I have been an expat for nearly 3 years (oh-my-god-how-time-flies). And I have been one lazy expat when it comes to learning the language. But last night, I surprised myself by reading this little beauty sitting on my doorstep, without having to call the boyfriends dad to translate.
I have never done official Greek lessons - unless you count asking the girls in the office what everything means as official - mainly because it turns out that I am quite lazy when it comes to learning languages. I do not have one of those brains that soaks up a language and instantly becomes fluent. At school we learnt French and German and I remember having to try really, really hard just to get my head around the basics.
My other excuse for not learning is this; I work with international clients, none of whom speak Greek. I work on a small team where everyone speaks English. You go to the supermarket and try and ask for cheese at the deli counter and they spot the English girl a mile away and talk to you in English.
As such my motivation for learning is near non-existent.
Yes it would have been nice to be reading Greek 1 year ago. And yes it would be nice to communicate with the boyfriends granny without using international hand gestures.
But this is still a proud moment; I taught myself to read Greek. I think I deserve a little high-5.
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