I let these sounds wash over me, σιγά, σιγά— slowly, slowly—letting them become a part of me and me, a part of them.
Certainly there are many moments when Ι am walking around town that I feel conspicuously out of place, like I don’t belong here at all. I stand out with my blond hair, blue eyes, and pale skin (made even paler by the thick coat of sunscreen I constantly apply) amidst a sea of dark hair and eyes and olive complexions. I stand out with my American accent whenever I shyly offer up the ever-growing number of Greek sentences I’ve learned so far. I stand out with my still slightly hesitant driving on the left side of the road. And I no doubt stand out in countless more ways that others see and I do not. And yet I belong. With her cheery smile and offers of help whenever I can’t figure out how to work the washing machine or the water heater, Maro unknowingly reminds me that the process of integrating into a community, of belonging, is a learning process.
“Σιγά, σιγά,” she chirps. “Slowly, slowly."
And so, for the next five months, I will slowly, slowly continue to become more and more a part of Pano Polemidia, and the sounds from my home will drift into my neighbors’ homes, and my voice will fill my students’ classrooms with ever-greater confidence in my role, and I will continue to find my place, with you all right here along with me!
