The importance of being Greek

When someone emigrates to the U.S., they seemingly have a whole world of opportunities available to them. They can start a business, raise a family, and even become American. By “becoming American” I don’t simply mean they can gain U.S. citizenship. Since the U.S. isn’t based on any one culture or genetic ancestry, it is easy to just “be” American, if you want to be.

It certainly isn’t the same as moving to a country like Greece. I’m sure there is a bit of variety in the gene pool here, but for the most part, a Greek is a Greek. A Turk is a Turk, an Albanian an Albanian, a Brit a Brit, and so on. You don’t see hyphenated heritages here, no Chinese-Greeks, no Italian-Greeks, etc. For the most part, that does seem like a ridiculous prospect in a country like Greece (or really most European countries). These countries were not traditionally made up of “your tired, poor, huddled masses” – there was a specific ancestry that took on some immigration/invasion over the past few thousand years but for the most part, Greece did not absorb a large variety of immigrants from all over the world like the U.S. has. Greece has recently become a country that has taken in a large number of immigrants, especially from African and Middle Eastern countries, but the cultural identity hasn’t changed. You are what you are in Greece, and even second and third generation children of immigrants don’t seem to be able to call themselves Greek in the same way they’d be able to be American.

I’ve had numerous people ask me “what do you do to become more Greek?” The answer is nothing. I have no intention of becoming Greek, which is not to say I won’t learn the language or participate in the culture or immerse myself in the Greek way of life. But I know I cannot ever really be Greek, and even if I did have a swab of Greek blood in my ancestry, I think I would immediately be disqualified because of my intense hatred for all things seafood and my inability to enjoy the sun (or the heat). Yet I love Greece, I feel very protective of the country and its people, and I’d even cheer for the Greek national sporting teams over the U.S. ones if they came face to face. My favorite place in the world, which used to be Chestertown, Maryland, has been replaced by the beautiful Greek village of Litochoro. Greece is my home. The love of my life is Greek. I may never be Greek, but Greece is in my heart to stay.