Listening to the Next Generation >> Eunice

Since I  have a very cultural European background from my Greek side and an Anglo Saxon protestant Americanized background, it allows me to identify with a lot more Americans than if I had the opportunity to share only one culture.

Got Greek? interviews Eunice B. from Stanford University

My mom’s side of the family is of Greek descent. My pappou [grandfather] and yiayia [grandmother] came to the United States from Greece when they were very young. My pappou was around 20 years old and so was my yiayia. My pappou came from a town in Central Greece called Lidoriki. And my yiayia came from a town in southern Greece in the Peloponnese called Kynigou.

Q: When they came to the United States, where did they each first land?

A: My pappou first arrived in Minnesota because he had an uncle there. He knew there were better career opportunities available in Chicago, so he went to where he believed he could do the most for his family. I believe my yiayia went directly to Chicago because I know she had an uncle here as well.

Q: So your grandparents ended up meeting in Chicago?

A: Yes, they did. I don’t remember exactly how they met. I think maybe it was through a mutual friend. But they met in Chicago and started dating.  My pappou was drafted to the army during the Korean War shortly after they started dating. They sent each other love notes back and forth, while he was away. Shortly after he came back, they were married.

Q: Once they got married and established themselves, what did they set out to do to earn a living for their family?

A: It was a lot more than just earning a living. It was earning a living for supporting their entire family. It was serving their family back home in Greece by sending money regularly to their parents and other relatives. It was also saving for their children to have a good education. So that was a very difficult journey. My pappou started early on doing whatever he could. Of course as with many immigrants, they had very little and worked very hard to earn what they now have. So my pappou came to this country with eight dollars in his pocket. He would work every day and feed himself a cup of coffee and a doughnut because that’s what was in his budget. He worked as a bus boy, as a shoe shiner, and as an ice cream salesman. Eventually, he and my yiayia opened up a very successful snack shop in Chicago called Sunlight Lunch across the street from some train tracks in the city. They had friendly service, fresh food, and a customer-first attitude.

Q: Did you get to know your grandparents?

A: I was so fortunate that I did get to know my grandparents very well. In fact, I claim that they are the ones who raised me. My parents were busy young professionals, and so every morning when I was a little kid, I would be dropped off at yiayia and pappou’s house. So I was essentially raised by them. And then every evening, I would be picked up and go back to my house. But the growing up I knew was at my yiayia and pappou’s house.

Q: What do you remember about being at their house?

A: Being with yiayia and pappou was always the best, the most fun and such a comfortable environment. I would remember a lot of hanging out with yiayia in her kitchen. I still do that with her. I remember that she taught me my Greek. As a little kid, I was a lot better than I am now and understood more Greek. We would listen to the Greek radio all the time. I could follow along with that, and we would speak to each other in Greek. She would make for me her Greek foods and she would teach me how to make them. And she still does teach me how to make Greek food. I’m still working on perfecting my spanokopita [spinach pie]. I remember when I was younger, pappou used to work in a factory. In the morning, yiayia would make coffee for him before he went to work. Later on in the day, he would come home after a hard day of work.  We would all sit in the kitchen together. What else do I remember?  I remember watching TV with pappou.  I remember pappou taking me out to the park to play. He would take me to McDonald’s and buy me ice cream because McDonald’s ice cream was my favorite. It was just always a treat being with them. I was their first grandchild. It was a very special relationship. I know they did everything to raise me well and to take care of me. One thing in particular that was incredible was that I really liked orange juice when I was young. So every day my yiayia would hand-squeeze orange juice in a juicer, and she would removed the pulp because I didn’t like it. She always wanted me to have the best.

Q: Talk a bit about your parents. How did they meet?

A: My mother is a lawyer and my father is a businessman. They were both working for a bank called. My mom was the lawyer for some deal and my dad was the investment banker for that deal. My mom kept giving my dad a hard time because he wasn’t paying enough attention to the details of the documents. My dad found my mom to be interesting and intelligent. My mom was rather busy and focused on her work. My dad, however, really thought that my mom was stunning and brilliant and was persistent in asking her out on dates. Eventually they did end up getting together.

Q: On your father’s side, is there any sort of cultural background that he identifies with?

A: My father’s side has been in the United States for many years. There are German roots on my father’s side, as well as smaller percentages in my blood stream of other Northern European backgrounds. We do somewhat identify with our German roots. Every once and a while, we do go to German restaurants. When my great-grandmother was still alive, we had some exposure to that heritage. But certainly not nearly as significant as my Greek side.

Q: So would you characterize your growing up to have been more influenced by the Greek side of your family?

A: Hands down. I would certainly call myself an American with Hellenic descent. Realistically, though, I am fortunate to have the best of both worlds. Living in the United States with people of so many different backgrounds, it’s hard to identify with or connect with people who share different backgrounds than you. Since I  have a very cultural European background from my Greek side and an Anglo Saxon protestant Americanized background—it allows me to identify with a lot more Americans than if I had the opportunity to share only one culture.

Q: Have you ever visited Greece?

A: Yes. I’ve been very fortunate to visit Greece many times. In fact, last summer I visited with The Next Generation Initiative’s Athens Fellowship. That’s what really made me feel my strongest connection with Greece. I had visited Greece many times with my family in the past.  We had visited my grandfather’s village, went sightseeing, and hung out in Athens. But the Athens Fellowship was very unique. I felt that it was Greece on my terms. What I mean by that is as a university student, who’s studying international relations, I’m passionate about learning about foreign policy, government, media, business and international trade. These are all things that we covered with the Athens Fellowship. We met with the nation’s top business, media and government leaders. By being able to have a connection with Greece on those terms, it was entirely different than vacationing with my family. It really made me feel that I was now connected personally to Greece and I had a personal interest in Greece.

Q: What was that like being on a trip with other students who also have Greek heritage?  Had you been in groups like that before, or was that a new experience for you?

A: I’ve been with large groups of students in the past, but certainly nothing like this. The Athens Fellowship had students from top universities, really intelligent young people and it was incredible how quickly we clicked. One girl and I had so much in common— we looked alike, we dressed alike, and I call her my older sister. We’re still in touch, and she’s a role model for me because she’s now in law school and that’s something I want to pursue. So I’m really happy that I’ve met a girl like that who also shares my Greek background. There are also several other students who I’ve become great friends with. I visited New York for my birthday and several of them were in the New York area. They all came to visit me for my birthday dinner. I was surprised just how everyone clicked so well. I guess it must be that we share so many things in common. I guess a similar way of being raised really does help people find common ground.

Q: When you were growing up, what was your involvement with the Greek community in the Chicago area?

A: Growing up, I went to Greek school. And that again was thanks to my yiayia and pappou.  Like I said, my parents were working and so after school, my pappou would pick me up and he would take me to Greek school. But in between regular school and Greek school, I would want to have a snack. So yiayia would pack me food to eat, and we would take a break before going to Greek school. We would sit and talk, and then pappou would drop me off at school. There’s no way I could have attended Greek school if it hadn’t been for pappou. I learned very valuable skills in Greek school, particularly the skill of Greek dance and song. Of course, the big programs and presentations that we had a couple times a year were the highlights of my Greek school experience. We opened it up with a prayer, a hymn. I was in church the other day and that hymn was sung, and I was really excited that I had learned that in Greek school. Going to social Greek events, you also see people participating in Greek dance. I feel confident that because of my Greek school background, I can participate with other Greek Americans in that type of celebration.

Q: On the flip side, have you had any experiences where you haven’t felt connected to the Greek community?

A: I think it’s safe to say that there are cliques of Greek Americans. They are people who have grown up in the same church, who have grown up in the same towns and only hang out with other Greek Americans. I always felt that I had many great Greek American friends. But there was never really a group like that I particularly identified with. I’ve seen this more in college actually. A friend of mine is very in touch with her Greek American roots. She has a group of friends from a church that she’s grown up with and they all hang out together all the time. They all have parties together. They all go to Greek concerts together. I guess I didn’t know that really existed very strongly until I became familiar with her group. She invited me to some of the events, the get-togethers they were having. Everyone was very nice and very polite and very kind to welcome me into the group. But I guess I didn’t really ever feel that I identified with such a strong clique in the past.

Q: Now that you’re in college, how do you want to be connected to your Greek heritage?

A: I do want to be connected to my Greek heritage more at the level of the Athens Fellowship.  That is more at the intellectual, business, media or government level. Actually, the Athens Fellowship really inspired me and I’m very interested in working in Greece to get a better understanding of Greek culture. Of course there’s a significant difference between Greek American and Greek culture. So I’d like to learn more about being in Greece and doing business in Greece. The fellowship actually sparked a great passion in me to study shipping. I’m now very interested and I’ve been reading a lot about it. I’ve been talking to a shipping company in Greece, and I hope to be studying shipping more thoroughly. And I’m talking to my professor at Stanford about creating an independent study to learn about maritime law. It’s more of that level that I’m interested in connecting further with Greece.

Q: My Big Fat Greek Wedding?

A: That’s a great movie. I think it’s hysterical.  I think that the reason the movie is so successful is because so many cultures can identify with it. I think it’s great to hear my friends of different backgrounds say that’s just like their family. Essentially, we all have the same hopes for our families and a lot of the same quirky things in our families. I like that it brings out that connection between people.

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

A: They’re all pretty funny and of course exaggerated. But I like the father and mother because I think they are pretty true to life. I think they show a pretty genuine care for their daughter, and I think they show a lot of real Greek American parenting styles where the father and mother really do work their hardest to do what’s best for their children.

Q: One of the central themes in the movie is relationships. The main character marries someone not of Greek heritage. For you, in terms of relationships and perhaps thinking about a life partner down the road, where does the Greek thing factor in?

A: It’s interesting that you should mention that. I feel that any boys who are serious should definitely see My Big Fat Greek Wedding to be warned of what they’re in for. Because my father is not Greek, I don’t feel any obligation to marry someone Greek. I believe in marrying someone I’m in love with and who I feel would be best for helping me raise a family. Although, I am very set on raising my children Orthodox. So that’s something that’s significant. I would hope that my husband would be supportive of having me baptize our children Orthodox. Ideally, it would be nice if he chose to join the Orthodox church. But it’s not so much being Greek that’s of interest to me. Although, realistically, it’s nice to share a culture. Though not Greek-Greek. I think it’s very different to marry someone who’s from Greece. But I think another Greek American would work. It would be nice to be able to share a language to raise your children speaking another language. It would be nice to be able to share similarities in food, customs, and holidays. That would be very special. On the other hand, I think that someone of a different culture could also contribute to the upbringing of my children. Because as I have said before, I greatly appreciate having both backgrounds and I think that perhaps exposing my children to membership in another culture would also be valuable.

Q: When you think about being Greek, what comes to mind?

A: I’m pretty fortunate to be Greek. The Greek culture really shares a lot. When I was in Greece on the Athens Fellowship, I gave those politicians a pretty hard time. I asked them some pretty tough questions about Greece. I pushed them and said, “I fear that Greece is stuck in the past. I fear that Greeks are stuck on their accomplishments in ancient times. And that’s causing them to fall behind. Times are modern. Greece joined the European Union in 1981.”  So I asked them about recent accomplishments. I wanted to move away from the everyday Greek person being stuck on the fact that we created democracy and philosophy and all those other things in the past.  But I was very pleased to hear the politicians talk about several modern accomplishments, including those in the Arts. Some of the world’s best poets and musicians are Greek. Some of the best writers are Greek. There are top Greek businessmen. Greek shipping is still a huge industry that much of the world depends on. Greece was in the third wave of nations to join the European Union before a majority of Europe joined. So they really and truly all are moving ahead. I’m very happy to see that Greece is more than just the nation that contributed to civilization all those thousand years ago. But that Greece is continuing to contribute to civilization and is continuing to contribute to world culture and world business. So being Greek represents an incredible fusion of accomplishments from the past and working with a continuing desire to strive for more in the future.

Q: So your sense of being Greek goes beyond the United States. It’s connected to Greece as well.

A: Certainly. There are so many reasons to be connected with Greece. It’s a stunning country with a lot to offer. So I’m very proud to be able to be connected with Greece, and also larger Europe. In these days, it’s very much a privilege to be able to be connected with that.

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

A: Yes. I’d also like to mention that I’ve discovered a great passion for Cyprus as well. I have no Cypriot roots. I’m studying Greek at my university. And last year, my Greek teacher was a Fulbright fellow from Cyprus. Before learning from her, I really knew little about Cyprus. I had visited both sides of the island and saw incredible things.  However, I became significantly more passionate about it after studying Cyprus. I researched the history and think that the issues the nation of Cyprus faced in 1974 are still significant. And in the summer of 2008, I had the privilege of working for an education program to facilitate peace talks between teenagers from the Greek side and Turkish sides of Cyprus. In so doing, I made it a big point to keep my own perspectives quiet and to listen and to learn from the students on both sides. I really did learn a lot. It’s unfortunate that a lot of people are forgetting about the issues existing in Cyprus.  Because they’re still very real and still affecting a great number of people. Basically, it makes me very sad to think that so many people were forced out of their homes. Even though I’m not Cypriot, I still can identify. Cypriots will make the point that Greeks are not Cypriots and Cypriots are not Greeks, and that’s very clear. However, I still think that as someone who is interested in Greece and Europe as well, it’s important that more people learn about Cyprus and know about the problems happening there, and that more people recognize the significance of what has happened. The issue in Cyprus, the way it plays out sets a major precedent for other nations that are invaded or that are taken over. Right now, for example in modern politics, problems in Kosovo and even kind of what was happened recently in Georgia with Russia’s invasion. The way we handle Cyprus will set an example for how other issues like that will be handled. So I think that we can’t forget about it because it’s not over. It’s an issue that expands well beyond the borders of that island.

Q: Could you talk some more about the program you were involved with between Greek and Turkish Cypriot teenagers?

A: It was an excellent program. The United States State Department flew 40 teenagers from Cyprus, 20 from each side of the island, to Denver, Colorado for a  three week incredible program. The first week was filled with workshops. The second week was filled with nature and team-building activities like white water rafting, a high ropes course, camping, hiking and rock climbing. The third week consisted of again, more workshops, and resolution-making. I got involved with that through my freshman year Greek teacher, the one who was the Fulbright fellow from Cyprus. She had actually been a staff member at that program in previous years and wasn’t able to be a staff member that year. So she sent me. She thought it would be something that I would be excited about, and she was absolutely right.

Q: Thank you for the interview.

A: Thank you very much.