LOCALadk Magazine

Spring 2018 LOCALadk Magazine 45 LOCALadk K AL AVRY TA I had done some preliminar y research on the region where I'd be spending the next few months and learned that the village of Kala- vr yta is known as the home of Greek independence and resilience. It's where, during the Greek War of Independence, the key players of the rebellion went into hiding in Agia Lavra monaster y and ulti- mately, in March of 1821, declared independence from the Ottoman Empire. It's also where, on December 13, 1943, Nazis gathered the women and children of the village, barricaded them in the school- house, set it on fire, and then marched more than 500 men from the village to a nearby hill, where they were massacred. The Nazis set fire to the village, as well as Agia Lavra monaster y – perhaps tr ying to send a message to a village known as the seat of resistance. For thousands of years, Greece has weathered invasions, occu- pations, rebellions, political instability, and economic upheaval. I would have thought such a tumultuous histor y would render gener- ations of its citizens guarded and distant. But what I found was quite to the contrar y. The land itself can be harsh and inhospitable, but I was amazed at the warmth with which I, an outsider, was welcomed. The Greek word for hospitality, philoxenia, is understood as a non-negotiable way of life, not simply a trait or tendency. In other countries, I've encountered both true and false hospitality – the lat- ter an unfortunate byproduct, sometimes, of the tourism industr y. But what happens in Greece is quite different. There, it's a hospital- ity that knows no bounds; hospitality to a degree that was even a bit debilitating at times! The Greeks with whom I interacted showed genuine interest in who I was as a person, where I came from, and what my family was like. Simultaneously, they made me feel at ease, treating me as part of the extended family. I forgave the borderline bossiness – the excited demands that I eat this, drink that, tr y this, take these, keep that, go here, visit there. Kalavr yta is a foodie's paradise. I found honey of varieties I had never seen before, rose-scented delicacies, full-bodied wines, fresh cheeses, and pastries so delicious they should be outlawed. In fact, it was because of the pastries that I insisted on undertaking the one-hour walk, instead of catching a ride, whenever I needed to do my shopping in the village. In addition to the rich epicurean offerings of Kalavr yta, I soon dis- covered that my neighbors for the summer were also extraordinar y chefs. George and Maria, a husband and wife team, run a taverna called To Spiti Tis Marios (Maria's House). George is an instructor at the culinar y institute in Patras, and creates masterful dishes with modern flare. Maria, the authority on traditional Greek comfort food, knows by heart dozens of cherished recipes handed down through her family. Together, we made trachanas, a 2,000 -year- old pasta recipe rich in protein. Its dough is made by mixing flour with fresh goat's milk in a process that takes several days from start to finish. In my travels, I've found that language barriers don't exist so much in the kitchen; though we didn't speak each other's language, we managed to produce a year's worth of pasta, laboriously grating the dough into tiny granules that would be used in the restaurant's signature dish. At the end of my stay, I would be handed a 5lb bag of it to take home – my most precious souvenir. One day, the weather switched from hot sun to stormy clouds. The winds rustled the goat bells in the valley, signaling my time in Kalavr yta was coming to an end. That night, two of my friends would be flying in from overseas to explore a bit of the countr y with me.

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