Why Did I Come?

Welcome to the Greece 2011 blog from Sylvia, Vita, Cynthia and Bill! We will be taking turns posting on this blog, so those of you who read it can hear the reactions of each of us. We're calling it "The Future Comes Sooner" because in Greece, we are 10 hours ahead of our US time zone. I (Bill) will be the first because, in a strange way, we are here because of my grandparents.
Prologue
Our grandfather came from an area of Southern Greece (The Peloponnese) , called Lakonia; more specifically, from Pakia, a small town in the area. Our grandmother grew up in an area about 50 kilometers North and west of here, near a town called Gythio, Gythio is a beautiful little port town, as you will see from the photos which we include on the blog. I've come to Greece several times before, but only for 10 days or two weeks at the most. This time was special because: 1) Sylvia and I have retired from teaching and do not have to return in August; 2) We wanted to spend an extended time; 3) We invited two young people - my daughter Vita and Sylvia's granddaughter Cynthia (who lives with us in Pacifica) - to come with us.

The central question for me has to be, "Why Did I Come to Greece?" and the answer is another question: Am I Greek or Not? My mother's family was first generation Greek - most of them still spoke some Greek and celebrated the idea, if not the reality, of being Greek. For their generation, the thing was to become Greek-American, which they did. At our family gatherings, my cousins and I heard less and less Greek, and more and more English. Our Greek connection was around the church, and most of us gave that up as we got older. In my generation, no one - aside from myself and my cousin Denny - are at all interested in being Greek. We are at that crucial moment which so many American immigrant families have faced - we're losing the immigrant culture in favor of whatever passes for American culture.
Should I just give it up? Let it go? Luckily, I have the chance to try and maintain the culture by traveling to Greece, studying the language, and reconnecting with whatever family I can find. Is Greece part of my future, part of who I am? We'll see. That's why i came to Greece. My next blog will be about two of my Greek cousins - Niki the Greek and Peppermint Patty.