Today started with a quick breakfast and a few minutes with the family before the kids left for school, complete with some last minute homework that had been forgotten in the wake of last night’s entertainment!
All three of us adults drove into work, and went our separate ways afterwards – me to Threads of Hope, my host family’s mother to the Nea Zoi office, and my host family’s father to Faros, the local refugee shelter. With Ellen off of work today and the Wednesday assistant out sick, it was just Cecilia and me with the girls in the workroom today. I picked up where I left off with the bag, and was able to focus on that for most of the day.
It’s been a bit of a challenge for me as I’ve never actually sewn bags or accessories, and haven’t sewn on a home machine for a while, but the things the women do there every day just shows that with some hard work and determination, almost anything can be accomplished.
Towards the afternoon, Cecilia ran out to do errands, and I had a good portion of the workday to be with the remainder of the girls (a few leave early to be with family). During the course of the afternoon, we exchanged some conversation about accents, hairstyles, and my progress in learning Greek (I’ve found that I can retain about one word a day, so I should be fluent in about a hundred years…) I really enjoyed being able to get to know some of the girls a bit better and get a feel for their unique personalities and skill sets. One of the girls who’s been at Threads of Hope the longest really has a knack for sewing and put me to shame, finishing most of her Weekender bag in just one day. Her enthusiasm and ambition was truly exciting to see, and the only reason she didn’t finish the bag by the end of the day was because we were missing a few components.
The rest of the day was once again spent relaxing back at home, where I watched the sunset from the living room balcony and enjoyed a game of Sorry with the kids before dinner.
My host family’s youngest son is one of the most competitive little boys I’ve ever met, and totally reminded me of how appropriate the game’s tagline “The game of sweet revenge” is!
Despite the short 9-2 workdays, I’ve been finding that I’m in need of an afternoon nap by the time I finish, and am really enjoying the Greek tradition of just chilling out for the rest of the day after work!
Twenty-One Travels 