First test of endurance is the byzantine bureaucracy. It takes oodles of paperwork, stamps, copies,
notarized documents, more paperwork – oh wait, that office is closed today…
come back Tuesday – except, oh dear – they’re on strike on Tuesdays. You get the picture.
Now I am at the point where I am dealing with engineers, builders, project managers, lawyers and accountants. (Yes, it's only taken me three (3) years to get that far!) I have lost patience and trust with some and developed new relationships with others... all part of the learning curve I guess.
Then there’s the sort of endearing, but ultimately soul sucking tediousness of
one’s friends always smugly second guessing me.
Oh, they say they support your dream – but, really, they’re sort of
being subliminally snarky and spiteful.
YES, dammit I HAVE heard the news about the Euro and the Greek economy.
NO, the stuff you see on the late night evening news is NOT the reality (by the
way – the riots in Montreal are far worse than anything in Athens). I get the feeling that they want to see me
fall flat on my face. That may well
happen, but for now, I am still proceeding. Slowly. Oh, so slowly.
I know you watch the news and may have read an article two
in the newspapers. But I LIVE there for
months at a time. I live, eat and
breathe the Greek economy and politics
16 hours a day. I follow the news, the banks, the stock exchange, the
parliamentary debate. I’m on it. I am not stupid. Neither am I omniscient; I am aware of the
risks. I have done my homework. But as smart and as prepared as I am, I can’t
predict the world economic situation. 
But you know what I can do?
I can gather my courage, dare to dream my dream and roll the cosmic
dice. I’m sorry you don’t believe in me
or have the faith in my courage that I do.
If it works, I will have a lovely home in my favourite part of the
world. If it doesn’t work, I will employ
the safety nets I have in place. I
assume you will be my friend in either event.
