SOFTIE SOUTHERNERS- or when you should believe everything you read.

by TEFL MAMA - 15:50 on 15 October 2008

My first TEFL job, though not my first experience of living abroad or travelling, was in a mountain town in Greece.

It was set up by a now defunct TEFL recruitment company ran by a lady called Carol  .... I forget her surname now.  She recruited solely for the Greek market.  I had applied for jobs in Italy and Spain but was having no success.  I then made my application for Greece having little to no knowledge of the country, not even having ever been there on holiday .

A couple of days later, out of the blue, I got a call from Carol Skinner (knew it would come back to me!) and having, what turned out to be, a telephone interview ending me with agreeing to take a job in a small mountain town in the Peloponese in Greece.  I have to admit that while on the phone to her I was spreading a map of Europe across the living room floor while desperately trying to locate this 'Tripolis' on it! 

Nonetheless, I agreed.  I was aching to start my new adventure and life, and was willing to go anywhere - well, anywhere within Western, preferably Mediterranean Europe (there's no harm in knowing what you want!).  And guess why I wanted to go there - because it's warm!  Now, remember that point.

After sending off all the education certificates that I could put my hands on down to Carol in London, for transcription into Greek for the Greek education department, and waiting nervously for their return, I received my welcome package and guide to Tripolis.  This had been put together largely by Carol, guiding newbies through the basics and  necessities of Greek life.  I still remember guidance on how to dress, what jewellery to wear and general behaviour outside the classroom.  A lot of it was dated even though Carol herself spent the majority of the year living in Athens.  However, included within this was a letter from Kay.

Kay had been the previous incarnation of the 'English teacher' at the exact school I was going to teach at.  Kay gave lots of useful information in her letter; from when the supermarkets opened till to where the rest of the 'English teachers' in town could be found.  This was all manna to somebody who was going somewhere totally new for the first time.

I lapped it all up and went out pretty prepared for anything that Greece could throw at me.  However, there was one thing that I had pooh-poohed  and this had been based on a strong prejudice backed up by my own hypothesis, that all English are alike and all are Southern Softies!

Kay had advised that it got cold in the mountains of Greece in the Winter and that I should bring hot water bottles and dressing gowns along with thermal vests and gloves! What a softie, feart of a little chill in the air!  So, I didn't listen to her.  Big mistake!  In fact, Kay had been in Greece too long and had forgotten to mention how blooming cold it got in Autumn never mind Winter!

Approximately 12 years ago to the day I was on the phone to my ever helpful parents asking urgently for the aforementioned items.  They didn't arrive in time for the Oxi Day parades and i remember being bitterly, bitterly cold and all the old hands coming to watch the parade in their wooly hats and warm gloves.  I could only think how wrong I'd been.

So, you see, travel does broaden the mind and eliminate prejudices even if it's just to be less prejudiced to our Southern neighbours!

A postscript to all this though would be that Kay was actually from Yorkshire and as I've learnt that is different to just being English!  And knowing what I know now ,I would have believed it straight away if i'd known that!

 LINKS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okhi_Day

Info on Oxi Day

http://www.greecexplorer.com/xplorer.html?tripoli/tripoli_en.php~mainFrame

Can you find Tripolis?

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