GREEK LESSONS
Today, I heard a very short but poignant interview with Nia Vardalos, aka the lead actress in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. She is starring in a brand new movie, My Life in Ruins. The movie is about a woman – a tour guide in Greece – who has lost her “kefi” or her mojo – the essence that makes her want to really live life to the fullest. During the interview, Nia mentioned that the movie may strike a cord with viewers now more than ever. She pointed out that with the recession, poor housing market, and unemployment, it is quite apparent that many in the US have lost their mojo.
My life may not be "in ruins", but finding my kefi would be nice.
Wow! That’s me, I thought. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely do not feel like my life is “in ruins”. In fact, I really can’t complain about too much in my life right now, but having to be on a budget and cut back on things that I love to do (ie. travel), brings me down more often than I’d like. Sometimes I feel like my own kefi is just stuck in limbo – I know it’s out there – I have pictures to prove that I had it, I just have to find a way to navigate through the kefi customs department to get it back. And, I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. For instance, a friend of a friend recently became enamored with Brazil after traveling their twice. In the course of a few months, she decided to rent out her condo and move to Brazil for a year with a friend. Now that girl’s got kefi!!
NEED KEFI, WILL TRAVEL
My lonely luggage...
So, after having this revelation, I decided it was time to take action. If I couldn’t find my kefi again, no one was going to do it for me. But how do I get it back? Although I have a few ideas, Europe seems to be top on my list of places where my kefi could be vacationing. Yes, I’m pretty certain that living in a different country, even just for a few months, would help bring back my mojo, but right now, that idea is only a fleeting dream. Naturally, the alternative would be to just visit Europe and other countries. Alas, my meager budget and career responsibilities will not allow me to travel abroad anytime soon. And so, I wondered, if I can’t get to France or Spain, how can I bring their culture and lifestyle here?
IT’S ALL PART OF THE PLAN…
Now, I am a huge advocate of living a European lifestyle in the US – or as close to it as you can get. But, I don’t always practice what I preach. So, as of today I pledge (to myself of course because to anyone else – except maybe my Brazil-bound friend – it would seem neurotic, silly, or just plain strange) that I will do at least one thing a week that reflects the current or past lifestyles of Europeans or – very simply – something that reminds me of Europe. I originally wanted to do one thing a day, but figured I could work up to that – a girl’s got to have goals, right?
These lifestyle changes don’t have to be huge, they merely need to meet three requirements:
- Reflect European culture
- Fit within my budget and current responsibilities
- Most importantly, take me one step closer to finding my kefi
I’m sure in my creative mind, I will think of many things that could fit my criteria, but I’m open to suggestions! If you have a great idea for a way that I can experience a little bit of Europe in my daily life – please send it my way.
Stay tuned for future entries on my path to finding my kefi...
