In my work as an English teaching assistant, I am supervised by a woman called Maria, who has lived in Greece for much of her life. She knows many of the finer details of Greek culture and has shared much of her personal knowledge with me. She has also spent a lot of time outside her home country - she lived in the United States for almost ten years! - which gives her a unique understanding of how Greek and American culture differs and how it overlaps. In this conversation, edited for conciseness, she shares some of her thoughts on these beloved places.
My name is Maria Papageorgiou. Here in Greece, we don't commonly use middle names. If one is needed for identification purposes, we use our father's given name between our own given name and our surname. I've told American friends before that our dad's name is like a surrogate middle name!
I was born and raised in Athens and, after working abroad in the US for some time, I found that I couldn't stay away any longer. I live with my husband and our two dogs in a detached house with a small garden. We love our outdoor space, and we grow lemons from a tree in our backyard.
