About Me

Hi! I’m Katina, and welcome to my site. I guess you could say that over time, this website has developed into a photo album recording events that take place in my life and in the lives of those around me. With over 10 000 visits in the three years of maintaining my website, it’s time for a change!! So, do yourself a favour – grab yourself a drink, and make yourself comfortable, because you may be here for quite a while!!

I’m a Greek Greek-Cypriot from Adelaide, South Australia. With a background coming from Sparta, the land of the ancient warriors, and from Cyprus, the isle of the goddess of love, Aphrodite, I guess you could say that I’m part warrior princess, part goddess!! ;)

My Dad was born in Karitsa, a village in the Peloponnese region of Sparta, while my mum’s parents come from Aradipou and Larnaca, two areas of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. I’m the firstborn of three daughters – I have two sisters, Leilani and Dimitra. Sadly, there are no soccer players in our household, but we have our fair share of adventures!

Currently studying a Bachelor of International Studies at the University of Adelaide, I’m also undertaking a Diploma of Languages in Modern Greek (through Flinders University). Although my degree offers no direct career path, I’m more inclined to have a future in public relations or the media, with prospects of working abroad.

I love to be involved in things, and this year, I've become heavily involved in Uni based things. I'm the President of the Australian Greek University Association (AGUA) at Adelaide Uni, State Public Relations Officer for the National Union of Greek Australian Students of South Australia (NUGAS SA) and I'm the National Liaison Officer for the National Union of Greek Australian Students. This year I ran with the Independents in the Students Association of the University of Adelaide's elections, and was elected into the Union Activities Committee by ONE vote (there were THREE recounts)!! I've also just earned a position on the World Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE) for the Oceania region.

I’m a bit of a social butterfly, and easily mix amongst different groups and people. My main group of friends however, would have to be my uni buddies, also known as “The Wills Crew” named after the place where we hang out at Adelaide University – the Wills Refectory. For quite some time though, our group has somewhat evaporated from Wills, as we do what we're supposed to be doing - STUDYING!!

Though I love my friends, I tend to be a bit of an independent person; I enjoy my ‘alone’ time, when I get to do things that allow me to clear my head a bit. Lately, most of my alone time has been spent on redecorating my bedroom (ripping out carpet, polishing floorboards, painting the walls etc). I’m beginning to feel like one of those people on those home improvement shows!! I’ve yet to read about how to do anything, I’m just playing it by ear and learning as I go.

Speaking of ears, mine can’t get enough of music. As soon as I wake up, I have to have music on. Undisputably, my favourite is Greek music. Don’t get me wrong, I love English music, (in particular dance music, and more recently, R&B), but I find that it lacks the passion that Greek music offers. Perhaps it’s the poetic nature of the Greek language that makes the music sound richer. I love listening to Greek music in a club - the best feeling is when I’m dancing to a good Greek track, and feel it simultaneously reverberating inside me and around me. To truly appreciate music, you have to be able to lose yourself in the rhythm and feeling of the sound – let the music control your mind.

I love going to the movies and letting myself get lost into a film. Perhaps it’s the warrior blood in me, but my favourite film list includes Braveheart, Gladiator, First Knight and The Three Musketeers - I love watching swordfights in films.

Although I love my sports, sadly, I am deprived of the one skill truly required - coordination. I think the genetics for athleticism skipped me and went to my sisters, who play netball for a state league team, which kind of makes my situation a little worse!! My attempts at sports usually lead to self-imposed calamities and catastrophes! I figure that there are two ways that I can deal with this problem. Either I can let it knock me down and get me depressed, or I can laugh about it. Like many other things in life, I choose the latter - basically because I believe that you’re better off looking on the bright side of life.

As a Scorpio, I have a keen interest in Astrology and the mystics. I believe that there is more to life than what we see, and there are other energies and forces that surround us which have an effect on the way we shape our lives. I love reading stories of the paranormal - encounters with ghosts, psychic phenomenon, hidden forces and the supernatural. I love learning about the secrets of the mind. Our brains are so large, yet we only use a relatively small capacity. There is so much potential for the mind, yet we limit ourselves because we allow society to dictate what we are and are not supposed to think. That’s why the 19^th century was an era of discovery, both socially and scientifically. People branched out, changed their patterns of thought – they wanted to learn, to expand their horizons.

In the end, I think that’s what life is all about; expanding your horizons to get as much as we can out of it. We’re not put on this Earth for very long, so I think that we’ve got to make the most of it while we can. Life is the biggest education that we can get. We have to seize every opportunity that can benefit us and we need to try to learn the lesson in anything that happens along the way.

January 2001