Teaching Officially in Greece, Cretan Tomatoes

A key feature of the week on the work front was an attempt to get lesssons from outside the language school. The result was an offer with some question marks over it, the first being the travel/work ratio. On some days it would involve travelling to the outer edge of town (think top of conurbated mountain) for just two lessons. The other, perhaps more significant point, is that they raised the issue of my teaching papers, which could be a bit tricky as far as I gathered from the person responsible for overall recruitment of a large educational company. I met this obviously very experienced and long established in Greece Scottish lady, during the course of my application for the suburban job. Among lots of interesting pieces of information she told me that in order to be fully officially employed as an English teacher you have to have a permit based on the translation of an overseas degree certificate for a degree which majored in English language and pedagoguey or on evidence of passing through the Greek education system. There are, it seems, ways round this but they are not absolutely failsafe. She also told me that there are about 67,000 English teachers in Greece competing for work. :-)

On a more positive note, I'd like to mention Cretan tomatoes. I came across a great deal on these big red lovelies at a greengrocer's in the side streets between work and home. Whilst sitting at home consuming them with toast, olive oil, raw salt, sheep's cheese and onion, I reflected on the fact that whatever the impossibilities, injustices, and crazinesses of commercial and public life here, this taste bud ecstasy was somehow bigger and more important than them all put together.