Greek Hospitals

So I have always wanted to write about my experiences with Greek Hospitals, in fact I have done it many times talking to myself (don't worry I'm not crazy I don't actually talk out loud).  I would really love it if someone invented a little microchip you could implant in your brain and you could say "Start Blog post" and talk to yourself (mentally) and it would write everything down for you and automatically publish it, wouldn't that be so awesome!

So back to all About Greek Hospitals, I'm writing now because we spent all day yesterday in the Hospital for Katerina, she has been feeling chest pains when she wakes up in the mornings, it has happened twice and then on Tuesday at school a boy hit her in the chest and it was hurting her all afternoon and into the night, so we took her to the hospital.
My first experience with a Greek Hospital was on my Wedding Day, funny right, I had to go in for blood test and a chest X-ray so I could have legal papers at the Taverna that my husband owns, just in case the food police stop by, they know I am disease free.
There ARE NO Appointments in Hospitals, you just show up and whoever is first gets served first, but the fantastic thing about children is that there aren't many in the hospital.  But if your an old person then you will have one hell of a wait.  We saw the Pediatrician right away, she did a cardiologist test and a blood test, then we waited for the "head" Pediatrician to come in and take a look at Katerina.  Kat did a great job with the first doctor, but she wanted nothing to do with the second, this was of course after a 2 hour wait, so I'm pretty sure it was just pain and exhaustion on her part.  She was freaking out and screaming and well it did not go well, Arthur kind of held her down as I tried to help the doctor listen to her heart, breath and etc.  Thank fully the next step went much better after I carried her through the maze of the hospital to have a chest X-Ray.
Now here is the nice part of Greek People, when you say it is for a kid, they will let you cut right in line, awesome right?  The X-Ray area had about 20 people waiting, but since we needed it for a child they let us go straight to the front, but we still had to wait an hour for the film and I saw some old people pretty much get there's straight away, but I'm guessing they were more of a life or death situation since they looked pretty knocked out as they were wheeled into the X-ray room.
After the chest X-rays came back clean the Head Pediatrician told us we should go to the Private hospital and have her checked there as well.
We Paid Nothing at the Government Run Hospital.

But we were there from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm, and had 1 blood test, 1 cardiologist exam, and 1 X-ray.

At the Private Hospital in the same City (by the way we drove to Larissa an Hour drive since they have a better hospital than the one that is closer to us, plus Kat was born in Larissa, at the hospital that we just came from)  It was our first time there, and it was pretty nice, there was actual parking available for the car so Nik and I hung out in the parking lot and played Hide and Seek and Arthur took Katerina inside for a visit with a different doctor and also to have an Ultra Sound and they also did another cardio test.  It only took an hour at the Private Hospital but it did cost us money, 46 Euros, still a really good price, right?

So the end of this story is.... One of the only things I like about Greece is their almost free medical care, it is crazy!!!  For Katerina's birth a Cesarean and 5 day stay in the hospital it only cost us 450euros. 

Nik has had multiple surgeries and medical equipment that has cost us next to nothing.  Drugs are cheap for example we needed some Antibiotics a few weeks ago, they cost 4.30 euro and the same antibiotic sales in the US for $70 

They found nothing wrong with Katerina, but she is still feeling pain in her chest, so if it doesn't clear up by Sunday we will be going back, I hope it does, she is in such pain and it always hurts.

 I always tell my friends if you are going to have a medical crisis, do it in Greece, even for tourist it is practically free medical care.

First Week of School, CHECK!

Our first day of school started on Tuesday, September 11 at 9:30am.  It was like an orientation day, but instead the school got blessed by a Greek Orthodox Priest, it was a long blessing about 45 minutes the kids and the parents were getting a little ansy in the warm school room.  Nik was super good and sat military straight during the whole blessing, I was across the room with Arthur and Katerina.  After the priest blessed the room he went around with a bunch of basil and you could kiss the cross and he would bang the oil dripped basil on your head (still thankful I am not fully blessed by the church).  This activity happens at all of the schools and this is why they start at different times, but all on the same day.

In typical procrastinated Greek mindset, the school never contacted us about when school was going to start, instead Arthur had to go to the school to find out the time and date, this was the Wednesday before school started so unfortunately I didn't do what I planned by starting waking the kids early for at least 2 weeks before school started, oh well, I think they are better at waking up than me.  When Arthur went to the school they only told him the date, we found out on Monday what time school would start the next day.

After the blessing the head teacher told us what would be going on at the school, the drop off time is at 8:30 and pick up is at 12:15.
There are 4 teachers and about 40 students, this is just pre-school and kindergarten.  On this first day Nik's teacher wore a Marilyn Monroe  halter dress that ended at mid-thigh (THIGH), and 5 inch heels.  I'm  guessing she is single and was hoping some father's would come, but there was only Arthur and one other father and a grandfather there, all of the other adults where women.  Nik's school has 4 rooms, 3 classroms filled with lots of toys and activities and 1 room to eat in.  Arthur's father went to this school when he was young at that time it was all of the grade levels in one school.  After the introduction we went home.

So happy to be starting school

 

 On the next day we dropped Nik off at school and then Katerina and I walked over to her school, it's about a 15 minute walk and she loved it.  Her school is really cute with 2 rooms, one with a plastic slide and 2 cars and the other room a table and puppet stadium, plus a small room to take their snacks in.  I stayed with her for about 30 minutes then I tried to exit the room, I only lasted 5 minutes outside because I could hear her crying, I went in again and hung out another 30 minutes then took her home.  We waited at home untill it was time to pick Nik up, but then the school called us at 11:45 and asked us to come get him.  I was like uh-oh he did poopoo in his underwear (one of my worries) but no - the school had ended early at 11 and he was the last kid there (oh my I'm one of those parents).  While I was there they told me I needed to pack a lunch for him (only 2 kids had no snack that day) and that I needed to pick him up at 11 on the next day.  I came home and railed at Arthur because obviously they must have said something about the pick up time and about fixing a lunch for Nik, but he says he didn't hear anything about the school day ending early and he was under the impression that they were going to provide the snacks.  UGH!

Too cute Kat at her school

Thursday, we pack a lunch, sandwich, apple and a few chips, Take Nik to school and then Katerina (we drove today because I wanted to buy her a back pack before her school started).  I stayed with her for 5 minutes and then left her there for an 1 1/2, she cried for a little bit but was pretty good.  Then I picked Nik up at 11, I was the only parent there and he was the first kid being picked up (what in the world is going on?)  The teachers said that he was a very, very good boy (at least something is going right).  But then they inform me that chips aren't allowed in the lunch along with chocolate and a few other things (at least I think they allow peanut butter here in Greece).  We go home and Nik has a little poopoo in his underwear but not to bad.
The next day same routine but this time Arthur goes to pick up Nik, he arrives at 11 (the time they told me in the morning when I dropped him off) to find out that the kids can stay till 11:30, so of course Nik doesn't want to go.  So Arthur goes to a friends house that is right across the street from the school.  I get a call from Katerina (GiaGia) stating that Nik had run to Koka Roka away from his teacher's at school. (once again OMG)  I called Arthur not knowing why he didn't pick Nik up, this is when I was told that he was at his friends waiting for it to be 11:30.  So Nik was kind of freaked out because when he ran away 2 of the teacher's chased him and he ran the majority of the way when he ran into his god-father, the god-father talked to the teacher's and then carried Nik the rest of the way (just down a hill) to Koka Roka.

Well that was the first week, I hope next week, when we go to the normal times and schedules that everything will work out better.  Wish us luck in understanding the f%$*$# Greek system and their inability to be up-front (the reason you don't want to do business with Greeks).

P.S.  7 in the morning is to early, I hear the roosters crowing!

Evil Eye

The below paragraph I have copied from a book that recently came into our possession.

Greeks seldom call it the "evil eye" just "the eye" (to mati). Perhaps the malevolence of the "the eye" is not confined to those from remote or provincial places. The jet set, the middle class as well as the proletariat, and not a few university educated, swear that it exists. They insist that even doctors acknowledge its reality, just as the Church accepts the existence of demonic possession. Undoubtedly, the experience of "being eyed" is real and widespread, however much one might quarrel with the diagnosis.

Concepts of "the evil eye" abound in Mediterranean societies. Whether these different concepts are about the "same" thing is hotly contested by scholars of this region. But the debate itself underlines just how much " the evil eye" is a social affliction rather than anything particularly metaphysical. Probably , the "evil eye" is about envy. It tends to appear in communities relatively undifferentiated by social class or wealth, but where resources are scarce and competition over them keen. In such places the increments of "superiority " of one family over another are tiny , yet all important. Prestige or honor, variously, requires one to "stand out" from one's neighbors. But not too much, for that invites jealousy and bad will. Out of this paradox the need to be better, the need to be the same comes "the eye". "The eye" is a consequence of envy, but it is envy expressed surreptitiously , even unconsciously.

This qualification is important. A Greek will rarely give "the eye" to someone intentionally. "The eye", by contrast, is cast by accident. The kind of person who casts " the eye" on you or yours is probably a neighbor or an acquaintance, someone with whom relation are -if not warm- at least cordial. It can happen inadvertently when something is praised, or even silently admired. This is why people take precautions by spitting delicately ("Phthew!phthew!phthew!") on an infant they cuddle or admire, to forestall any ill effects.

The sorts of living beings and inanimate objects most vulnerable to " the eye " are those of unusual beauty, rarity or value. (Like my kids, our house and the business)

Wearing blue, blue beads or a little blue pupil encased in plastic repels the danger of "the eye". Many adults place one of these blue eyes next to the cross they wear on a chain around their neck. And until recently all children had some sort of charm - a cross, an eye, an image of the Virgin and Child- pinned to their under-clothes to protect them. (Grandma Katerina did this to the kids anytime they went out in public when they were little).

There is no way to know precisely who has cast "the eye". First, the effects are noticed and only afterwards is a culprit surmised. All concerned anxiously pool their memories to reconstruct the recent past, straining to identify possible suspects with possible motivations. This response of suspicion reinforces belief in " the eye." Oddly enough, then, identifying the culprit is usually quite irrelevant to the cures effectiveness.

This is me writing:

Symptoms in the kids is that they become really wild with lots of crying and clinginess. For us adults we get sudden headaches or a tightening of the chest. Katerina performs the cure by taking rock salt and making the sign of the cross 3 times in the air and then 3 times over the person afflicted she does a special prayer and then throws the salt in the fire. If the fire glows blue then this is proof that the person was afflicted by "the eye" and generally the children will become happy during the process, I call this de-salting and it really seems to work.

So is "the eye" a true thing, I'm not sure but it is slowly making a believer out of me. My next necklace purchase will have a little blue eye on it, to protect me from the envy of others.

Greek Elections

We just had Greek elections on Sunday for town hall positions, like the mayor and governor positions. Both Arthur and his mother voted, I can vote after living here for 10 years, although I don't think i will get involved in it. But I would like to say one thing, the Greek government would save a lot of money if they didn't do the advertising that they do. Every person on the ballot hands out an envelope with 4 pieces of paper in it and on each page is the list of people running. The person who gives you the envelope has their named checked so you see who brought. The crazy thing is that every person on the ballot hands out these envelopes to every household. The government is probably spending millions in printing up these papers and for what? Arthur didn't even open them because they were all the same, no extra info about the person you are voting for, just a list of names with a check mark next to the one who dropped them off. We will use them for scrap paper, so I guess that's a plus.

Favorite Commercial (YouTube Video)

This is one of Nik's favorite commercials we can be in another room and he will hear it on the TV and start dancing, very cute. Cosmote (youtube video) is a Greek mobile phone company that has 100% coverage even on the remote islands like the one shown in this advertisement. The jist of it is when the new guy arrives and starts to use his mobile, the other guys ask if it is Cosmote and then they say "Sima Cabana" (clear signal) you can call your girlfriend to assure she is not cheating, you can send SMS, you can call delivery for kebabs, and you can call your mom to help you make stuffed tomatoes and how to do the laundry.

Enjoy

Every male must do one year of military service, Arthur did his for 2 years (different law then).

I am an Official Greek Citizen

or very close to being one.
I now have my five year visa and can enter and exit Greece at will. We are very excited because this has been a long thing coming, but the bureaucracy is a little slow (Arthur got a 10 year American visa in 2 days). So I have the 5 year visa and then I will get another 5 year visa and then after 10 years I will get my own Greek Passport, yippee! Our next exciting activity concerning passports will be getting little Nick his American and Greek passports for dual citizenship. I wonder if they will require baby pictures, he will be awfully young to get fingerprinted and photographed, oh well. I will probably be stuck at the computer my whole ninth month of pregnancy and can learn all about it then.

5 month appointment

Okay this is the 5 month check-up (technically I am at 21 weeks, 5 mo. and 1 week) but it sounds better to go by months than by weeks. This week we checked out my heart, I love the Greek medicine system, they used a machine that was probably created in the 70's or 80's. They placed clam shell like metal objects around my breast and rib cage, then they placed what looked like the things you use to charge you car battery when it dies on my wrists and ankles. I thought for sure I would feel an electrical charge especially since she put water on my skin first, but I didn't feel a thing when they turned it on. My heart looks great said the doctor, so that's one more thing looking good. Then we went to a doctor that had a machine that I am sure even doctors in the States would envy, a high tech GE 3-D baby monitor. We measured every possible thing to measure on the baby from bones (nose, arms and legs) we counted fingers and toes, we checked the blood flow to the kidneys, heart and legs, we measured the brain, heart, stomach, bladder and different arteries. It was very educational, the baby is very healthy and has everything in the right place, and he is definitely a boy. We are also running another battery of blood test to check up on everything, the doctors here in Greece are very good and are really into preventative medicine, making sure everything is going good before there is a problem. I even got a prescription for stomach and nipple cream (non-toxic) to prepare my body for the growing baby and so I wont get stretch marks, yippee.
And here's the fun part, while we were waiting to see the doctor two hand-cuffed prisoners came to see the dentist (his office is next to the ob-gyn), and man did they look like they needed to be in prison. They came one at a time and had 3 escorts only one carrying a gun in his holster and standing back several paces the other two had his arms and were carrying fanny packs around their waist probably with guns inside just harder to reach. When the first guy came out of the dentist office his smile was so creepy it definitely belonged on America's most wanted list ( it gave me the creeps). So this is socialized free medicine I see the same doctors that prisoners see, no special standards, although they did get in faster than the other people waiting to see the dentist, but I don't think anyone minded that they didn't wait in the waiting room.

Kitty

I now know for sure that Arthur loves me. Today he went to a Veterinarian and asked for pills to make our little feral kitty feel better. For a Greek man this is like, unheard of, (I can't think of a word to go here). Greek people do not have cats and dogs as pets, some dogs are used as hunting or shepherding dogs, but most are homeless, feral, and lonely. Animals in the house, SORRY not in Greece, they are outside animals only. They are well taken care of to a degree, people will feed them leftovers and on the Islands I saw a women giving out cat food and in Athens there is a corporation who puts dog food out in certain areas. The government in larger cities will also catch dogs and give them shots and place collars on them.
Our little kitty has been sick for the last couple of days and hasn't been able to eat. Arthur risked being scratched by the kitty in order to give it the medicine the vet gave him, he was very brave to do this and this is why I now know for sure that Arthur loves me. Because he did all of this without asking me, he just knew how I felt about letting our little kitty die on his own naturally. The way most Greeks feel about animals is "If they can't make it on their own then oh well there will always be another dog or cat to come along".
This is the story of Greek Life for Today.

The Pension

Some of you might think a pension is a rooms to let place or a small hotel, but here in Greece it is your retirement fund. Arthur is starting his today, his father went on Agriculture Pension about 4 months ago and just got his 2nd payment today in the mail. Now this is the fun part the mailman brought the pension in CASH, that's right this mailman is carrying around thousands of dollars and handing out pensions in cash, only state workers get their pension in check form. Katerina has owned Koka Roka for 20 years and her birthday was in July so this is why she has "retired" and now Arthur will run the business and start on his pension. You only pay into a pension for 20 years you do not get more money out of it if you stay in longer, so you work 20 years and then you hand over the business to someone else.
This is also the reason why you will find many businesses run by family members, because if you hire someone you have to pay their pension and this can get very expensive. If it's all in the family well then it's all under the table, so to speak. Now the pension is not only for retirement funds, but it is also for the health insurance and when Arthur starts his I am also under his pension and will receive the same benefits.
This is the Story of Greek Life for today.