Read Online Girl Gone Greek by Rebecca Hall - Free Book Online Page B

protesting—although to be fair, Nektarios had a point and there was really not much to protest about. “I work as a tour guide, so I get to practise my English every day. Also, as you’ll see the longer you’re here and teaching, the system here in Greece really pushes for people to obtain some form of English language certificate from a young age. It’s vital, for a nation that relies on tourism so much.”

    Sunday dawned bright and early for me, despite having only rolled into bed a few short hours ago. “You can have the bed, I’ll sleep on the floor. I don’t snore, and I hope you don’t either,” had been Kaliopi’s last words before she fell into a deep sleep.
    Hope she’s changed the bed sheets—I dread to think what last went on in here,
were my last waking
    thoughts. Now I felt groggy...but also intrigued; I’d get to see how “Ochi Day” would be celebrated.
    I have a degree in International Relations, but I knew nothing about Greece. At least this ‘Ochi Day’ will give me the opportunity to have a more intimate glimpse into Greece’s past. I was thoroughly enjoying the brilliant sunshine and bright blue skies Greece offered in plentiful doses, but I was discovering there was far more to this country than initially met the eye. The chance to learn more about it was tempting.
And the chance to not appear so shallow
… I was reminded of Dimitrios’s comments last night.
    A gentle knock on the door signalled the boys’ arrival.
    “I’m heading out now,” I whispered to a snoring Kaliopi—despite last night’s assertions, she actually snored like a train.
    Closing the door quietly behind me, I smiled at them both.
    “
Pame
, come. Let us take you to Syntagma—Constitution Square—where we will show you what happens on this day” smiled Dimitrios. I marvelled at how wide awake they seemed, until they produced a small Styrofoam cup of Greek coffee. “Kaliopi told me that I wasn’t ready for Greek coffee,” I said.
    “Try it,” encouraged Nektarios.
    “I made myself a cup at home once, so I know what it tastes like.”
    “Yes, but try
this
one” Nektarios insisted. Gingerly, I sipped what looked to be a cup of mud. It set my heart rate hammering and snapped my eyes wide open.
    “Have you put something else into this?”
    They smiled. “No, you’re just trying the proper stuff,” Dimitrios assured me.
    That explains it. They live off this stuff,
I concluded, looking at their sparkling eyes. Who needs drugs when Greek coffee’s on offer? And Kaliopi was right…I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for this stuff.
    After a trolley ride and a ten-minute walk through streets crowded with people, we arrived in Syntagma Square. Nektarios had purchased three Greek flags to wave at the passing parade. Many people carried nationalistic paraphernalia such as more flags, flag badges and small banners proclaiming “Ochi!”
    The square teemed with people. Whole families were there; old ladies displayed banners and children, perched on their fathers’ shoulders, waved their flags. At eleven o’clock the military band struck up its march, followed by old soldiers who’d served in the Second World War, who were followed in turn by a selection of schools from the area.
    “Do you know who carries the Greek flag at the front of each school’s delegation?” Dimitrios pointed to a young girl in a uniform of white shirt and navy blue tie and skirt, who was struggling to carry the huge flag. “It’s the most intelligent student in the school of that year. That student has the honour of representing his or her school by carrying the flag in this parade. Every student aspires to be voted the brainiest in order to be awarded this opportunity.”
    “Yes, but the problem is,” Nektarios chimed in, “nowadays the ‘brainiest’ could be of non-Greek descent.”
    “Why’s that a problem?” I was confused.
    “Well, it’s not a problem for people like me and Dimitrios. We are open-minded.