We Will Wait For You

I had some doubts when I first applied to the Hellenic Wildlife Hospital in Aegina, Greece; I received no response to my application for two days...three days...four days. I thought about taking it as a sign and giving up but the idea of working on a Greek Island with animals intrigued me. 


I resubmitted my app to a branch office. The response: 


Forward your email to me and I will send it to Aegina.

Stavros


(I thought I just did?) I resent the email. Five days later:


I AM SO SORRY , BECAUSE ANSWER YOU TO LATE.
WE WILL WAIT FOR YOU .CALL AS BEFORE START TRAVEL.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL ME 697991XXXX ARGIRO...
SEE YOU.


I arrived in Greece on Monday. I called the phone number yesterday:


"Phone number does not exist." 


Bummed? Yes. Surprised. No. I've tried to volunteer abroad before and it's never worked out. 


Not accepting defeat, I searched the website for another phone number. Found two. Called the first one: Greek recording. Called the second one (listed as a mobile number). A deep voice answered hello in Greek.


ME: Uhh hello. I'm supposed to be volunteering next week.


Greek voice: Yes? Volunteering next week.


ME: Well, I wanted to come earlier. Is that OK?


Greek voice: Come earlier? OK.


ME: So it's OK if I come on Thursday?


Greek voice: Yes, yes. It's OK if you come early. We will wait for you.


ME: OK. How do I get there?


Greek voice: Yes. OK. We will wait for you.


ME: Uhhhhhhh OK.


Greek voice: OK. Bye.


Click. I started laughing. 


Then I went back to the website and found directions.