Live from Athens
By Jacki Dillman | Reflector Columnist
I arrived in Athens a few weeks ago armed with everything I thought I would need for my semester abroad. Stuffed into my two 50 pound suitcases, oversized purse and huge backpack, was everything from a three months supply of toothpaste to an authentic Greek cookbook.
When I arrived, I pulled out all the shoes, dresses, purses and other fancy gadgets I had somehow squeezed into my already overflowing luggage. Although I hadn’t slept for more than three consecutive hours in the last two days, I was anxious to start my adventures in Greece.
I spent the first evening in Athens unpacking and getting everything in order. I thought I was as prepared as I possibly could be for my three-month in Greece. Then, I walked out the front door and realized how unprepared I really was for what lay ahead.
Athens is a whirlwind of languages, ethnic backgrounds and outright cultural differences. I have always heard about culture shock, but I don’t think I really understood what it was until, recently. Granted, I have a pocket dictionary with some basic Greek phrases, but anything more advanced than “please”, “thank you” and “hello” is way out of my league.
I wasn’t prepared for rapid Greek hitting me from left and right. As with most sheltered American upbringings, I was under the ignorant misconception that everyone speaks at least a little English. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
It has been a struggle. Many Athenians speak at least some English, but I seem to have had bad luck finding the English speakers. Even mundane tasks such as asking a cashier at the supermarket for salt and pepper or saying excuse me when you step on someone’s foot have been downright unmanageable.
The trip has been an eye-opener about my lack of language skills, not only in Greek but any second language at all.
When I decided to come on this trip, language barriers weren’t a big factor. However, with classmates from all over the world, it’s hard not to notice how many of my peers here are multilingual, not just in Greek but in numerous world languages.
I came to Athens with about 25 other American college students. We are all part of the Odyssey Program at the UIndy Athens campus. We came from all over the U.S., from Oregon, to Minnesota, to Massachusetts and New York. We have vastly different backgrounds and majors, but we all have one thing in common: none of us are multilingual. In fact, the American students here at the Athens Campus are virtually the only ones who do not speak at least two languages.
I never thought that speaking only English would make me feel this inferior. Hopefully as time goes on, I will get a little more confident in Greek. This trip has inspired me to become fluent in a second language. “It’s all Greek to me” for now, but hopefully not for long.
Because of what people read in newspapers and tour guides, they are led to believe that speaking English is enough. And that’s true in many cases when young people are involved or vendors learn enough English to make a sale to tourists. But at places like grocery stores and business offices where everyday transactions take place, that’s not true.
It was mandatory at my middle school in California to adopt a second language, so I spoke some Spanish; Greek is my fourth language. But Greek is a completely different (and rich) language and alphabet. Give yourself a break and acclimate. As Greeks say, ‘Siga, siga.” Slowly, slowly, little by little.