Arrivals: A cool Greek

An educated new immigrant, Erifyli Tsavdari works two jobs and enjoys meeting new people.

By GLORIA DEUTSCH
Erifyli Tsavdari 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Erifyli Tsavdari 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
"I’m overqualified and underpaid,” says Greekborn Erifyli Tsavdari with a big smile. The 31-year-old new immigrant, who settled here in September 2009, does indeed have an impressive number of academic qualifications. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of East Anglia in environmental sciences, and two master’s degrees, one in film studies from the same university and another in environmental engineering from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne – all very admirable and probably not much use in the job she holds at the moment, doing online Greek marketing.
Her fluent Greek is probably her best qualification for her present job, but she is equally at home in English, which she speaks perfectly without a trace of accent.
BEFORE ALIYA
She was born in the United States to Greek Jewish parents, although her mother was raised in Canada. The family returned to Greece when she was three years old. Because of her father’s position as a general in the Greek Air Force and her mother’s as an English teacher, she acquired perfect English-speaking skills, which meant that studying at an English university was not going to be a problem.
It was during her 10 years in England that she grew closer to her Judaism through the different communities in which she lived while getting an education, and when she heard about the Jewish Agency’s Masa program, she decided to come and check out life in Israel.
Masa, meaning “journey,” aims to attract young people to try out life here and help them build up what the organizers hope will be a lifetime connection, perhaps in leadership roles abroad but preferably by committing to aliya.
She joined the program, which entailed a month of ulpan studies and four months of working or volunteering.
She was happy to find work with a Greek-born architect who had a special interest in green building, one of her preoccupations because of her environmental studies.
She finally made aliya through Nefesh B’Nefesh thanks to her US passport.
FIRST STEPS
She stayed in Tel Aviv with a friend and joined the Gordon ulpan, devoting three months to learning Hebrew. Until then, her Hebrew consisted of knowing how to read, but not understand, and she was able to recite a few blessings.
After the intensive study, she feels she can get by, and her Hebrew is greatly helped by the fact that she speaks only Hebrew with her boyfriend, who is Israeli.
WORK
Tsavdari found her current job through a friend and works regular office hours in the company, which is situated in Tel Aviv’s Azrieli Center. The work, which is all conducted in Greek, is described as search engine optimization – that is, to try and get a product to pop up as the first mention in Google.
“I quite enjoy the whole negotiating process,” she says, “as it does require a bit of critical thought. During the course of a working day, I contact websites and ask if they are interested in advertising with us. The whole process is done through e-mail, and as the market is small, if I can close two deals in a day I think I’ve done very well.”
Asked if she doesn’t feel she’s wasting the education she received, she replies cheerfully, “Oh, completely!” One evening a week, she teaches Greek at the Open University and reckons it’s one of the best jobs she has ever had.
“At first it was a little scary, as I had never taught, but now I find it so creative and dynamic,” she says.
Her students are often people who love Greek culture or are going to Greece for a holiday and need some basic language skills.
“When they come back from a trip to Greece and tell me they were able to speak and make themselves understood, it is so fulfilling,” she says enthusiastically.
SOCIAL LIFE
She finds herself part of a group of young people from many different countries who have all come together in Tel Aviv or Jaffa, often getting together for meals or hanging out and enjoying the city’s café society. Besides many Anglos, there are young people from Turkey, South America, Sweden and Finland, all united by their love of Israel and enjoyment of living in the dynamic hub that is Tel Aviv.
“I am meeting new people all the time,” she says. “You go along to a Friday night dinner and there’s always someone new that you haven’t met before.”
Going to the synagogue has become a routine for her, and she loves to attend services at the Ihud Olam shul on Ben- Yehuda Street. A modern Orthodox synagogue catering to students and young professionals, it is considerate of the role of women and even starts services a little later in the morning than other places.
“In Greece we were non-observant, but I got to like the way of life during the many years I was in England and I love the community here,” she says.