Progress Report

We had big plans for all the things we’d get done over our Christmas break but in reality we didn’t do very much at all….. and it was blissful.  Even more than usual, I was feeling frayed and exhausted by the end of the year and ten days of doing not much interspersed with a few outings was just what I needed.  I got to read books and lie in most mornings!  There was even the occasional nap had after lunch.  Pure decadent lolling around.  My batteries are mostly recharged, which is just as well as the next two months until we leave are going to be mayhem.  I’m not sure what is worse – the process of renting out and packing up your house or the Kafkaesque world of bureaucracy that I’m engulfed in.

Example: Enrolling your child in a Greek school

They’ll need their last report cards.  Easy, right?  But first we need to get them stamped by an authorised officer of the QLD Department of Education, then I need to drop them off at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to get an Apostille stamp.  When they are ready I have to take them to be translated into Greek and then receive a stamp from the Greek Consulate certifying the translation.  Then we’ll be able to present our official thrice stamped and once translated report cards to the school in Zakynthos.

As for the boys Irish passports – at this stage we have about as much chance of getting them in time as of finding a sober Irishman on Paddy’s Day.

But there has been progress!  Our house has been advertised for rent and we have some people coming to look at it on Saturday. Once we find a tenant then the massive job of packing and cleaning will begin.

We up to our third lot of HelpXers at the moment.  Over Christmas we had the wonderful Bernat and Eulalia from Barcelona stay with us.  They did a great job painting the laundry and helping out with other odd jobs. They were wonderful with the boys and even cooked us a delicious Catalan meal.  At the moment we have a French couple staying with us finishing off some small painting jobs and helping with the gardening and housework. It seems a shame to move out now that the house is looking so great!