Between Parkland and Pangrati

Falling in love with Arachova-mountain town near Delphi

I've always heard that language immersion is the best way to learn a new dialect. This seems pretty obvious to me-there is always someone to practice with who knows the grammatical rules and proper vocabulary and if they also speak your native tongue, communicating with them can be pretty effective. When we were learning Greek phrases in the classroom on campus in Parkland, I tried really hard to remember them and get excited-I was about to be using them A LOT, but after a day or two of not having anyone to speak to in Greece, I had already forgotten them. 


This is the period I would call "In Parkland". I was at home in my comfort zone, speaking my own language, eating my own food, sleeping in my OWN BED. At this stage, I am not being challenged nor am I being enriched. 


After a week in Athens (Happy Anniversary!!), I am sufficiently, "In Between", and by this I mean I am no longer the same person I was back home, speaking my own language, eating my own food and being overall comfortable. I can't believe it has only been a week since we arrived here in Greece. The days go by so slowly, and not for a lack of interest but because we CRAM as much as we can into every day and are so exhausted by the time we get home that the morning of that day feels like it was yesterday. The days are starting to blur together also. I try to speak Greek to as many of the locals as I can but I am always worried that I am somehow offending them. Many of the people I try to speak to outside of customer service situations (shops, restaurants, and directions) don't seem interested in communicating with me. Or when they do, the reply in English. Is my Greek that bad? 


This in between stage includes interactions with the locals but not an understanding of their culture or subtleties. It is also intimidating that we always walk around in such large groups. I think from now on we are going to try to break off into smaller groups in order to make ourselves more approachable. I think we are missing out on some incredible cultural experiences. 

Server at dinner who let me practice my Greek. 

The most Greek I have spoken to anyone here so far was my server at a 
restaurant in Delphi. In what I was sure was perfect Greek, I asked if I could have a bottle of water. Spelled phonetically-Tha ethala parakalo eneh nero? (May I please have a water?) Thank goodness I didn't end up embarrassing myself. He complimented me on my Greek and seemed excited that I was trying. I hope to have more interactions like this. Side note-a couple of us ran into a group of American students from Penn State studying here for the whole semester, and I am really thinking about participating in a whole semester here. Imagine all the language I could learn!

Boys posing for photo in Corfu

I am even finding myself speaking Greek to my fellow classmates. Instead of saying "thank you/you're welcome" for something, I will say to them, "parakalo/efharisto!" I bet when I get home these words will come more easily than English words. This in between stage has me wanting to learn more, stay longer, and experience more. I am so scared that when I get back home I will return back to my old self and forget the language of this beautiful country. 

A canal in Corfu. Who wouldn't
want to be in between here?

When you are in between, you are no longer just yourself. You are more and you continue to grow every day. This in between period is all about personal enrichment, cultural interaction, persevering through new challenges and finding a new perspective on the world (like Enoch!). I am right in the middle of this now and I just want to keep moving in this direction. I wonder if I will ever make this transition.