How come I didn't notice this earlier? This topic was made for me!
I have been following ESC since I was 9, I believe, but I quickly became bored. However, I decided to watch ESC 2006 and good for me. Thanks to that year's edition I discovered Anna Vissi (Greece), to whom I owe my perfect (
) C2-level Greek after nearly 17 years. I saw her performance and was so impressed I had to look for more on youtube. I found not only songs, but also some tv interviews, shows, etc. but I didn't understand anything. She made the language sound so beautiful to my ears that I said to myself: "You HAVE TO learn it". This year I finally had the chance to see her on stage (4 times!) and it was like a dream coming true. My next goal (not dream) is to speak to her after a concert to thank her for
everything she did, even being unaware of it. Thanks to her I could explore a beautiful country with a rich history and fall in love with this special place on Earth. No artist managed to impress me so much before her.
Now, after nearly 17 years, when in Greece, I speak only Greek without any problems, read and write fluently, and translate texts professionally.
There is a musical titled "Mala, music of the wind" ("Μάλα, η μουσική του ανέμου"), in which Anna plays a Polish Jewish woman named Mala who escaped from Auschwitz with Edek, a Polish man, the love of her life, but they were later caught and killed by the Germans. I have recently translated it to Polish to make a tribute to Anna's 65th birthday and next year's 50th career anniversary. I am going to upload it on youtube to promote it among Poles, because I think it's a story many of us can actually relate to (I mean because of our families, grandmas and grandpas who lived a hell during the war).