Ups & Downs, here in Greece.

And first the Downs -- in case you were wondering about the refugee situation in view of the alleged deal with Turkey. We really don't trust those people, even as the Greek government tries to nail down agreements/services to lessen a double-edged humanitarian crisis. Were programs really put into effect today?  There are at least 46,207 refugees stranded in Greece (now being called "the warehouse of souls"),  and the Port of Piraeus threatens to becoming another Idomeni. Which refugees are actually qualified for asylum?

Meanwhile, there are ongoing reports of Turkish fighters entering Greek airspace. And, oh, did I mention the Greek condemnation of continued Turkish denials of the Armenian Genocide during the recent visit of the Armenian president to Athens? Or that Turkey has occupied a good part of Cyprus since 1974? (Let's discuss the Greek unfinancial situation another time...)

On the Up side, my search for Girls School grads (circa 1967-1978) is going quite well, leading up to a reunion planned for April 2nd. I think there will be at least 100 women there, if not more -- from as far as Germany, Athens, and Corfu.  Word is out and fingers crossed!

Today I took‎ a city bus up to the nosebleed section of Thessaloniki -- Kallithea, with an awesome view of the Thermaikou Bay/Mt. Olympus -- to visit Fotini Tourna (née Delianidhou '70) and her family. She has two very nice children, a policeman and (unemployed) nurse. Predictably, Fotini brought out photos of the good ol' days and we reminisced...and then discussed how we could located missing classmates. Daughter "Jenny"  (Evghenia) announced that earlier she had given Mom her first computer lesson. Woohoo!

‎It should be noted that I did call Rosa Detsika (née Kitti '69) in Germany as promised in my February 10th post, courtesy of Viber.* Rosa won't be able to be here on April 2nd, but she will be here in spirit along with about half of her 13 classmates...Ill  health is an ongoing theme in Greece, with deaths from cancer due mostly to environmental issues (like nearby wars and Chernobyl) over the top.


And so it never ceases to amaze me how the Greek people just keep on keeping on!

*Wow, love those Viber and WhatsApp free Internet calls + my 19 Euro Samsung cell phone w/7 cents per minute from Vodafone with no contract. Verizon beware!

Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone on the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network.