Dina Gerolymou came to Australia from Greece in 1992 with a bag of poetry books and some music records.
Since then she’s etched a career for herself in journalism and has worked for most multicultural medium, including Neos Kosmos and SBS.
She is also a published author of poetry as well as a non-fiction book, The Battle of Crete: The Untold Stories.
We caught up with her to see what life has been like during lockdown:
What have you been reading?
I am catching up on fiction and revisiting my favourite writers. I am rediscovering The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende, a book with rich imagery and magical realism to be savoured. I love the Spanish speaking authors, they are master storytellers.
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What are you watching?
Just finished the 3rd season of The Handmaid’s Tale and started Gigantes and Upper Middle Bogan. Season 2 of Babylon Berlin is next.
What music are you listening to?
Depends on the mood. At the moment it’s the Lost Voices of Hagia Sophia – an amazing work that recreates the sound produced in the magnificent cathedral hundreds of years ago. I found a podcast with the story of an American professor who is researching sound. She managed to get into Hagia Sophia when it was empty and record sounds. She then created a “filter” which was applied to various hymns chanted by a choir. The end result was Lost Voices of Hagia Sophia. In the podcast she said that “it’s beyond this world what the sound is trying to communicate”!
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What are you cooking?
I made cultured butter (thank you Angela Nicolettou)! I am branching out to other dishes that haven’t tried before, like bread in a Dutch oven, and continuing my experiments with infusing flavours in rizogalo, so far I had great success with chai, cardamon and lemon.
What is keeping you sane at the moment?
The thought that this is an opportunity to create a better world for everyone. Time to understand and take action towards what matters most: people, their wellbeing and their happiness. It’s sinking in that you can’t have healthy people on a sick planet. Other things that keep me sane is my family, and our pets, especially Minie, my daughter’s cat – hours of fun!
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What is work like for you now?
Working from home and loving it. It was a steep learning curve but it was well worth it. The absence of the daily commute and the million small distractions that eat into your time allow headspace for creativity, focus and contemplation. Although I miss the stimulating environment of a multicultural place, I like the mind-shift and resourcefulness required to be able to maintain workflows and standards.
What’s something positive you’ve witnessed or experienced since COVD-19 entered our lives?
The last few months have given a new dimension to the concept of communication. People are turning to the simple pleasures in life and rediscovering the joy of leading an uncluttered life. In all the conversations I had with various people there is an underlying realisation that we can live with less (shock – horror) and still maintain our quality of life. I will not be surprised if we see a come back of old fashioned ways of connecting.
What have you learned about yourself during COVID-19?
My ability to binge-watch TV series and movies is greater than I thought.
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What have you learned about yourself during COVID-19?
My ability to binge-watch TV series and movies is greater than I thought.
What’s the first place you’d like to visit in Greece once travel is allowed?
That’s a tough one! I’d say Laconia where my parents’ in-law live in a small village by the sea close to Monemvasia Their balcony overlooks orange and olive groves with the sea in the distance. There’s a most magnificent view of the sunrise from that balcony where I spent many mornings drinking coffee.