The Out-of-Towners:
Shirin Youssefian Maanian

A dynamic and innovative actor/director with a dreamy singing voice and creative writing talents, Shirin Youssefian Maanian is this week’s featured Out-of-Towner, offering us personalized views, insider experiences and know-­how of Greek life.

Name
Shirin Youssefian Maanian

Nationality
British

Profession
Actor/director/ full-on-and-loving-it mum.

Life status
Heading for middle age but in total denial.

Where on earth I am from
A Londoner with Persian roots, with my heart in Romania and body and soul in Greece.

Rate your homeland vs Greece
Greece wins on *almost* every count…though I do miss some of my kindred-spirit girlfriends….a REALLY good sandwich and readily available vegetarian food.

I came here because…
I got married to Socrates – enough said.

I’ve fallen in love with…
The freedom I often feel as a foreigner in Greece, the way Greeks love children, my neighborhood and all the “kalimeras” as we walk down the street. And that almost every morning, when I open my curtains, I see an azure sky!

I get mad because…
There can be huge prejudice and fear towards people who are different – especially a different race or religion, and a lazy acceptance of prevalent norms. I think a truly diverse and multicultural society is a beautiful way to go…if we do it the right way!

The most Greek thing that fits into my hand? 
Ooooh… for me that HAS to be a “freddo” – iced cappuccino (is that blasphemous…? I heard it’s a Greek invention though)

If I knew then what I know now…
I would have spent my first year in Greece doing NOTHING but learning high-level Greek, so that language would never stand in the way of anything I wanted to do here.

MY FAVORITE PLACE TO:

eat: Avocado on Nikis St, Furin Kazan on Apollonos St and Pain au Chocolat and hot latte at Paul’s on Panepistimiou Street.

watch the sun set: I love seeing it unexpectedly while driving back home and you almost have to stop because the colors are so breathtaking.

party all night: What does that even mean…?!!!

swim: Angistri or Amorgos (though I’m a rubbish swimmer…)

shop: Anywhere but a shopping mall. I love second-hand shops, Evripidou St and the little shops around Athinas St. Bizarrely, I’ve got a bit of a weakness for hardware shops…

watch the world go by: On a sunny sofa with a view of the Acropolis and a coffee in my hand.

read peacefully: Up on my roof.

connect with Greek culture: With a youth group I mentor. I adore them…and they teach me a lot about Greek youth culture.

work out: Pushing the buggy and carrying the shopping up our veeeeery steep hill.

escape: Always to Rosy’s in Angistri or up on my roof with an iced coffee (hmm there might be a running theme here…)

feel like a local: Nothing beats the laiki outdoor market – I love it – and the louder the better! And walking home with tons of fruit and veggies and a huge armful of fresh flowers!

Photo by Nikos Kokkas