Authored by Caroline Berteletti
Born in Θεσσαλονίκη (pronounced: Thessaloniki), Domna Poulimeni has seen and lived on the other side of the world, until September 19th 2006. On that day, Domna and her family moved from Greece to the United States of America, due to the declining economy within Greece and her parents’ hope that their children would “receive a better education” in America.
She arrived in America by “two planes, the first from Greece to Germany, which was 3 hours, and then from Germany to Boston it was 8 hours, so a total of 11 hours.”
After such a long flight, Domna as a young child, was very excited to be in a entirely new country. However, at only the age of 6, Domna said “ I didn’t really know we were actually going to live here permanently, because I was too little to understand.”
Soon enough Domna began to adapt to her surroundings, observing the cultural differences she would have to become accustomed to. Being in a whole new country, Domna observed that “Greece is more free than America, there aren’t many kidnapping cases, same goes along with drinking, it is allowed for adolescents to drink at a much younger age compared to America.” She then concluded that in Greece “most parents let their kids be free and kids are on their own and can be themselves.”
I asked Domna what was one moment she realized it may have been difficult to calibrate her lifestyle with those of American kids, and she mentioned soccer; “With soccer I played in Greece, but then when we moved here I didn’t know any English so I quit soccer, which made me sad.” The language barrier was eventually broken and English soon came easily to Domna, as she explained “I came here at a young age and when you’re young it’s easier to learn another language, so it wasn’t that hard.” Despite Domna’s progress with her new life in America, she never forgot where she came from.
Greece is Domna’s favorite place to go to, she explained, “Because I get to see my family and friends.” When I asked if if there was any other reason she replied, “I just like the culture.”
Besides going to Greece every summer to visit her family, Domna claims she loves to travel! She has been to Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Turkey, Cancun, Washington, New York, and is going to South Africa with the school this February.
I asked Domna if there’s anywhere she hasn’t been, but would love to go to. She replied Lebanon, because I went to a Lebanese festival with my friends and I really liked their culture, it kind of reminds me of Greece, but it’s also so different too.
Domna is reminded of Greece everyday. With her mom’s home cooked meals reflecting Greek culture, and the language that circulates her household on occasion, memories of her home country often come flooding back.
When asked what her fondest memory of Greece was, she answered “In Greece, my dad had a bar called Χιλοκερατια, (Pronounced: Xylokerata) and because of that he was very popular in the city so everyone knew who we were.” Continuing her reflection she described “I would walk down with my sister and our friends and everyone would know who we are, and it’s just nice seeing everyone, and everyone knowing you, and just people being nice.”
Considering her love for Greece, I was curious if Domna would move back to Greece once her education is completed. She told me she wants to continue her education with college in the United States, but after earning a college degree she said she wanted to do six months in Greece and six months in America. Taking an even stronger standpoint, Domna added, “but that’s until I’m a parent, because I want my kids to be born in Greece but then do what I did and have an education here, then from there they can decide how they wanna do it.”
Circling back to education, Domna said she would love to pursue a career as an Interior designer or an architect. She is interested in designing because she feels that “everyone has a different vision on how they want something to be” and she “enjoys making people’s visions come to life.”
I asked her if anyone in particular inspired her in interior design, she replied, “no one in particular, I was into fashion design because I just like fashion, and I really like Kendall Jenner because she’s herself, but with interior design it just grew on me.”
Domna seemed to have her whole life planned out, and so I asked her if she had any fears or concerns when it came to the future. “I’m afraid of losing people I guess,” Domna responded.
Losing people is a hard reality Domna had to face. In April 2017 Domna’s father passed away unexpectedly, and from then on she said a personal struggle she has to face is “not having a male figure.”
Despite her devastating loss, Domna remains a positive, optimistic, and inspiring person; “losing people and death and just moving away is part of life, I just have to try to connect with people no matter where I am, I just have to deal with it, it’s life..life is like a melon, hard on the outside, but once you get to the center of things it’s sweet.”