Listening to the Next Generation >> Michael

My attitude of being Greek is like if I’m walking anywhere in San Francisco and I hear Greek being spoken, I’ll get excited. I’ll ask that person, “Are you Greek?” Then, I try to start a conversation. Not anything excessive but just like friendly small talk. They’re always happy and they smile. It’s nice. So I’d say being Greek has influenced me in that way I’m always conscious about it.

Got Greek? interviews Michael F. from San Francisco State University

My mother is 100% Greek. My father is 50% Greek and 50% Italian. Both my mother’s and father’s sides are from the Peloponnese. I know my mom’s mother came from Mana, a town near Kiato; and  my dad’s grandmother came from a town called Koroni in Messinia. Everyone settled in San Francisco and the surrounding Bay area. Not sure why they chose this area.

Q: What did your grandparents end up doing to earn a living?

A: My maternal grandfather operated pinball machines. He sold them and maintained them and repaired them. He also bought real estate and rented houses and stuff like that. My grandmother was a homemaker. On my dad’s side, his mom was a homemaker, too. His dad, I don’t remember what he did. That would be my grandfather, the Italian one.

Q: How did your parents end up meeting each other?

A: They met each other at a Greek church here in San Francisco: Holy Trinity, which is right around the corner here from San Francisco State University. Both my parents grew up Greek Orthodox. They both speak Greek and are pretty oriented towards the Greek culture.

Q: Do you connect culturally at all with your Italian heritage?

A: There’s actually almost no connection. We don’t follow any Italian traditions or speak Italian or anything like that. It’s all Greek. My last name is Italian but that’s about it.

Q: What role did Greek culture play in your growing up?

A: A pretty big role. My grandparents speak Greek. They’ve always spoke mostly Greek to us. My parents would always take us to church. We would always go to Greek festivals.  We have a lot of pictures of Greece, in our house, like the Acropolis. We would  always listen to Greek music, eat Greek food. I think I have a picture of me as a kid wearing this Greek solider costume called a foustanella. It’s still in our house on the wall. So it was pretty much a big influence. It will always be a part of my life.

Q: Did you socialize in the Greek community?

A: I had a mix of friends. But I would say I had more American friends than Greek friends. I think that was mostly because I never did Geek dancing in my church. I’m not really into dancing. I think most of the people I grew up with, who were Greek, did that. They kind of banded together that way. I still hang out with them sometimes. But I would say I have more American friends than Greek friends. Probably like 90% American friends, and 10% Greek friends.

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

A: They all definitely know I’m Greek. Very well. I talk to them about Greece whenever I go. I always tell them how much fun it is. I tell them random words in Greek sometimes. If I see something Greek, I’m like “Check it out.” My friends see me as Greek. I would say I’m proud to be Greek, and they know it. Not like I’m actually from Greece, the homeland, or something like that. I’m just proud to be Greek American. It was a part of my culture growing up like any immigrant family, even though I’m second and third generation.

Q: What do you associate with your Greek heritage?

A: I would say mainly the religion. Because for me, being Greek was going to church every Sunday. Just being in that culture. Then the food, the music. And dancing, even though I never danced that much. I watched it and sometimes participated. Then just all my relatives are all very Greek. They have accents. So it’s a very strong presence of Greek.

Q: Have you ever been to Greece?

A: Yes. I have been three times for a month each time. I went last summer. It was a lot of fun. I was there by myself since my family was not there. I do have some family in Greece and I stayed with them for about a week. Then I went off to a program I was doing. So it was kind of cool to stay in a town where not that many people spoke English, compared to the bigger cities. That was a lot of fun. I got to practice my Greek a lot and see more what the culture is like.

Q: What kind of program did you end up doing there?

A: It was a program called IMXA. It’s a language intensive program where you go and study for three or four hours a day. I actually got the scholarship to go thanks to the San Francisco State Modern Greek Studies department. The program was taught in English but the purpose was for foreigners to learn Greek. It was put on by the Greek government. It was three or four hours a day of language. We would also practice speaking Greek by walking around the city on little fieldtrips. We went a lot to Thessaloniki, which was the big city nearby. Then we took bus trips to other parts of the country.

Q: Since doing that program, to what extent do you feel that experience has shaped your outlook towards your Greek heritage?

A: It definitely gave me a more positive view of Greece. Before going, I didn’t know as much about the country. But when I was there, I saw that people are nice. It’s a beautiful country. I’m proud to be from there. I’d say it gave me a more positive view of Greece since I had such a good experience over there…Here at school, I’m doing the Modern Greek Studies minor. So I’ve taken four language classes, as well as a poetry class. I have also taken Greek American literature where we read books by Greek American authors, and Byzantine history.

Q: Before you applied to college here, were you aware that the school had a Modern Greek Studies program?

A: I actually was not aware that there was a Modern Greek Studies program. I was just looking through the catalogue when I was registering for my classes and I saw Greek. I was like, “Oh cool. I have to take that. I want to learn to read and write better.”  So I started taking it. I liked it a lot and I liked the teacher. So I just kind of stuck with the classes and decided to minor in the program.

Q: In terms of cultural identity, do you use terms like Greek American, American, Greek, American with Greek roots, or something else or nothing at all?

A: Most of the time, I identify myself as Greek American or American. Sometimes I say Greek. But sometimes I feel weird about saying Greek because it’s like you think you’re from Greece. I’m not from Greece and I’m not a Greek. I feel more like a Greek American because that’s what I am. I was born in America and I have family in Greece.

Q: Going forward in your life, how do you see yourself maintaining the connection to the culture?

A: I see myself staying Greek Orthodox, going to church when I can. I see myself making more trips back to Greece to visit my family and just to enjoy the country. I see myself still listening to Greek music. I sometimes stream Greek online radio programs. Also cooking Greek food and eating Greek food. Going to Greek festivals. Staying in touch with Greek people.

Q: My Big Fat Greek Wedding?

A: I thought it was pretty accurate to a Greek American cultural upbringing with the idea that  being Greek is everywhere in your life. I know a lot of people who are Greek and being Greek is their life. As in the movie, I also know a lot of Greek people who have restaurants and want their children to marry other Greeks.

Q: Were there any characters in the movie you could identify with?

A: For myself, not really. I just related to the general family aspect of it more, just the structure. In the way that they were very tight-knit, and they always had big parties with all their family members. They were just very family-oriented and talked about Greek stuff a lot.

Q: One of the central themes in the movie has to do with relationships. The main character marries somebody not of Greek descent. In terms of your own relationships, or even thinking about a life partner possibly down the road, is the Greek thing a factor?

A: This is a hard question to answer. I have dated girls who are Greek and also not Greek. But I have never really thought about it for a long term type of thing: if I will marry a Greek girl, or will I marry an American?  Or will it even matter to me? I don’t know. I try not to think about that too much. It’s hard to answer…I know my parents want me to marry a Greek girl, most likely. I don’t think they would directly tell me that. But I can tell. My grandma especially. There’s a feeling they would like for me to stay with a Greek woman who could continue the culture and everything like that.

Q: What’s your relationship like with your grandmother?

A: I’m very close with her. I go see her a lot. She’s about 82 now. She lived in Greece until she was about 30. She’s just a very nice old woman and I love her a lot. That’s my relationship to her.

Q: What’s the extent of your involvement in the San Francisco bay area Greek community?

A: I live at college, and I wouldn’t say that I’m not a part of the community. I’m aware of it. I know what’s going on in it. I go to Greek festivals, and sometimes to special Greek nights. I go to those every once and a while. But I know people who do a lot more stuff in the community…I’m pretty busy. I mainly try to focus on my studies now, then working and just socializing with all my other friends, too. It’s kind of hard to balance everything.

Q: Here on campus in your dorm room, do you have any objects that you associate with your Greek heritage?

A: On the wall in my closet, I actually have a big Greek flag. I also have a smaller Greek flag at the tip of my bed. I have a Greek Byzantine style icon, like the ones found in the Greek Orthodox churches. I have some Greek books, and a Greek-to-English dictionary…Some people when they come into my room ask which flag is that. They don’t know. I tell them it’s the Greek flag.

Q: What does being Greek mean to you?

A: My attitude of being Greek is like if I’m walking anywhere in San Francisco and I hear Greek being spoken, I’ll get excited. I’ll ask that person, “Are you Greek?” Then, I try to start a conversation. Not anything excessive but just like friendly small talk. They’re always happy and they smile. It’s nice. So I’d say being Greek has influenced me in that way I’m always conscious about it. And if people hear me speaking Greek, they’ll come up to me and ask if I’m Greek. So I’d say that’s a general attitude that I and a lot of my Greek peers have…I had a roommate last year and he was Greek American. His parents were actually born in Greece. So he was like really Greek. He spoke fluent English. He didn’t have an accent or anything. But everything he did in his life was Greek. All his friends were Greek. His girlfriend was Greek. He was always talking about Greek things all the time and speaking Greek on the phone. All the music he listened to was Greek. I think he even read books in Greek. So he was completely fluent, completely into the culture. I think his family has a house in Greece. So he would go every summer to visit. So there’s people like me who are more like casual Greek American. And then there’s people like him who have a very high connection with Greece.

Q: How did you feel sharing a living space with somebody like that?

A: It was cool, because obviously I’m also proud to be Greek. We would talk Greek sometimes. He was friendly to me and I was friendly to him. But at the same time, it made me feel like wow, I thought I was Greek American. But this guy is really hard-core into the culture. It was nice to have him as a roommate but it made me feel like I could get more in touch with my culture if I wanted to…I could see myself having a stronger connection to the Greek culture. Because I do pretty much like everything Greek. I’ve always felt that way. It feels so much of a home type of vibe for me because I grew up with that. It just reminds me of when I was young, just being with my grandparents and my mom, and when we took a trip to Greece. It just reminds me of all that. Just a good feeling for me.

Q: Thank you for the interview.

A: You’re welcome.