Greek In the Big Apple

The past week has been a rich example of cultural references and discussions with old friends and new acquaintances of what it means to be a New Yorker, an American and where most of us "come from". My good friend Suzy was joking recently that I'm "fresh off the boat" and in a certain way that is quite true. Although I've lived half my life here in the U.S. I've always lived a double life. I'm half Greek half American and I've had a life in both the U.S and Greece. Something the differentiates my upbringing from many other Greek/Americans is that I have lived studied and worked equally in both countries, I call both countries home and I consider both English and Greek to be mother tongues. No one in New York is "from here" yet all who live in this great metropolis relate to being New Yorkers. This city is one of the most diverse in cultural and language examples. The neighborhoods are defined by their cultural identity. Brighton Beac

Last weekend I made a brief escape from New York and hopped on to a north bound train into the the familiar landscapes of my childhood. One good thing about loving the city, is that you can leave it for a while and come back to it with a new perspective. Managing to distance oneself from busy city life, is a healthy balance for all new yorkers... Some don't feel the need to ever leave... they find their quiet moments within the city... others like to take a brief weekend, a breather if you will in order to appreciate it more when they get back. I've heard of countless stories... for and against this theory of escape. Some choose to go to the furthest reaches of Manhattan into the area of Inwood and the Cloisters, others to the southern tip of Brooklyn into Brighton Beach and Coney Island... The distance is insignificant to the change of scenery. My personal escape had to do with child hood memories. When I first moved to the United States back in 1991 with my family we chose t