Last night I finally had the opportunity to use my favorite Greek phrase – to ask for the check. We were sitting in a loud, smoky café, anxious to leave, but we had yet to pay for our drinks. For once the check had not appeared alongside the alcohol, so even though I had not personally imbibed any of it, I sat at attention, eagerly poised to flag down the waitress and show off my awesome Greek prowess.
“ Συγγνώμη!”* I caught her eye, she diverted from her course. This was my chance.
The line is “tov λογαριασμό παρακαλώ,”** which is pronounced, “toh logariasmo, parakalo.” I’m particularly fond of this phrase because of the way it rolls around the mouth and off the tongue. When speaking, my tongue often gets locked in the middle of a movement and syllables are dropped, so because this phrase flows so nicely, I like to mutter it to myself just for the feel of it.
“Toh logareesmo, parkal.“
Godamnit.
She tilted her head with a look on her face that burned, “aww, isn’t that cute,” into my exposed and vulnerable soul.
She understood me, but I decidedly failed myself. With alarming frequency, I forget that people don’t already know what I’m going to say, and that I have to utter complete words & thoughts to be understood. This is why the punchlines that I think I deliver too slowly are the ones that get the most laughs.
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| By Eυγενία |
It wasn’t even a bad attempt – I just slurred over a syllable and trailed off at the end because she knew what I was saying anyways. The people of Rhodes are very accustomed to tourists, so they may respect that some of us at least try to communicate on their terms.
Vendors can sniff out American tourists. Listening as their calls morph from Greek to English as we approach is very interesting. Even among two or three other people, they knew we were tourists. But when I am by myself, I am greeted in Ελληνικά.*** I play along when I can, but eventually I have to tell them that I have no idea what they’re saying. That moment always breaks my heart. “I hope you don’t think less of me as a person!” it seems to say. Still, perhaps in part because of my cluelessness, I managed to snag a nice coat for 65€ -- half the sales price. This place is neat.*Sig-nomi = Excuse me
**To logariasmo, parakalo = The check, please
***Ellinika = Greek 
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