Some bad news

My not having posted for a while now is no news, nor something that needs an elaborate explanation: It was simply a result of enjoying the last days of the summer, and also the last days of the best trimester of my life so far.

As I have explained before, I will be working as an agricultural doctor in Lesvos for a whole year. The first 3 months are spent in Mytilene, where each one of us is trained at the hospital here. After this educational trimester ends, we are to move to our village of choice (the one we applied for 6 months ago) and actually start working.

I guess that my everyday life at the village will be interesting, challenging, funny and with a few surprises. I promise to share my experiences, good and bad, along the way. But until Monday 31st, my first day at work as a "real" doctor, I am still a trainee.

A trainee not being trained, actually - but this is for another future post. But as a result of the flexible hours and the everything-but-intensive schedule, I have lots of free time. Free time to make friends, swim, sunbathe, watch interesting movies (or cr@ppy ones - it doesn't matter, as long as you have good company!), play board games, enjoy long drives in my car (and occasionally create a new bump or two), drink yummy cocktails and gain 100 pounds by enjoying the local cuisine! In short, free time to have fun.

Somewhere along the way, I feel the annoying presence of guilt for not studying, and not being 100% dedicated to my job. But you know what? In my 24 years of life, I can't remember myself having much fun. It was always a race, a competition - I had to give my best, I had to be the best. And after going through the incredibly painful process of Greek exams, upon entering Med school, I discovered that I had been cheated - where was all the "fun" I was promised, right after the exam torment had ended? Not only things were not "fun", they were even harder then! In fact, I had to study more than ever before!

And I did. And I will, until the very last day of my life. Because Medicine requires true dedication, and it is a science that always evolves. There are no givens, and no golden rules. Everything we take for granted now, may change tomorrow. So we must always be up-to-date.

So, for the last 3 months, I decided to tell my guilt to shut it and go away. It was one of my very few opportunities to have fun, and I promised myself to take it. And I did. And it was amazing!

But today, I feel awful. I know, it is ok to be a little sorry that the trimester is ending, and also a little (or a lot!) terrified that starting Monday, I will be responsible for real, flesh and bones, people.

However, the reason for my bad mood is a bit more practical. There is a problem with my accomodation at the village. I was going to rent an appartment there for 9 months, and started looking for one with my colleague, a while back (we agreed to not stay together, for various reasons, so we had to find one for each). There had to be good heating, because the village is on the top of a mountain and it is cold in the winter, and since it was for 9 months only, it would be better if they were already furnished (because after 18395 moves, dragging my furniture across the other end of Greece was not an option).

We searched a lot, and found only 2 suitable places. My colleague and I liked the same one, but I decided it was just not worth fighting for, so I went for the other. She herself closed the deal with hers, and today I phoned the owner of "mine", in order to agree on some last details.

But guess what? The owner decided that she won't accept me, because I have a dog! I was furious! Don't get me wrong, it is TOTALLY her right not to want pets at her property. However, we had talked about this TWICE before, and she had said there was no problem whatsoever! Not only did she not need convincing, but she seemed more than ok with Phoebs.

And today, 4 days before my move and while we had unofficially agreed and I had stopped searching for something else, she decided against us! I did not see that coming - and I am wondering what to do now.

I asked again, and there are no other accomodation options at the village that suit my needs. So, my only 2 options are: 1) Rent an unfurnished appartment and spend a small fortune (which I lack at the moment) equipping it for a stay of just 9 months - not to add the need to transfer every single piece in my tiny car, because having the shop move it is not possible, or 2) Rent an appartment in Mytilene, and go back and forth every single day, driving in potentially dangerous roads, with snow and ice in the winter (not to mention also spending a small fortune on gas).

I am really frustrated right now, and feel that I am out of time. Also, next weekend I will be off to Germany (I'll share the details in another post) and will have no time to deal with all this, so the pressure of finding a solution fast is overwhelming.

I know it's not possible to help me from so far away (and I am sure that, not knowing the specific details of the accomodation process, it all sounds Greek to you! LOL) but you can at least send me your good vibes and wishes for a viable solution. Or you can try voodoo on the owner for being so inconsistent and untrustworthy. Whichever suits you best...