I know I’m a bit behind on writing and so much has happened! We have officially lived on Crete for one year. Things have been going well and I am still learning lots. Greek class is going well but I have realized I am learning the rules of the language in class but really learning to speak everyday Greek in “the wild” as I call it. Pilates, the grocery store, cafes, everyone is so helpful in correcting me and encouraging me. I have learned to try my best then ask – is that right? and people are happy to correct me, kindly. This seems to be expanding my speaking Greek quicker, and I can see why people say you learn so much faster being emersed in the language.

Looking back at our year here I have been thinking about whether Crete feels like home. For a while our apartment was a place I didn’t like very much. The colors weren’t ours, the decor wasn’t ours, it felt very temporary, and I started to look for other apartments. After looking at several places, I quickly found how hard it was to find the great location we currently have, with a parking space, that would accept dogs, I switched my mindset a bit. We started seeing what little improvements we could do to the apartment to make it feel more like home. After we changed out some small things and had the apartment painted it feels like a whole new place. We brought back some decor from Florida in our suitcases, and I can now see us here.

Speaking of Florida, we made our first trip back to the US in a year. We were a bit nervous about the trip, to be honest. The internet is full of scary stories of issues at the airports, but we saw none of this. Flights were fine, passport control was easy, and the visit was lovely. Every meal was an event, porching with my friends felt special again, simple outings to TJMaxx with my mom was so fun. It didn’t feel like we had been gone for a year, we fell right back into the flow of our old neighborhood and family dinners. We got to celebrate 2 graduations, ate a ton of Asian food, and caught up with lots of people. It’s so unfortunate that it’s so expensive and time consuming to go back for visits. We probably won’t go back until 2026 but luckily most people will be coming to us throughout the rest of the year. We are getting ready for Jeff’s family to arrive on Crete in 2 days, my mom and sister are coming in September, and we already have people wanting to plan their trips for next summer.

So, here’s my conclusion on the year, the Florida visit, our apartment, my new friends, and Crete overall. I am happy, I am lucky to be able to not have to be working currently and can spend my time learning Greek, learning the culture and making good connections. I think I will at some point find a part time job; more of a schedule might be good for me. I feel healthy, I can tell the food here is better for me, cleaner and makes me feel good. The pace has been an adjustment, but probably also good for me. Some things the Greeks do still confuse me, and some things make total sense. What I love most about this opportunity to live in a foreign country is this is showing me the ways I did things before weren’t the only way. My mind is opening; my perspective is changing all the time.

As soon as we got back from the US I went on a girl’s trip to Chania and finally got to see the pink beach of Elafonissi and it was a blast! Will update you next time on my summer happenings, including a big birthday trip I have planned. Stay tuned.