We earned some Greek-local bonafides over the last week...
Last Monday, our attorney took our joint application for residence permits to the Orwellian named Decentralized Administration. She sent us an email very late that night saying that my application was approved but that Sam's was not. Huh? For some reason they decided to treat Sam's application separately from mine even though every piece of paper we collected and submitted (marriage license, apartment lease, bank papers, health insurance, etc.) has both of our names on it! So I can pick up a temporary residence permit ID, but not Sam. Supposedly the Greek Consulate in the US did not check a box they were supposed to check. Why the local office can't just call the Consulate and get this fixed in 5 minutes is beyond us. But this is what locals complain about all the time. Greek friends have shared their own adventures in local bureaucracy, such as a friend who was surprised to learn several years ago that her then 13-year-old son was considered newly married by the Greek government. Our issue will get resolved somehow, and as others have told us, we need to just keep good humor about it all.
We witnessed another protest beneath our apartment, this one organized by anarchists. Their protests tend to get testy. Businesses shutter and cars are cleared from the streets before these protests occur (bafflingly, but thoughtfully, the anarchists schedule their protests with plenty of lead time). The triggering event for this protest left us and everyone we've asked, befuddled... At (the excellently named) Aristotle University just up the road from us, there has been squatting going on in a vacant campus building for over 30 years. The national government decided, at long last, to evict the squatters so they can redevelop the area. The squatters have reacted with protest marches, threats, throwing things at police, breaking windows on campus, etc. Greece has a long history with an anarchic contingent. It's part of the Greek cultural puzzle that we can't comprehend. But in all honesty, most locals don't seem to understand it either. Sadly, it has a sort of dystopian quality that feels like what's happening in parts of the US, too (or maybe London of the 1970s?).
And throw in a 5.4 Richter scale earthquake yesterday for good measure! It was centered off Mount Athos, which is maybe 70 miles from us. Luckily no damage occurred in Greece. After experiencing a handful of earthquakes here and in the US, it seems like if you ever start to ask 'Is this an earthquake?" then it's probably an earthquake.
On a lighter note, we continue to be amused by Greek anatomy. In general, regular people use the same word for 1) hands/arms and for 2) feet/legs. It can be difficult to know what part of the body someone is talking about. For example, several friends have told us, in English, that their 'hands' hurt after getting the booster shot. Upon further querying, it's indeed the upper arm that hurt. Greeks have told us that they do have more accurate words for these parts (corresponding to upper arm, forearm, wrist) but only doctors use those words! We've heard this so often it's like a script has been prepared and passed around for locals to memorize. Anyway, I just stubbed the finger of my leg (or is it foot?!), so I need to wrap this up.
