Dispatches from Greece

Dispatches from Greece aims at opening eyes and nurturing your love for Greece. It's a selection of 20 unique reports posted on my personal blog as I returned to Northern Greece in 2015 for the first time in more than 30 years. I had lived and worked at the American Farm School just outside of Thessaloniki from 1968-78 -- most closely with the Girls School Department students, their families, and their villages (which I visited every chance I got). That complex and rather treacherous period in Greek history included 6 years under a military junta. My return came smack in the midst of a grave financial crisis that had effectively crippled the country and caused a humanitarian crisis underscored by 26 percent unemployment. My search for Girls School graduates subsequently set me on an unforeseen mission to find all of them and organize an active network based on beautiful memories, friendship and moral support. In August 2016, I began living 6 months a year in my father’s hometown of Naousa, giving me even more insight into the Greek reality. These reports -- written between 6/17/15 and 11/18/17 -- gave readers a look at highs and lows of Greek life at an often underreported/misunderstood time and also chronicled my personal journey compiling family trees.They will make your next trip to beautiful Greece much more meaningful and memorable. -- Paula Xanthopoulou (Cover photo: Author behind traditional Naousa mask or "face" worn by the Yenitsari during the town's amazing and renowned Carnival rituals.)