Christina Haska, a linguistics professor at a university in Santiago, Chile, spoke on Voice of Greece radio and the program “Our Global Voice” with Dimitris Kontogiannis about the personal journey that led her to Latin America, the Greek Community of Santiago, and the similarities and differences between the Greek and Chilean peoples and their way of life.
Born in the state of Florida to parents from Rhodes, Haska lived and attended school on the island before continuing her studies in linguistics at the University of Patras and later pursuing postgraduate studies in Wales. There, she met her Chilean husband, eventually settling in Santiago in 2004.
She spoke about the activities of the Greek Community, the Greek language learning program, the Greek academic presence at Chilean universities, as well as the respect and admiration Chileans have for Greece and especially for Classical Greek civilization. As she noted, it is no coincidence that a metro station and a major avenue in the Chilean capital bear the name Grecia (Greece).
Haska also referred to the memorable experience her two daughters had last year when they attended school in Rhodes for one semester, and how eagerly they look forward to visiting Greece again. The linguist further reflected on the similarities and differences between the two peoples and their lifestyles.