Their father worked for the American consulate in downtown Thessaloniki. Efrossini’s father had painted that villa. This American family had children around the age of Efrossini and naturally, the children became friends even though they spoke different languages. They played well together and somehow, they communicated by gestures. One day the American mother treated the children with the famous American chocolate bars.
Efrossini was in love. At the tender age of four, she loved America, because of the tasty brown wrapper American chocolate bars.
Little Efrossini also loved the sound of the American language those people spoke. Efrossini had heard the English language at the movies. That language sounded different to her ears, it was stuck up as she used to say. What the little girl loved is the sound of the American language, not English with British accents.
Her sister Roula was sixteen years older than Efrossini so whenever Roula’s boyfriend Taki would come to take her on a date, Malama would insist little four-year-old Efrossini would have to go with them, as a chaperone. Taki was in the military and rode a huge, powerful, motorcycle. Because Efrossini was only four years old, she would be placed on the motorcycle between Taki and Roula and that’s the only way big sister Roula was going on a date.
On their outings, most of the time the motorcycle climbed the hills of nearby Elvetia where the scent of all the young pine trees was so clean and intense. They sat on the dry pine needles. Taki would buy little Efrossini the brown wrapper chocolate bars she loved so much. As little Efrossini was busy eating her bag full of her favorite chocolates, the young couple would hug and kiss. When they went back home Efrossini would tell her mother all about the kisses and the chocolates she had eaten. They were innocent kisses.
A few years later at grade school, she tasted the square yellow cheese. It was cut in such thin slices from the big blocks. She noticed the cheese came out of boxes that said, MADE IN AMERICA. Her mother always packed her a school lunch but Efrossini wanted what some children without a lunch received for free from the school.
She had noticed the red, white and blue flag painted on some food boxes and she liked that too. At home, she had heard kind words of America’s actions after World War II. She was hooked! She connected the beautiful flag that was America that had tasty chocolate bars and the great tasting yellow cheese. Also, all the clothes and the whole trunk from New York had a certain, wonderful American scent. It was the scent of hard candy. The sweet tasting nut and fruit cake in the beautiful tin in the last trunk, the most beautiful doll with the soft rubber body that her aunt had sent her from New York.
Some years later she wanted to learn English at school, but French was compulsory as a second language back then. French was the diplomatic language those years in Europe. That is why her father sent her to a private night school when girls of her age in those days were taking dance lessons. Efrossini had a dancing instructor back at home, her father. She learned the mambo, the tango, the waltz. All by standing on her father’s feet. It was easy for Efrossini to learn English because she already spoke French. These two languages she found out had the same alphabet, but with a different pronunciation.
Efrossini loved to read in Greek, American cartoon magazines and books. When her father enlarged and framed Austrian yiayia’s photograph, he used a piece of plywood for backing of the framed picture which had a colorful American Donald Duck painted on it, she remembers. Her father had a black and white photo of Lana Turner, the beautiful blonde American actress also hanging on their living room wall. He had placed a pin on her lips and sometimes he would have her smoke a cigarette. Obviously, he liked Lana Turner. Malama never said she minded.
In September, when her father took her to the yearly International World’s Fair in downtown Thessaloniki, they would visit the American pavilions with all the futuristic ideas and modern inventions that were to come. At that Fair she watched television for the very first time and loved it!
Her family loved anything American. America was simply a country everyone wanted to go to.
One time, they received a beautiful skirt in the American trunk that was embellished with a unicycle outlined with studded rhinestones. Her mother altered the unusual and beautiful adult yellow and white American made flounced skirt for Efrossini and she was the envy of her neighbors and friends with this spectacular American skirt.
These are the things she knew about America. The little innocent girl simply loved America.
She kept these secret thoughts and dreams to herself. Now her dream was coming true. She will be going to America the country she already loved so, from afar. She was floating on air as if she was a colorful butterfly. She was so happy, filled with anticipation and excitement. She was a beautiful butterfly flying over a field of lavender.
CHAPTER 11
A CRUEL REALITY
May 5th 1962 and it is time to leave for the very long trip to a different part of the world, on the other side of the earth.
All her brothers and sisters came to the downtown bus depot, to bid her good bye and wish her good luck.
Her father had asked the adult married children to chip in, and outfit Efrossini with freshly, seamstress made clothes. The father had taken his daughter downtown and bought her the latest fashions from Paris. One of her three pairs of shoes was black patent leather, with square toes and one-inch mambo heels, finished with black ribbon bows.
He also bought her a beautiful ¾ length spring coat. It was a vertical thin line stripe, brown velvet with satin lining complete with matching gloves, a hat and a purse. Everything in her suitcase was brand new, down to her hose, underwear and pajamas. Efrossini felt so beautiful in her new clothes and her new hair style. She was just thirteen years old with great plans for her future.
It was a sunny day in May and Efrossini watched from her bus window her family disappearing in front of her eyes as the modern Pullman bus drove away. Efrossini was accompanied by her father Achillea.
This bus would take them to Athens, to the international airport there. Her parents tried to make this long trip for their young daughter easier. So, the father went along part of the way to comfort Efrossini.
On the bus, there was a microphone and people would sing Greek songs, which made it easier to travel with. If her father was with her, Efrossini felt very safe and secure. Back home in Thessaloniki, her father had taken her out to shopping, to the movies, downtown live shows and the yearly famous September Thessaloniki’s World’s Fair. So, this trip felt like one of those outings, a day out with her father!
After eight hours of the bus driving up and down and around mountains, now they drive through the mountains, a very long trip and finally Athens was in the horizon.
And before she knew it, the bus pulled into the depot and stopped.
Her father escorted her into a taxi cab, along with her suitcase. They were driven to the airport. Achillea talked to a stewardess at the TWA airline booth. Suddenly, she knew: now she would be traveling by herself and fear set in.
Her father held her tightly for a long time, crying, he squeezed her, he kissed her, for the last time. Then, Efrossini started to cry. Quickly, the stewardess escorted Efrossini on the plane.
On the plane she noticed the neat wall paper, the organized rows of seats and how small the windows were. It was a fairytale she thought. The stewardess guided her to her seat by a window. The window was so tiny. It was like a dream, she was really going to fly on this plane.
But now she is by herself she realized, and again the
