Written by Mrs. Loren and HUGer Angie Neill
An outdoor market travels from village to village in our surrounding area. On a Friday during each semester, we like to go to our neighbor-town to roam the street for the goods brought by the local farmers and sellers. From vegetables and fruits, to fish, nuts, and even housewares, the traveling market has anything you need.
We need several items on campus, so I use my computer to write what we need in the Greek language onto a slip of paper and give one to each of the students in my class. I never tell them until our arrival to the market that they will have this item to purchase. Using their newly learned Greek from Vicky's class and the assignment of cultural observation and interaction from my class, this is a chance to practice what each person has learned in just three weeks.
HUGer Angie allows me to share this with you; she writes:
"We were given some strips of paper telling us to purchase something using our Greek, and that was definitely challenging. I was proud of myself for trying their language, and I even tried to bargain (even though I was not successful)! Walking around and trying to communicate with people who did not speak what we spoke reminded me of being at church last Sunday. We all felt like one community of people, and it all just felt familiar. The people in the market, as well as the people at church, were so welcoming to us as Americans, and that is where I see Jesus. We are all from different backgrounds and cultures, but we are all part of something bigger...Buying things at the Markopoulo Market made the world feel big. I loved seeing all the venders laughing and yelling to each other, not in competition, but in community. I am really encouraged when I can speak even a small amount of Greek to the vendors, even if they correct me where I am wrong. They were so patient, and it made me feel like they were genuinely excited to have someone learning the language and being immersed in the culture. I feel like that creates a lot of bonding and I am absolutely in love with being so deeply involved with a new culture. I had never been out of America before, so this experience has really opened my mind in seeing how much more to God’s creation and people there is out here."
"We were given some strips of paper telling us to purchase something using our Greek, and that was definitely challenging. I was proud of myself for trying their language, and I even tried to bargain (even though I was not successful)! Walking around and trying to communicate with people who did not speak what we spoke reminded me of being at church last Sunday. We all felt like one community of people, and it all just felt familiar. The people in the market, as well as the people at church, were so welcoming to us as Americans, and that is where I see Jesus. We are all from different backgrounds and cultures, but we are all part of something bigger...Buying things at the Markopoulo Market made the world feel big. I loved seeing all the venders laughing and yelling to each other, not in competition, but in community. I am really encouraged when I can speak even a small amount of Greek to the vendors, even if they correct me where I am wrong. They were so patient, and it made me feel like they were genuinely excited to have someone learning the language and being immersed in the culture. I feel like that creates a lot of bonding and I am absolutely in love with being so deeply involved with a new culture. I had never been out of America before, so this experience has really opened my mind in seeing how much more to God’s creation and people there is out here."
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