"So I'm going to Greece in January. I only bought a one-way ticket so I can stay for as long as I want and leave from elsewhere if I want to (more like, have money to) travel. My English friend Will is teaching in Greece on an island and I'll be staying with him. I will also visit my family there and I could always WWOOF. I sort of see it as being on a relatively small island, getting a bike to ride around, reading a lot of books (they have english books at the library), not being cold, hanging out and cooking fresh produce with Will in the evenings, taking lots of photos, learning Greek, writing my great American ex-pat novel and, ideally, working on a farm for an old woman. That's my highly idealized and romanticized vision of winter/spring 2010. You know, looking like I'm in a Free People catalog or something."
Yesterday I found out for sure that Will won't even be in Greece. I have yet to inform my family there that I intend on visiting--and living with them for 90 days or so. I also hadn't taken too much into account the whole 'visa' concern. I read about it, certainly, but certain things didn't seem like they would be a big deal until I talked to other people who have had to get visas. I overstayed my 90-day visa in the UK, I just remembered, and I didn't get fined or arrested or anything. Who knows, not me. I have some plans though, some back ups. I freaked out for a while yesterday, stomach in knots for hours wondering, "What the hell am I going to do?" But a long talk with my older brother miraculously calmed me down. I am going to Greece and that's that. I will learn a lot and see a lot and I will still read books and take photos and learn as much Greek as I can. It just won't be as easy as I thought.
Concerns:
- travelling around alone, as a girl
- to a much lesser extent, travelling around alone, as someone who hardly speaks Greek
- money
- Will they not like that I don't have a return ticket and refuse me admittance into their country?
- What will I do when I come back? Will I have any money? Will I have to sleep on the couch in Mountaintop for a few months? Will the economy be any better? (I'll cross this bridge when I come to it)
Best case scenario: I have cousins who live in Patras, which is on the west coast, two blocks from the sea. When I went to visit Greece last time we stayed here for two weeks, with Dino and his wife, whose name is Georgia but who goes by a nickname I wouldn't even begin to know how to spell with these Roman letters, and their youngest son, Orestis, who is a few years older than myself. They have two other sons who had already moved out but didn't live far. The kids speak English but the parents don't. Dino (short for Constandinos) was (I believe) my yia yia's (grandmother's--also named Georgia) cousin. He passed away last year. Orestis is getting married December 26th. I would have loved to go to the wedding and thrown money on the floor for them to dance on but I wanted more to be home for Christmas. So I'm thinking Georgia, who is a fantastic cook and lovely lady, might be pleased to have company. As I told my dad last night, I'll help her out around the house and she'll teach me Greek and life lessons. Then I'll write a book about it which will be turned into a movie. My biography on the book jacket will eventually read that I recieved honorary citizenship to Greece and now own homes in Patras and in Brooklyn. Cake!
Some facts:
Greeks (including my yia yia) again began to arrive to the US in large numbers after 1945, fleeing the economic devastation caused by World War II and the Greek Civil War
After the 1981 admission of Greece to the European Union, numbers fell to an average of less than 2,000 annually. In recent years, Greek immigration to the United States has been minimal; in fact, net migration has been towards Greece. Over 72,000 U.S. citizens currently live in Greece (1999); most of them are Greek Americans.
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