Jessica, the Greek!

Well my name and my heritage has absolutely no Greek roots (and I've looked). But I would still consider a newfound piece of myself Greek.

I was actually thinking about this exact thing for the last day or so. I thought about it walking through the farmers market in Athens, sitting in the church service this morning, and walking through the Old Town of Rhodes today.

I have no Greek heritage, nothing about me looks or sounds Greek, and this is my first time even being in the country and emerged in the culture. But somehow, I still feel connected. When I was walking through the farmers market in Athens, I thought about how I could barter for fresh food every day and be completely satisfied with my morning. I can make myself fit there, judging the produce and choosing what looked, felt, and smelled the best. I felt as if I was in my element.

When in the church service, I watched the families and the people come and show their loyalty to God, and I could relate myself to them. I connected myself with the Greeks I will never really know by connecting my faith with theirs, my love with theirs, and my hopes with theirs. We all came together for the same purpose, and although we are very different, we were all still a little bit of the same; children of light and children of God.

As I explored the Old City of Rhodes this afternoon, I could picture myself there when it was originally up and running and I loved what I saw. I think I would have really enjoyed being there, watching the history in the making.

I am taking all of the things I'm learning here and opening myself up to them. I am taking in pieces of them and holding tight to them. I want to be a part of this culture, a part of this nation so badly. But all I can do is absorb as much of the language, people, beauty, and life as possible -- and then not let go.

So that's what I've been trying to do and that's what I will continue to do. So from now on, I am not, "Jessica, the blonde American," but I am, "Jessica, the Greek!"