"Do you feel Greek?"

Last Friday morning we left Athens for my great grandfather’s village called Prosimna, a two hour drive from the city. I’ve been looking forward to this part of the trip since we landed in Greece and our time with Merkurious and Sophia has only heighted this feeling. The night before we left, I was a little nervous about what I would find in the village. Would I meet some of my great-grandfather’s relatives? Would they welcome us? Would I represent my US family well and convey the sense of honor I felt to just be in this place? Only a few miles of open road and I would find out.

We arrived in the village on Friday at about 6 pm after making a couple stops along the way. We were warmly welcomed by Sophia’s father Cristsos (son of my great-grandfather’s sister, Sophia) and his wife Maurina. Cristos’ brother John lives next door and we found that he has a warm sense of humor as he made us laugh heartily. Both only spoke a few words of English, but they made us feel right at home. That evening we dined in Nafplio, a nearby city, with Sophia’s brother, his family as well as John’s son and his wife. We had a great time but were pretty tired when we returned to the village at almost 2 in the morning.

The next day we met George (grandson of George Karamanous, my great grandfather’s brother) who gave us a tour of the old Karamanous home. George has been working the last 4 years to restore the home. After this we enjoyed swimming at the beach and a wonderful lunch with more family. It was great to sit and visit as we shared a meal with a great view of the Aegean Sea.

In the evening we toured the elementary school and high school that my great grandfather helped build some 45 years ago that are still in use. It was awesome to see physical evidence of the impact he had on the village community. From talking to other family members I learned that he helped with a water system for the village as well.

We rounded out our time in the village with a big dinner at the Berboti Taverina. I was expected a few family members, but was absolutely blow away when we had 20 plus people show up. There were folks from all over the area who came to honor our trip to the village. It was a pretty special night as we sat in the village square talking, eating sheep and just being together. Definitely the highlights of the trip and a memory I will keep for a long time to come.

As I sit back in Athens now, I am impressed by my Greek family’s generosity and sense of community. They welcomed us into their lives and took amazing care of Laura and I. I was repeatedly asked over the course of the weekend if I “felt Greek?” There were some jokes about this, but I am proud of this heritage and these people.