The Cat's Niaow ...and Donkey Milk?

It's been a slow week as we wait for our attorney to get some papers processed for the next steps. In the meantime, we checked out swimming pools for Sam so she can lap swim. There are two pools within a 15 minute walk of our future abode and one of them is outdoors and heated year round. But actually getting access to swim...that's where Greece gets a little interesting. To join a pool, you need 1) a note from a dermatologist stating you're free of infectious skin conditions, 2) a general practitioner or cardiologist's note along with an EKG (presumably to cut down on all those cadavers floating around), 3) proof of COVID vaccination, and 4) a current negative COVID rapid test. Plus a photograph and payment, of course. Sam scheduled the cardiac/GP appointment and she might be able to finagle the dermatological form from the same doctor so we haven't scheduled the other appointment just yet. The GP appointment was easy to schedule a few days from now and will cost between 20 and 30 euros depending on whether the doc can handle the dermatologist form, too. Back in May of this year, our Maine primary care doctor referred me to a dermatologist for an annual screening and I just received a return phone call to schedule the appointment----6 months later! So while it's weird to have to get these checkups for Sam's swim membership, at least you can schedule appointments almost instantaneously and cheaply.

Next week there are two public holidays here. The patron saint of Thessaloniki is Dimitrios and his Saint Day is the 26th. Over 6 percent of the male population in Greece is named Dimitrios so this is a big event in a name-day loving country. Two days later is Ohi Day, which is a big deal across Greece. We got to witness the Feast Day of Agios Dimitrios two years ago and Ohi Day, too.

What with the slow week, it's time to catalog some random cross-cultural notes that have been piling up...

Fingers of the feet: In Greek, they don't really have a unique word for those fun little extremities we call toes. Instead, as with some other languages, you have fingers of the foot. A Greek acquaintance of ours in Athens told us, in English, that a friend had "injured a finger of her foot." We're tickled every time we hear about fingers of the foot (said in Greek or English).
Raining chairs: We had tons of rain here last week and there was some really bad flooding in other parts of the country. It wasn't raining cats and dogs, though. As they say here, it was "raining chairs." Which phrase makes more sense?
Wiggling on wood? Sam learned about a Greek superstitious tic that explains something we've unconsciously noted, but haven't really put our fingers on (fingers of the hand, that is!). When talking to some of our Greek friends about a piece of good fortune (e.g., "Fortunately, I haven't needed that expensive health insurance", or "gosh, your grandchild looks so healthy!), we've noticed that they often do a sort of antsy, shifting butt-wiggle in their chair. Apparently, this chair wiggling is done purposely, as a sort of a knock on wood kind of thing.
The cat's naiow: Cats make different noises here. They say "Niaow" and their purring sound is a gourgoúrisma (or gurgling as we understand it). Dogs, of course, say "ghav-ghav."
Donkey milk: I love Greek yogurt and buy it almost every trip to the supermarket. We've had lots of great sheep and goat yogurt. But recently we saw a different type of yogurt. Donkey milk yogurt! I'm not sure the marketing wizard behind donkey milk is fully enticing the English speaking market (see label below), but it worked on us (note: Sam and I were both breast fed.....thanks, moms!). Obviously, we bought it. It was like really good cow's milk. In case you're wondering, the producers assure us it's made from 100% Greek donkeys. Take that, French and Italian donkeys!
Death notices: We learned about death notices recently, too. And now that we know what they are, it's hard not to see them all over the place. When someone dies, flyers are posted all around the neighborhood on streetlight poles, walls, etc.
The rag and bone man: multiple times each morning in the city, you'll hear a muffled voice coming from a megaphone on a cruising pickup truck. It's difficult to hear the megaphone message but people will dash out to meet the guy so he can dispose of all sorts of junk.

And with that, we wish every Dimitrios in your life a happy October 26th.