The little things

Three weeks ago, I landed in Vienna en route to Heraklion, Crete with two suitcases of clothes and a headful of questions. Mostly, I kept asking myself: what the heck am I doing?

My mind replayed the decisions leading up to this journey—the months of planning followed by the goodbye hugs tinged with the sadness that accompanies such moments, the late-night doubts that shadowed my excitement and kept me awake. Was I running away from something?  What was I expecting? I had a plan but then what? Was I lost or was I doing something really brave?  It felt deep. It felt existential.

Two things had happened on my final morning in Montreal. Social media posts from two much younger persons seemed to nudge  me forward. First there was Isa glowing in the photos she’d posted from Cambodia where she's currently teaching English to Buddhist monks. She radiated the kind of peace that I knew well…that was me first in South-East Asia and later during my winters in Athens.  Then there was my niece who wrote with tenderness about her complicated and passionate relationship with Rome. Her words reinforced something else I could relate to. That places can break your heart but still hold it. I could leave but I could also return.  Not to a specific outcome or some grand plan – but I’d happily settle for the possibilities.

I had a 4 hour wait between flights in Vienna so I went looking for coffee. Piped music greeted me…Maneskin’s “Zitti E Buoni”.  It was such an “only in Europe “ moment that I grinned as I placed my order. That third positive omen helped compensate for the bad coffee I received when I realized too late in my sleep-deprived fog that I’d ended up with a vegan alternative “milk” product instead of ordinary cream.

A couple of mornings after I arrived in Heraklion, my landlord came by to introduce himself and ask me if I would mind watering the plants on the front balcony. We went out to inspect them. A small olive tree and at the other end, a frangiapani Yet another sign that all would be well. I hadn't seen one growing since Laos. Now I'm seeing them all over and that's because they're in bloom at this point in the year. Later, they lose all their leaves and that's probably why we'd never crossed paths.

Over the past three weeks, I have taken the necessary steps to establish myself in this new chapter. First, I secured the essential ΑΦΜ (AhhFeeMee) (like a Social Insurance Number)  and a necessity for navigating life in Greece. This number enables you to rent property, obtain a cell phone contract, open a bank account, set up an electricity contract, and clear furniture shipments through Greek customs. No doubt I’ll discover just how many more  bureaucratic obstacles it resolves but for now I'm only dealing with the essentials that concern me.

I went with my gut in choosing a long-term property to rent and was pleasantly surprised to discover the apartment is located directly above my favorite Heraklion eatery. This means that whenever I’m not in the mood to cook, I have a reliable option for delicious food just downstairs. When I stopped by to tell Spiros, the owner, that I was now living upstairs, my landlord had already relayed the news to him. There are few secrets in the “village” that is my new neighbourhood just next to the port. The apartment also boasts a sea view if you step out of the kitchen and look right and is conveniently situated across from a small beach. Although locals have warned me against swimming there—admitting they themselves have never tried it—I have noticed a regular group of swimmers and saltwater enthusiasts enjoying the water on a daily basis.

When you rent an unfurnished property here, you get the kitchen cabinets, counters and the bedroom wardrobes but nothing else. After I’d finalized the various contracts last week, I went “white appliance” shopping. Fortunately, I found English speaking sales staff to guide me because, although  my Greek language skills will take me to the market and maybe around clothing shops, they aren’t up to discussing the merits of locally made fridges or the need for a filter on a washing machine. By Friday evening, I had a list of possible choices and can settle those this week. It’ll be good to have the appliances installed before the furniture is moved in at the end of this month.

Last week, my current landlord came by with Yannis, the electrician, and a box of pastries (a common occurrence here as I’m learning). We all enjoyed the pastries and chatted while Yannis installed the new smoke alarm.  Upon learning that I had just rented an apartment on a long-term lease, Yannis declared “You’re going to be a Cretan woman.”  Yes, yes…it seems I am.

N.B. I'm exploring the world of AI and will confess that some of this blog post was drafted using MS Copilot. It helped me organize my thoughts and perhaps that's the purpose it serves. The jury is still out.