Reflections

Apart from keeping friends up to date with my Greek goings on, I have realised that this blog has been a good record  of my time here in Greece. I am a bit of an over thinker and often will spend a lot of time coming up with lots of what ifs and also brooding on bad things that have happened to me. So the point was to record the good things that happened here, as my brain will be good enough to recall the bad!

Not that there has been a lot of bad to dwell on, it has to be said. The rat in the house was the low point but  I have been blessed with lots of encouragement from people here and abroad, for which I will be forever grateful for. I have met so many people here, who are now my friends, and I feel very accepted here, with all my quirks like picking up litter and walking everywhere. 

So many things have been amazing here, in no particular order here are a few of them. The Dog Palace. It is likely one or more of the dogs there won’t be alive in September when I  return, which is very sad, we have just seen Mavro go. It’s an amazing place, the dogs are so lucky and they and the people who run it, have made my life richer here on the island. Next to mention would be the Coffee Shop, so much fun has been had there. The owner Marinos and his customers have been enlightening on island life.. Grans, my coffee shop in Livadi, I don’t tend to sit down there, but the folks who run it, again have made my visits there a joy. The island itself is so beautiful, it goes through this year long transformation, it is rich in nature, with mountains, beaches and more.

The new house, it might not work out, there maybe problems unforeseen, but as we still have the UK house to fall back on, I am not concerned. The island will be busier than it is now when I return and hotter too, but slowly slowly, it will return to its hibernating state. 

I have surprised myself in many ways, I wasn’t worried about making friends, but the language seemed a huge barrier in my early days. It’s been hard graft, and I have only my big toe in the water but it’s in there now and it’s only going to get better. The swimming has been a late start, I missed an opportunity in the autumn but I am making progress again. 

There are lots of other things to be grateful for, but my friends here and around the world, especially the three on Sifnos, have seen me through and hopefully the second year  will  be even better. I should also thank  the people  looking after the house in the UK. 

I hope this hasn’t been too cheesy. More when I return in September.