I was raised in a Greek American home. Both of my parents were second-generation Greeks and deeply rooted in their cultural traditions. We went to church every Sunday, celebrated all the Greek holidays, and lived what I thought was a pretty typical Greek-American life. But there was one thing I never fully embraced: the language.

Despite being surrounded by Greek culture, I never learned to speak Greek. In fact, I flunked Greek school, and my parents didn’t really push me to learn.

Looking back, I wondered why that wasn’t a bigger deal for them. My only real connection to Greece was a month-long trip when I was 13, but it was so long ago that most of the memories have faded.

And yet, both of my parents spoke Greek fluently – they learned it from their parents, who were the first generation of our family to emigrate from Greece. But for some reason, my parents didn’t speak Greek at home with me or my siblings. I never questioned it back then; I didn’t care at the time.

I moved into my Pappou’s house in Evia when I first came to Greece.

Even though I didn’t speak the language, I was still completely immersed in Greek American life. I was an altar boy at our Greek Orthodox Church, I joined GOYA (Greek Orthodox Youth of America), and even competed in the Junior Olympics. I did all the things a typical Greek American kid would do — except speak the language. That always set me apart a little bit, but it wasn’t until high school that it started to really bother me.

When I was a teenager, I started hanging out with more Greek kids from church, and I became jealous that I couldn’t fully understand their conversations. They were speaking Greek, switching between the language of my ancestors and English effortlessly, and I felt like I was missing out.

That growing frustration eventually became the driving force behind my decision to move to Greece and immerse myself in the culture to speed up the learning process. Note that I didn’t plan on moving and staying. The plan was to move, learn Greek as fast as possible and then return home. At the time of my decision to move, I had no idea the challenges and experiences that I was about to face.

I arrived in Greece in 2016 full of excitement, but completely unprepared for the reality of living there. I could barely speak the language, and even basic things like ordering food or asking for directions were overwhelming. All of a sudden I was living in a country where I felt both connected and disconnected at the same time.

I remember my dad, back in Chicago, always telling me to hang out with Americans. I never really understood why until I moved here. He had seen the economic troubles Greece would eventually face, and after living here for a while, I started to understand his point of view.

Moving to Greece was the best decision I ever made.

Now, after eight years of living in Greece, I’ve come to appreciate this country in a way I couldn’t have from a distance. I get why my dad encouraged me to embrace my American identity more — he knew the deep struggles that were on the horizon for the Greek nation. But, despite all that, I’ve grown to love all characteristics of Greece: flaws and all.

Moving from Chicago to Evia changed the trajectory I was on and ended up having a positive impact on my life. It wasn’t easy to put into action, and I still face new challenges till this day, but it’s allowed me to reconnect with my roots in ways I never thought possible.

Remember, I moved to Greece to learn Greek and return home. I only stayed because of the lifestyle enhancement that American citizenship gave to people living in Europe, working online making USD. As being financially comfortable becomes harder and harder, having the ability to leverage my U.S citizenship gave me the ability to enjoy the comforts of life, support my family, save and invest into my future.

Today I have a stronger understanding of my ancestors, and it has been fascinating to retrace their steps. They’d be happy to know that I am keeping their traditions alive without sacrificing family or economic stability to do so. I feel like it’s the best of both worlds for me, and I encourage anyone who’s in a similar situation as me to give it a serious try.