Grexit...it's one of those combined words the media like. Akin to Bennifer or TomKat. The name alone is almost enough to make me sick to my stomach. The word, of course, refers to the potential exit of Greece from the Euro and from the EU. It seems harmless enough, but, nice you add in the impact that the current financial challenges in Greece are having on folks you realize that the word Grexit should make you sick to your stomach for any number of reasons.
It could be the queue of people we see at nearly every ATM (citizens are limited to 60 Euros withdrawal daily), it could be the fact that many stores are refusing to accept Credit Cards, preferring cash which allows them to skirt the withdrawal limit, or it might be the fact that in the last week alone, Greece has lost 40,000 jobs as a result of the uncertainty surrounding their inclusion in the Euro Zone and the future of their economy.
It's also impacting our family. We can't buy many of the things we had anticipated due to the requirement for cash, but we have the chance to leave and the funds to do so...which places us head and shoulders over those who must stay. So far we love Greece and we do plan to come back, but for now it's just too uncertain and difficult so we will be heading North to Albania, Montenegro and Croatia for the summer hopefully to return to Greece in the fall when cooler temperatures and heads will hopefully prevail.
Regardless of whether we come back to a country that uses the Euro or one that uses the Drachma, I expect that some time will allow things to work out and we will ultimately be welcomed back. I only hope that it is sorted out quickly, particularly for people like the older lady we saw searching for food in the grocery store dumpster this morning.