[INTERVIEW] Andreas, a representative of Greece in the TV show Non-Summit
[INTERVIEW] Andreas,
a representative of Greece in the TV show Non-Summit, says
that he will never stop new challenges
http://cafe.daum.net/weeklymonday/iSZz
Andreas Varsakopoulos, well-known as a representative of Greece in JTBC talk show Non-Summit, was born in a multicultural family between Greek father and American mother. He was raised in Greece, studied in a graduate school in the US and came to Korea to work as an English teacher. Now he works for Chung Buk National University. We met him in a café in front of CBNU, and could listen to his story, filled with new challenges.
Q: What was it like to you to be raised in a multicultural family?
A: It has pluses and minuses. First of all, a plus is language. You learn two languages automatically. Second is some cultural exposure. You will acquire your main culture in the place where you live.
The bad side is you can never really belong to the community of the natives. Anywhere you go, you’re not a native person.
Q: What made you leave Greece and come to Korea to teach English?
A: Well, I left Greece to study in the United States to get better opportunities.
When I first went to the USA I met a new culture and a new way of thinking. I liked the process of learning a new culture, of meeting something different. Naturally and obviously, I sometimes felt uncomfortable. However, I learned something about myself, about my character. So after four years in the USA, I got comfortable. I got very comfortable and adjusted, and I wanted something different again.
So then, I started
to look for different opportunities around the world, specifically in Asia
because it was so foreign to me. I thought it would be good to try teaching
English as an EPIK (English Program in Korea) teacher, and so I decided to come
to Korea.
Q: What is your impression about Korea?
A: I think Koreans are more thoughtful, considerate, and generous to older people than Greeks or other people. I think that is one of typical characteristics of Koreans. The way you treat somebody older than you or somebody you respect, that is very different from western people like Greeks and the USA citizens, though naturally it sometimes creates inconveniences to them.
Q: How did you decide to live in Cheongju? Is there any reason for it?
A: The foreign community is very small here in Cheongju and I liked that. As I said, I like to try to adjust myself to a new community. And if I had been in a bigger city, for example Seoul with many foreigners, I would have felt easy. But I didn’t want that. Here, I had to meet Korean people.
Q: Can you give any advice for high school readers?
A: I recommend to have one year after high school for just thinking about yourself. Discover your hobbies, discover what you like to do. Try to travel, try to go somewhere you’d like to and then you might discover what you like doing and what you’d like to learn. Some people might think that spending one year means wasting one year. I don’t think so. If you take that one year doing it, you’re saving your choices.
07호 2017년 6월 19일자(수정판).pdf