oh yeah,

I found out this week that I have been officially accepted by my new organization, International Teams. Good to know I passed all my psych tests and I'm not crazy (whew)!

I also seem to have come through this rough patch - slash - month of culture shock. Things are good - extremely busy, but good. (Come to think of it, it's a good thing I didn't have to take those psych tests last month!) Now I am just preparing like mad for the three day seminar I'm teaching in Cyprus later this week, and I have two more weeks of Greek, and then I'm going on a little mini weekend vacation to get the heck out of here relaaaaaax!

strikes

(photo from Times Online)

Yesterday was the biggest national strike I've seen since being here in Athens - we already have a petrol strike going on (which has been going long enough that my supermarket is becoming quite picked over as delivery trucks aren't able to be on the road with no gas), but yesterday was a huge general strike - public transportation, airport, schools, government offices, courts, even historical monuments (including the Acropolis) and media (there was no news on last night)!

From a friend's balcony in the center I watched 30,000 people demonstrate (click and watch that video) through the streets with huge signs, chants, drums and bells...the labor unions all joined together to demonstrate against the governments "austerity measures" and tax hikes to meet E.U. requirements over the next month to reduce the deficit. Other groups were marching for papers for all refugees and immigrants. I walked past the university - where police are not allowed to come on campus since 1973 - and there was a huge banner over the front gates with the word "KATOXH" painted on it - "Occupation" - which basically means they have taken over as their place to hide when things get hairy!

We walked back inside the house for a minute and heard glass breaking - we rushed back out onto the balcony and saw some masked guys breaking the windows of a fast food restaurant below. It is ridiculous, no one stops them as they vandalize a Greek company - it wasn't even a foreign (esp. American) company that were the victims of the riots over a year ago! There were also some clashes with police and tear gas fired (of course) in the center.

A friend recommended a dentist to another friend the other day with the explanation: "It costs 50 euro for a cleaning if you don't want a receipt, and 80 euro if you do want a receipt." This is so demonstrative of the mess that this country now finds itself in - everyone has two sets of books to evade tax paying. Those who do actually pay will now be penalized by tax hikes as the new government seeks to meet E.U. requirements for Greek financial accounting. So we will be having more of these strikes, essentially shutting down the entire country, until we see what "solution" is reached next month...

eeps!

My hopes from last August for doing a training in Cyprus are coming true! Next week I will go there to do a three day seminar on anti-trafficking and after care, and I just found out there are 43 people signed up!! (wow!!!!)

Return of the dust...

The African dust has returned! I remember this from last year, when thick brown dust from the Sahara blows right up into Greece and hangs like smoke in the air. Yesterday morning on the roof of my Greek school we watched the dust clouds blowing in, covering the clear blue skies. Today you wouldn't know it's a sunny day; it looks overcast and reminds me of the smoke we had during Southern California fire season!

This is from California a couple years ago, when Kristin and I were moving out of our apartment before I moved to Greece:Athens looks pretty much the same today (it's a little thicker than that right now actually), except instead of a smoky smell we are breathing in dust. I just discovered there is even a website to check the dust forecast - as you can see we are pretty well covered!

You can't hang your clothes outside to dry and you can't wear white or you come home wearing brown. And I won't tell you what you get when you blow your nose! :)

and, the shelter.

Well, obviously I survived the weekend away, and, more importantly, so did the girls! I had no idea how my stay at the shelter would go, for me or for them. I was afraid I might be a pushover, or an emotional wreck by the end of it. I hear "strong personalities" and I want to run in the other direction. I guess I have quite a bit more experience than most in this field (trafficking) and ideally I am a good fit for something like this - which is why they asked me to come (and offered me a job, but never mind about that) - but come on, I was a little nervous. :)

And we had our bumps, like the two girls who hate each other (they worked together before coming to the house and the feud goes back quite some time), the meddling and worrying Greek house mom who actually agitated the girls more than she helped, manipulative girls and clashes over housework and cell phone usage. It was hard to see a 5 year old in an environment like this and the sad effects it has on her. It was frustrating having to calm down and mediate between a 65 year old woman and younger girls who you would expect that from. It was uncomfortable knowing that they were being nice to me because they were hoping I would let them use the phone to call their boyfriend. And to try and manage all this when 10 of the 12 girls speak Russian and none of the staff do! Tough.

But - what a good weekend! Kalli, the amazing shelter manager, got a bit of a break to have a date with her husband and time with her kids. I was able to be firm when necessary, and I was able to earn their respect, while at the same time being able to sit and watch movies, cook, go on walks, and hang out and chat. A couple times I needed to step out on the balcony for fresh air, or go hide in the stairwell to use the internet (they aren't allowed). But it seemed like everyone (even Crazy Nagging House Mom) benefited from stability, calmness, and boundaries. And thank God I was able to have those things!

Alissa, a 22 year old from Russia (the one who pierced her lip), a child herself with a 2 year old son back home, was a bit scary at first (big girl with narrow eyes, a hard face and lots of piercings, whose only English is the word "striptease"). She didn't speak English or Greek, but we managed to communicate. I made her mad one night when they were supposed to be watching a DVD but she wouldn't stop flipping through her Russian music video channels. I finally raised my voice a bit and said either put the DVD on now, or turn the TV off. She shoved the remote control into my hand, and stormed out, yelling in Russian, while everyone else watched. The next morning though she was her cheerful giggly self again. She found out later in the day that her son was being abused back home, and we went for a walk together, trying to communicate while window shopping and enjoying being out of the house. She linked her arm through mine as we walked. My last morning she asked me to help her make crepes for breakfast (the girl is an amazing cook! She cooked almost all the meals and they were all delicious), teaching me how to do it and letting me try. She was the only one who hugged me goodbye. (Not anything I was expecting from this crew...)

Lots of them had kids; most came from abusive or split or low-income families; most are smart and assertive, selfish and manipulative, and trying to get what they can out of the shelter and the services they can provide. Most of them are waiting to get legal papers so they can stay in Greece and work. Odds are a few of them will return to the situation they were rescued from when they leave the house, and I'm sure a few of them don't even understand the gravity of what they were rescued from. One day you love them, the next you don't care if they carry out their murder threats on each other (and almost hope they do).

By the end of the four days, I felt pretty bad for them as they are stuck inside all day every day; I was quite ready to get back to my own life and freedom. All there is to do is watch TV and eat (and eat they do - I was amazed at every meal how much food was consumed!!!). But surprisingly, it was a peaceful time for me. Even with the clashes and contentions, I could handle it, and it didn't feel out of control or really stressful to me. It was actually a good escape from life for me - even good for my Greek - and I felt rested as I was coming home. (Obviously that didn't last very long.)

So, I will not be taking a job with this organization anytime soon, nor moving up north as they have also requested multiple times, but I will undoubtedly be returning to help them more. Even if I can give Kalli a weekend off here and there, I think it's worth it. And dare I say, I even enjoyed myself a little. :)

Dear April,

This is souvlaki. :)

Culture Shock: it's finally caught up with me!

I am back home today. As I feared last week, I was greeted by this ... green. Lots of it. My apartment has an eerie green tint on the inside now. I have no idea how long this will be. But given that I live in Greece, where everything takes 30 times longer than in it should and half the time nothing is happening at all, it could be a long time.

Along with my return to Athens is the return of my pissed-off-and-stressed-out-all-the-time mood. (Not ALL the time, just ... frequently.) I have had it for several weeks and have finally identified it: culture shock!

In talking with a number of long-termers, it seems to be true, and I must admit it's caught me by surprise. My first year was easy; perhaps subconsciously I knew I had an out and could go home when it was over. I loved Greece! Things were ridiculous and inconvenient, but I adjusted accordingly. I still love Greece, and have no question that I am supposed to be here, but now every little annoying cultural thing has been so frustrating. Perhaps I know now that this is longer-term; this is my reality now.

So, the impossibility of getting things done (like getting internet - ahhh!), the reality that the language is HARD, the souvlaki advertisements hung on my doorknob every day, the cement walls that I can't drill into to hang a dang mirror, the green tarp wrapped around the apartment building, the garbage strike (or the taxi drivers strike, or the air traffic controllers strike, or the electricity, gas, or farmers strikes) ... this is my LIFE. Before, I found it easy to just roll with the punches. I assume I will get back to that point (soon I hope!), but at the moment, everything just drives me bonkers and one little thing is enough to send me over the edge.

I was actually relaxed on the train today...it turned out to be a pretty good weekend, which I'll share about soon. But as soon as my taxi driver picked up another passenger, refused to drop me off at my house, and charged me extra for the pickup at the train station (where he was already sitting) and for my luggage (which I was holding), I felt that lovely anxious stress again. It didn't help that I yelled at him (didn't help my calm feelings, I mean).

Well, thanks for listening. I'll look forward to two or three more years down the road when I am supposed to finally hit the "adaptation phase" of my cultural adjustment. :)

"long weekend" has a whole new meaning.

I'm hiding at the top of the stairwell by the door to the roof again; internet is not allowed and I would be pounced instantly if discovered! Let's see...just a few things the last two days have held:

1. Have diffused a few major fights (between the same two people) which include death threats...slept with all the knives and scissors in my room last night. Threatened to sleep on the floor of one of their rooms tonight.
2. I took a girl to the pharmacy because she pierced her own lip with who knows what.
3. The same girl found out that her 2 year old son in her home country is being abused by her alcoholic mother. We went for a walk today for cigarettes and fresh air, and an appropriate lip ring (she was using the one from her tongue!)
4. Monitored phone calls to eight different countries, and confiscated hidden mobile phones and sim cards.
5. One of the girls is pregnant, and finally decided yesterday to keep the baby. It's been fun to watch her embrace the idea.
6. Being slowly driven crazy by the Greek house mom who is as crazy or crazier than some of the residents here.
7. The 5 year old wears more makeup than I do.
8. One of the African girls has a younger sister who has been trafficked to Libya and her family hasn't heard from her in 2 months.
9. Watched countless movies and music videos in Russian! I can almost speak it by now.
10. Given impromptu English and Greek lessons, and talked about life, respecting rules and others and ourselves, boyfriends, babies, movie stars, cars, and our home countries.

I'm a little tired! Things are generally going well, if not a bit crazy. I feel like a mom to 12 kids who need constant monitoring and mediating. My hat goes off to the people who run this place (and others like it), and I am joining in prayers for them for help - specifically trained staff. The shelter manager is here every single day, many days for 10-12 hours. It's been my goal to give her her first weekend off in a very long time so she can be home with her family, and I think we're going to make it!

One more full day for me; I will be the only staff person for most of the day tomorrow (Greek house mom is taking the day off), so hopefully we can avoid any murder attempts or escapees. Crossing my fingers.

ah, the stories we'll tell...

I am grabbing a moment on my computer before all the girls wake up! I arrived at this shelter yesterday afternoon and was thrown right in. The police did another raid yesterday and rescued 11 more girls, 3 of whom gave information right away and came to this shelter a few hours before me. So there are 12 right now in this house - 4 Russians, 3 Uzbeks (the newcomers), 2 Nigerians, 1 Bulgarian, and 1 Ukrainian who has her 5 year old daughter here with her. Would be nice to speak Russian, but I guess if you look at it that way, in my work it would be nice to speak Russian, Romanian, Bulgarian, etc. etc. etc. plus Greek. What can you do. :)

I was talking with the Danish kid who oversees everything here and we were saying what great stories we'll have someday - just yesterday he took these Uzbek girls from the police station to the apartment they were living in to get their belongings out, and had to kick in the door! (He loved it.) The police were pretty sure the trafficker wouldn't come back anytime soon so they sent him without any "back up." "That's the second door I've kicked in in two months!" he said excitedly. Ha.

A couple days ago these Muslim Uzbek girls were sitting in that apartment, locked in and unable to leave, feeling desperate and depressed. They said to each other, ok, if there is a Jesus, let him free us. Not two days later the police raided and now here they are in this shelter. Those are the stories that we like to share!!

Thanks for praying!

a few projects

Since I guess I'm going to be staying awhile, I've been putting a bit more effort into decorating my house and otherwise making it feel like home. Until a few weeks ago my entryway had a big box from moving (yes, I moved last April!) and a mattress leaning against the wall. Nothing says "welcome!" like a storage area at the front door! I didn't think to take a before picture, but here is what my entryway is looking like these days:
Still would like something on the wall above the shelf...
The mirror that nearly cost me my sanity (dumb concrete walls!) :In Paris last May I bought some cute & bright postcards that I have been intending to frame and hang. Again, I know it's been awhile, but I finally got around to it, in the office/dining room/uninspiring extra room! (Please ignore the messy desk!)

(Nails are much easier to pound into concrete than drilling screws...)

Not only have I been doing things on the inside, but apparently they are preparing to do something on the outside too! I woke up yesterday to metal being hammered together just feet from my bedroom window. I investigated, and was startled to see a man on a board on the other side of the glass!!! By the end of the day, my entire building was surrounded by scaffolding:
So...it's anyone's guess, but my assumption is that they are repainting. I am mildly afraid that we are going to be wrapped in green tarp (see piles of suspicious green stuff near the bottom of the photo!). There is a building down the street that has been wrapped in the stuff for months!! I thought that one was uninhabited, but sadly I may be proved wrong... :(

I'll be out of Athens for a few days... (have I trained you yet to check the other blog for ministry-related stuff?) we'll see what my building looks like when I come back!

Did anyone actually think it would work?

Greece fails on stamping out smoking

My favorite line: "Many Greeks take an almost willful delight in defying authority."

Why yes, yes they do.

Or maybe - "[The owners] have succumbed to pressure from customers who regard smoking as a human right."

I know Cassie, and used to like Cafe Boheme - a lot of the foreigners' get-togethers happen there. But yuck - haven't really been back since the smoking started again! What a pleasure to learn that my adopted country is "Europe's most tobacco addicted nation."

simply put,

I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek. I hate Greek.

Excuse me, I had ice cream on Saturday.

This was given as a sheepish apology for sneezing and sniffles last night. Ha ha - SO Greek! I bet she wasn't wearing her coat either. It'll get you every time.

Happy February

Hmm, I need to pay my rent.

Last week was One of Those Weeks. (I'm hoping that this is not extending itself into this week too, although if this morning was any indication, I could be in trouble. For the second day in a row I missed my alarm; I faintly remember pushing snooze at 7:50 and never heard from it again. Proceeded to be a half hour late to Greek class.)

Last week, OoTW, I hated Greece, and Greek, and had a couple of tantrums. Or melt-downs, whichever you prefer. There is also something strange going on as I can't seem to wake up in the mornings and have no energy. My blood test came back with anemia in Cali last month, and I am armed with iron pills...now I just need to remember to take them. Hopefully this is what my problem is. One girl in the office has mono, which is exciting.

I got a tax I.D. number last week = major accomplishment!! I can now officially buy things and have contracts. This works out great for Greece (I can now pay taxes), and only great for me as I can now have things like telephones and internet. :) Yet of course it's not that simple; several days of trying to figure things out and i have a substandard internet connection of my very own in my house (no longer using the neighborhood free wireless that seems to have disappeared last week). Multiple visits to the company office and a few frustrating phone calls later, I may have it figured out. Sometimes you just get so tired of not speaking the language well, not understanding WHY things are the way they are (and they just don't tell you here), and things not working the way they should.

See, maybe this is why I haven't been blogging - it all comes out disjointed and rambly. Here's hoping last week is over and this week is better, my brain retains ridiculous Greek grammatical nuances, and my internet works. And in the meantime please don't forget the other blog (seriously, just check it regularly so I don't have to keep reminding you. I try to write at least once a week).

ta ta