Alexis Hammerling, Plus3 Cyprus Summer 2025
During my time in Cyprus I was able to speak to many of the locals, and use my knowledge of the Greek language to my advantage. My grandparents came from Greece in their 20s. They bought a house near Magee hospital and have lived there ever since. They are the ones who taught me how to speak Greek. I also then went to Greek school to learn all about the history and culture I come from. When I was first accepted on the trip, I was informed that the Cypriots spoke a dialect of Greek. I was interested to see if I would be able to speak with them and if the differences were major or minor. One of our tour guides named Alexandra was one of the sweetest people I have met. I was able to speak with her in Greek and talk about some of the differences in the language. She informed me that all the Cypriots who speak Greek also have a certain dialect which they speak in but do not write. The dialect is only spoken, not written. It is something that you have to grow up with and hear to learn about it. An example was the word watermelon, I told her that I was craving watermelon in Greek and she laughed and told me that is not what they called that in Cyprus. Another thing I learned was that in the Greek language we have our own alphabet that we use, however in Cyprus most Cypriots use the Greek language but type with the English alphabet. This is because of British rule and presence on the island. Another interaction I had often would take place at restaurants when they heard me order the food with an accent. I would often end up talking to coffee shop owners, servers, and tour guides. It was such a nice gift to learn about Cypriot culture and the many overlaps that it has with the Greek culture that I grew up with. Overall I was able to understand mostly everything in their day to day conversations. I got to share so many bonding moments from our cultures.
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