CNU Alumna Chelsie Schweers ('11) is giving CNUsports.com an exclusive look into her professional playing career in Athens, Greece. Her blog It's All Greek to Me is a weekly entry to the Christopher Newport Athletics website, detailing her endeavors abroad both on and off the court.
Blog #3: Starting to Break the Language Barrier
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I majored in Communications at CNU and my professors were always telling us that communication was 90% non-verbal. At the time I thought to myself, "right, if you say so." However, now that I am regularly surrounded by people that don't speak English, I'm finding that communication is definitely 90% non-verbal! Most of the time I have no clue what the other person is actually saying but I can usually guess the topic just by watching the body language.
While I am no where near carrying on a conversation in Greek, I have picked up a few words. Yes is nai (n-ay) which sounds like “no” so for the first week or so I was totally confused. No is oxi (o-wi) but they don't actually say oxi that much, instead they shake their head no. Then there is etoi ki eto(etsy-ketsy) which is the equivalent of shrugging your shoulders as if to say so-so or whatever. People frequently say etoi ki eto to me when I am asking questions. I don't know if it's because they don't know what I'm asking, don't care, or it doesn't really matter.
A favorite thing to do is "go for coffee" whether you drink tea, hot coffee or fruit juice. And when you go for coffee you should be prepared to go for a few hours. Going for coffee is not a quick pass through the Starbucks drive-up window, it means sitting and talking for hours at the café. It's the same as going out to eat. You don't go to a restaurant, order, eat and leave. Going out to eat means spending hours at the restaurant. My first trip to TGI Fridays in Greece, I was thinking we would be there about an hour or so but as it turned out, we were actually there for 3 hours and that was considered the norm. We had several different servers checking on us while we were there and we were never rushed. When we finally left, we left without tipping because that is not expected!
Since I have been in Greece, the weather has been cold, rainy or snowing so I haven't been able to do any real sightseeing. Once the weather is somewhat nicer, I have been promised that I will have the opportunity to act like a tourist and take in all the history and sights in Athens.
I played in my second pro basketball game (I really like the sound of that) on Saturday. It felt more like a game than last week's game because I was wearing my #11 jersey! We also got the W again! I scored 15 points but I didn't shoot the ball as well as I know I am capable. I'm still adjusting to the style of play and trying to get in a rhythm. My goal is to keep looking forward and working on improving with every game.
I got the opportunity to attend a men's basketball game this past week. The game was played in the arena where the 2004 Olympics were held. The fans were very involved, chanting songs, waving flags, and every once in a while some fans would light torches. Our men won that night by 10 so it was a very happy crowd. Our men's team is very good and last year they won the Euro League!
In Greece they have these formal get togethers to celebrate the sports club and teams. Our team's celebration was this past week. I wasn't sure what to expect but it was cool to experience the tradition. All the teams dressed up and met in the ballroom of the hotel. The Panathinaikos Basketball Club President spoke to everyone. After he spoke each table was given a Panathinaikos cake. One person cuts the cake and everyone takes a piece. Hidden inside every cake there is a lucky penny and the person that gets the piece of cake with the penny is suppose to have good luck for the year. Unfortunately, I did not get the penny but I must admit the cake was very good!
I hope everyone is enjoying the mild winter back home! I can't tell you how much the support I feel from friends and family means to me. I am so very blessed.
