I am here at my friend's house relaxing just talking to my friend and his family. They are Greek and quite different from many of the other families I have encountered. Usually I and with my friend in the basement where it is dimly lit by a few overheard lamps. "Still, a great deal of light falls on everything." I was just sitting on a couch just chatting with them and I learned a great deal about their culture and style of living. Sometimes it was hard to understand my friend's father because of the way he spoke and the way he spoke of different things. It would be exact to say "If I can't see these minutiae, I still try to keep my eyes open." I cannot completely understand his father but I try my best to catch every word he says, even the Greek ones. I was invited to stay for dinner and I expected something interesting and yet regular. When we sat down at the table waiting for the food the parents were talking about work very seriously. I could not understand why they were so serious but my friend did. "We miss a great deal because we perceive only things on our own scale.""I reeled in confusion; I did not understand what I saw." Once the food was ready I was excited. They had made a soup appetizer. There I could say "I saw what I expected." After the soup they served us pork loin and rice with a special sauce that was delicious. I was not so enthusiastic about the food at first because of the look of it but it turned out to be quite alright. We talked all throughout dinner and it was very pleasant. Sometimes the family spoke in Greek so I just had to try my best at understanding and making the right gestures at the right times like I understood. After that the mother brought out some kind of dessert that consisted of a Greek cookie kourabiethes and some strawberries mixed with mandarin orange slices. We sat around for a little longer then cleared up. That night I learned a lot about Greek culture. They told me about the different figures in their house and I could see on their faces their own admiration for their pieces of art they had ascertained over the years. They definitely taught me how to admire one's own possessions. "I had my whole life a bell, and never knew it until that moment I was lifted and struck." I had been taught something anew and will now treasure my valuables with greater care. The only way I can think to use the last quote from Dillards would be my friends car. She would go outside and then turn around and come right back in during the ice dilemma days. "This is philosophically interesting in a rather mournful way, since it means that only the simplest animals perceive the universe as it is." This phrase almost completely confuses me but I can see how it is relevant to my friends cat. I saw how Greeks live and learned about them.
All quotes are from Annie Dillard
Monday, January 18, 2010
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Thanks for letting us "see" into Greek life also. I've never had such an experience before. Good use of Dillard quotes, also.
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