September on Sifnos

Photo:  First Day Ceremony at Sifnos High School

1.  Locals are dismayed by news of higher property taxes.  The IMF is pressuring the national government which, in turn, considers imposing more property taxes.  This article explains the circumstances well:  http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,785993,00.html  .  Sales taxes are already very high, (similar to the rest of the EU), including on groceries, (costing us about 25% more than what we pay in northern California).  On Sifnos we pay modest property taxes through our electricity bills.  For years we have been expecting more of a property tax hit, (being conditioned by the Bay Area), so this resistance from locals has been a bit surprising, yet becoming more understandable as we learn of local conditions.  Financial transactions here are almost always in cash.  For the first time this year, I assume due to Greece’s financial woes and need to establish more controls, all shop owners are giving us receipts.  If we were to stay a few months longer in each calendar year, we would have been obligated to submit Greek income tax returns.  Fortunately, for administrative ease, we have only the U.S. return to deal with during this year’s experience.  Despite the significant financial constraints and stresses that Greeks are currently experiencing, it is amazing to see the resilience and fortitude of our acquaintances.  Daily life continues as normal and kindness still prevails.  As friends explain, the current concerns are not new ones, just more severe.  Islanders have long done their best to protect themselves from central government forces by setting up small multi-generational family businesses, ensuring multiple sources of income, investing savings in real property, and sharing wealth in multi-generational family units.  Unfortunately, this formula continues to include forcing the young adults abroad in order to find enough income and opportunity to develop income-generating skills.  With the exception of a few ex-pat women who are dependent on their husband’s incomes, all of our acquaintances earn their livings through multiple income-generating means. 
2. Haircut stress!  One of the stress points when moving to a new location is overcoming the of a failed hair cut.  Am I not right?  We’ve been ignoring this fear for far too many weeks.  On Sifnos we know of only one barber shop.  Older men frequent the place for their smoke and chat with the owner.  I’ve never seen anyone getting their hair cut there.  What to do?  Fortuitously, our friend Sophia, (guest worker from Georgia—the country that is), completed the 18 month certification training in Athens and is newly established in the business of cutting hairs.  It is never wise to employ a good friend if one wishes to remain friends, yet, in desperation, this is what we did.  Phew!  All is well that ends well.  In our house, in one relaxed hour, Sophia has proven her skills on all three of us and we are content to advertise her skill on our heads.
3. Meteorological and astronomical miracles labeled by an iPad app:  Thunderstorms rocked after the most incredibly awesome sunrises and moon rises.  After viewing the sky flash with thunderbolts I can better appreciate the genesis of Greek myth that has Zeus throwing around lightning bolts during his tantrums.  In the past we’ve enjoyed our fair share of spectacular sunrises, sunsets and moon rises from our patio.  Nevertheless -- I swear -- the ones in the past couple of days have been the most magnificent.  Try as we may, the camera can’t capture the grandeur of these natural phenomena.  Kelly tipped us on the app for the iPad, called Starwalk, that uses the embedded camera and compass, (note: not GPS), to report back our position in the universe.  Stars and planets are labeled so that our stargazing is more informed.  We could easily while away hours and hours gazing at nature’s spectacular displays.
4. On the first weekend in September is the annual celebration of Cycladic life, hosted by the village of Artemonas, and organized by our friend Ronya who is the director of the island’s civic center.  Berkeley friends can envision it as the equivalent of the Solano Stroll.  In addition to a street fair that winds its way along the pedestrian paths of the village, all churches are spit polished and beeswax candles are lit to encourage visitors.  I am told that Sifnos is well known for the significance of its inventory of historically relevant iconography.  Anyone with a craft to share sets up an exhibit.  Our favorite cheese and wine makers exhibit alongside our favorite bakers and potters.  Space is reserved for live music and traditional folk dance.  Portable chairs are arranged for those too weak to roam on their feet for too long.  A priest, who was previously a professional violin player, regales the crowd with foot stomping tunes.  Free wine and food samples are abundant.  Grandparents proudly push their grand-babies in strollers.  Young lovers hang out together.  Gaggles of teen-agers, separated by sex, crowd the paths.  Clusters of older men sit gossiping while demonstrably admiring the young ladies passing them by.  The fair begins at 8 p.m. each evening and, I am told, continues into the wee bacchanal hours of the morning.  Subsequently, everyone seems to be on a friendlier terms.
5. Wazup?  When out and about we are pleasantly surprised to find ourselves hailed by villagers as they express a need to touch base on a bit of information, make a plan together, or simply exchange pleasantries.  I’m finding the island small enough that most know each other.  Our family news travels faster and farther than do we.  Daphne, the piano teacher, knows when Maria, the Greek teacher meets with us, who is friends with Chryssa, from whom I take my painting class, who knows our baker Annalisa, who knows Karoline’s home room teacher Lillian, who knows our ex-pat friends Lulu and Button who operate a lavender farm, who tells us about the time for the local showing of a new French movie that showcases our friend Antonis who performs a minor role, etc.  Our Greek instructor confirms our understanding that these daily contacts are the prevalent way of getting things done on the island, far surpassing email or even telephone as a way to communicate.  There is no newspaper, email forum or central bulletin board for sharing community news.  Instead, word of mouth continues to be the practice for conveying this information.  Engaging in social activity takes on a whole new meaning for us.
6. Rhythm of life shifts to off-season:  Hotels, restaurants and retail that cater to tourists are beginning to close for the slow season.  Food and general stores reduce their opening hours:  none on Sundays; Mondays and Wednesdays closed after 12:30 p.m.  As always, siesta hours are observed:  from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. it is impolite to call and possibly disturb another’s rest or family time.  The stores that are open do so from about 10 a.m. to 12:30, then again from 6:30 to 8:30.  After the mid-day rest, people become active again from 6 and until 11.
7. This new lifestyle of being my own boss has it’s merits.  Since our summer travels, I’ve been at it for three weeks.  One of the downsides is that my time can be wasted very easily without enough self-discipline.  I’ve found myself mentally checking a list of key projects throughout the day as a means to enforce productivity.  My weekday project list, (taking approximately 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.):  yoga, positioning Karo in the local school activities; being Karo’s Calvert Learning Guide, planning meals based on what is available in the market, studying Greek, organizing my book project, mapping the next trail, planning travels, writing the next blog entry, teaching myself Chi Running, gardening, housekeeping and preparing meals.
   
8. 7^th grade Calvert distance learning:  Karoline launched her school year in rhythm with the U.S., officially declaring her first day to be the Tuesday after Labor Day.  The first day was consumed by the three of us practicing our new roles as we waded our way through the first lesson for each subject.  Gerhard is the IT Specialist and Science advisor, I am the Learning Guide, and Karoline is, of course, the Student.  She is enjoying Calvert's structure and direction setting, enthusiastically marking a *check* on the subject list after completing a day’s lesson.  I am quite impressed with the approach and the material seems to align on a reasonable progression path from where Karoline left off in 6^th grade.  Karoline has always been self-disciplined and self-motivated, making our parental role an easy one.  So far, in our third week of experience, it takes on average 2.5 hours to complete a day’s set of lessons.
9. What does it entail to be Karoline’s Calvert Learning Guide?  Tasks:  plot the weekly lesson schedule on Sundays; oversee progress and adjust schedule daily; ensure learning aids are available when needed; discuss plans and issues with Karoline, ensuring that she drives me and not the other way around; coach on setting goals, determining priorities, organizing effort, and managing time; be available during her study hours to address her questions or help escalate issues to Calvert staff. 
10. Karo’s local school activity:  With encouragement from a neighbor who is a local teacher, and with Karoline in the driver’s seat, I have assisted in coordinating an independent study plan at the local school. We participated in the September 12th opening day ceremonies, led by Orthodox blessings.  Karo’s schedule needs to be organized daily since there is no set program (yet) at the school.  Depending upon the teacher’s preferred second language, I find myself communicating in English, German or French.  Recent national spending cuts have generated chaos.  All schools are without textbooks, setting teachers adrift with their lesson plans.  Due to significant staff cuts, classroom teachers find themselves also serving in the role as specialist teachers, (i.e. foreign language, arts, science) for which they have not been trained or certified. Despite this mess, the teachers have enthusiastically embraced Karoline as their special project.  If she attends the first period Karoline catches the school bus, otherwise we drive her the 5 minutes to school. It is the public bus that makes a special run just for the island’s school students.  Thankfully, the staff is slow to enforce the rules so Karoline can attend while I continue to chip away at the requirements for officially enrollment. Enrollment has required special help from Karo’s Berkeley school VP, pediatrician, optometrist and dentist.  All have been so kind and supportive.  Their letters need to be translated and notarized.  A special cardiovascular exam must occur, (even though this can only be done in Athens since there is no specialist on the island).  All this before the local pediatrician can complete his perfunctory school physical exam.  Karoline is choosing to engage in the local school so as to learn Greek faster, make better friends, and show appreciation by making a contribution.  In addition to joining the music, art and PE classes, she is having fun working as a teacher’s assistant in the German and English language classes for her age group.  Given that her cohort is no more than 40 students, soon she will be on first name basis with ALL the island’s kids of her age!  Much to her surprise and credit, Karoline declares the local school experiment a grand success, except, “learning the teachers’ last names and remembering all the students’ first names is SO HARD!”  Already, as we pass on the streets, Karoline is being hailed by her fellow students, “Yasu Karoline”!  With fellow parents, Gerhard and I are finding that we carry a new, more integrated, community stature. 
11. After school:  Karoline is committed to weekly piano, flute, and two sets of Greek lessons.  Unfortunately, the Mandarin lessons will be on hold this year, for lack of time and time zone convenience.  When not otherwise occupied, Karoline joins me in yoga, practicing Chi Running and Walking, (thanks for the tip Joanne!), completing sewing projects using the machine, preparing meals, and plotting a perivoli / kitchen garden with Gerhard and Nasia.  Also, we have an outstanding commitment to ourselves to complete a social studies project that seeks to compare the cultures we are experiencing and documenting our observations on our blogs.  There are offers from well meaning acquaintances to engage Karoline in their drama, horseback riding, art, and Girl Guide activities, yet we are dubious that Karoline will have the time to get so involved.  Needless to say, it is wonderful to see how receptive the community has been to Karoline’s interests. 
12. Making friends:  Karoline is slowly making acquaintances with fellow students who are brave enough to converse in their best English.  Yet, she still does not have steady playmates with whom to have regular get togethers.  The language barrier remains significant.
13. Multi-culti vertigo:  In addition to our local Greek friends, we are finding ourselves fast bound to the active ex-pat community.  At a luncheon on Sunday we rotated conversation between French, German and English while throwing around a few Greek words, depending upon which cluster of conversationalists we joined.  Poor Karoline:  in this season the average age of the group is easily above 60, leaving her the youngest, therefore, being placed in the spotlight, (which has never been her favorite place).  After the luncheon, I found myself feeling inordinately disoriented and over-stimulated.  I‘m not sure how to express it.  Was I experiencing multi-culti vertigo?