I write this blog from a ferry between Naxos and Crete in Greece on what has become this iteration of our family’s bi-annual international adventure. Many of you may remember our initial trip to Italy a couple of years ago. That trip was a relative success in terms of me figuring out if I could successfully work remotely from a foreign country. I learned a couple of lessons that are making this go-round a little easier, and the 7-hour time difference actually makes it easier to spend time with the family in the morning and have time for client needs in the afternoon and evening. I may share more of our experiences and maybe even some travel tips in future blogs. For now, please just know that we will continue to meet your needs while I’m traveling through June 20th. I have full cell and computer capabilities, and Alycia can always be reached for urgent needs (alycia@seiglerfp.com; 704-266-5107). Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any needs. Now for a few first impression....
We’ve really enjoyed the Greek culture and found the people to be extremely friendly…especially to children much like the locals in Italy. Calvin’s affinity for seafood continues to grow as he sampled whole-fish sea bass and sea bream. Calvin and Sloan’s favorite find has been orange-blue Fanta which is the non-carbonized version of the famous orange drink. They don’t drink soda back home and were not fans of the bubbles on the occasions they’ve tried them in the past. So, orange-blue Fanta has been a revelation, but one we are happy can be a “treat” on our foreign trips since I’m unaware of it being available in the States. With that said, it does seem to be healthier than the US version after reviewing the nutritional facts (no high-fructose corn syrup, no dyes, less sugar content, and actually some real orange juice).
We spent our first full-day last Saturday celebrating my wife’s 40th birthday with a beach day at St. George Beach in Naxos which was a short 5-minute stroll from our rental. Since it wasn’t yet the high season, which begins in June, we were able to claim 4 chairs and 2 umbrellas for free at a local beach club and enjoy the entire day by the sea. We’re loving the mild weather and clear blue water. Naxos definitely has a culture of late to rise and late to bed. We’ve slowly adjusted our schedules to match with our latest dinner on our last night there at 9:30 PM (which is considered normal there). The later schedule actually works better for this night owl and helps with the work schedule.
Finally, there are the small, daily parts of life that remind you of how fortunate we have it in the US. There was no dishwasher, so I’ve replaced my morning ritual of loading/unloading the dishwasher with handwashing and drying dishes. My wife found one of the minority of rentals with a washing machine, but we still had to hang our clean clothes out to dry. One morning, I heated up some leftovers for breakfast in the oven since we didn’t have a microwave. And most apartment buildings in Naxos have containers on top of the buildings that use sunlight to heat water. Once that water is used up, the shower and sink water is cold. Fortunately, our rental had a hot water heater that could be turned on in the event the sun-heated water was used up (which for us typically occurred after the kids’ showers were completed). Finally, flushing toilet paper down the toilets is not allowed here unless you’re a rule breaker. Used tissues are simply disposed of in the waste basket. Surprisingly, any public toilets we used were no more disgusting than what you might find in the US. These small inconveniences are well worth the overall experience, and a good teaching moment for us with the kids to remind them how blessed with are in the good ole USA. I’ll stop there for now. More adventures to come!