Greek... being greek is... complicated, as much a wonderful idiosyncracy as a heavy hindrance. There are only two things I love about being greek: my language and the myths of my land. Both aid me in discovering what the ancients thought like, how they saw the world, what their eyes and ears picked up, what colours they cherished. By breaking down words I find within them hidden meanings, secret pages of my genealogy as a man and a greek. It's part of me, for better or for worse.

David Foster Wallace... I've heard about him but haven't read any of his books. Have you found them interesting?

I currently play the piano, but I also want to learn how to play the violin, the clarinet, the sitar and many more instruments. I love the sound each instrument produces, it's so unique. Truth is, I've written a few pieces but I haven't been composing for about six months - my studies take too much time. If I were to continue right now, I probably wouldn't even recognize my older works... my style has changed dramatically. But that's not bad, I think.

Music. What a strange word. For a musician, everything is sound and sound is everything. What I primarily do when somebody speaks to me is, I listen to sounds - linguistic meaning comes afterwards. I see everything as art, so everything combines with everything else - nothing can be seen separated from the whole. I personally always have a goal in my mind when creating art. Art is my way of protesting againist what I don't like. My personal philosophy is in there, in the patterns I use, in my thoughts as they take shape and form, in the developmental process of the work...

Chinese zither? Would that be the guzheng? I adore chinese and japanese traditional music, they're very different but also incredibly beautiful. I mostly enjoy listening to guzheng or japanese koto music, the sound of the shamisen is also very nice. But my favourite asian instrument has to be the erhu. Such deeply emotional, still yet lovingly sonant sounds it creates! If I could, I'd buy one right now.

I'm also very interested in chinese culture - the Tao Te Ching is indeed one of my favourite books. If all goes well with my exams, I'll probably start learning Chinese in about six months.

Thank you for this wonderful conversation. Until later, I wish you the best!

PS: Olive oil is very popular in Greece, it's the basis virtually of almost every traditional recipe. As for bread, we mostly eat the usual loaves, like everywhere else. There is, however, another popular form called pita (meaning pie, [link] which is round and thin, used in certain traditional foods and in preparing sandwiches.