Knowing even just a few words in Greek can open up interesting conversations and experiences while traveling in Greece!

A few months before my first trip to Greece, I decided that I wanted to learn a few words in the language such as “hello”, “please”, “thank you”, and the like. So I went out and bought Rosetta Stone Greek – on a CD! Yep, went to a store and purchased a CD. Weird right? Not so weird then – the online app didn’t exist yet. But, I digress.

With the program, I learned the words for “man”, “woman”, “boy” and “girl”. It later moved onto important words like “coffee” and “toilet”. One phrase I remember learning early on was “το καπέλο μου” (my hat). At the time, I wondered about the value of that particular phrase..

That phrase ended up proving its worth in Piraeus!

One afternoon, my family and I were walking along a sidewalk that bordered the beach in Piraeus. Suddenly, a breeze came up and blew my hat down to the beach where there was a group playing volleyball. My learning kicked in and I called out “το καπέλο μου”!

The group stopped their game, grabbed my hat and returned it to me.

(In Greek)
Me: Thank you!
Them: Do you speak Greek?
Me: Yes, a little
Them: How did you learn to speak Greek?
Me: On my computer
Me (after answering a few more basic questions): Do you speak English?

Fortunately they did speak English as I had pretty much run to the end of what I knew in Greek at the time. After a short conversation, they returned to their game and we continued our walk. I’m certain the group would have returned my hat even if I hadn’t spoken Greek, but the moment was much richer for the basic conversation in Greek and then the continued conversation in English.

I guess you don’t really know what words you need to know…until you need them! After we returned home, I didn’t continue my studies for several years, but when I did start Greek again, “το καπέλο μου” was one of the few phrases I remembered.

What’s your experience with speaking Greek while in Greece?