Listening to the Next Generation >> Joe

People ask how I identify myself, and I’ll say Greek and Italian. If you say Cypriot, everyone asks, “What’s that? Where is Cyprus?” So I think Greek is just easier. That’s what my dad does, too. He will say he is Greek first.

Got Greek? interviews Joe V. from Georgetown University

My father was born in Cyprus. He is a Greek Cypriot. He went to med school in Athens, Greece and then came to the United States in the 1970s and lived in Queens, New York. My mom is not Greek. She is Italian. She wasn’t born in Italy but she’s lived there and she is fluent in the language.

Q: How did your parents meet?

A: This is kind of a funny story. My mom loves telling this story because my dad was my mom’s mentor. I think she was a resident and he was teaching her. Both of my parents are doctors now.  The story goes that my mom had a date set up for the weekend, but my dad wanted to talk to her about one of her papers over. So she had to cancel her date. They met and my dad asked if she wanted to go on another date. That’s how they started. So he was very smooth.

Q: What was it like growing up with Greek heritage in your household?

A: My dad is the only one who immigrated, so the rest of my family is still in Cyprus. So my Greek heritage definitely played a huge part when I was growing up. I went to Greek school for at least two years when I was little. Being at Greek school with all of the other Greek kids was definitely a good link to the culture. I was surrounded by everyone who was also Greek. I remember dressing up in the traditional soldier uniform with the red hat and the blue and white and doing the traditional dance. After that, my parents would take us to eat Greek food and that was always fun. I am glad they enrolled me in Greek school. It was a good experience. Unfortunately, I don’t speak any Greek now. I’ve always wanted to and I know it’s a disappointment to my dad. When I go over to visit my cousins in Cyprus, it would be nice to speak Greek but they all learned English so we communicate that way. But we always stay true to the culture and celebrate the holidays like Greek Easter.

Q: How do you identify yourself: Greek, Greek American, American, Cypriot, Italian, something else?

A: People ask how I identify myself, and I’ll say Greek and Italian. If you say Cypriot, everyone asks, “What’s that? Where is Cyprus?” So I think Greek is just easier. That’s what my dad does, too. He will say he is Greek first.

Q: What do you value about your Greek cultural background?

A:  Obviously when you look back through history, the Greeks had one of the first ancient civilizations. That’s something to be proud of and my dad is extremely proud of that. We used to make fun of him for it, and still do. But it rubs onto you and you become proud of it, too. For instance, we went to France this summer and we went to the Louvre and saw all the Greek art there. We really appreciated seeing it and felt proud.

Q: What have your experiences been like visiting Cyprus?

A: I feel at home, even though I don’t speak the language and I am not 100% Greek. I definitely feel like I would fit in perfectly. For instance, I’ve travelled to France and I probably know how to speak more French than Greek. But I didn’t feel really at home in France. Whereas in Cyprus, I have family there and feel more welcome and really at home.

Q: You said earlier that you’d like to learn the Greek language better.

A: Definitely. Greek school was not very intensive. We tried learning the language again in high school. I asked my dad to go over stuff but he was really busy all the time. Some Sundays, we would sit down and pull out the Greek book, and he would teach me and my sister. But we couldn’t get too much learning out of it. I’d definitely like to learn the language though. I took Ancient Greek in high school senior year, which was interesting but very different. That was cool.

Q: Do you plan on taking a course in Greek here at Georgetown?

A: My strong point is not languages. I took French last year but that was more to get the requirement over with as I’m pre-med. But I definitely would like to learn Greek sometime. Maybe not at school because I don’t know how much time I have. I am taking a Greek archeology class now. That’s interesting because I am probably going to be a studio art major. That’s pretty interesting for most pre-med students. That’s why the Greek art really interests me, and learning more of the history about that is cool.

Q: Going forward, what Greek traditions would you like to hold onto?

A: I love the big family gatherings. I have a half-sister who is completely Greek Cypriot. My mom is my dad’s second wife, so my half-sister is completely Greek. She speaks Greek fluently and she got married of course to a Greek guy. So it was like we recreated My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I was an usher in it, so I was right there during all of it and it was awesome. We had a great time. Just getting all of the relatives together from his side of the family and some from my side came over so that was good. I definitely want to keep up the big celebrations like that. Also, it’s interesting since I am Italian and I can see the links between Italy and Greece. So I see the cultures as being really similar. They are both very forthcoming and all that. I want to continue the Greek Easter celebration, which we will always do. That’s the big thing in our family. My dad is Greek Orthodox, and I was raised Roman Catholic. But as a kid, I would go to the Greek Easter services with my dad.

Q: You mentioned My Big Fat Greek Wedding. What did you think of that movie?

A: So many people liked it, which proves you don’t have to be Greek to appreciate it. Many people can relate from many different cultures. Like I said, with the Italians when they get together, there are some things you can definitely relate to. The Windex thing- that was confusing. We don’t have any one in our family like who does that. But even though there are a lot of stereotypes in the movie, I think everyone can relate to it. It linked everyone’s own culture to Greeks and getting together with family, love and that whole concept.

Q: Do your friends ever ask you if your family is like the movie?

A: All the time. People usually know that I am Greek before they know that I am Italian. So they think that all of my family here is Greek, which is kind of funny. When I say that I am getting together with family for Greek Easter, they’ll ask me if we’ll be roasting a lamb on a spit in our backyard. I just laugh about it and think it’s funny because it’s a stereotype. They do relate me a lot to the movie.

Q: How do you describe your heritage to your friends who aren’t of Greek descent?

A: I am very proud of it and they know that, too. I come across as very American the way I talk, act, and dress. Then they meet my dad and they see that he has a very strong accent and even though he has been here for awhile. You can tell that English is not his first language. My friends all fall in love with him but I feel that they don’t realize how Greek I am until they meet my dad.

Q: Did you have a chance to meet your Cypriot grandparents?

A: I did actually. Unfortunately, they both passed within a year of each other not that long ago. That was definitely harder for my dad, than me, because we go over to Cyprus maybe once every four to five years. So I didn’t get to see them as much but we felt really close to them. My grandfather actually spoke great English. He would send us letters and we would talk over the phone. My grandfather was a police chief in Cyprus and he did a lot during the 1974 Turkish invasion, where he was stationed in North Cyprus. I think he was actually a prisoner of war and I remember going over and him showing me the bullets and stuff. He was very proud of that and he met a lot of famous people through being at that high position. He had a very serious side to him, so my dad has taken that part from him. My grandmother was like the opposite. She was very loving and animated. It was really funny how they both found each other because they had very different personalities.

Q: Considering your family is Cypriot, to what extent are you affected by the current state of a divided Cyprus?

A: Definitely affected. Especially since my grandfather was so involved when Turkey invaded Cyprus. The stereotype of how Greeks don’t get along with Turks and stuff, you see that even more in my dad because he went through the war. I remember they used to have a house in Kyrenia, which is in North Cyprus and belonged then to Turkey. So they had to abandon their house there and when they got back, he would tell sad stories about how he had a dog and the Turks had shot the dog. It obviously hurts him a lot. I think part of the reason he left to come to America and be a doctor here was to get away after the invasion. It is better now, but there’s still a wall dividing the island. When I went there, there was a point where we weren’t allowed to go to see Northern Cyprus where my dad used to go to the beach. I know that definitely hurt him a lot. We went on a cruise to the Greek islands two summers ago and one of the stops was Turkey. At first, my dad did not want to even get off. It’s a really hot issue in Cyprus, the whole separation.

Q: Do you find yourself explaining the Cyprus situation to your friends?

A: It is very hard. I feel like I will go into it with my good friends but otherwise I will just say that I am Greek. Many people don’t know where Cyprus is and it’s hard to get into the history. My dad associates with Greece but it’s a very different history of what happened on the mainland of Greece. Cyprus used to be a British colony and then it was a Greek colony. It is independent now but it’s hard to go into all the detail with my friends and stuff. When I get close with them, I explain all that.

Q: Here at college, what’s it like connecting to your Greek heritage?

A: Sometimes I get lost in the bubble of school work and friends, and forget about it. My relatives, my aunt and uncle were just visiting and stayed with my parents. I wish I could have seen them. I do talk to them over the phone. It was nice at my sister’s wedding because I got to see some relatives. So I try to stay connected to the culture with events that are going on. I did join the Hellenic student society here at Georgetown. I did not even know what it was at first. But I went ahead and signed up. I try to stay as close as I can to the culture.

Q: Do you ever go online to read about current events in Greece?

A: Yes. I’ll look at the news to see what’s going on in Greece. For example, I’ve read how Cyprus has had a big severe drought. You never really hear about Cyprus. It is actually a really safe place but now with the drought, they are having some struggles there. I try to keep up to date with what’s going on overseas. My home page is MSN. So right away it will say what’s going on in the United States. Then, I will click on world news and look up Greece and Cyprus in there. Or I will go to NYTIMES.com and see if there are any related stories.

Q: Do you eat Greek food?

A: All the time. It’s hard to get good Greek food but there is a place near where my family lives. It’s owned by Greeks. That is the only way to get good Greek food. It’s called the Greek Village and we go there all the time. We love it. It’s just like my yiayia’s [grandmother’s] cooking. It’s really good.

Q: Do you have things in your dorm room here that you identify with your Greek heritage?

A: I have a picture of my dad. I also have a Greek shot glass. My best girlfriend from home is Greek, and brought that back to me from Greece. I don’t have a flag or anything but I should have something up. I know that would make my dad happy, even more so if I put up a Cypriot flag. He always associates with Greece more than Cyprus. It’s interesting because Cyprus is independent. But he always associates with mainland Greece, which is interesting.

Q: It sounds like preserving your Cypriot heritage is important to you.

A: Yes, very much so. Just the history there is really interesting to learn about and it was important to my grandpa, too. He used to make a family tree of everyone in our family. That always interested me, and my half-sister is also really into it all. I actually found a couple of my cousins the other day on Facebook. So I have been talking to them in English through that, which is pretty cool.

Q: Thank you for the interview.

A: Thank you.