Yia sas! Ti kanete? My name is Ioanna and I just greeted you in my native language which is Greek. I left my sunny country and moved to the Empire State five years ago and on snowy days like these, I often wonder why! But then again when the weather shifts to friendlier temperatures, I remember why. I love being in New York; mingling in Big Apple’s diverse crowd and hearing languages other than just Greek, meeting new people that are not necessarily Greek and exploring different traditions and cultures other than my own. If you ever watched the film, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” you know what I mean.
In New York, I work as a Modern Greek teacher, in Greek-American afternoon schools that teach Greek as a Second Language (GSL). In addition, I am a full-time student and this is my second semester in Hunter College where I transferred with my Associates Degree in Liberal Arts. I am majoring in Spanish, a language that I love, especially Castellano, and hope to become a Spanish teacher.
I live in northern Westchester where there is almost nothing to do if you are young and single. Most inhabitants in the area are either married or retired, squirrels, deer…and then there is me. This actually makes my life much easier since I have practically no free time; and although I believe in carpe diem, between a full-time job and being a full–time student there is not much day to seize.