13 years ago

It was St. Patrick's Day 13 years ago, in 1999, that I first set foot in Athens, Greece.  I remember vividly careening through the crazy traffic, noticing the orange trees squished on the sidewalks under the look-alike concrete apartment buildings with street-level shops.  I remember meeting my new colleagues, people who would become so significant to me, the bewildering swirl of modern Greek.  My first Greek Sunday dinner, with piles of little fish with their heads, an astounding amount of food.  I also remember the isolation, and the feeling that everyone besides me had somewhere to go and people to meet.  Long afternoons were spent writing postcards to far away friends in Seattle and elsewhere...

Many of the past St. Patrick's Days have been a party to commemorate being American and my anniversary of arrival in Athens.  It was fun to introduce non-American friends and family to all green food and the idea of St. Patrick's day.  And a wonderful day to stop and pause in gratitude to God sustaining my life in a foreign land.


This St. Patrick's Day, I made my way to our new office along with diehard runners, braving the slushy weather to do the Seattle St. Patrick's Day Dash.   I'm trying to cook corned beef in the slow cooker (with some help from my mom). Erik came home from preschool to tell me all about leprechauns and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and I had to find a way to make green punch for his class party.

It is a good day to stop and remember that God sustains our new life here, and with time we'll find our way into a new balance.   And maybe it's time to introduce my American friends to the traditions of Greek life, like fried salt cod fritters for Greek Independence Day or flying kites on Clean Monday.