last comments on greece

one thing that paola noticed today, while walking around so much, is that she did not like the vibe of athens. it seemed as though the locals, especially those close to our age, were not friendly, and put off by others; or they thought that they were better than others. i have to agree with paola that that is the vibe that i got also. i much more liked the laid back vibe of argos and naufplio.

also, i seemed to actually understand a bit more greek than i thought i would (however, there is still much that i did not understand). i think that i will try to teach myself extensively this year, by actually talking and listening (to myself) and reading the different books that i got here in greece. trying to pass the language while here, i had an interesting revelation in connexion with an argument by wittgenstein. he said that there is no such thing as a private language, because then there is nobody to tell you if you are wrong in your translation (much simplified, of course). indeed, i found that to be the case often while with my family, especially when i thought out sentences in my head before saying (and in most cases, actually mouthing them out, which would get interesting reactions from paola). it so happened tht i was often wrong in my translations and interpretations of things. eh, but we learn. that said, i do think that i did learn a bit while here, and so did paola (it also helped, of course, that my uncle and aunt would point and act out things that they were saying to lead to better understanding on our part. i know that while i was in italy, i caught on to an entirely new language a little bit (i actually went to the store by myself once and successfully bought a screwdriver (which i may or may not have mentioned before). so languages arent all that hard.

also, being with my family brought good feelings in me, especially when sitting at the big dinner table with everyone. although paola and i could not understand much of the conversations that were being had (unless one of my cousins spoke up to fill us in, which was seldom), the joy around the table could still be felt (by me, at least, and i hope by paola). more than anything, it made me wish that my dad was there with me, and that he could participate in getting in touch personally with his family. (i had a similar feeling when i visited my uncle john in virginia back during thanksgiving.) perhaps at a later time. it also rekindled a desire in me (a desire that was first struck when i visited my uncle john) to write some sort of history of my family. it would take quite a bit of work, but i think that it could be done (and it probably should be done sooner than later before uncles, aunts, and so on begin to die off, leaving their side of the history unknown to me). we’ll see what happens.

my family in greece was definitely very kind, and welcoming to us. indeed, we felt like family. we have promised them a couple things about coming back. first, that it wont be another thirteen years before i return. (my uncle claims that if i were to wait that long, he might be with my grandparents down the hill by then.) also, he said that if i were to return, it was to be with paola; he does not want to see me by myself. he also said that he wants us to visit soon with a baby. all those promises but the last were ones that i think i am able to adhere with.

besides writing a history of my family, while in greece i also decided that i want to build my own house (an extension of one of my earlier noted desires to become an architect (which seemed to start in london)), and my own boat. we’ll see how any of this turns out. (it seems that wherever we go on this trip, i get some sort of new, way out west idea of what i might want to do with myself.)

also, to be nice to the reader, and not extend and negativity, i will not tell you about my time here at the airport, trying to leave athens for berlin; no, i will not tell you how i got into line, then had to get out of line only to get back in again; i will not tell you how i sit here at departure time, and still the plane is not here to load in; nor will i tell you about the little german children (children that paola is prejudiced to believe will grow up to believe that they themselves are the from the greatest nationa, and thus makes them the greatest people) run around the terminal gate in circles, and anger me with their laughs of joy while i sit with anger in my heart by the fact that i had to make special arangements with the german hotel at which we will be staying to let us check in at 1am (that is, if the flight were to be on time); no, i will not bother you anymore with how much i hate airports.