Listening to the Next Generation >> Katherine

Some people don’t know their cousins or their aunts and uncles. But for us, knowing that your family extends to more than just the people that live in your household, is a given. Our relationships reach farther than maybe more than just the people who you are blood-related to. That might include your godparents or really close family friends—they can all be considered family. It’s always having that connection regardless of how long it’s been since you last saw each other. I think it’s a connection that not all cultures have.

Got Greek? interviews Katherine R. from Georgetown University

My mother is of Greek descent. My maternal great-grandparents were born in Greece and came over to the United States through Ellis Island. My mother’s maternal side of the family is from the island of Lemnos and her father’s family is from Rion, just outside of Patras. Both sides of the family came to America in the early 1900s. My grandparents— my mom’s parents –were born in New York City and Newark, New Jersey. My grandparents met through Greek youth groups in their community. They were both living in New York City at the time.

Q: So your mom grew up in a Greek household?

A: Yes. One of my mother’s grandmothers lived with them, so they only spoke Greek. When my mom went to kindergarten, she didn’t even speak English, which is kind of funny because she was an American kid. My mother was born in New Jersey but lived many places as a kid because her dad actually worked with Aristotle Onassis. During her childhood years, her father’s job took them to Italy, Monaco and England. In the 1960s through the mid-1970s, my grandfather worked for ESSO, which later became Exxon. When my great-grandfather, Dimitrios Andronopoulos, immigrated to the United States through Ellis Island, his name was changed to James Anderson. I actually got to meet him because he lived to be 101. I was also fortunate enough to meet my great-grandmother who also lived to be 94. My great-grandfather wrote and spoke English fluently, although my great-grandmother never really mastered English at all.

Q: From hearing stories about them, what did you take away from their lives?

A: My great-grandmother, Despina, from my grandmother’s side, lived with my mother’s family her entire life. She helped out and took on a mother-like role in their family while my grandmother worked full-time as a teacher. My mom says that she and her yiayia [grandmother] were like best friends and she recalls big dinner parties and lots of activity in their home. The stories I have learned about my great-grandfather are that he owned and operated an ice cream business when he first came to New York City. My other great-grandmother, Mary Anderson, worked piece-meal for a furrier. She was a seamstress. They worked hard and put their two sons, one of them being my grandfather, through college.

Q: How did your mom and dad meet?

A: My mom went to Skidmore College and my dad went to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. So they were both in college when they met, and then got married a couple years after college. My dad’s family was European so it wasn’t too far off from being Greek. His father was from Hungary and his mother’s side of the family is Irish.

Q: With Hungarian, Irish, and Greek roots— how do you identify yourself?

A: I definitely identify more with the Greek side because my dad converted to Greek Orthodoxy when my parents married. My family is Greek Orthodox, so I definitely consider myself a Greek American and have always been involved with the Greek heritage between hearing stories and going to Greece. My grandparents just finished building a house this summer on the island of Lemnos, which is located far north in the Aegean Sea. I’ve also been involved in my church community through GOYA [Greek Orthodox Youth Association] and now YAL [Young Adult League], as well as starting and being president of the very first Maid of Athena Chapter at St. George in Bethesda.

Q: What are some childhood memories you have of being Greek?

A: Definitely, the first time going to Greece. The last time I went to Greece with my two sisters and my cousin. It was amazing, cultural and experience-wise because we were old enough to appreciate it more. And then at home, we would have parties with Greek friends and family. People ask me if my life is really like the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It’s funny because you can pick out parts that are identical to your life, not knowing half of your cousins even existed and then you are introduced to them. That’s always a good time.

Q: Do you think the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding helped or hurt the perception of Greeks?

A: I think you can only truly appreciate it if you are Greek. You laugh at the things that non-Greeks don’t relate to. You can’t quite see it the same way unless it’s actually a part of your life. It could vary. Obviously it’s completely stereotypical and people who aren’t Greek are watching it and laughing their heads off. But you have to laugh, too, because there are those certain aspects of the movie that you can totally identify with. For instance, I have relatives on one side of my family who are named Nick, Nikki, Niko and Nicolette. Just like in the movie.

Q: What does it feel like for you to be in Greece?

A: I feel lucky to actually be a part of the Greek culture. It goes so far back, has so much history, and has much influence on so many things that have happened in the world. I definitely feel lucky that I am not just a tourist— I am actually a part of this rich culture. Along with lucky, I would say I feel excited, interested, and even though I have been to Greece several times— I still enjoy visiting the monasteries, museums and other historical aspects. I don’t know how many times I have walked up the Acropolis but there are just neat things that are good to see and are part of what shapes me.

Q: How old were you when you first went to Greece?

A: I was four. Then I went back in 2005 for a month and a half. My sisters have been back and forth a couple of times to help with the house that my grandparents are building. Hopefully I will be able to spend a couple of months in Greece during the summer and possibly study abroad there at a later point.

Q: Why not go to another country to study abroad?

A: I have had a lot of friends who’ve gone to study in Thessaloniki, while some have gone to Athens. I have heard great things about it and I would feel more like an outsider in other countries; whereas if I study in Greece, I have that connection and I feel like I would be learning things not just because it is in the curriculum but because it is something that I will benefit from and something I am actually interested in. I think Greece would be a really great place to go to for studies.

Q: Before we started the interview, you had said you went to Bucknell first and then transferred to Georgetown. What was the experience like going to Bucknell and being connected to your Greek heritage?

A: It was definitely interesting. One of my cousins goes there, so we felt like we were the only two Greek people. There weren’t that many. But whenever I’d find someone who was a little bit Greek, we always had that connection. Eventually there were a couple of kids that I got a chance to meet, but there wasn’t a large Greek community at Bucknell, especially compared to what I was used to from the Washington D.C. area.

Q: Did you find yourself missing that connection?

A: I did. I just felt more appreciative of it when I came back to visit friends here in Maryland and D.C. I feel more comfortable when there is a Greek community in the area.

Q: What do you value from the culture?

A: I value the religious aspects since I am Greek Orthodox and how it has been unchanged from the start of the Christian religion. Culturally speaking, the family bonds and the automatic connection you can have when you meet another Greek person is what I appreciate the most. I think that is something that you don’t necessarily find in very many other groups of people who may not have a cultural identity.

Q: Why do you think that might be?

A: I just think that people in the Greek culture identify with one another because they all have similar pasts and it is just a unique bond. It may also be because of our strong sense of family, good nature and mutual love for our roots.

Q: Can you elaborate on the idea of family bonds in Greek culture?

A: For example, the way Greeks know their cousins. Some people don’t know their cousins or their aunts and uncles. But for us, knowing that your family extends to more than just the people that live in your household, is a given. Our relationships reach farther than maybe more than just the people who you are blood-related to, and include your godparents or really close family friends—they can all be considered family. It’s always having that connection regardless of how long it’s been since you last saw each other. I think it’s a connection that not all cultures have. Right now, I am taking a cultural anthropology class and we go around the classroom asking one another why are we taking this class. Many kids say it’s because they don’t feel like they have a culture. I guess that’s kind of unfortunate. I definitely appreciate having my Greek culture. It’s very special and unique, and identifies who I am.

Q: What maybe distinguishes you from other people when you think about your Greek heritage?

A: The community that you always have to fall back on, looking forward to the Sunday coffee hour after church. People always laugh at me because they say that I have two lives: my school and normal life, then my Greek life. They will call me up and say, “What are you doing tonight and don’t say, ‘Hanging out with Greek people.” It seems my life has been classified into a couple segments and I derive great pleasure when I hang out with people who share such similar ideals and a lot of the same cultural identity. It’s so much easier to relate to them. It’s definitely fun and an instant connection.

Q: How do you describe your Greek heritage to your friends who are not of Greek descent?

A: I tell them that I am half-Greek but I identify with the Greek side. I guess I tell them about some of our family traditions: big family Thanksgiving and Easter celebrations. I tell them about my visits to Greece and the island of Lemnos, which is where my family is from. I tell them about GOYA [Greek Orthodox Youth Association], which took up most of my life throughout high school. I participated in GOYA basketball tournaments and Greek Orthodox Church Camp. I definitely try to explain why Greek Orthodox Church Camp is actually fun. People start understanding a little more. A lot of my friends from high school would always ask to be invited to join me at our Greek festivals because I made it sound so great.

Q: Do you have things in your room here at school that connect you to your Greek heritage?

A: I have some Greek Orthodox icons. I have yet to bring my Greek flag but it might be coming. I can’t think of anything else but there are probably some other Greek things hidden in my drawers.

Q: Do you listen to Greek music?

A: Actually, yes. My iPod [mp3 player] has a whole section of just Greek music and if I play it in my room, people will look at me a little strangely. But they end up really liking it. Greek music is good workout music. I listen to a lot of the pop music but I also have techno as well. I actually ask my friends in Greece to look up music for me. They’ll send it back to me on CDs or something, and I’ll load it onto my computer.

Q: How do you see yourself interacting with your Greek heritage now that you are in college?

A: It’s really funny because when I transferred here this year from Bucknell, I knew one person at Georgetown and it turned out he was studying abroad. So I was nervous because I didn’t know anyone else. But the first night, I was sitting around in our hall and we were all going around saying our names. This one kid said his name and I knew it sounded familiar. I remembered he went to my church. So we found out that we lived in the same hall and went to the same church. Things like that are great because now I have a friend at Georgetown and through him, I was lucky to meet even more people… I started getting involved with the Hellenic student group here and some Young Adult League [YAL] conferences at my church. Since I have been away at college, it is has been difficult to stay in touch with everyone as I cannot attend my home church regularly. It’s doable and there are other ways.  For example, I’ve gone to the Cathedral at Saint Sophia’s a couple times and my friends and I are looking into being counselors at the Ionian Village summer camp in Greece in a couple years from now. There are different ways and different connections. I have also interned at the United States Court of Federal Claims—a man from my church helped me get the internship. So I am starting to use the connections of being Greek. There are different paths to take now that I am in college…I keep in contact with my friends from youth group and I have been emailing my grandparents back and forth and friends in Greece. I like to watch Greek TV on occasion. I can’t do it at school but at home with satellite programs. Also going to church and visiting people. Being in D.C., there are so many diplomats and people like that who are actually from Greece and can share more of the actual culture. It is definitely not a small community. My church has 800 families. St. George is a community full of a lot of interesting people ranging from people straight from Greece who can’t speak English to some that are third or fourth generation Greek and can’t speak any Greek at all. It is just amazing that they have that common thread of being Greek.

Q: When you think about the future, what values from your Greek heritage do you want to hold onto and pass along?

A: I definitely want to hold onto the values of Greek Orthodoxy in general and the values of family, being close. I personally don’t speak Greek very well although my mom speaks it fluently and her family speaks Greek. I went to Greek school for a couple years. The only problem was I was a little older being in the elementary classes. I’d like to try to learn the language more in the future. I also participated in a Greek dance troupe during high school years, so that’s something I want to keep with me. I never want to give up my cultural experiences; rather, I want to add to them.

Q: Before we wrap up, is there anything else you would like to share?

A: I feel very lucky that the Greek heritage is a part of me. I think that it has shaped who I am today in a way that not all people are fortunate enough to have such a strong cultural bond and foundation that they can identify with. When someone asks me to describe myself, Greek is always something that I’ll put down and whether it is the easy answer, it is the first thing that pops into my mind. This has had a big impact on my life and I know that I am a fortunate person for being a part of it.

Q: Thank you for the interview.

A: Thank you.