Living Differently. . .expat style

As I walked across the two-lane highway leaving The Scout shopping at the garden store while I popped into the blood lab to make an appointment, I was reminded - again - of how differently these two boomer-aged Americans live in rural Greece.

Our view of the Taygetos Mountains - rural Peloponnese

I mean how often do you just pop into a blood lab to make an appointment in the U.S.? Or 'pop in' anywhere for that matter to conduct business? Or would you walk across a main north-south highway for any reason?

Home for the last eight years: Peloponnese, Greece

Living in Greece's southwestern Peloponnese for the last eight years, you'd think we'd be taking this expat lifestyle - a rather laid-back and unhurried one - for granted by now.  Far from it!  We still regularly marvel at how it differs from the one we lived in the Seattle suburbs of the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

Long time readers know that one of the drivers of our move was to 'live differently'. We were tired of the growing anonymity of suburban daily life. We'd become patient numbers and birthdates in medical facilities; we pumped our own gas at stations and checked ourselves out at grocery stores - we missed the 'humanness' of interactions of daily life. We'd sat for too many hours on congested freeways that linked us to our work and our friends.

Our village, Agios Nikolaos. Photo credit

Our decision to live differently in Greece came after several vacations here. We liked the climate, the people, the culture and the lifestyle. There wasn't any long, drawn-out retirement plan involved in the decision. Basically, we were like so many other recent newcomers to the area known as the Mani: we liked the 'village vibe' and we wanted more of it. 

Living walking distance from the fishing village, Agios Nikolaos, overlooking the Messinian Gulf, and surrounded by olive groves, certainly provides a great backdrop for a different way of life. I've picked a few snippets from the last couple of weeks to illustrate some of the everyday differences:

In the Moment Living

The village blood lab

Let's begin with the blood lab. I just decided after months of procrastination, that I should get my cholesterol checked. We don't have all those annual senior citizen wellness screenings like the US; instead, the onus is on the individual to keep track of your health.    

I could have had it tested on the spot, but I hadn't fasted the required 12 hours beforehand, I duly 'fasted' and returned the next morning. At check-in there was no requirement to show government issued ID nor to repeatedly tell them my birthdate as is required at our health care provider in the States. 

Reception area Falireas Medical Laboratory in Stoupa

However, noting that two years had passed since my last visit, they suggested I have a full blood screen. And I can assure you that it wasn't for the purpose of making extra money as the full screen, which I opted to have, cost only 35 euros/$41US. I had missed their October special, a blood osteoporosis test for 25 euros, regularly 91 euros, or I'd have had it done as well.

Falireas Medical Lab in Stoupa

An hour and a half after the blood draw I received the results via email. Had anything been seriously amiss, it would have been noted on the report, and I would have then made a call to our village doctor for an appointment and likely she would have seen me that same day.

Slow Lane Living

I hang clothes and The Scout stacks wood - living differently!

The blood test illustrates both the speed and ease of accessing health care, but it also shows my developing relaxed approach to life. Things for which I would have once sought immediate solutions for or answers to, just don't get done.

Take my clothesline. It was almost brand new, having just been strung in January. Out of the blue it snapped last Saturday afternoon, dumping several pieces of clothing into the flowerbed. By the time it broke, the hardware store was closed for the weekend. (Many retail stores still close on Sunday in Greece.) 

Come Monday morning we learned they didn't have clothes lines and they recommended the supermarket down the main road a few kilometers. 

'I am not doing laundry for a couple days, no need to make a special trip,' I heard myself telling The Scout, despite the fact we are less than two weeks from departing for a trip and I will need to wash and dry some clothes between now and then and rain is in the forecast. However. I'm adapting to the Greek approach to such problems: it will get done when it gets done, fixed when it gets fixed.

Traffic outside Seattle, Washington

While on the topic of the slow lane, I must again, sing the praises of traffic in this world compared to that of the big city.  They say a picture speaks a thousand words, so note the Seattle traffic we encountered on our annual visit back to the States and the contrasting slow down we had going to dinner in a nearby village last weekend.  Bet you can guess which we prefer.

On the road to Platsa - traffic jam

New Challenges ~ New Solutions

We've not yet adapted to the free roaming wild animals that like to do damage to our grove, garden and property.  Wild boars have taken aim at the groves, while kunaves (think marmot-like animals) have hit the gardens. Jackals are attacking cats and dogs throughout the valley. The only solution longtime Greek locals have offered us is to buy a gun and take aim -- trust me, we haven't yet shifted our lifestyle that far yet.

We've developed arm muscles with the digging we've done to repair damage. Yet, sometimes the critters throw us a curve that requires some new solutions:

New skills - new solutions!

After finding piles of insulation under HiHo Silver, our trusty RAV, we realized it was being harvested from the thick pad affixed to the underside of the hood over the engine, a pad that serves for heat and noise reduction.  To replace the pad replaced would be the simplest solution but also is a costly one at 250 euro/$300US. and we know it would soon be harvested as well.  

As they say. necessity is the mother of invention, and we turned to our trusty roll of high heat duct tape to repair the damage at least temporarily. These aren't skills he learned in law school nor I in journalism classes but there is a certain feeling of satisfaction when completing the challenge!

It's Not for Everyone

 

Night out in the village. . .a quiet night out in the village

Rural village life isn't for everyone. Neither is expat life. Or living and trying to function in another culture.  We've had many tell us they couldn't live with the uncertainty of water shortages and power outages. They wouldn't have the patience to deal with all the comes with living differently. Others visit and count the days until they can embark on an expat adventure of their own here.

Lastly, writing differently . . .

More Greek tales (and tails) coming soon!

I've been out of the 'blogosphere' for a while as I am trying to teach myself some new skills in the world of online writing and publishing. I knew the time had come when in September, we who use Google Blogger as the writing and publishing platform, learned in a roundabout way that Google had divested itself of that division. Another company had taken it over. Yet another company had taken over the domain rights (that means, in my case, TravelnWrite).  I quickly took steps to purchase the rights to TravelnWrite.com, but I am a bit uncertain about the future of blogging in general.

The shift in Blogger came at the same time many of you were saying you wanted more tales of expat life and our vagabonding adventures.

So, as part of my new learning curve I posted my first article last week on Substack, another popular online writing/publishing platform.   There I am writing as Jackie Humphries Smith.  Subscriptions (signing up to receive the articles in your inbox, just like here) are free.  I will continue to write on both platforms in the foreseeable future about our travels and expat life in Greece, but the articles will differ.   

Take a minute, click on my name and check out my first article there.  

I hope to see your name among the subscribers there as well as here. And if you are one whom already subscribed, many, many thanks to you! And I promise you all I won't overfill your inbox!

As always, thanks for your time - both in reading TravelnWrite and for checking out my Substack writing as well!

Greek Expat: To Be or Not to Be

To be or not to be an expat in Greece?  

From the correspondence and conversations, we've had with quite a number of you in recent weeks, that seems to be the question du jour. 

 

Saturday night out on the town in our Greek village

A number of folks we've chatted with are hitting the just-retired-and-ready-for-a-lifestyle-change phase of life. Other are simply thinking it is time to stretch themselves a bit and try something new. 

Life isn't always a beach for an expat

And from what they've told us, it seems like I have managed to make expat life in Greece sound pretty inviting, invigorating, and downright enticing in my writing about life here. 

And it is. . .IF you are serious about making lifestyle changes and experiencing a new way of living. 

We chose expat life because we wanted to live differently; to turn off the auto pilot button of our retired lives in suburbia U.S.A. and plunge ourselves into a new world where nothing is done like it was 'back home'. Now, six years later, I can assure you that we got what we came for!

That is crazy!

Can you face constant change and new ways of living?

I was telling an American friend who is considering expat life a few of the nitty-gritty details of daily life here and at least a half dozen times he responded, 'That is crazy!' 

Well, not crazy, I would caution, simply different. And if you can't deal with different, you may want to refocus those expat dreams.

While on the topic of crazy, a Canadian couple told us, 'Our friends think we are crazy to pursue this dream. . .'.'

Six years later glad we listened to the heart and head

How well we remember those looks from friends when we said we were going to move to Greece. They didn't need to ask, "Are you crazy?" their rolling eyeballs pretty much asked -- and answered -- that one for them. Some of those folks are still waiting for us 'to come to our senses' and return to the old lifestyle.

Living Differently

We do live differently here than we did in the States. And, as with all things 'different', that can be both good and bad.

A horta (wild greens) hunting and harvesting we went

A new country definitely means a new lifestyle. And a new way to function day-to-day. Shopping when all items from food to fashion labeled in Greek can be a challenge.  New flavors and foods (which are a novelty on a vacation but can become a tad bit repetitive when an expat). New medical care systems, doctors, dentists. New language. New customs. New ways of measuring distances, weights, and temperatures (if you are an American). New everything can be both exhilarating and exhausting.

Learning is often times priceless. The photo above shows us horta (wild greens) hunting with our Greek friend, Maria.  We'd have never learned the art of harvesting wild greens back in the suburbs of Seattle. The skills we've developed, the joys of participating in centuries-old traditions - all decidedly different - add a richness to the expat experience.

Conversion charts like these become everyday guides

We caution those we've talked to that no matter how green the grass looks to be in Greece, it will require mental adjustments to live here beyond getting used to the daily routine changes. Every country has its issues and those seeking the greener grass of this other side may find themselves in for a great disappointment when they realize that: 

 

Sunsets from our Greek home, an added bonus

As North American expats, 'third country expats' as we are known, you can't vote, so you have no say in the big picture, politics and politicians.  It is a curiously refreshing circumstance from my point of view, but it has been frustrating for others.  

A point to clarify is that I am speaking of a residency-permit-holding expats of which most of us are. We are residents of Greece and not citizens of Greece. Those of Greek descent who move back here are able to obtain citizenship which does allow them to vote.  

However, resident expats do pay taxes, just like citizens.  If you buy a home, you will pay annual property taxes. Car owners pay annual road taxes.  You will pay 24% tax on most goods and services, including gas for the car, 13% on others.

More residents mean more garbage and less water

The country's leaders talk about addressing issues of sustainability, conservation and the like, while our local officials struggle to strike a balance between an influx of expats and the infrastructure that was built to support a small fishing village of a few hundred residents. If water shortages, power outages, infrequent loss of wi-fi and overflowing garbage cans cause you stress -- all of which are realities here, -- you might rethink being an expat in Greece.

Several years ago, I wrote about the municipal water supply drying up in our slice of the rural Peloponnese in August when tourism peaks here. In has shown improvement, but we still have periods during which time no municipal water is coming to the house.  

A village homeless cat

Actually, garbage collection, water supply and animal rescue have all vastly improved overall since we moved to the village but are far from what they could be and are certainly nothing like the systems we had 'back home'. Of course, we pay nowhere near the taxes we did back there, so you might say we get what we pay for.

We do recommend coming and living in an area of Greece for a few months to experience these day-to- day realities before packing up and relocating here.  

It's Greek to Me!

Are you able to function in a country where many people speak English but where there will be situations in which you resort to pantomime, translation tools on the mobile device and having others translate for you to communicate your needs and desires? 

It is Greek to me!

We are making strides in 'speaking Greek' but are still light years away from really 'speaking Greek'.  But we have a cadre of Greek friends now who will correct us and cheer us on as we haltingly place an order or try a sentence or two of greeting.

It is frustrating when you buy an over-the-counter medication and then can't read the directions for use and laughable when trying to follow packaged mix directions using Google Translate or Google Lens. Functioning in a land where you don't speak the language is a fact of expat life that needs to be considered.

Expats not Missionaries.

 

Road construction warning sign at the construction site

You will be baffled by customs and practices, but you will remind yourself that you came to live differently, not to bring your way of life to a new region.  

The road construction stop sign in the photo above, is a good example of 'different'. We are used to construction detour signs for miles in advance of the work. Here the sign is placed at the point of construction and in this project, it was up to you to figure out  that you needed to drive through a parking lot to get around it. 

We walk a fine line here in wanting to help better the area by suggesting other ways of doing things, like in this case, maybe more advance warning signs. We realize it isn't our role to impose imported behaviors on a Greek community that has gotten along just fine for centuries without us. 

When it doesn't work out

Most of our expat friends have flourished in this new Greek world we've all chosen.  A few haven't. They recognized that either it wasn't what they had anticipated, or the desire to be 'back home' overpowered their desire to live differently.  They've moved back to their home countries.

The Stone House on the Hill tucked behind bougainvillea

And that is the nice thing about being an expat - it doesn't have to be a lifetime commitment to living differently. We tell expat wannabes about the escape clause we gave ourselves when we caught our daydream: we would give 'it' five years. If our Stone House on the Hill. If it wasn't what we wanted to continue, the 'for-sale' sign would go up.

The Stone House on the Hill - a place called home

And then we add with a wink, that next year marks a decade of home ownership here and we've no plans to change that anytime soon. 

For those who'd like to talk more about expat life, please don't hesitate to contact us! And to all of you, thanks for being a part of our adventure.  Until the next time, wishes for safe travels to you and yours ~

Then Change came to the Village

Change. It is as inevitable as the passing of seasons.  

Agios Nikolaos, our village

And now change has come to our village. Slowly at first, it seemed, now picking up speed and with a domino effect. It isn't a single change, mind you, but a gestalt or pattern of changes, that has caused both delight and disappointment among those living in this slice of the Greek Peloponnese. 

Agios Nikolaos, just south of Kalamata

Our small fishing village is Agios Nikolaos. With a year-round population of a few hundred, it sits on the edge of the Messinian Gulf, cradled in the base of the towering Taygetos Mountains and set amid olive groves. It expands with visitors during the warm months and shrinks back to size in the late fall and winter.  

There is a real estate office in the village now

The heart of the commercial area of town offers kafenions (coffee shops), bars and eateries. There is a single clothing store, open seasonally.  A year-round hardware store and nursery are found a bit out of town, as are two gas stations. A dozen or so fishing boats remain based in our harbor. 

As of last year, we also have a real estate office that announced its arrival with the installation of fancy signage.  It offers an inventory of homes and property. At least one of those properties posted on that board in the photo is for sale - asking price 850,000 euros.

Yes, change has come to the village.

Change in the Village

Captain Antonis and his boat - Agios Nikolaos

'Kalimera, Captain!' I called out to our friend, Captain Antonis, as he worked on his boat in the harbor.  I blew him a kiss as I walked by on the harbor road.  'Kalimera, Jackie!' he called out blowing me a kiss in return. Seeing him and his fishing boat in the harbor and exchanging greetings, is one of the things that hasn't changed in the village. 

We were among the first to take the Captain's excursion

However, Captain Antonis might actually be one of the village's first change agents. Two years ago, he began taking groups out to experience reeling in the net, sorting the catch, then touring along the coastline, serving lunch and making plenty of swimming or fishing-by-pole-from-the-boat stops before returning several hours later.  

 

Captain Antonis reels in fishing net

His new venture is one of the most popular changes in town. It was announced by a small sign at harbor's edge and word of mouth among his friends. 

While the captain's change was subtle, others can't be missed.  The most recent -- and the one seeming to cause angst among expats and soon-to-be-arriving tourists, is the sale of our local supermarket chain. 

Katerina's is closing!

Let me tell you, if you want to get speculation to an all-time high and nerves jangling among those who don't like change, just start talking about changing the small grocery store chain serving our area. We have two independently owned supermarkets; one of which will continue operating every day but Sunday, as it always has while the other closes temporarily for a change of ownership. 

Turns out the news of the sale is true. We wait to learn of the new operating hours. Because our Katerina's market chain is locally owned and it will be different having a new chain operating shops in its place. One of the Katerina's stores - the one in our village -- closed last week for renovation by the new owners. 

Litsa's Katerina's closed this week and will reopen under new ownership

It and three other Katerina's will open as a Kritikos stores, part of a Greek grocery chain that got its start on the island of Aegina as a mom-and-pop shop decades ago; now with hundreds of stores across the country.  We will miss the retiring Litsa who oversaw our small store's operation, but staff members are all returning as employees of the new store. We are among those rather excited about this change, having seen Kritikos outlets elsewhere in Greece and knowing that no one is losing their job.  

Kritikos on the island of Spetses

Just down the road from the little grocery store, a new upscale restaurant opened in a renovated stone building along the harbor where a long-time favorite, but seasonal, restaurant had operated for years.  While we miss the traditional restaurant, the new one, Medikon, quickly became a favorite of ours and others.  As a full-time resident here, I can tell you it is nice to have year-round-eating-out options in the village.

Dining at Medikon - interior courtyard

The food is so good there, that on our recent cruise we found ourselves comparing a specialty dining venue on the ship with our hometown eatery as being, 'as good as Medikon!' We no longer need to travel to Athens for a fine dining experience. Change has come to the village.

Souvlaki, pizza and Medikon - our harbor is lined with new eateries

Next door to Medikon, a pizza place - a sister to the one in neighboring village Stoupa - opened a couple years ago. Then the souvlaki place next to it changed ownership earlier this year and expanded its operation and waterfront presence. The souvlaki place even offers home delivery!

Growing Pains

We've found the most difficult part of change has been the goodbye's it has brought with it. We welcome the new but miss the old familiar faces and hangouts. 

My friend Aspacia - a casualty of change?

Many of you have come to know through these posts my friend, Aspacia, who lived next to the ATM. It is this woman with whom I exchanged plant starts and hugs throughout the year. She spoke no English and my Greek was limited. I gave her a poinsettia each Christmas, she gave me fresh eggs. She and her husband sold honey from their home. One day they were there, it seemed, and the next day construction was underway.

New home of something - but not Aspacia 

A sleek glass door now leads into a renovated space where they made their home for the decade we've been here. No one in the village seems to know where they have gone. Nor what is going into the commercial space.

But it was the closing of Gregg's Plateia in January, that probably sent the most shock waves through not only this village but neighboring villages as well.  For 15 years it had been the place you went when you needed food, drink, help, advice, a laugh or a hug.  Gregg, his mom Freda, wife Kathy, and their sons, along with longtime employee, Nikki, were celebrated at an impromptu closing party where well wishes were offered, and tears were shed. 

Our visitors always made a stop at Gregg's Plateia

The business closed and the building is being renovated. It will house a meze restaurant owned by the same people who opened Medikon. Gregg has just announced he will begin a transfer service, taking passengers to and from Athens and Kalamata. Freda is enjoying time with family in Australia.  

No one was a stranger at Gregg's - Freda and a guest from Arizona

We are all eager to try the new place, yet nearly six months later, it doesn't seem right not having Gregg's Plateia in the village. 

The bus still inches through town at least twice a day!!

Maybe COVID lockdown gave rise to the changes. Maybe it has been the impact of the growing numbers of expats - those like us -- who've been charmed by the place and want more than a vacation-sized serving of life here.  

Maybe it is the Greek government's push to expand tourism to year-round and in still-developing tourist destinations. In May the Peloponnese Tourism folks and the City of Kalamata hosted a conference of more than 300 travel writers, bloggers, content producers, and influencers as we are all called now. I can assure you, those attending loved what they saw of this area! 

Agios Nikolaos

Did I mention that we now have a hang-gliding launch pad in the village behind Agios Nikolaos and its not unusual to have a glider land near Pantazi Beach, just to the south of the village?

That's it for this week. Thanks for being with us again - hope you will be back next time when I ponder expat life. We have heard from many of you and it seems you are contemplating expat life in Greece. It may be time to tell you a bit more about it - the good, the bad and the ugly!  Safe travels to you and yours

Greek Traditions - A Piece of Cake!

 Actually, Greek traditions aren't a piece of cake. 

Olive harvest at our house - a treasured tradition

But it was a piece of traditional cake that made me think more deeply about those customs and rituals that have played out in our adopted country for ages; yet they make up our new experiences as expats - sometimes in such rapid succession that we can't keep up with them. The deep-rooted rituals and layers of symbolism at times simply boggle the mind.

Roasting chestnuts at Kastania's Chestnut Festival - a local tradition

Take this week, for example: It began with two full days of the ages-old tradition of olive harvest. They were followed by the Feast Day of Agios Dimitrios (Saint Dimitrios) and the Name Day celebration of all those named for him. By week's end we were among those celebrating Chestnut Festival in the village a few miles away, named Kastania, after the nut.  

Traditions: Celebrating Our Saint

The Stone House on the Hill above Agios Dimitrios

At the base of the hill on which our Stone House on the Hill is built sits the village of Agios Dimitrios. Its church carries the same name. Agios Dimitrios is the Patron Saint of the city of Thessaloniki, and he is celebrated on Oct. 26th because that is the day that city was liberated from Ottoman rule after five centuries of occupation.

Agios Dimitrios

Now Thessaloniki is a large city to our east - an hour's flight from the Kalamata Airport so you may be wondering why we were celebrating it in a small fishing village tucked away among olive groves on the other side of the Peloponnese. Well, it turns out he is also the patron of agriculture, peasants and shephards in the Greek countryside. . .

So, it stands to reason that we would celebrate his day in the church in the village that both carry his name even if located miles from Thessaloniki. Similar celebrations were taking place throughout the country. Those who are named for saints, in this case, the Dimitris, and Dimitras of the world also celebrate as it is their Name Day, a day as special as their birth date.

Pappas Paniotis our village priest

We nodded to friends and neighbors as we stood together outside the already crowded small church and listened to the sermon delivered by our village priest, Pappas Paniotis.  It didn't matter that it was in Greek. Anyone who has ever said The Lord's Prayer regularly knows when it is being offered, no matter the language.  And that part of the service we did understand!

Enormous loaves of bread were served

While listening to the service, we watched several ladies from the village setting up tables in the church yard with plates of sweets and packets of bread (that would be taken home by attendees).  When it seemed there couldn't possibly be more to eat, they brought out the cakes. Not just any cakes, mind you, but the Koliva. Little did we know the significance of this beautiful cake.

Traditions: A Piece of Cake

Koliva, the traditional cake, placed to honor Agios Dimitrios

At the time it was presented, blessed and served I thought this cake was one of the most beautifully, decorated I had ever seen. Such simple ingredients made beautiful decorations. They included pomegranate seeds, almonds, pistachios, and decorations made of sugar.  Several explained as it was being served that it is traditionally made for celebrations honoring the dead but that it is also used to celebrate life occasions like harvest and marriage.

A piece of traditional cake

When I was handed the small cup of sugared nuts and fruits, I was surprised to learn that was what had been beneath that beautifully decorated icing.  It was quite a tasty mix of cooked wheat berries, nuts, raisins, pomegranate seeds with some chopped parsley and coated with a sweet mixture of sugar and spiced breadcrumbs.

The alter in Agios Dimitrios church

It wasn't after the celebration ended that I learned each item in it symbolized some aspect of the life cycle: life, death and rebirth.  The wheat kernels a symbol of hope and resurrection, nuts for fertility, spices of cinnamon, nutmeg and cumin, for a life well lived, the parsley a peaceful rest, pomegranate for an afterlife of brilliance and wealth, the breadcrumbs representing the soil. 

Celebrating Agios Dimitrios in the village that carries his name

The cake is not an easy one to make, requiring two days to cook and dry the wheat berries and prepare the other ingredients.  It was so tasty and now that I know its story, I appreciate its significance and symbolism even more than its taste. We wanted our expat experience to be one of learning about other cultures and traditions, so far, Greece hasn't let us down!

The village from the church - both Agios Dimitrios

That's it for this time, as we are heading out to learn about a few more traditions before the month of October gets away from us.  As always thanks for your time and a big welcome to our new subscribers.  

And a note to all subscribers: my Blogger program and Mailchimp that sends your emails haven't communicated lately.  I'm hoping this one arrives in your inbox.  If it does and you can spare a minute to email me and let me know, I'd greatly appreciate it!  And there should be a link at the bottom of your email to take you to last week's post about our adopted city of Kalamata should you like to read it as well!

Safe travels to you and yours~