"it's Greek to me"

Working in an international organization for the last 9 years has been an amazing experience for me for the simple (and could say, "only")  reason that I have made friends from all over  Europe... I have good friends from France, Germany, Portugal, Scotland, England, Italy, Spain and the list continues... but no, it does not comprise the Dutch... observing them for 9 years has lead me into the conclusion that in their society, the things I consider vices are seen as virtues and it would take me to deny a very big part of who I am to befriend them... Anyway, leaving these realizations aside, having friends from so many different countries  is great as it has helped  me broaden my horizons, see things from totally different perspectives, get to know different cultures and mentalities and "step out" of the borders of my country.

Yes, having international friends is wonderful as long as one also has friends from the same country close by too... For me obviously that's the Greeks... their lively, heated at times conversations, the warmth of their company, the comfort and easiness of speaking the same (mother) tongue, the understanding of situations that is common because we come from the same background, the shared mentality and tastes, the grumpiness, the gossip, the profound, the philosophy and the mundane, all of that that makes us fellow countrymen, all that is hugely important :) The good news is that I have great Greek friends here too! And though they might be the minority in my big group of friends here, they are valuable and cherished and I could not live here without them! And that is said in all honesty!

Last night I had the pleasure of dinning out with them... and in a Greek restaurant too! So, add greek food to all that I mentioned above and you have the picture and an idea of how fantastic the night was! First a glass of champagne offered by one of the guys in his cosy and very stylish home, lots of laughs to go with it, then the restaurant with the nice people attending to us, as always in a friendly atmosphere, the wine, the food, more laughs and talks and analysis and opinions... Just perfect... And better than a new pair of shoes... any pair of shoes... and you can let your imagination fly to the most exquisite ones you can think of... Still, dinner with my Greek friends would win :)

't' is the season to be jolly...

Ever since I was a child, I looooved Christmas!! The tree, the carols, the presents, the festive clothes, the exceptional food, the traditional greek sweets, the Christmas movies and songs, the house being full of friends and family, the cards, everything made me the happiest person on the face of this earth! Come mid-December I would wear my nicest smile and walk around with it until at least the 7th of January when I would have to go back to school :)

This habit follows me all my life. Even losing my beloved grandma on the second day of Christmas did not change how I feel about this time of the year. I was 8 and it was her birthday when she passed and though I will always remember those ones as the saddest ones, I still kept loving Christmas and the following year I had the usual smile again! And, mind you, I'm not religious and have not been for a good part of my life but it is not about that for me, it is not about religion... It's about the glamour and warmth and the exceptional... it's about spending time to find the perfect gift for your loved ones, it's about thinking of the special menu for the day, the special outfit (and certainly about the perfect shoes!!!) about the lights and the colours that can be in abundance during the holidays and not be tacky at all!

Since I came to the Netherlands (except for that first year here that I remember buying a tree on Christmas Eve as I did not know yet where to get it... had been here for 3 weeks you see... and I decorated it while snow started to come down from the sky... only time ever...) I have been decorating my tree earlier and earlier... This year the plan is to put it up on the 28th of November, as (it is a Saturday and I will have some time and...) my tree has to be up and sparkling the whole month of December! The idea is to enjoy it as much as possible before I go home... home to Greece that is :) And until then, I will keep all the presents underneath it as I buy them! And every night I will turn of all the lights but those on the tree and sip slowly my tea while enjoying the view!!

Perhaps I am a bit early to write about this stuff but the other day I was in big store buying some new ornaments and listening to Wham and their last Christmas, again, as every year about this time, and I really got in the mood! And as there is no doubt in my head that the December holiday season IS better than shoes and this feeling of being a child again that I get IS better than Louboutin very privé 12cm pumps (that are veeeery hard to beat...) I thought I post this... and I will be posting a picture of my tree as soon it is ready :) Until then, here's what I compare the Christmas feeling with ;)

Ladies' night!

I live here in The Netherlands for 9 years and in these 9 years I have made a lot of friends... almost all of them with one thing in common: Adam's apple!! Be it because of my job where most of my colleagues are men or because most expat women of my age came here with a husband or a boyfriend (or acquired one very quickly...) and by now they have three kids and not a lot of time to socialize between PTA meetings or even because I do no find I share anything with the native ladies in order to develop a friendship, I have not been able to have close female friends...

And because I'm not one of those women who, perhaps because of being competitive or insecure or I don't know what, do not seek female company, I do miss having friends of my gender... Men are great, funny and honest and pretty straighforward and as I said I do have a lot of friends of the kind but they cannot compensate for women! As we say sometimes "men are wonderful but if you want someone to talk to, talk to your girlfriends"... because they most likely will understand what you mean and men most likely won't! Moreover, try talking to a (straight) man about why you prefer last winter's Jimmy Choo collection better or about the most coveted zebra leather platforms by the guru Christian Louboutin and you will have to face charges for boring him to death!!!!

Lately though things have changed as the coolest girl has moved into the building where I live! A friend of a friend and now a friend of everyone this lively Portuguese and her Maltese (female as well :) have both entered my life to give me exactly what was missing: girlfriends! 

So, last nigh I was invited to a "ladies only" dinner party by this new girlfriend and I have to say that I enjoyed it immensely!! A room full of women of more or less the same age, independent, intelligent, working ladies with all the joys and the problems of being an independent, intelligent, working woman nowadays, being involved in all kinds of discussions about everything that concerns us... work, men, travels, being an expat, books, music, beauty, food and the list goes on and on... Great food offered by our host, great wine that untied the tongues and words were coming out like rivers (even from my mouth and I'm very far from being proficient in Portuguese...) great, warm atmosphere... Overall, a night to remember!

And I would be just stating the obvious if I were to say that I am grateful to have a new girlfriend and to have been invited to be part of her circle of girlfriends and to have had such a perfect night but... what the hell, I will do it anyway! I am grateful and I do feel lucky and yes, nights like this are better than shoes!

ps. Happy birthday S :)