As an enthusiastic Swiss fan of Greek music, folk dance and history for 20 years, I attended Ursula Kastanias’ dance seminar in Ikaria for the first time in 2010. I was so excited and full of joy that today I chose Ikaria as ‘my island in the Aegean’.
The following year I came back and then I heard that the graduating class – where Ursula’s daughter Selina Kastania was a classmate – might not be able to go on their graduation trip. This is due to a lack of money, which we have been witnessing in the rest of Europe for months. This gave me a lot to think about and my insides were extremely upset about this matter.
Yes, where do they want to go, was my question. To Crete, but that can’t be true that children from Ikaria can’t go on a trip to Crete! Some families, I learned, were unable to raise the necessary amount and although the class, as is usual in Ikaria, organized various events with music and dance and raffles to benefit the final trip, they were also unable to raise the missing amount this year.
I found out all this when Ursula was in Switzerland in late autumn. So I had to act, i.e. when I left, I gave Ursula an envelope with the ‘necessary things’ and asked her to take care of it and that she should only open it when she got home in Ikaria.
Shortly afterwards, I received a surprise invitation to come to Ikaria between Christmas 2011 and New Year 2012. The school wanted to organize a party for the benefit of the class fund and I was warmly invited to that.
Wow, that has never happened to me until today!
I now know 21 Greek islands in the Aegean, northern Greece in the footsteps of Alexander and the Peloponnese. But a Greek island in winter was something new and special. So, I booked my flights. Ursula had rented a one-room apartment for me in Rahes and on December 25, 2011 I ended up in Ikaria. My rental car was ready and so I drove across the wintry island to Rahes.
During these days I was able to get to know Greece from a completely different side, the real Greece, not the one from the hotel terrace. They were unique experiences! So the school festival started on December 29th with food and drink, all prepared by the children and mothers. Of course there was live music, so let’s dance! Of course there was nothing stopping me! As a foreigner, and from Elvetia at that, I danced with enthusiasm, to the obvious delight of those present. I felt very welcome on this occasion. I will never forget when a school mother almost hugged me and thanked me for the donation. Unfortunately, to this day I can’t speak Greek, but I understood everything she said to me, just had to look her in the eyes. Ursula then ‘translated’ it for me. It was getting pretty late, or early. Unique and unforgettable!!!
The absolute highlight was on December 31st. In Rahes it is customary for the students to go from house to house and sing New Year’s songs and express good wishes for the New Year, in return they receive sweets in every house and some money for their class fund. We know something similar in Switzerland – here we call it ‘star singing’. It was raining heavily, even torrentially, when Ursula called me and said that the students were coming to my little home to sing for me and wish me a happy new year! I was totally surprised. Luckily I had a good fire burning in the fireplace so that the wet figures could dry and warm themselves a little. 8 students sang 4 songs for me in ‘my room’ with musical accompaniment, I had to fight back tears. Ursula had put the envelope back into my hands beforehand and told me: “You can then hand it to them personally, then they will know who it came from.” I then wrote a few words, which Selina translated into Greek I was simply overwhelmed by this experience!
So I was able to make part of her final trip to Crete possible. On the occasion of the dance seminar in May of this year, Selina gave me a present from Crete that the class had bought for me as a souvenir and thank you, which of course made me very happy.
What also makes me happy about this story is the friendship that developed with Ursula and her family. Is it fate? Is it coincidence? If you separate the word coincidence, then it means coincidence, that is, something will happen to you, or gifted. And being able to experience all of this is really a great gift for me and I am grateful that in 2010, almost like Icarus in Ikaria, I was not allowed to crash, but was able to land well.