“My father was born in Rhodes, Greece making me first generation Greek-American. I was blessed with the opportunity to go to Greece almost every summer to visit my extended Greek family while growing up. Those trips and familial relationships had such an impact on me - I am currently taking classes to become fluent in Greek. I believe taking Greek classes is one step in embracing the culture of my background. It allows me to make deeper connections to the Greek side of my family. Having an immigrant parent has provided me the opportunity to experience a new culture, visit a new part of the world, and understand the world a little better. I’m able to appreciate how connected we are, despite the many different backgrounds we may come from. - Stephen Yortsos”
This is Stephen Yortsos.
Listening to Stephen's story reminded me of the challenges that come with maintaining two cultures, specifically when it comes to language.
For me at least, remembering another language while being an American was always an obstacle.
I admittedly no longer speak Tagalog fluently, but am more fluent with my family's filipino dialect - Kapampangan.
Within a short-period of time, Stephen has shown me the beauty of embracing both cultures. He's shown me that even if we speak different languages, we are still connected and may have similar perspectives.
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