. Well, I decided – despite the abysmal weather, to get up off my arse and go for a wander along the local canal.
Off I trot – all wrapped up in silk thermals and scarfs, and guess what? Yes, the heavens decide to open.

So there I am, hood up on my waterproof and grumbling about the UK and the only good thing about my dad’s home town is the Indian take away – when I stop dead in my tracks: there, gliding along effortlessly are a mother and father swan (Hen & Cob) with their two offspring. I walk slower this time – and as if sensing my discomfort, very patiently stop for me under the shelter of a bridge, cocking their beautiful necks to one side and eyeing me as if to say
“It’s OK – we know it’s crap, but come and chat to us, we’ll listen.”

I reach into my pocket and pull out a slice of brown bread (brought with me for this very reason – on the off chance I run into some ducks…but I never imagined SWANS!). I throw some in – they gobble it down. I try a different approach: I tear off a bigger piece and lean forward ever so slightly – the male glides up to me, stretches his neck forward and gently takes it from my hands.

I felt quite emotional: in a world where people spend most of their time around technology, (and I am just as guilty – I have just received my Kindle through the post and will be spending the miserable, rainy afternoon playing with it), it is a beautiful thing when nature reminds us what is real and beautiful in life.

Thank you – mama swan and co. Now, back to my Kindle…