Roots
By: susan peterson stamis
Tags: belly dance, cabbage rolls, Dad, diplomats, greek, Greek Music, headstand, Mom, policy makers, yogurt
Category: Uncategorized
8 comments on “Roots”
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About Me
My father was a Consular Officer in the United States Foreign Service. He was first stationed in post World War II Berlin, where I was born in 1950. Subsequently, we lived in the Philippines; Jamaica; Guatemala; Washington, DC; Greece; Ceylon and Mexico; visiting many places in between. I was reared by my parents and nurtured by the various amahs, nannies, and housemaids who, every two years or so, entered and exited my little life.
I was educated in American Schools in “foreign lands,” but the most fascinating classrooms were the exotic locales where we lived, and the most inspiring teachers were the colorful people of those exotic and ancient cultures.
The bi-annual “home leaves” which my family spent at my grandparents’ homes in Los Angeles, California provided a sense of constancy to our nomadic lifestyle. My many aunts, uncles and cousins lived there and I eagerly looked forward to those vacations. We were 1st and 2nd generation Greek Americans (all 4 of my grandparents had immigrated at the turn of the century), and thus had foreignness stamped onto us even though we were Americans.
Two of my father’s siblings were also in the diplomatic service, and we world-traveling cousins were a source of endless curiosity to our domestic counterparts when we came home speaking English with unusual accents, reducing the statesiders to hysterics.With his various cameras, Kodachrome, Ektachrome, 16 millimeter, Super 8 and Polaroid, my father rarely lost an opportunity to document the events unfolding around us. After years of waiting patiently in boxes under the stairs, these photographic records are now fulfilling their purpose as mnemonic retrievals of my little life.
Mnemonic Retrievals 
Finally another post! How I remember her happily shimming around Yiayia’s living room, arms held high snapping her fingers to Greek rhythms, while we nieces
and nephews watched with intense amusement. The icing on the cake never
failed to come: the headstand with the skirt and slip falling around her face. Great memory!!
I can just imagine all of this! And, yes, I can see you at the top of the stairs–especially at the headstand!
I’ve missed your postings! They are so much fun!
Loved the posting! The photo of your mom is truly iconic! How well I remember her famous head stands!
Woo-hoo! Another demonic retrieval! Crazy funny!
I’ve missed your posts. This one is perfect!
Great post, Susan. You have a knack for bringing us all back to a special place in time.
I think I would have liked those parties!
Oh… Yia! Now she only talks about standing on her head 🙂