Lauren The Greek

Today while watching the sun set on the beach by the Temple of Apollo I had a great conversation with a Greek man. I have noticed the Greek people here in Rhodes are a lot more interested in talking to us than those in Athens. We travel in smaller groups here as well, which makes us less intimidating and more easily approachable, so that could be it too.

Anyway, there was a road next to our spot on the cliff where many local people were walking dogs, jogging and bicycling. I was having such a good time that in my happiness I felt the urge to say ‘kalispera’-good afternoon, and ‘ya-sas’-formal hello, to most people walking by. At one point, I put on a pair of sunglasses that I borrowed from one of the girls and chose my next target. An older man was walking by and I said kalispera to him. He responded with ‘ya-sas’ and then kept rattling off a whole slew of Greek words I had never heard before. I just smiled and tried to explain that I only know a handful of Greek words, when the man took a big step forward towards me, lowered his sunglasses, and said, ‘you are not Greek?’

Greek Wreath Crown

That’s when I laughed. I don’t think I could pull off Greek even if I was tan! So, I raised my sunglasses to reveal my blue eyes and told him that I was not Greek. We both just laughed at this series of events. Maybe I should wear sunglasses more often! At least this affirms the fact that my Greek isn’t so bad! He asked where I was from and when I told him Seattle, he got really excited. Apparently he has a friend who lives in Kent. SMALL WORLD RIGHT? He said he has heard a lot about the Seattle area and joked that the winters in Rhodes must be similar to the summers in Seattle.

Oh, Just Me and Apollo

I felt really flattered to have been mistaken for a Greek and I will consider spending more time here. I wish that I could also be studying the language here as well. I love speaking the language. It feels natural on my tongue in my mouth and since I am not a native Greek, I feel like the words I speak in Greek have more gravity in a conversation here, as if the effort I am putting in to learn the culture and talk to the people is made more tangible when I attempt to speak in Greek. I will definitely try to practice my Greek phrases with my fellow classmates when I return to PLU.