It’s been a long explanation, but this is the reason why my daughter has a different last name in Japan. If we want to give her Greek last name in Japan, we need to go through court, and once the process is done, her own family registry will be created. So, currently my daughter has… Continue reading Naming #3
In the last post, I talked about my daughter’s given name. Today’s post is about her last name in Greece (why do I say “in Greece”? You’ll see later on).
It’s a Greek custom to name your child after his/her grandparent. Therefore, my daughter’s Greek name was theoretically pre-decided. I didn’t have an issue with following this tradition, so her Greek name was taken care of. What we had to think about was whether we would give her two given names, Greek and Japanese. My… Continue reading Naming #1
I know, it’s been awhile since my last post. However, this time I have a good (?) excuse. That is… As I was recuperating from the delivery, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, so in the end I was literally stuck in the house for 4-5 months. Now that the stay-at-home order has been lifted, and the… Continue reading I’m baaack
Yes, it means that instead of not issuing a receipt, the store will deduct the tax amount from your total. It’s unthinkable (at least to me), but I think, it’s a common practice in Greece (definitely not unusual). It’s entirely up to you how you want to respond…
I’ve been in Greece for 5 years, but I’m still not too familiar with what’s going on in Greece. Recently, I’ve been thinking that this has to change somehow. In the past, I’ve tried to read one news article per day, but it didn’t last. I check Twitter everyday anyway, and reading just headlines is… Continue reading Stay Informed
I personally think it’s a great way of naming this category of people who would do something unpredictable/beyond imagination. At the same time, saying it doesn’t create a feeling of anger/irritation like swearing.
My least favorite is smashing a pomegranate because we need to clean up afterwards… Its juice splashes in unexpected directions: I think, traditionally you smash a pomegranate after coming back from church. Since we spend New Year’s Eve at my in-laws’ house, we break one when we come home. I wish you all a wonderful… Continue reading New Year’s Traditions
—————————————————————————————————————————————- If you didn’t grow up with the superstitions of that country, they sound pretty weird ;) Here are some Japanese bad luck superstitions: Handing food directly with chopsticks Sticking chopsticks (especially vertically) into rice in the bowl These two are not just superstitions, but are huge taboos because they are related to funeral customs.… Continue reading Bad Luck
GreekfuLife in Greece 