Broken English.

It has recently been bought to my attention that non-Greek teachers of English in Greece, in order to obtain a teaching licence or renewal of a teaching licence, are now also required to sit a Greek Proficiency Examination, both oral and written. The level of proficiency required takes a number of years of study to achieve and I am unaware of funding for the lessons. I am also unaware if this applies to non-Greek teachers of other foreign languages in Greece and of any other countries within the European Union who discriminate against foreign teachers of foreign languages in such a manner. This law is retroactive.

Firstly, this means that a number of English teachers are now faced with two options: become unemployed or become illegally employed. The second option will, in many cases, be a financial necessity. They will be illegally employed by the 'Frontistiria' or private schools or they will tutor from their homes or at their students homes because obtaining their Greek Proficiency qualification is not possible before their yearly teaching licence renewal.

Secondly, this also means that the need to replace staff in the rapidly depleted schools, will allow a number of unsuitable or hastily chosen teachers of English to be employed simply because they are Greek and therefore don't need to sit the Greek Proficiency Examination.

Thirdly, a rich source of access to English anecdotes, culture, idiosyncracies, personalities and traditions - amassed only by first-hand experience of England and/or English upbringing, is being cut off at source.

N.B. Non-Greeks are not allowed to teach in the Greek state schools, only the private schools, and, technically, Greek teachers are not allowed to work outside of school hours - no tutoring or private lessons, although this is not always the practice.

Of course it is not impossible for foreign teachers of English in Greece to take and pass the Greek Proficiency Examination and there are plenty of perfectly suitable Greek teachers of English. My point is that there are many teachers of English, presently employed, who will not or can not and should not be forced to take this examination, it is blantant discrimination, bordering on xenophobia and it is in direct contrast to the European Commission and Member States policy of encouraging multilingualism, promoting language learning and providing students of all levels with better language learning facilities and skills.

Whilst Europe and Europeans are desperately trying to promote cross-cultural understanding, building bridges across the 'Culture Gap', Greece, it would appear, is burning hers.

Human Warmth.

Two days ago we found a teeny, tiny tortoise, practically just out of the egg. I thought it might like a home with us until it's big enough to fend for itself so we put it in a plastic basin with a shallow dish of water, a lettuce leaf and a small cardboard box for a bed. Then I 'googled' to find out a bit more about tortoises and tortoise care (and came across two hillarious tortoise cams). One thing mentioned is a short list of physical characteristics indicating the state of health of a tortoise, hard to determine when your tortoise hasn't come out of its shell since you found it! Lounging in front of the television last night I decided to put it on my tummy and see if it would come out for a look. Not only did it have a look, it spent a good half hour walking around, having periodic rests with all its legs stretched out. We have no physical characteristics in common, we're members of different species, we don't speak the same language but a little bit of human warmth was all we needed to share.