AFS Conversations - Greatest Hits Volume 1

During my eight months at AFS, many of the students have undergone substantial changes: positive and negative, physical and psychological. I am happy to report that most of the changes have been for the better. Conversing with the students throughout the school year has been entertaining and gratifying. As they’ve come out of their shells and grown comfortable around me, the chats have become more intriguing—and witnessing progress in their speaking skills brings me satisfaction. Here are a few of my favorite conversations and interactions:

-I generally say hello to about 200 students per day. My default greeting is ‘What’s up?’ The standard reply is ‘Fine.’ I’ve taught some of the higher-level English classes how to properly respond to ‘What’s up?’ however the majority of students will be stuck with ‘Fine’ for the foreseeable future. So it goes.

-Shimosh*, still one of my favorite students, has experienced significant changes. Not only has he grown a third of a meter (about 1 ft) since September, but he has shed his shy demeanor and proudly exhibits his quirky personality to the delight (and annoyance) of others. His English has also improved exponentially. Now, if ever I am worthy enough to join him at the "cool" table for a meal, he tells jokes and carries on. We ate lunch together last week and the conversation went as follows:

[*For any new readers (if you exist), Shimosh was the smallest, peskiest student at AFS at the beginning of the year. He stays on campus most weekends because his parents live on Sifnos, a far-away island.]

Me: Excuse me, sir. Do you mind if I join you?

Shimosh: Sit.

Me: Thank you, your excellency.

S: Eat.

Me: Yes sir.

S: Jacques?

Me: Yes?

S: Have you been on a farm?

Me: Yes.

S: Did you milk the chickens?

Me: No.

[Laughter from the whole table - Shimosh laughs the hardest]

S: Did you take the eggs from the goats?

Me: Nope. [Chuckle]

[Harder laughter]

S: Did you hatch the cows?

Me: Uh, nope.

[Ecstatic laughter]

S: Will you marry a cow?

Me: Maybe. Maybe a goat, though.

[More laughter. Milk and feta spilling from the mouths of the students]

-A second year student, Leonidas (named after the Spartan hero of 300 fame), has significantly improved his speaking ability as well. He and I usually discuss European soccer: he knows every player, every result, every transfer, etc. He is a veritable almanac. He could speak in flawless, soccer-specific English terms for hours on end about any team in Europe. When the conversation strays from soccer, however, it is a different story. He once asked me, "In America, do you have chicken?" I was confused by the clear dichotomy between his soccer fluency and lack of knowledge about something so simple until I was speaking with my boss about the students and their English progress. I brought up Leonidas. When asked what we speak about, I told Thanos about Leonidas's comprehensive soccer knowledge. He replied that Leonidas spends every weekend betting on matches, so he stays informed to place his wagers. Since then I have made an effort to discuss things other than soccer with Leonidas to improve his conversation skills in other realms. It's an uphill battle, but it's going okay. At least he places informed bets, right?

-Asteris (“Star” in Greek) is a third-year student who lives on my hall. He also happens to be one of the loudest human beings I have ever encountered. Many of our conversations begin with him shouting to me while we stand more than 20 meters away from each other, when a raised voice is sometimes necessary. As I approach him, however, he continues to yell—even if we are standing face-to-face. Either way, Asteris’s vibrant personality provides endless entertainment, whether you want to be entertained or not. One of our first conversations went something like this:

Me: Hello.

Asteris (shouting): Hello, my friendly.

Me: You mean 'my friend'.

A (still shouting): No. I mean 'my friendly' because we are number one friends.

Me: Haha. Okay, I see. So you mean 'hello, my best friend'.

A (you get the point about the shouting): No.

Me: Okay. See you later.

A: Goodbye, my friendly.

To this day, Asteris calls me 'my friendly'.

Eurotrip 2010

Who

Five Americans who work as International Teaching Fellows in Thessaloniki, Greece: Agni, Becky, Barbie, Emily, and yours truly.

What

Cover 5000+ kilometers of Western Europe in two weeks without killing each other or ourselves (a.k.a. launching). Picture an episode of the Real World that takes place in a station wagon and stuffy hotel rooms/hostels that are approximately the same size as the station wagon.

When

Spring Break 2010 – March 28^th April 10^th

Where

Spain, Southern France, and Northern Italy: Barcelona to Sevilla to Malaga to Granada to Madrid to Montpellier to Cinque Terre to Pisa to Florence then back to Barcelona via Monaco

Why

Because we’re all travel junkies

How

In a cramped and increasingly musty rental car (Emily, weren’t you in charge of buying the Febreeze?)

Random Observations and Recollections In No Particular Order

To everyone’s credit, the trip went smoothly and we all had a blast. We covered an immense amount of territory in two weeks, but the time spent in the car did not detract from the enjoyment at our various destinations. Each locale had much to offer (we could have enjoyed a full two weeks in any of the cities), however we lingered just long enough at each site to get a distinct taste of the lifestyle. The rich history and individuality of each stop enthralled us; each city or town exposed a new array of culture and style, and overwhelming physical beauty surrounded us throughout the trip (both of the natural, scenic variety and the two-legged female variety).

We spent most of Easter Week in Sevilla and Granada, Spain—both homes to renowned Holy Week (“Semana Santa”) festivities. They celebrate in the form of processions that last into the wee hours of the morning. People line the streets for miles and robe-clad Spaniards trod through the streets holding massive wooden statues of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and saints. The attire for the marchers is identical to Ku Klux Klan robes and pointed hoods; the KKKs was founded as a Christian order and modeled their look after these Spanish costumes. The traditional concept for the Spaniards is that only God can know the true identity of the participant, which also conveniently hides the identity of cross-burning bigots with pitchforks.

Agni, Becky, and I divided the driving duties because Barbie and Emily lack stick-shifting ability. After seven months of observing Greek traffic habits, I was not looking forward to testing my abilities on the European highways; however the Western Europeans seemed like docile angels behind the wheel compared to Greek drivers.

Has anybody ever received a speeding ticket in the mail from a rental car company? On dozens of occasions, we thought roadside cameras snapped pictures of our car, and we are all on-edge about receiving a slew of speeding fines once the tickets reach the car company.

European tolls are sneaky and fierce. Before the trip, I didn’t factor tolls into the estimated cost…ouch. European tollbooth employees exhibit a stern haughtiness while proclaiming that you owe 30 euros (about $40) for driving a 10-kilometer stretch of highway. Fifteen minutes down the road, the next tollboother is just a cold; I think the tollbooth employee handbook requires staffers to show zero emotion. Perhaps manning a tollbooth is a prerequisite to starting a prosperous career as a human statue in Barcelona.

Carrefour, Walmart’s slightly less evil European cousin, was the most frequent source of sustenance. A baguette, a box full of Laughing Cow cheese, and glorious stacks of oddly colored salami were my meal of choice for the duration of the trip. Each of the cities we visited provided amazing public parks to set the scene for picnic lunches.

And I’m spent.