You may know that we're hoping to get a place for Ruth in pre-school so she can begin to spread her wings (she's keen on this) and get going in Greek (she's not so keen on this). Registration for said place is turning out rather trickier than we'd imagined.
The other three kids got their places with a bit of paperwork: birth certificates, UK medical records, proof of parental employment etc. Turns out that bureaucratic levels have been stepped up. We can no longer use proof of employment from outside of Greece (stamp from a Greek agency needed). We can no longer use Ruth's standard issue Nottingham birth certificate (non-Greek ones need an official seal before they can be officially translated). UK medical preparation wasn't enough (various jabs that aren't standard there are standard here).
All this is mostly fair enough - we've no huge complaint about that, as the authorities are entitled to request whatever they feel is necessary to run the education system. But what has struck me this week after trying yet again to get Ruth through the necessary hoops is that, despite having been here over six years, it is still difficult encountering all these obstacles. Greek families have to do the same, but they're in the system already so much of it is more easily obtainable, and the normality of it being home culture for them would mean the frustration is perhaps far more lightly borne.
It was the way in which it made me feel so tired and frustrated that struck me.
There was a moment in the translation office having been told - politely, fairly and firmly - that the standard certificate was not enough when I just stood in the middle of the Greek/English section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs not quite knowing where to go or what to do. I think I may have wandered around in a couple of small circles, thinking through our various options and suddenly feeling very, very tired.
I'm not writing this to describe any level of suffering or hardship, but rather to get into black and white where we're at regarding culture stress and adjustment. Despite all the progress made, there are some things that will perhaps always feel thoroughly alien and frustrating.
The other three kids got their places with a bit of paperwork: birth certificates, UK medical records, proof of parental employment etc. Turns out that bureaucratic levels have been stepped up. We can no longer use proof of employment from outside of Greece (stamp from a Greek agency needed). We can no longer use Ruth's standard issue Nottingham birth certificate (non-Greek ones need an official seal before they can be officially translated). UK medical preparation wasn't enough (various jabs that aren't standard there are standard here).
All this is mostly fair enough - we've no huge complaint about that, as the authorities are entitled to request whatever they feel is necessary to run the education system. But what has struck me this week after trying yet again to get Ruth through the necessary hoops is that, despite having been here over six years, it is still difficult encountering all these obstacles. Greek families have to do the same, but they're in the system already so much of it is more easily obtainable, and the normality of it being home culture for them would mean the frustration is perhaps far more lightly borne.
It was the way in which it made me feel so tired and frustrated that struck me.
There was a moment in the translation office having been told - politely, fairly and firmly - that the standard certificate was not enough when I just stood in the middle of the Greek/English section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs not quite knowing where to go or what to do. I think I may have wandered around in a couple of small circles, thinking through our various options and suddenly feeling very, very tired.
I'm not writing this to describe any level of suffering or hardship, but rather to get into black and white where we're at regarding culture stress and adjustment. Despite all the progress made, there are some things that will perhaps always feel thoroughly alien and frustrating.
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