An Abridged Ode to Greece

Korrin B.

November 21, 2008 - 12:37 PM

"Se thelo, esai paixnidi kai esy, kapiou theou pou olo fernei vroxi, ki omos se thelo." These words open Mixalis Hatzigiannis' hit song in Greece, "Etsi Se Thelo." With its heavy-hearted chords and the melancholy strain in the singer's voice, these words are also, to me, the opening of a memory I will never forget. And as I am listening to it now, it only seems appropriate to focus the topic of this post on my memory.

Spring term 2008, I set off for an experience of a lifetime. I boarded my plane in San Francisco without knowing how much my time in Greece would affect me. My plane took off without me knowing that after my study abroad program ended in June, I would choose to stay and work for the summer. I made my connection flight in Paris without knowing that the people I would meet on my travels would deeply touch me. I got lost on the metro in Athens, not knowing that the summer would have its trying moments. My ferryboat arrived to the Greek island of Kefalonia and I had no clue how perfect that last night would be.

Ok, yes, there was a boy. However, what I would come to learn was that, although it may seem so to an outsider, it was never really about the boy. It was about the island. It was about its vivid beaches and its quiet fields of flowers that I fell deeply in love with. It was about the island. It was about how it had taken an unsure girl and shaped her into who she knew she could be. It was about the island. He had just become the fleshly representation of the larger picture. He was a metaphor for the love that pounded in my heart, beating fervently in my chest, for my island.

We met in the beginning. I was just starting my leap into the unknown. I slowly tasted the freedom. We shared frappe together and spoke about our lives. We laughed together and I looked into his eyes, Kefalonia's majestic waters. I remember the exact moment it happened, the moment when I realized the true depth of my trip. I remember the precise moment in time that I fell in love with Kefalonia. I was on the back of his scooter and as we flew around the curves of Kefalonia's hilly body, I looked at the beauty surrounding me. I felt my heart open and my soul dive into an Ionian sea of bliss.

He left for the mainland soon after that, but the rendezvous that we had partaken in during that two weeks in April had been enough. My love for Kefalonia was strong. Throughout the months of May and June I worked independently on my relationship with the island. I would go on bike rides and explore shops that hadn't before. I had never had the type of confidence that I now possessed. As I gazed one June night into a red moon, I realized that I had to stay for the summer.

The summer was everything. It was heartache, but it was happiness. It was insecurity, but it was belief. Kefalonia proved to be trying to my heart, but in the end it would turn out to be everything I knew it was.

He came back for the summer. I was so excited to see him again and was ready to spend the summer months with him. However, what distinguished Kefalonia from a dream, what made it a reality, was that it couldn't always be perfect. After time apart, we saw each other again, but we were different. I had grown so much throughout the months. Kefalonia couldn't be flawless. A few times during the summer, unexpectedly, Kefalonia's sky would turn black and just open up and pour. Some days my job at the hotel would get so stressful that I just wanted to scream. Tension grew between us and after senseless comments and rash emotions, we didn't talk for the entire summer. However, this proved to be necessary, for I had so much more to learn on my own.

After an unforgettable summer of meeting people and solidifying faith in myself, I'm finally back to the beginning of this story, which is, in fact, the end. My last night on the island, which turned out to be his as well, I put my pride aside and called him. He was where it all began and I longed to taste that feeling again. I had met many people throughout the summer, but he was always the one in the back of my head that I wanted to see. I always wanted to have that pure essence of time spent with Kefalonia. It turned out that he had also wished all summer to see me again, so we agreed to meet that night.

I turned my phone on silent and went down to the shore to meet him. I wanted to escape the gossipy drama of small village life, so I only mentioned to one close friend where I was going that night. I felt that initial liberation again. He arrived with his scooter and I hopped on back. It was just me and him again, the way it began, before the complications of life interfered. We hadn't talked all summer, but we were at the same conclusion. We zipped off into the night, a night that would be so perfect that it would solidify my teachings from Kefalonia into my mind forever.

The entire night was special. We viewed the village from high above a hill and listened to the waves crash onto the beach as we sat on his balcony. The ride home, however, was the best, though also saddest, part.

There was a nip in the air that I can still feel on my skin as I remember the ride. I loved the feel of the wind blowing through my hair. As we rode back to the hotel where I was staying, "Etsi Se Thelo" played in my head and I gazed around me, soaking up every tiny detail that I possibly could. I wanted this moment to last forever. It couldn't end. I remember the dark plunging cliffs into the sea. I remember looking above me and seeing a shooting star in the crystal clear sky. I can still hear the putting of the scooter's engine, yet also the stillness of my surroundings. I can smell him. I remember the whole ride back, holding on to him, feeling as though an entire summer could exist in a moment. That night I kissed Kefalonia goodbye, knowing that it would never truly leave me. Kefalonia had, in the end, turned out to be everything I knew it was.

The next morning I watched my island slowly fade into a hazy horizon as my ferryboat headed toward the mainland. A summer of so much had been summed up into a moment in time. I left a piece of my heart on that island, but also learned that Kefalonia exists wherever I create it. It was a feeling, a way of life, built out of pure contentment and unfettered trust in oneself. I will always been in love with Kefalonia. Every memory I have now is a love letter to him. I encourage every student at every university to take the opportunity to live, study, or work abroad. There is something you learn there that just can't be found anywhere else. "Se thelo, san plygomeno pouli, xaristiki sou zitao boli, etsi se thelo."