This has been one of those weeks where work has piled up, hour by hour, to the point where I can’t recall having left the house at all. Not even to the supermarket. I am sure that my local delivery guys think I’m as lazy as they come...

I can tell you the temperature in Brussels, Berlin and Boston – with as much accuracy as I can guess at the weather in Athens, since looking out the window and my phone’s weather feed are the closest things to an outdoor experience I’ve had in days… Judging from the view out there, I’m missing a beautiful week.

I’m at the point where I wonder what it’s all for… Don’t get me wrong, I have a typically North American attitude towards working and towards my career. But from time to time (to time) I find myself assessing what exactly I’d be giving up if I were to completely change directions, reinvent my working life, and escape the daily grind of typing into a computer and talking on the phone in return for a paycheck.

Then I realize that most of us probably fall in a similar boat – over-worked, over-stressed. And let’s not even talk about under-paid. And I also realize that I am one of the lucky ones who actually has a job and the luxury of complaining about being over-worked. Perspective is everything.

Until next week,

Jack

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

The whole thing has been in the works for many months, with lots of talk and speculation and Facebooking on the topic.

When the winner was announced this week at a big event at the Onassis Centre (attended by Mr. Samaras and a host of other important political and cultural officials), I followed it with much interest.

The winning design was submitted by Dutch design firm ‘Okra’, and involves a beautiful and eco-friendly plan for pedestrianizing Panepistimiou St., along with a revamp of Omonia and Syntagma squares. The plan is supported by politicians of many stripes, with completion for the entire re-do set for 2015.

I got to thinking… this could be the best news I’ve heard in months. The biggest breath of fresh air that Athens has been offered in ages. It reminded me of the period leading up to the Olympics in 2004, where, despite setbacks, schedule scares and the usual naysayers, the city came together in a feeling of great pride and accomplishment. I hope that this has the same effect. Rethinking Athens has been a long time coming, but maybe, just maybe, it’s the emotional boost that the city needs to weather the storms ahead.

Rethinking Athens is perhaps the easy part – re-making Athens will be the challenge. But I can’t deny the awesome feeling of ‘What if…’ that nags at the back of my mind. What if it all happened as they say…

Until next week,

Jack

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

I’ve been toying with the idea of trying yoga. Not full-on sweat-soaked, body-bending, soul-searching yoga. But rather ‘yoga for dummies’, at least for a start.

So when my friend invited me to the yoga studio where she teaches, I was rather concerned. Am I ready for this? Will it hurt? But when she added – ‘it’s not a class, it’s a party!’ – I thought that here was the best way to have my first taste of yoga. With a glass of wine in hand.

The Bhavana Yoga Studio in Monastiraki is actually rather nice, decorated for relaxation, candles, large practice space, spotlessly clean, shoes off at the door. You can even buy specialty yoga clothes in the reception area. If anyone is looking for yoga in English, check out Bhavana on Mondays at 6:30pm.

Yoga seems to cross all social and economic class lines. This was also mentioned to me by someone I met there that night: mid-40s, Greek, always laughed at yoga, until he tried it on a whim last year. He has been coming to classes every day (that’s EVERY DAY) since.

The studio feels like a place of focus and also of acceptance – your life outside is irrelevant to the time-honoured practices inside. I met some interesting people who all seemed to have a smile on their face. Could have been the wine and the music, but somehow I doubt it.

After my first yoga session (ahem!), we headed to Kolonaki to the classic Café Boheme for an upscale pub-style drink and a bite to eat. Interesting music, tasty food and a relaxed atmosphere – an easy choice.

So with my chakras and my stomach fully aligned, Saturday was declared a good time.

Until next week,

Jack

43 Aeolou Street – Monastiraki
www.bhavanayoga.com

36 Omirou Street - Kolonaki
www.cafeboheme.gr

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

This ‘Night to Remember’, which has become a highlight annual event for the expat community, went off in great style. A beautiful venue, yummy buffet and great music (ok, sure, and the open bar…) made for an evening of fun! I actually had a really good time, met some new people and, with a room full of people dancing and ‘whooping’ in a conga line, I couldn’t help but forget my day-to-day and really smile in the moment.

But I remain eternally awestruck at how many people know all the words to ‘It’s Raining Men’. And all the moves to match ;) Must check YouTube…

Also great to see our friends from the Greek-Irish Society out in full force!

Smile in the moment – must remember to do this more often…

Check out some pics from the night HERE!

Until next week,

Jack

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

So I’m thrilled.

The real estate agent who showed the property has so far been exemplary – professional, responsive, knowledgeable, on time. There are many good ones around, and they make a huge difference in the whole experience.

Now comes the really fun part – and a bunch of questions:

How much notice do I actually need to give my current landlord?
How much fun will I have changing the address of my electricity & internet service?
Should I hire a mover or do it myself?
Will a moving truck even fit on the narrow streets anywhere near the apartment?
What time of day (or night) should I move? I mean, if I’m to block a street in a busy neighbourhood, should I do it late at night, or will my new neighours think me strange?

As with most everything else in Athens, there is no clear answer. So if you are wandering home from a Thissio café one of these nights, and notice a dark van parked on a side street, with a couple of shady guys popping in and out of a dark building – please don’t panic and don’t call the cops – it’s just me trying to get my couch up the stairs!

Until next week,

Jack

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

A couple months ago I did a photography course in the city-centre – an introduction to ‘using my complicated camera’ and ‘making sure my subjects don’t look ridiculous’. The course was actually great, informative, interesting and affordable. But it also gave me the chance to meet some new people, who had at least one thing in common with me. I took the course with the sole purpose of learning about photography. But in the end, the bonus of new friends made the experience doubly good.

So the other night I had a few of these photo-friends over, to catch-up and chat about pictures, trips near and far, and all the different topics that people discover together over a few glasses of wine… The evening was really nice, and one that will be repeated.

In the end, maybe meeting people through these ‘common interest’ experiences is really the best strategy for connecting in new cities. Don’t get me wrong, I like lounging at a bar as much as anyone (!) – but the experience of meeting people ‘over time’ and around the experience of shared interests really makes for a different kind of connection than the usual ‘So, what kind of work do you do…’

Just a thought.

Until next week,

Jack

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

So with this in mind, I scour the usual sites every day, have set-up my email alerts for new listings, and have spent several afternoons wandering little-known neighbourhoods looking for the tell-tale yellow and red ‘Enoikiazetai’ signs.

My experience so far with real estate agents has revealed a number of definite patterns:

a) Just because a property is listed on one or more websites, doesn’t mean that it is actually available. At least half of the one I’ve asked about have been, miraculously, ‘just rented’.
b) Just because you’ve emailed a response to the ‘contact us’ link on a property listing, doesn’t mean that anybody will call you back. Ever.
c) Just because it says, say, ‘100m2’, doesn’t mean that it might not be, say, ‘90m2’…
d) Just because we’re in a crisis, doesn’t mean that there is a glut of high quality, well-priced properties available.
e) Just because the listed price is ‘x’, doesn’t mean that you can’t get it for 25-30% less.

Having said that, today I had an actual call-back, based on my email contact, from a real-life real estate agent who actually (!) left me a voicemail. I suppose this weekend’s round of apartment visits bodes well…

Until next week,

Jack

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

I’ve been living in Greece for about 5 years. I’ve had my ups and downs with the ‘system’ and know that it’s not up to par with a lot of other places in the world. Even though I now know what to expect, there are still some things that make my hair stand up. So here’s my story…

I’m a first time mom and my son is just about 8 months old. I gave birth at a public hospital (yes, it was just fine) and have since been taking advantage of my IKA insurance (pension & health insurance for private sector employees). You may remember some weeks back that pharmacies were not accepting prescriptions from IKA insurance holders. What does this mean? Well…

When I went to my doctor’s office to get a prescription for my son’s upcoming vaccine shot, I was told that it cannot be issued because pharmacies will not accept it. If this was something my brain couldn’t compute, then what she said next nearly nocked me off my chair: ‘Unless of course you ‘know someone’ with a pharmacy who will give you the vaccine shot without paying and then take them the prescription at a later date.’ Did I hear correctly, did my doctor just tell me that I need a ‘meson’ (an inside source) to get my son’s vaccine shot? Was she for real? Ah, but yes, she was very serious.

Because I didn’t ‘know someone’ with a pharmacy, I paid for the vaccine shot at my local pharmacy in hopes that once this disagreement between IKA and pharmacists was over, I could claim my 70 Euro!

Should I tell you about my experience when I tried to claim 70 Euro from IKA? Let me put it this way…3 floors (up and down the stairs because the elevator wasn’t working), 4 booths with very ‘happy to greet me’ employees, and some 5 different pieces of paper. Needless to say, I did eventually get my claim made.

Ah, and despite all these wonderful (and eventful) stories I still continue to want to be here. Go figure! There’s just something about this crazy place that makes it stick!

Cheers from First Time Mommy in Athens.

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

I decided to break the mold over the weekend, and sent out a text to some friends: Who’s in the mood for Indian?? I certainly was. I love Indian food, whether it’s made by Indian people, or Canadians, or Greeks, or…

We ventured down to a place called Bollywood Gazi. I’ve heard good things about this place, and wanted to try it out for myself.

The rumours weren’t wrong.

This place is one of the more interesting restaurants I’ve been to in Athens. The massive, intricately carved wooden doors hide a decidedly cool interior. It’s a mix of serious warehouse grunge and extravagant Indian décor. Huge photos of Indian faces hang on the walls, and the place is full of low tables and reclining couches for eating… I definitely didn’t feel like I was in Athens. ‘Indian grunge’ – if it’s not a design trend somewhere, it ought to be.

The food is great. Admittedly I’m not a great judge of Indian food (read: I like it all), but my gang seemed to love it, and the bill at the end of the night was more than reasonable.

And the music. Bollywood Gazi styles itself as an ‘Indian Food & Music Bar’ – and the music plays an important part of the ambiance – right down to the ‘Buddha’ remix of Metallica’s Unforgiven. Seriously. The volume was a bit high, but I wasn’t bothered…

In the mood to break the mold for a night? Check it out (and book ahead)…

Bollywood Gazi
www.bollywoodgazi.gr
Ph: 210 345 0041

Until next week…

Jack

P.S. Really in the mood for Indian? Check out the 'Ticket to Bollywood' performance this weekend - win tickets HERE!

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

I had a friend visiting over the holidays – a Canadian-Greek buddy who was looking to escape frosty Toronto for a few days… He has been here many times before, but only in summer. So this was a chance to see what I promised him would be a very different city to the sweating, heaving Athens of July & August.

And he loved it. He said the city felt ‘real’ and ‘authentic’. We explored the usual spots (and some new little places!), and the whole time he kept saying ‘wow!’ around every corner… One day, after walking up to Philopappou hill for the gorgeous view of the Acropolis, we went to a little hidden part of the city called Anafiotika. While many of us have heard of Anafiotika, it seems most have never ventured into this tiny neighbourhood of Plaka. Anafiotika was first built in the 19th century to house workers from the island of Anafi, who came to Athens to work on the construction of the king’s palace. The neighbourhood was built in a cycladic style and today feels like being on the islands, in the heart of the city. It’s worth the stroll up the northeast side of the Acropolis hill – camera required.

Smog notwithstanding, my friend was struck with the ‘green’ of the city. Philopappou, the National Gardens, even the bright green grass and trees around the Acropolis hill – this was a welcome surprise and a change from the usual summertime look of the city.

I hope you find the time to explore the city over the coming months – while it still feels green and local and real.

Kali xronia! Until next time,

Jack

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…