I told two strangers that I love them?? Greek is hard!!

Gwendolyn and I after a visit to Μον Κυλυρ

I told two strangers that I love them?? Greek is hard!!

This post is a tribute to my favorite café, Μον Κυλυρ, and the two people that work there: Kiki and Paulina!!

Every day on my walk from my apartment to CYA, I would always pass by a super cute café with a black and white awning. Whenever I walked by, I would always see two women setting up for the day, making coffee, taking orders, and chatting with customers. I really wanted to go check it out, but I was too intimidated to go alone.

One morning after my “Ancient Materials and Technologies” class, I convinced my friend Gwendolyn into going with me. We walked in nervously and were immediately warmly greeted by the two women. They knew we weren’t Greek and started talking to us in English, asking us where we were from, what we were studying in Greece, and how we liked it… We learned that their names were Kiki and Paulina and that they ran the café!

Kiki and Paulina Behind the Counter!

Gwendolyn and I each ordered a coffee and as Paulina was making them, we started practicing our Greek by reading the menu. They were both so encouraging and kept telling us we were doing so well. I asked Paulina how to say “love” in Greek and she told me it was “σε αγαπώ”! “Σε αγαπώ, σε αγαπώ!” I said pointing at my coffee. Kiki and Paulina burst out laughing and told me that I was too sweet.

Not until a few weeks later, did I learn that you don’t use the verb αγαπώ for objects!! It is only used to say you love a person. If you wanted to say you love an object, you would use μου αρέσει πολύ. So, it turns out that as I was trying to tell them that I loved coffee, I professed my love for Kiki and Paulina. <33

We had a good laugh about it though, and Gwendolyn and I started visiting them regularly. They always gave us a free pastry with our coffee and let us practice our Greek with them. When I had to conduct an interview for my Modern Greek and Culture class, I went to them for help and they told me all about their friends and families. I’m sad I never got to say a proper goodbye to them when everything shut down, but I definitely have to visit them again. After all, I’ve already told them I love them.

Gwendolyn, me, and my roommate Jane excited about our pastries and coffee!