Back from America!

Dear Family and Friends,

Χρόνια Πολλά! Καλή Χρονιά!

Hopefully this latest update finds all beloved friends and family in good health and invigorated upon the beginning of this new year! Love to all! Forgive me for not being more up to date than I have. I recently returned from the states where I spent 2.5 weeks both at home with family and friends (for Christmas) and at the OCF College Conference and at the Monastery of the Holy Transfiguration (Ellwood City, PA). What a restful and joyous time with loved ones! Anyone who has spent any period of time out of their native country (longer than a vacation) knows that it is often strange to return and experience culture shock all over again. The strangest sensation, I think, was walking down the street and every time I heard someone speaking English my heart jumped...only to remember that, yes, English is spoken quite often in America, and no, I shouldnt even consider approaching them and asking them where they are from and what they are doing in Greece...although I’m sure it would be quite entertaining. Needless to say my journey back from the states was also quite unusual. I suppose it had something to do with the fact that my initial departure to Greece had been very final. But this “vacation” back home, as it were, mixed a lot of human identities up in my mind...all of which, in the end, if used correctly can bring us back to the fact that HOME cannot be found, ultimately, in human terms. Another useful lesson to store away :).

The last few days have been quite rainy and cold in Thessaloniki--not a postcard season for sure. Life is good, however. Classes are progressing. Things are sounding less and less foreign...more second nature reactions and nice people throughout.

Not too much else to report on this end of things! Love to hear reports from you though! If you’d like to do so...please feel free: michael.tishel@gmail.com :).

Love to all,
Mike